Different values create contrast.
You don’t need a fancy machine to make a quilt, just one that is in good working order with well-adjusted tension. And you don’t need a lot of new sewing skills. In fact, if you have made home-dec items or clothing, you probably already have most of the sewing skills you need! However, you may need to purchase some additional cutting and sewing tools that are specially designed to enhance and assist the quiltmaking experience.
If you can cut straight and stitch a straight, accurate 1⁄4"-wide seam allowance, you can make quilt blocks and sew them together to make a quilt top. Even your first machine-quilting stitches can be lines of straight stitching. You can graduate to more complex quilting designs after you are comfortable with basic machine quilting.
Like any hobby, quiltmaking requires special materials and tools designed for specific tasks. In times past, quilt pieces were cut with scissors from fabric leftovers, feed sacks, and worn clothing. Today’s quiltmakers can choose from a dizzying array of quality quilters’ cottons. While patches were once sewn together and the quilting done by hand, today’s modern tools and techniques make it easy to cut multiple pieces quickly and sew them together by machine. Piecing and quilting the layers together by machine is now more popular than piecing and quilting by hand because it takes less time and you can see the results sooner! That’s what’s covered in this book.
As a sewer, you may already have most, if not all, of the tools you need. There are lots of new, innovative quiltmaking tools available, but you can make many quilt blocks using a few basic tools and techniques. Here’s what you need to get started. Some will be shown in illustrations in the following chapters.
Make sewing a breeze by preparing your machine for optimal stitching.
If you are new to quilting, choose a small project, labeled as a “beginner” or “easy” design. A small quilt with a few blocks, plus sashing and a border, can be an easy way to start. Use it as a table topper or wall hanging. You can make practice blocks from this book (see Chapter 3) and quickly turn them into quilted pot holders or placemats. Or make them and sew them together into the featured nine-block sampler quilt (here).
Look for designs that have blocks no smaller than 6" square. Larger 9", 10", or 12" blocks with bigger patches are super easy and fast to piece, but smaller blocks are often more visually interesting. Squares, rectangles, and right-angle triangles are the easiest pieces to cut and sew together. Steer clear of blocks with curved seams and those with sharp-pointed triangles until you have some block-piecing skills under your belt.
Once you’ve learned the basics while making practice blocks, you’ll be ready to choose other blocks and quilt designs from the myriad quilt books available for beginners, or from individual quilt patterns offered at quilt shops and online sources.
For any project, you will need fabric to make the blocks for your quilted project, as well as fabrics for the borders, backing, and edge binding. You’ll also need batting for the inner layer. Quilts can be made from a wide array of fabrics, but for beginners, the best fabric is good quality 100% cotton fabric especially designed for quiltmaking. Find quality quilters’ cottons at your local quilt shop, and don’t be afraid to ask for help when choosing fabrics for your project. Quilt shop personnel — and other shoppers, too — are usually very willing to assist with pattern and fabric selection when you need help.
Quilters’ cottons are specially made with a higher thread count (the number of threads per inch) to minimize raveling. They may also be more colorfast than fabrics designed for other purposes. Don’t use low-quality fabric with low thread count or a loose weave. Low-quality fabrics are more difficult to handle, and, since you will be cutting many pieces and sewing them together, the raveling associated with low-thread-count cottons can affect accuracy in the finished blocks.
It may be tempting to use less expensive fabrics when you are a beginning quilter, but I advise against it. Lower quality cottons often lose body after washing, and they wrinkle more, making accurate piecing more difficult. Your efforts deserve better fabric for the best possible experience. To save on fabrics for your first blocks, check out a shop’s sales area, where you’ll find lower prices on bolts that are running low or are out of season. Watch for seasonal sales, too. My cardinal rule for buying fabric: Buy fabric you love in the best quality you can afford — you’ll be glad you did.
Choosing fabric is one of the most fun and enjoyable parts of quiltmaking. As a beginner, you may want to rely on the pattern you are using for fabric cues. If you’re a skilled seamstress with a well-developed sense of color, pattern, scale, and design coordination, fabric choice will come more easily. Beginners may find it easy to simply copy the color scheme shown in the pattern they are following — but not necessarily with the same fabrics. By the time most books and patterns are in print, the specific fabric prints and colors shown are often no longer available or are difficult to find. If you love the design but not the color scheme in the pattern, substitute fabrics in a color palette you love.
A majority of the block designs you will use in patchwork quilts are made of two or more fabrics in two or more colors. The success of your project will depend on how well you select fabrics for the right amount of contrast in the patches within the blocks. When there is good contrast in value (lightness compared to darkness), the desired design in each block and in the completed project is easy to see.
Color in quilts is a subject large enough to explore in long chapters and in full-length books; two good ones are named in the Reading List. Following are some basic guidelines for choosing fabric for your quilts.
It’s easy to select fabrics for a two-color quilt: Choose one light background print and one medium or dark print. Red and white, blue and white, tan and black, pink and ecru — there’s an endless list of possible two-color combinations. If you opt for this scheme, you may use only two fabrics, one light print and one dark, or you may choose several fabrics that are in the same color family of each of the two colors for more variation and visual interest. Choosing several fabrics is a “scrappier” approach, and many quilters love scrap quilts.
Different values create contrast.
Changing value positions in the same block design creates a different look.
When the design requires several different colors, you must pay attention to the color value of the fabrics. Value is the relative lightness or darkness when fabrics are placed next to each other. (Refer to the illustrations above.) Most patterns tell you what values you need with these descriptors: very light, light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark, and very dark. However, as you select your own fabrics, you will need to determine if each of them stands out as a dark, shows up as a mid value, or “sits back” in the finished block as a light value. Also note on the previous page how two blocks of the same design can look very different, depending on where the values are placed.
