The Secret to Patchwork Quilting for the Beginner

The question most often asked by all beginners of Patchwork and Quilting is I want to make a quilt but should I make a cushion as it will be easier? The answer that I always give is forget the cushion & make the quilt. The reason for my answer is that you never just wanted a cushion. My advice to you is purchase a Jelly roll. A Jelly Roll is not something to eat but a roll of fabric which consists of 40 precut strips which are 2 and a half inches wide by 42 inches long. This means by using one of these you can start sewing straight away. The Jelly Rolls are widely available and if you contact any good quilt shop like The Fat Quarters and they would not think you had lost your mind when you asked for a Jelly Roll. Now to start making your first quilt.

• Sew 3 of the Jelly Roll strips together along the length with a quarter seam allowance and press them in one direction. Now simply measure along the length of the strips you have just sewn and chop them into 6 inch segments.


• Now for the fun bit because at this stage you can play around with your blocks and create your own design. Arrange on your floor or a large table all of your blocks so that you have 9 segments across and 10 segments down.


• Do not be afraid to keep moving the blocks around until you are happy with your design. Remember it is your quilt and you are meant to be having fun.


• Now sew each segment in row 1 together into a row of 9 blocks. Continue sewing each row together in the same way until you have sewn all 10 rows.


• Next sew row 1 and row 2 together and continue adding the rows until all 10 rows are sewn together. You now have a completed quilt top.


• To make your completed top into a quilt you need to purchase wadding and a backing approximately 6 inches larger than your finished top.


• Lay your backing on a table with the wrong side facing you. Now put the wadding on the top of the backing and finally put your completed quilt top on the top of your wadding with the right side of the fabrics facing you.


• Quilt using a running stitch and a matching thread. Finally trim your wadding & backing to the same size as your quilt top. You are now ready to bind your quilt.
  
  My preferred way is to cut strips 2 and a quarter inches wide and iron them in half wrong sides together. Matching the raw edges sew the binding strips to the front of the quilt and hand sew the strips to the back of the quilt.

Now that you have finished your first quilt ask yourself the question should I make a cushion because it is easier?

The Fat Quarters are the Online Patchwork and Quilting Specialists. For all your patchwork, quilting and sewing needs contact The Fat Quarters.

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