toverly

I like to make a size slightly larger than a placemat. Then I can square it off, bind and make a placemat for the Council on Aging

tessagin

Saw a video of a gal who practiced her quilting of blocks with different quilting patterns. She made notes of stitch length, fabric, thread, needle and bobbin thread on each piece. Put the blocks into a binder. I have different blocks that are also different sizes that are part of a crazy sampler. Fabrics are different also.

Quiltngolfer

I use fat quarters. I sandwich 2 fat quarters and batting, then practice quilting. I use a 3rd fat quarter for the binding. When finished, I have a darling doll quilt.

KalamaQuilts

I always use panels. They give a lot of different spaces to try different techniques upon.

Buckeye Rose

If you are brand new to fmq, you will want a larger size (maybe 18x24 or so) so you can get used to handling something bigger than the harp of the machine....figuring out where the hands go and how the entire thing moves under the needle can be a bit intimidating. If you are just practicing a design for a block or a quilt ready to go, it only needs to be as big as the entire design, that way you can address any tension issues and determine which thread type or color works best.

DebbieJJ

You mean we're supposed to practice????? It's a long time between quilting mine, so I just kinda go with the flow, but I'm not a prize-winning quilter anyway, nor do I show my quilts anywhere. I give mine to friends and family, and I have done some of the quilting for charity quilts. Right now, I'm not doing much of anything

quiltsRfun

I also use fat quarters. Lately I've been cutting them up and making them into zipper pouches that I plan to use as gifts.

IBQUILTIN

I usually try for 1 yard, and it will last for several different practice runs. If I am using a different fabric that has a texture, then I might make a 10" square of those fabrics to practice on.