Finished your quilt top and ready to quilt? Continue reading for 10 quilting designs for beginners perfect for your first quilt!
We're here to help quilters find the perfect quilting design for their quilt! Check out some of our favorites in this article....
The Flora Jacket and Vest is a boxy, slightly oversized quilted outerwear piece that will become a staple in your shoulder season wardrobe. With 3 pocket styles, 2 different lengths and two hem styles to choose from, the Flora has so many options! The Flora Jacket is designed for quilted or thicker fabrics. We love the idea of using a thrifted quilt or wool blanket, but you can make yours totally custom by quilting your own! We’ll show you how :). You’ll also need a small amount of coordinating fabric for the collar and plackets, in addition to bias binding for the edges and woven interfacing if your fabric is on the thinner side. Sewing level: Confident Beginner Sizes: XS - 5XL Pattern Format: PDF with layered letter, A0 and projector files After you purchase the pattern, you will be sent an order confirmation email which will contain your downloadable pattern files!
When we moved into our new home, the highest priority for me was getting my quilting studio up and running since quilting is my full-time job. I’ve had many people asking me how I built my de…
These free-motion quilting design tutorials include videos of me stitching them! Wibbly Wobbly Starbles (Stars + Marbles) Way...
Finished your quilt top and ready to quilt? Continue reading for 10 quilting designs for beginners perfect for your first quilt!
I've had the chance to review the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners (and those who think they can't), by Molly Hanson. I love that title! I'm a big proponent of quilting your own quilts, as you know, and I've read a lot of books about free motion quilting. I like how everyone presents the information in their own personal way....there is always more to learn! This book presents all the practical information you need to get started. More importantly, it gives you the confidence to jump in and give free motion quilting a try. There are 15 projects in the book that encourage you to start small and increase your comfort level with free motion quilting before you tackle something larger, like a quilt. What I love most about this book is Molly's tone of encouragement throughout the text and the projects. She is great at guiding you though the entire process! I've done a lot of free motion quilting and I love how relaxing it can be. I also know how easy it can be to get in a rut. I challenged myself to get out of my box, so to speak and try some new-to-me, designs. I gave this squared off stippling pattern a try and it went pretty well! I had to slow down and think about where I was going from time to time, but it was fun! I could see doing this all over a whole quilt. I also quilted a few swatches of different designs and I turned them into a set of coasters. Binding them was a little fiddly, but totally worth it! (I can say that now that they are done. Ha!) These are great because I not only used scraps of fabric, but scraps of batting as well. Hurray! I'm happy to count these as scrap project #94/101. If you would like the chance to win an e-book copy of Free Motion Quilting for Beginners, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment, I'd love to hear what your favorite go-to FMQ pattern is. Or, if you are new to FMQ, I'd like to hear what pattern you would like to master. I will pick winner in a few days!
In an unprecedented act of blogging fanciness I decided to make a video documenting how I create the woodgrain texture (so thoroughly p...
How To Make A Puff Quilt The Easy Way ~Bubble Quilt ~ Puffer Quilt. Free sewing Tutorial
No longer are you stuck with boring simple baby quilt kits. Continue reading for 10 modern patchwork quilts you can start this weekend!
Day Two of our Free Motion Quilting Series shows how to practice Waves.
The best way to get perfect quilting is to transfer quilting designs onto the quilt top before stitching. Continue reading to see how!
Check out these quick and versatile walking foot quilting designs that even beginner quilters can master! The walking foot is a powerful attachment for your domestic sewing machine that make it possible for you to beautifully quilt your own modern quilts!
If you been looking to try out hand quilting but don’t know where to start, this is for you! Check out these quilting tutorials for hand quilted…
Rahna Summerlin, machine quilting, machine quilting with a walking foot, quilting with a walking foot, quilting cables, Harriet Hargrave, quilt borders, Forty-Nine Cents, postage stamp, postage stamp quilt, Heirloom Machine Quilting, walking foot, Machingers,
Check out these quick and versatile walking foot quilting designs that even beginner quilters can master! The walking foot is a powerful attachment for your domestic sewing machine that make it possible for you to beautifully quilt your own modern quilts!
Are you new to machine quilting? You may have made tied quilts for a while and now want to explore machine quilting. I’ve seen a lot of advice given for how to machine quilt but I think mos…
Quilting made easy for beginners. Follow our step-by-step guide to learn how to quilt, choose materials, and create your own unique quilts.
Since my grandson is into video games with tanks and planes and battles, he’s got me thinking in terms of weapons and fire power, too. The Scrap Wars in my studio are going to be facing a new…
I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.
Learn how to make the Hidden Wells quilt block with this tutorial. is very fast and easy to make and each time you make it.
This super simple tutorial for a patchwork gingham quilt will create a fresh modern quilt that comes together fast! Includes free printable PDF pattern.
Melody Crust talks on her blog about the importance of selecting the right quilting pattern to make the most impact on your quilt top. Calling straight line quilting elegant, click HERE to learn mo…
A blog about two modern cousins who quilt, sew, knit, stitch and craft everyday.
Easy quilts to make in a day. A lot of beautiful patterns, designs, and quilt ideas for you to make in one day only and the tips to finish it
I sure hope you have learned a thing or two along the way with this series. If you just joined us, start from the beginning.
Binding is the final step of quilting and it must be perfect. Otherwise, all your efforts will be wasted!
William Morris designs patterns and flowers to download and print for free. All these wonderful examples are in the Public Domain.
