Beginner patchwork quilt questions

Hello to everyone, and especially to Kate who told me about this newsgroup!

I used to sew many years ago, some clothes for me and my children, but I haven't done any sewing for years. I've got a new sewing machine - Toyota EZOne - just to get back into the swing of things without spending a fortune.

I have an idea for a patchwork quilt and I'd like advice please on the types of materials to use and the best approach for what will really be a beginner project.

I'd like something light, but large enough, that I could use to sleep under during the current swelteringly hot weather rather than a duvet, and in the winter use as a blanket while curled up on the sofa, but at other times could go over the back of the sofa as a decorative piece (hence wanting it to be patchwork so I could incorporate colours to match the decor of my den). I'd like this to be machine washable as well, i.e in an ordinary domestic washing machine.

I can work out some things - like keeping to one type of material for the front and back. But I'm really not sure what the middle should be (or even what to call the stuff that goes in the middle!).

Would it be better to use templates for the patchwork pieces, even though there would be many small pieces; or to cut out by hand larger pieces so there's less sewing?

Would something this large be a bit too cumbersome for a relative beginner using a basic sewing machine on a not-very-large desk?

Although I can think of the things I'd like to do, some pointers on what

*not* to do would be useful right at the start.

I'm in the UK and there is a branch of C&H Fabrics in town. The last time I was in there, they had a patchwork section where they had put a selection of materials with various colour themes, so I suspect they are quite used to customers wanting to do patchwork. But I'd like to have at least some idea what I need to buy before going in so they don't think I'm completely stupid.

Or, alternatively, pointers to websites with the equivalent of "Patchwork quilts for dummies" or even if there are any UK retailers that do kits.

Many thanks to anyone who can point me in the right direction.

Reply to
Prunella
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Hi, Prunella! Welcome to the saner side of news groups! ;P

Good idea, that! I like all the Toyota machines I've tried, even the really inexpensive ones - good value for money.

If I'd realized that it was patchwork you were after, I'd have sent you to rec.crafts.textiles.quilting - equally mad, but just as helpful, and with the same stringent rule on no ads as we have here. Still. I'll take your points one at a time, and you can join us on rec.crafts.textiles.quilting as well if you like. You will see plenty folk from here there as well! :)

An all-purpose quilt! :) Sounds like you need one double bed sized, with a light weight batting.

You can get batting/wadding - the bit in the middle - from lots of places. The sort I like best is cotton, made by Simply Cotton, and you can buy it by the mile from Dainty Supplies if you don't have a Local Quilt Store - LQS. Dainty are on my fabric list, and you can find that on my web site (as you know already!). Dainty also do a silk batting, but ask about that as it may not be in their price list.

Ooooeeerrr! Differkult! There are LOTS of different ways to cut bits out, and it really depends on the pattern you choose, but my favourite is with the rotary cutter. May I diffidently suggest you pop back to my web site and have a look at my quilty things. The Friendship Star blocks can be rotary cut, or if you want something REALLY simple as a first project, the Electric Leftovers and James's Space Quilt, you can see just how effective plain squares of patterned fabric sashed together with a plain fabric can look.

Not if you take care! You might decide that quilting it (sewing all the layers together) is too much and tie it instead. This is where you use fancy thread to do just a few stitches together or knot the threads to keep the layers together. We can go into more detail when you know better what it is you want to achieve. A double bed sized quilt is quite cumbersome. You can see the problems I had with James's single bed sized one on the Space Quilt page!

Don't choose to complex a pattern! Build in success with a relatively simple pattern, then move on to more complex things as you get more practice and experience.

Pop over to my web site (again! It's where I keep my memory!) and to the fabric list and you will find lots of quilt fabric sources there. Another good move is to buy a copy of British Patchwork & Quilting from the news agent. Don't let all the fancy projects put you off - they have a useful section for kids that has nice starter projects, and GREAT ads for quilty shops! C&H are OK - there are two branches I go to, in Maidstone and in Canterbury, but their selection and knowledge is pitiful compared to my LQS in Faversham. Look in your Yellow pages for quilting shops and just go in. Tell them, I am a complete novice - please help! They will love you and overwhelm you with advice and all sorts. They will also help you find classes if you like. The LQS's often run classes for beginners.

If you are within reach of a C&H, you might be quite close to me! Where are you? I'm close to Sittingbourne, in a little village on top of the North Downs, waving gently in the heat from opposite the cherry orchard!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Welcome Prunella! Even though this is not a quilting forum, this is the right place to start. I subscribed to the quilting NG and was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages there. And I've been quilting for over 20 years.

Do you know that it's a good idea to use all cotton fabric and to pre-wash it so that it shrinks and bleeds BEFORE you put all that work into it. One of my favorite simple patterns is Single Irish Chain. It is easy to piece, just squares and easy to design, just two colors. Like Kate, using a rotary cutter makes life much easier.

As to the batting (the stuff in the middle) even though I think that Kate can sew fashion rings around me I disagree with her choice of cotton batting. You need to do a lot of quilting with a cotton batt. If you really want to use it for hot summer nights, you actually don't need to put a batt at all. If you want it a little heavier, I like to use flannel (cotton flannel prewashed in a pale color so it doesn't show through the top or bottom).

For a first quilt, it's a good idea to tie it. You use all 6 strands of cotton embroidery floss and take 2 stitches in the same spot and then just tie it off with a knot. If you want that will add a third color to your Irish Chain. As can the binding that edges the whole piece.

