Quilting Tips and Information
Sashing
Sashing is also an option. Don’t have a lot of time and need a quick charity quilt? It doesn’t get much easier than this. Instead of cutting 2.5 inch strips for your 9 patches, cut your strips 4.5 inches. That will finish as a 12inch block. Set 3 blocks x 4 blocks with sashing and you’ve got yourself a quilt top.
Setting on Point
You can also set this on point using setting triangles.
Tools in Your Toolbox
A nine patch quilt block is a good quilt block to have in your quilting toolbox. It’s easy, lends itself to strip-piecing and is versatile.
If you are a by-the-book quilter you can use this block. Simple doesn’t mean boring. The only limit really is your imagination.
Quilting Supplies – What you need to keep on hand
Here are some basic quilting supplies that you will need to keep in stock.
Quilting Fabric
Yep. That’s obvious.
Quilters refer to the quilting fabric they have on hand as their “stash.” Sometimes stashes can get quite high. There’s even a stash busters online yahoo group to help fabricholics.
The good thing is that you will probably gravitate toward a certain style. There are a ton of different quilt fabric lines. You can count on most to stay near their niche. Amy Butler is modern. Moda? You will probably get a traditional type of quilt. Michael Miller features more novelty fabric.
It’s good to be aware of the different types of fabric lines so that you can know where to go when you’re looking to make a specific kind of quilt. When it comes to quilting supplies, fabric is on the top of the list.
Thread
If you have a basic sewing machine, you can use good old Dual Duty. It’s what is in my machine. If you can, however, get your hands on some Gutermann thread. If you have a high end machine, it is a necessity.
As for colors, buy neutral thread for piecing. For my bright quilts, I use white thread. For my darker quilts, I like beige. Keeping your piecing thread neutral means that you can really take advantage of the big box fabric store sales on thread.
Quilt Batting
Batting can be the most confusing choice when it comes to quilting supplies. There are a couple of questions that you need to ask yourself before you choose the right batting for a project. What will this quilt be used for? You can get away with a different batting for a wall hanging than one that you are hoping will become a little one’s favorite blanket. Baby quilts will probably be washed and dried a lot. You will need a batting that will hold up to all of that abuse, uh, I mean loving. Is warmth important? Would the recipient of the quilt be happier with a quilt that is backed with fleece because it would be warmer? In that case, you may be able to forgo batting all together.
And this is may seem shallow but notice how far apart the batting needs to be quilted. Do you really want to quilt every four inches? Only use batting like this for a small wall hanging.
Then again, the quilts made are for everyday use and probably wouldn’t make it past a cursory glance of a quilt judge. If you aspire to hand quilt a masterpiece or to use a long arm machine, then quilting every four inches could be the perfect batting for you.
It’s all about intended use. Once you know what kind of quilt you want to produce, choosing the batting becomes easy.
Tip – Buy the largest piece of bagged batting you can when it is on sale. You can always cut it up for smaller projects.
Quilt Labels
You can make your own quilt label with a piece of muslin and a permanent fabric pen. Write your name, the date, the intended recipient and the name of the quilt on the scrap of fabric. Then, stitch this to the back of the quilt.
There are also some quilt labels that are produced by fabric companies. The first quilt label I used was from a Christmas fabric line. I used some Wonder Under to apply it to the back of the quilt so that it stuck. Although Wonder Under is supposed to be permanent, I really should have stitched it down.
Another alternative is to sign the back of the quilt, directly mark on the quilt with again, a permanent, fabric pen.
So, there you have it – fabric, thread batting and labels. You can never go wrong stocking up on these basic quilting supplies.
Basic Quilting Supplies You Will Need
As a new quilter, you probably aren’t sure which supplies you need to have to be successful at quilting. When you look at a quilting or fabric store or online, there are what seems like a million gadgets and gizmos, all important for the quilter to be successful. How can you tell which are really imperative? Or do all quilters have everything?
Before you go off and buy anything, think about what kind of quilting you want to do. Do you have a pattern yet? Maybe a picture of a quilt you like and want to make? The type of quilting you want to do will affect which quilting supplies you will need, for example, those who are machine quilting won’t need supplies like a quilting frame. But let’s discuss the supplies you need to just get that first quilt top made. More about Quilting and Singer Sewing Machines
