ok....ready to start your beginners quilt? Let's go!
Week one for the quilt-a-long is a little about quilts, inspiration and buying your things.
Quilting is so much fun. I have been quilting for about 6 months and I really enjoy it. I love that a quilt can look like anything you want. You can patch all your scraps together and have a mismatch of colours. You can have your edges fraying and have an inside out quilt. You can do different shapes - from long strips of fabric, circles or large squares. There are no rules.
The more quilts you make, your own style will start to emerge.
You should not be hard on yourself and if you are a perfectionist, go easy on yourself. When you attempt something handmade it should look just that - handmade. It's the quirks, the whimsy and the little differences that make us love something made just for us.
This is a beginners lap quilt and the quilt is going to have no measurements. For your first quilt you don't want to be worrying about getting everything just right. If you stress about cutting your material down to the last inch or centimeter and it doesn't go to plan, you won't want to try quilting again.
The squares for the top of our quilt are large (we will cut next week). It is easier to learn if you start on something not so tricky and you will have oodles of confidence to try new quilts if your first one is easy to do. You are more likely to give up if your first quilt it too hard.
Over the next week you will need to gather up the following -
*5 fat quarters in different contrasting patters (fat quarters are pre-cut pieces of material that are folded into a square shape)
*1 single bed sheet
*Batting. I always buy more than I need because I can use the leftovers. For this quilt I would buy the single bed size. It will be more than enough.
*yarn and sewing needle (the eye should be big enough for the yarn to be threaded through)
*masking tape
*pins
*safety pins
*pair of scissors or rotary trimmer
This is also a challenge. Do you think you could buy the material from a thrift store or markets etc for $2? Even part of it?
Dani from The Power of Two has a blog that makes you think about $2. Doesn't seem much. $2...but when you start to think about how $2 could make a difference to someone, you realise that $2 can mean the world.
I found my 5 fat quarters at a bargain store called Dimmeys here in Melbourne, $1.70 for 5. My single bed sheet was from Savers and it costs exactly $2. With my batting, pins, etc I would be over the limit...
Can I make a quilt for $2 - yes and no.
If I was to make the quilt outright, buying the material from the shop. No.
If I made the quilt from recycled material I have at home, used calico for batting. Yes
If I made one large square and my friends each made a square and we pieced it together and donated the quilt. Yes.
Search your home. Some of the material you need could be right under your nose. An old tablecloth, a skirt that no longer fits, old baby blankets or cot sheets, can all be turned into something else.
For the hand sewers, you could make a patch pillowcase out of felt (if you are new to sewing). Felt is great for beginners and it is very easy to sew by hand.
If you have a pillow at home you would like to cover, buy a piece of backing material a little bigger then the size of your pillow (allow for seems etc) and different pieces of felt that go well together for your front.If you would like to make the quilt, it is not impossible. Just take your time and you will finish it.
This quilt made by Alicia from Posie Gets Cosy (above) is how we are going to quilt our quilt. This is what the yarn and sewing needle is for.