This should be an easy quick project. I've been able to make a double size quilt in this manner in a day, it shouldn't take you more than a week, most of it spent on the computer or phone confirming that this is what you should be doing. ;^)

Best of luck, Laura

Reply to
Laura

Hi Prunella,

My patchwork started off very traditionally - with left over fabric that co-ordinated from other projects - it then grew like tpsy!

Hey, I like that idea - I might borrow it at some point. For machine washable, you are going to need cottons or poly cottons, and a very light batting (the bit in the middle - unless you happen to own a Dyson washing machine or that other huge one on the market.

My second patchwork was based on mixed size rectangles. I used paper sizes as a guide, and used A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8 (if they exist!). I had a stash of about 8 co-ordinating fabrics, and was given some more by my MIL. I then cut all the fabric up over several days into the various sizes - i.e. big pieces of material were A4, small bits were A7/A8. I then pieced all the small bits together into blocks that were A4 size, until everything was A4 size, then pieced my A4 blocks until I had a large enough piece of fabric for what I wanted.

I would recommend for simplicity, sanity and easyness that you stick with a regular 4 sided shape for your first patchwork.

Proper quilting favric can be expensive. One thing that may work for you given the project in mind is poly-cottons - and there for old or new sheets may be chepaer and give you something to practise on without feeling guilty when it goes wrong! One fabric shop near me sells seconds by weight, and they carry a mass of sheeting in all sorts of colours. Even

2 sheets in 2 different colours, cut and pieced in an attractive pattern would give you what you want relatively cheaply.

And if I were you, once you've got your front and back sorted, and sandwiched round the batting, I'd machine quilt. This can be tricky, hot, heavy work, and it is handy if you can move your sewing machine to a large table, but it is managable.

HTH,

Sarah (Pictures of patchwork can be provided if required)

Reply to
Sarah Dale

In article , D&D writes

Thanks, Dee. That's an amazing site. Lots of simple instructions and in yards and inches, too!

Another site to bookmark.

Reply to
Prunella

In article , Laura writes

Thanks for the welcome and the advice, Laura. The tip about washing the fabrics is a useful reminder. I like the idea of using flannel for the middle. I'll have to visit some fabric shops and see if I can put together some combinations of fabrics to get a feel of what the finished quilt would feel like.

And, as I said to Kate, tieing sounds a good idea and using it as an extra colour is even better.

It'll take me much longer than a week but all the advice has given me lots to think about before I can get to the shops. It's nice to have gone from a vague wish to some concrete plans.

Reply to
Prunella

Are you within a couple of hours of Leicester? If so, Fabric Guild are worth a visit. They have current ranges at very good prices.

-- Sally Holmes Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

Reply to
Sally Holmes

Just don't try to hand quilt on percale sheets! It's too tightly woven for comfortable needling.

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Reply to
SewStorm

Sally,

Sadly not, I live in N. Wales - a near total fabric and machine desert :( I'm not actually that into quilting. Quilting happened for me when I went to Uni and din't have the time to sew, or have my machine with me. 6 fabrics that toned became two duvet cover tops over the period of a year or so, and then after Uni, 12 ish different fabrics that all co-ordinated accidently developed into the rectangular patchwork - that now exists as a pair of curtains, headboard cover and trim on 2 duvets and 4 pillows (yes, it did get rather excessive!). I'm hoping I've quilted myself out now!

Sarah

Reply to
Sarah Dale

One advantage of beginning with squares is that you can cut all your patches along drawn threads, and get them perfectly on grain so that they will lie flat without being quilted into submission.

I pieced one full-size quilt top and two sofa-throw sizes from scraps of other projects cut into two-inch and three-and-a-half inch squares. I gave the full-size top to a friend who thought she would quilt it, but she chickened out and used it for a tablecloth. The patches for the full-size quilt were sorted out to make diagonal stripes of matching or similar fabrics.

I believe that some of the patches were six and a half inches square. I pieced all the two-inch squares into three-and-a-half inch squares before arranging them, and I may then have joined two four-patch and two three-and-a-half squares into six-inch squares.

The two tops that I finished were each interlined with a piece of old blanket, instead of batting. That way the quilting was purely ornamental. I think I tied the one I gave Grandma -- it's long since worn out. This was a simple variation of four-square that looked very complex, particularly since it was made of a red-and-black hawaiian print alternating with plain black.

In addition to two-inch squares and three-and-a-half inch squares, there were two by three-and-a-half patches in this design. I pieced two kinds of six-inch squares, then joined them checkerboard fashion.

The other top, a single Irish Chain, served as a door curtain for a while, then I changed my mind and made a sofa throw, which I still have. I quilted by hand, making rather long running stitches around the main lines of the design, and was very sorry that I'd started long before I finished. On inspection (it's still on the sofa) I see that I didn't interline this one at all. Two layers of cotton fabric make it plenty thick enough for a sofa throw -- particularly considering that it's buried in a pile of thick wool afghans.

When piecing the pattern, I thought it rather silly to sew three squares of the same color side-by side, and made some of the patches 3 1/2 by 9 1/2.

The back is plain white, given some interest by the brown quilting. (I matched the quilting thread to the background of the Irish Chain.) Grandmother's quilts are all backed with printed fabrics of a very small design, that look plain from a distance. I think that some of them are bound with the same fabric.

Another option is to make both sides patchwork. I did that with a doll's quilt that I made as a child. One side is a bunch of squares sewn together, the back is one large white square with a border of squares like those that compose the other side.

Joy Beeson

Reply to
joy beeson

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