Introduction to quilting & quilt kits for beginners
BY READERS DIGEST
27th Jun 2019 Home & Garden
Quilting is a fun hobby for millions of people around the world but it can be quite challenging for beginners. Many people dive right into quilting with only a vague idea and lots of enthusiasm. The problem is that this can be pretty overwhelming when problems arise.
In this context, here are some tips for quilting beginners that will teach some of the basic principles.
1. Make it Easy on Yourself
When you’re just starting out in the world of quilting, there’s nothing wrong with choosing an easy pattern first. You may be your own harshest critic but it’s important to get past that and to give yourself a break. If you’re the type of person who simply has to make everything perfect the first time, it’s time to put that attitude away and go easier on yourself.
The truth is that becoming good at quilting takes time and you’re not going to blow the world away when you start out. You need to build on your skills one project at a time. Once you’re ready, you can then move onto more complex projects. Just remember that no one else is judging you but yourself so give yourself time and space to learn it the right way.
2. Buy a Quilt Kit
If you’re just starting out in the wonderful world of quilting, the other way to get a head start is to buy a pre-cut quilt kit, such as the ones from the historically renowned quilting store Hancock’s of Paducah. Pre-cut quilt kits come with everything you need, including the pre-cut bits of quilt for sewing together into your final masterpiece.
What better way to learn than to get some help and focus on the basic skills? By working with pre-cut pieces, you can actually learn the other fundamentals first.
3. Always Pre-Wash
One mistake that lots of beginners to quilting make is to forget to pre-wash every piece first. If you finish off a quilt and put it in the gentle cycle for a wash, the chances are that lots of the colors will run and smudge. The quilt that you’ve worked so hard on will be ruined and you’ll feel awful.
To make sure that this doesn’t happen -- or at least minimize the chances of it happening -- it’s always better to pre-wash the pieces before you quilt them in. This way, you can wash out any of the color bleed first.
4. Use One Kind of Fabric
Expert quilters love to use lots of different kinds of fabric with lots of textures in their projects. It can really make a final quilt look amazing. The problem is that doing this is not easy for a beginner. All of those different textures react differently under the needle and this can make things too complicated for beginners.
The best thing to do is to use one kind of material when you’re just starting out. You can definitely choose different colours for your quilt but sticking to one kind of fabric will make it go more smoothly and ensure that it’s a less complicated process.
Keep up with the top stories from Reader's Digest by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.
