janb

Welcome to the friendliest bunch of people you will ever come across. You will learn so much here and there is always help available for your questions. Hope you enjoy quilting as much as I do. Where are you located? I am in NE Colorado.

erstan947

Welcome from Louisiana!

Mailmanldy

If you have a pattern you want to make, then just select the fabric you want for that pattern, no matter what line it is from, or what shop you buy it at. Sometimes you may need to go to more than one store to get just the right fabric, because they don't always carry every line or every color.

When I first started, I would buy extra fabric depending on how much I needed for my pattern. I didn't always have time to work on them right away, and by the time I got around to them, if I needed more fabric, they would be sold out, and I couldn't find it. So if I needed a couple of yards, I would add up to 1/2yd extra. If I only needed 1/2 yd or less, then I would add 1/4 yd. If I really liked one of the fabrics I choose, and thought I would want it for another quilt, then I might buy a couple extra yards.

When you are just starting out, and you don't know what types of quilts you like, it's hard to build a stash. I have changed my mind on what types of quilts I like many times, and the kind and amount of fabric I would buy changes with the types of quilt.

As for cutting like others have said, you want to cut on the straight of grain, not the bias.

MadQuilter

I agree with that statement 100%. Particularly if you are new to sewing as well.

kellen46

My Name is Penny I am so to new to the sewing and Quilting world. The only thing i really no is how to thread my machine.

I would like to know when buying fabric do you buy fabric all in the same line or dose it matter?

2. when cutting fabric dose it what which way you cut it?

As for buying fabric, if you are a beginner at picking fabrics then by all means get a coordinated line. Manufacturers take great care to make an appealing collections of fabrics. However when I buy fabric it is more visceral than anything. In other words I buy what "feels good". I trust my own color sense even if no one else might. You get a lot of surprises when going out of your comfort zone and that is a good thing. In my mind there is no bad combo but pay attention to value and contrast as that will make a difference in the pattern you choose.

As for cutting, yes it matters. Grab a piece of fabric and do this, pull the fabric along the straight of grain, along the selvage, almost no stretch, along the cross grain, some stretch, across the bias, or diagonal, a lot of stretch. Now for most of what you will be doing you will cut on the cross grain. Bias is good for going around curves but can stretch and ripple if not treated with care. Most instructions will tell you when to use bias and when to use straight of grain so unless you know different use cross grain. It would be better to ask a question relating to a specific issue as to getting a recommendation on grain. Don't be afraid to ask here. There are lots of folks happy to answer your questions.

craftiladi

Hi from cedar city ut...we are almost neighbors...lol.
Welcome to the board, read, read & read somemore you will learn alot, make mistakes and learn from them. Over time you will learn what you like and what you are comfortable with.
This is one of the friendliest groups you will find.
Have fun.
dee

PURPLEROSE

morning

here is first question.

cutting with the grain. Dose that mean you would put the grain towards the bottom of the cutting board( towards yourself)?

kellen46

No, grain refers to the weave. Look for the selvage edge, pull on fabric parallel to the selvage edges, no stretch to speak of this is the straight of grain. now pull on the cut edge that is at a 90 degree angle to the selvage, some stretch this is the cross grain. Now imagine a diagonal line up from the intersection of cut edge and selvage, give it a tug, lots of stretch, bias grain. So knowing the properties of grain you can use them to your advantage. So bias tape is narrow strips of fabric cut on the diagonal and is very stretchy going easily around curves. Cross grain give you a bit of fudge when sewing blocks so most quilt patterns are designed to work there. Now pull out any clothing pattern piece and look at the long arrows, they want you to align the pattern along the grain the arrow is pointing out. Mostly they point along the straight of grain. This is so because you don't need much stretch up and down your body and having too much there could distort the fit. By aligning a blouse with the straight of grain up down it gives you a bit of stretch with the cross grain around your body where you might need it.
Now when quilting you don't want to pair up too many bias grain cuts because they do stretch and and get out of shape and give you rippled seams. However if you are binding a curvy edge, or appliquéing curvy stems you want that stretch. Straight of grain can also apply to making sure that your piece of fabric is aligned according to the weave. Now most off the bolt fabric is not straight, it is distorted by the printing process. So the only way you can be utterly sure it is straight is by tearing an edge. Get a yard of fabric, use cheap muslin, make a snip in it about an inch up from the cut edge at the selvage and rip it. You will see that it is even on the torn side but not on the cut side, do the other end and the piece looks all wonky, this because the fabric is distorted. Two corners are "high" and two are "low" like a parallelogram. take the two low corners, opposite of each other and give a good strong pull on the diagonal, look now the fabric is straight. Having done this mostly it doesn't matter much when making quilts and usually most scrap quilts are cut casually off grain. This is not obvious unless you have a woven plaid or check. However as with every thing quilty make this work for you. I happen to like casually off grain plaids in a scrap quilt, I think it adds interest, catches the eye so to speak.

Tippy

Everything here has been good advice.. now let me give you a few terms..
Selvage, is the woven edge of the fabric.
Bias, if you open the piece of fabric out flat and pull from top right corner to bottom left corner you'll see it stretch and make a row of ripples.. that is bias.
Straight grain refers to the woven threads.. there is a grain the length of the fabric and one the width.. the width one stretches just a wee bit.. that's why some refer to the lengthwise grain as the "straight grain".
Standard seam allowance for quilting is a 1/4".. or some say a scant 1/4".. your choice. Just be consistent. When sewing garments the standard seam allowance is 5/8".
If you have further questions don't hesitate to ask.. we love to help! Happy stitching!!

wolfkitty

Purplerose, this is a great place to ask questions! Please feel free to ask anything! We love to help! Welcome!