I am sharing 10 free Jelly Roll Patterns with you today that are my favorites from around the internet. Beautiful patterns that aren't complicated!
Learning how to tie a quilt is a great way to give some hand quilted charm to your projects. Continue reading for 6 fun ways to try it out!
How to Design a Simple Art Quilt. Create an image and make it into an Art Quilt. Fabric scrap and fusible web will make it simple and quick
13+Free Quilt Patterns to tickle your quilting fantasies! You can snag these 13 FREE modern Quilting Patterns TODAY and be sewing before you know it!
The sails in this block from my Sailing School pattern are made from HRT units Here, as promised, is my tutorial about making half-rectangle triangle units (HRT) without specialty rulers. This method does involve a bit of fabric waste as the units are made a little over-sized, then trimmed down. I think the little bit of trimming waste in exchange for ease and accuracy is worth it. Traditionally, the HRT is twice as tall as it is wide, so those are the dimensions I worked with. Here goes! Step 1: Determine the desired finished size of the unit. (Remember that the finished size is the size in the finished project, after the seam allowance is taken up by sewing the unit into the project.) Step 2: You will need two rectangles of fabric. To determine the width of the cut rectangles: For the cut width, add 1 1/4" to the desired finished width. The cut height will be double the cut width. Step 2: Cut two rectangles Step 3: Mark a diagonal line on one of the rectangles. Careful! The direction of the line matters. For a left-leaning seam on the finished unit (from upper left corner to lower right corner), draw the line from the top right corner to the lower left corner. For a right-leaning seam on the finished unit (lower left corner to upper right corner), draw the line from the top left corner to lower right corner. Step 4: (optional ) You will actually stitch 1/4" away from the marked line in Step 7. You may wish to draw additional lines now, 1/4" on each side of the diagonal, to mark where to stitch. If you have an accurate 1/4" presser foot as a guide you can skip this part. Steps 3 and 4: Mark one rectangle Step 5: Place the marked rectangle on top of the second rectangle, right sides together. So far this looks very much like the technique used to make HST. However, if you now simply sew 1/4" on each side of the diagonal, you will end up with a kite shape rather than a rectangle shape. Step 5: Layer rectangles right sides together Not how you want it to turn out. Move on to step 6. Step 6: Rotate the marked rectangle: to the left (counterclockwise) for a left-leaning finished unit, so that the upper right corner shifts to touch the upper left of the bottom rectangle, and the lower left corner shifts to touch the lower right corner of the bottom rectangle. to the right (clockwise) for a right leaning finished unit, so that the upper left corner shifts to touch the upper right of the bottom rectangle, and the lower right corner shifts to touch the lower left corner of the bottom rectangle. Step 6: Rotate marked rectangle To check that you have rotated in the correct direction, fold the top rectangle along the marked diagonal, and see if the result is approximately the HRT you plan to make. Check orientation Step 7: Sew 1/4" on either side of the marked line, then cut on the marked line. Step 7: Sew then cut into two units Step 8: Press seams to one side or open, as you prefer. You now have two rough units ready for trimming perfectly to size. Step 8: Two untrimmed HRT units Next, you'll need to trim these. The tricky part is to position that diagonal seam correctly in the trimmed unit so that points don't disappear into the seam allowance when you sew this unit into your quilt. The diagram below shows what happens when you place the seam corner to corner. The seam, shown as a dashed line, cuts off points on the short ends of the unit. What you want to avoid I've found that using a template to guide my trimming gives me the best results. PREPARE A TRIMMING TEMPLATE Step 9: Draw a rectangle exactly the same size as your desired finished unit. Step 10: Using a rotary cutter and ruler, cut out the shape 1/4" outside the drawn shape all around. Step 10: Cut out template Step 11: Draw a diagonal between two opposite corners of the drawn inside shape in the direction of the seam in your finished unit, extending the line all the way out to the edges of the cut shape. Note that this diagonal does not intersect the corners of the cut shape. Step 11: Tape the template on the underside of your quilting ruler, with the template flush with the corner of the ruler, and the drawn line visible through the ruler. Step 12: Position the template over the rough unit so that the drawn diagonal lines up with the seam in the unit. Step 12: Position the template Step 13: Use a rotary cutter to trim the unit along the side and top edges of the ruler. Step 13: Trim two edges Step 14: Rotate the unit. Position the ruler so the markings for the required unfinished size line up with the trimmed edges. Step 14: Position ruler to trim remining sides Notice that the seam will not fall exactly in the corner of the ruler. Seam will not go through corner of the ruler Step 15: Keeping the ruler in position, use a rotary cutter to trim the remaining sides of the unit. The unit is now ready to use. The area outside the black outline in the image below is the seam allowance. The area inside the black rectangle will be the finished unit as it will appear in your finished project, with the points in the corners where you want them. I hope you have found this helpful. Now go play with some half-rectangle triangle units! *************** You can use HRT in many ways. The sailboat block at the top of this post, and again below, is what made me sit down and figure out HRTs. This version is 9" square. If you'd like to make it but would prefer to skip all the math and drawing of templates, I've done the work for you in my Sailing School pattern. See more of that quilt in this post. You can purchase a PDF download of the pattern in my Etsy shop, or you can ask your favourite quilt shop to order a print copy for you. Happy quilting! Joanne
This is the optical illusion quilts. They can be sewn into squares, wall hangings, circles, large quilts, art quilts in all kinds of colors and patterns.
