How To Make A Quilt – Patchwork quilts are great projects for beginners. They are also wonderful for more experienced quilters looking for a quick project. Today I’m going to show you how to make a simple patchwork quilt using a bunch of pre-cut fabric.
I often get asked “what is a good quilt project for a beginner”? As a “self taught” quilter I remember that feeling of WANTING to make a quilt but not really knowing where to start. When someone asks me about a good starter quilt project, I always tell them to start with one of two things.
How To Make A Quilt
(You can see the striped quilt here). These types of blankets are made from strips of fabric sewn together. There are no proper angles and they are great for beginners.
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As much as I love detailed and intricate quilt patterns, there is something so charming about a simple patchwork quilt.
Making a simple patchwork quilt is a great way for beginners to learn how to sew blocks of fabric together and then sew those blocks together in rows.
If you consider yourself a more experienced quilter, patchwork quilts make great quick-sew gifts because they can easily be customized with the recipient’s favorite fabrics and colors.
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The patchwork quilt in today’s post was made using “cheat” fabric. A cheat sheet is a yard of fabric on which some pieces or appliqués have already been made.
If you don’t want to use the cheater panel, you don’t have to! I did this to add a little more interest and scale to my project, but you can also make this quilt with basic squares.
Along with this board, you will need a 10 inch fabric stacker. This is a stack of pre-cut fabric sometimes called a Layer cake containing approx. 40 pre-cut 10″ x 10″ squares. The squares are usually cut with different prints from the same line of fabric so you know they will all coordinate nicely together in the finished project.
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I am using fabrics from my Let’s Be Mermaids Riley Blake Designs line. You can find it at local quilt shops and online. I’ll add a few links below to sources.
The quilt is 51 inches x 60 inches, which is a good wing size quilt. You can increase or decrease it by adding or subtracting rows or columns.
The Let’s Be Mermaids panel squares are 9″ x 9″, to make the panel pieces work with the pre-cut fabric bundle, cut them to 9″ x 9″. Because the pre-cut piece is stacked so nicely, you can easily cut multiple pieces at once.
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Cut 42 pieces from your fabric pile to 9 inches x 9 inches. If you don’t want to cut the pile, you don’t have to, your quilt will be a little bigger (about 57 inches x 66 inches).
I like to use patterned thread to stack the quilt blocks before I sew them. I have THIS one.
It has two rings in the corners so you can hang it and use it and then remove it when not in use. I love it and I don’t know how I ate it before I ate it.
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Place your squares so that you have 7 rows with 6 squares in each row. While laying it out, try to evenly distribute the colors of the fabric.
TIP: Take a photo with your phone before you start in case you forget how you originally set it up.
Note: If you are new to quilting, I HIGHLY recommend checking out this post on Quilting Basics. Covers precision seam allowances and pressing best practices.
How To Make A Quilt With The Cricut Maker And Riley Blake Fabrics: Part 3
Using ¼ seam allowance, sew the squares in each row together. Keep your rows marked (1-7) as you sew.
Once your rows are sewn, start sewing them together. Continue sewing until you have a complete quilt top.
You have a million options to finish your quilt! I have compiled a list of ways to finish a quilt in THIS post. Just visit there for suggestions.
Making A Memory Quilt: Preparing The Materials
For my quilt, I quilted it on my home machine with a walking foot. I only sewed ¼″ on each side of my seams.
Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer and content creator. She is the founder of the Polka Dot Chair blog and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Really Love.” Her work and designs have been featured in HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs. Additional fabric collections followed in the following years. A mother of 3, she considers herself lucky to live in Kentucky. Let’s start with the basics of quilting: How to quilt! In this article I will go back to the basics of quilting and provide some basic starting principles. This is a complete tutorial for the complete beginner, and can also serve as a refresher for anyone wanting to learn my personal way of quilting!
It’s important to note that we all have to start somewhere, so this tutorial is specially designed to help even the biggest of beginners learn to quilt! I started sewing when I was a child and have been sewing for over 6 years, so if there’s ever a part of this process you’d like me to expand on, please leave a comment with your questions!
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I’ve broken it down into 12 steps and call it my Learn to Quilt in 12 Steps program. After you’ve been quilting for a while, you’ll see why! 😉
This article contains affiliate links; these links allow me to earn a small commission on purchases made after clicking on the links, but this does not change your shopping experience!
As a beginner, you want to start with something SIMPLE, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. You can go with a classic square design if you want, but any basic flat design will be perfect. You can find some ideas and inspiration in this post showing 7 quick and easy quilt patterns.
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I designed several quilt patterns. I would be honored if you would take a look! The Explore Quilt pattern is free and includes 3 sizes, or you can check out my pattern store for more ideas!
The pattern you choose will tell you how many colors you need and how much of each you need. You can find some tips for shopping for quilt fabric online in the video above, and also check out some of my favorite fabric stores throughout this How to Shop for Quilt Fabric post.
Once you have your fabrics, you can prepare them. Some people pre-wash their fabrics, but that’s all personal preference. I never decide to prewash for quilting. (But I do prewash for sewing clothes because I want them to match!) I make sure to press all my fabrics flat, which is especially important if you’re working with necklines that have been wrinkled and folded for a while. I use Best Press unscented when ironing as I find it helps lighten and creates a really sharp finish.
How To Make A Memory Quilt
The pattern you decide to use will determine exactly how many pieces of each size and color you need for your desired quilt. I highly recommend that you read the entire form before starting to make sure you understand the math behind it. If it’s a free pattern, the probability of error is a bit higher because designers don’t always have pattern testers, but I’ve only run into a few problems personally.
If the model you’re working on is block-based, I suggest you cut just one block first and make a test block before cutting the rest, in case you notice anything wrong or wonky that you need to adjust before you cut all the fabrics.
Once you get more confident in your quilting and want to take it to the next level, I really can’t say enough how much I love using my AccuQuilt to cut my pieces! It saves a lot of time and is much more accurate than I could ever achieve with a rotary blade. Learn more about AccuQuilt here or watch the video below to see it in action.
Tips And Techniques For Designing Quilts
People use many different techniques when choosing how to sew their pieces. As a beginner, I definitely suggest using PINS – lots of pins!
If you are completely new to quilting and plan to use a sewing machine, you should make sure your sewing machine has a 1/4″ presser foot. Having a guide leg is helpful, but not absolutely necessary. Before sewing the pieces together, make a few test stitches to make sure where the 1/4″ mark is. Most people choose to make a quarter inch “scarce”, which is really fair
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