When you use fabrics in a block that are very close to each other in values, the colors tend to “moosh” together, creating a softer and less obvious design in the blocks and the project overall.
When shopping for fabric, an easy way to determine relative value is to stack the bolts of fabric you’ve chosen, or fan them out on the cutting counter, and step back. Through squinted eyes, look for fabrics in the stack that seem to blend into each other too much; if necessary, substitute new fabric(s) for one or more of them to create more contrast in the values. This takes a little practice; get help from the quilt shop’s sales staff.
Pay attention to the scale of the printed design in each fabric you’ve chosen. Varying print types and motif scales makes designs more interesting. Too many large prints will probably moosh together, and lots of tiny prints will do the same thing. Better to combine fabrics with a range of motif sizes and types so they will stand out from each other.
Don’t let fabric selection stop you in your tracks. Instead, use one or more of these strategies to develop your confidence:
When you need only 1⁄4 yard of fabric, some patterns call for fat quarters, which measure 18" × 22" (the equivalent in square inches of a 1⁄4 yard of 44"/45"-wide fabric). They are perfect when you need a small amount of a fabric and for building up a selection of colors and prints that you like for future projects. (This fabric collection is fondly referred to as a quilter’s stash.) Most quilt shops offer fat-quarter bundles in a wide array of prints and colors as well as by the single piece. Fat eighths (9" × 22") may also be available.
Manufacturers now offer other packets of pre-cuts as well. Charm packs of 5" pre-cut squares are popular, as well as 10"-square layer cakes and rolls of 21⁄2"-wide strips (jelly rolls). These squares and strip rolls offer a variety of fabrics that are already color-coordinated and cut into commonly used sizes. Look for patterns designed specifically for these fabric groupings. Of course you can cut smaller pieces from any of the pre-cuts.
After choosing fabrics, use the list on the next page as a guide to make sure the combination you’ve chosen includes the suggested types listed, which will result in a pleasing overall design. If you are in doubt about how a fabric will work, it’s a good idea to buy a little more fabric than required. This provides the leeway to make test blocks as the final check of your selections and replace one or more fabrics if necessary. Add unused fabrics to your stash.
It’s best to choose border, backing, and binding fabrics when you select the fabrics for your quilt top. You are more likely to find fabrics that work with the block fabrics then, rather than waiting until you’ve finished the blocks — which could be a while depending on your available time. Fabric manufacturers develop new color palettes and print designs frequently, which means last year’s pink is usually not the same as this year’s.
Choose quilters’ cottons for the borders, backing, and binding so they will handle and launder the same as the fabrics in your blocks. For the backing, choose a print with colors that complement the colors on the front of your quilt. A busy print for the backing is a great choice because it will help hide stitching imperfections in the quilting stitches.
For small projects that finish to less than 36" square, a 40" square of fabric will work (purchase 11⁄8 or 11⁄4 yards of 44"/45" fabric for this). For projects that finish larger, you will need to make a pieced backing as discussed in How to Piece a Backing. Some shops carry wider quilters’ cottons for backing, but the prints and colors are limited.
For the binding fabric, choose the same fabric as your border if you want the binding to “disappear.” A contrasting binding will act like a narrow frame around the quilt.
Quilters’ cottons are usually 44" or 45" wide, sold by the yard or in smaller pre-cut pieces. Some may be as narrow as 40". The fabrics have two selvages — tightly woven edges along the lengthwise grain. Most cotton fabrics shrink 1 to 3 percent during laundering. Although some quiltmakers never prewash their fabrics, I recommend preshrinking cotton fabrics if you plan to launder the finished quilt. It’s best to have shrinkage occur before you assemble your project, unless shrinkage doesn’t matter to you. Preshrinking also helps eliminate excess dye to ensure colorfastness in your finished project.
After laundering, your fabric will not be as long and possibly not as wide as the original cut. Most quilt-pattern designers give generous yardage requirements in their patterns so you will have enough fabric for your project after shrinkage.
In most quilts, a layer of fibers called batting is used between the quilt-top and backing layers for added loft and warmth. Batting loft (or thickness) also adds surface dimension when you quilt the layers together. Batting is made of a wide range of fibers and blends, including cotton, silk, wool, bamboo, and polyester. For the beginner, I recommend a low-loft, lightweight cotton or cotton-blend batting because it will be easier to handle and quilt, especially when quilting by machine. You can experiment with other types and thicknesses as you develop more skill and preferences and learn more from teachers and fellow quiltmakers.
For best results, remove batting from the packaging and open it out to relax for a day or two before you layer and quilt your project. If necessary, steam out any wrinkles, paying attention to fiber content and the recommended iron temperature. Air-fluff polyester batting in your dryer to remove deep wrinkles. Take care not to stretch the batting. Also read the manufacturer’s guidelines for the best spacing distance for the quilting stitches in order to keep the batting in place inside your quilt. You’ll need that information later.
Using the best thread for piecing is also important for success. Don’t settle for a bargain-basement thread that will shred, kink, knot, break, and shed too much lint. Thread is what holds your quilt together — it’s not a place to skimp on quality just to save a few pennies.
To piece your blocks, choose a color that closely matches or blends with your fabric colors, or use a neutral color — tan or gray — to blend with all the colors. The goal is to not see the thread color on the right side along the seamlines.
Use 60-weight high-quality polyester or cotton/poly-blend thread for piecing the blocks. All-purpose sewing thread is good, but some quilters use an even finer thread for piecing blocks for better seam accuracy. Thicker thread takes up more room in the seamline and affects final measurements of pieced blocks. The higher the number size on the spool, the finer the thread: a 60-weight thread is finer than 50-weight.