Your First Quilt

Thanks to Chris over at Pickup Some Creativity for asking me to be a part of her Sewing 101 Series! 

I've got the Basics of Quilting to get you started on your first quilt. 

You'll need: 
-about a yard and a half total of prewashed/ironed cotton fabric (this will leave you plenty of extra)
-a piece of batting or flannel measuring roughly 30" x 20" 
-basting spray
-disappearing ink fabric marker
-optional: rotary cutter, mat & quilting ruler

Cut 5 strips of fabric, each measuring 18" x 6".

You can cut across the width or along the length but not on the bias (diagonally) as it will stretch too much.

Pin the strips right sides together on the long sides, in the order you want them.

Sew together using a 1/4" seam allowance.
{If you want to make more than one quilt in your sewing lifetime, definitely invest in a good walking foot}

Press your seams to one side, toward the darker fabric like below.

Now cut your middle layer (batting or flannel) a little bigger than your quilt top.
Cut your bottom layer (the quilt back) to match the batting.

All three layers stacked together make your "quilt sandwich."

Now you'll baste (read: stick together) your sandwich to keep the layers in place for sewing. Some people pin baste beautifully but I use basting spray - quilting magic in a can. It's quick and easy on my hands. This is how I do mine, but written better.

First, stitch in the ditch like so in the 4 seams joining your strips.

Then mark and sew some more random lines to stabilize the three layers.

Here are a couple ways I like to hold the quilt while it's on the machine.
Just don't tug too hard or you'll break a needle.

Oh, and the goofy gloves I'm wearing are quilting gloves and they are awesome.
The fingertips are coated with rubber to help you grip the fabric. I use them on a lot of my projects, not just quilts.

 Wondering how to wrangle a quilt through your machine?
Just roll up one side to fit it in the machine and adjust as you go.

Trim your excess batting and backing.


It's time to do your binding (to encase the raw edges). Don't be scared! You can either buy premade binding or make your own. I like to make my own using this amazing tutorial. And this tutorial is great for attaching your binding to the quilt.

Here are the basics...

what double fold bias binding looks like

attached to the front of your quilt

folded over the raw edge and pinned to the back

 
You can either handstitch or machine stitch it down, but I prefer handstitching with this coated cotton thread.

Finished binding

Now you get to wash and dry it!
My dryer always seems soooo slow when there's a new quilt in there...
Have you ever wondered why quilters get all gaga over a freshly washed quilt?

Before

After

Your quilt would make a great gift as a wall hanging; customize it to a nursery color scheme or someone's interests and give it with a couple of hanging clips.
And it's easy to change the design, add an applique, embroider a name, learn to piece blocks, etc. etc.

I hope you enjoyed my very very long tutorial...
Good luck with your first quilt! I'd love to see what you make in the 
Handmade Mommy Tutorials Flickr Pool.

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