I love this list. Especially the part about walking away with a finished project! I took a beginning quilting class, making a sampler, and ended up at home alone trying to figure out how to finish it.
Originally Posted by PatPitter
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
I love this list. Especially the part about walking away with a finished project! I took a beginning quilting class, making a sampler, and ended up at home alone trying to figure out how to finish it.
:-)
CAS
First I would tell them to relax, Quilting is a journey not race or contest. Things they need to know. What tools are a must have, how to use the tools, how to square up blocks, and quilt tops, difference between iron and press. How to get an accurate 1/4 seam, basic cleaning, maintain of machine, what are color values, how to read and understand a pattern, a list of common terms and what they are- half square triangle-WOF-bias- etc. I'm sure there are a lot more. My be ask them to make sure they know there machines before the class. Good luck with you class
I taught my granddaughter (13) how to cut out square blocks then border them using my BL xcape. She had never sewn before. She found it boring after an hour and only wanted to play on our computer. She did finish the blocks for a baby quilt which I put together and quilted. My husband is starting to want to learn to make a quilt. He does like to go to quilt shops with me and pick out fabric. I said I would sign him up for a beginners class. He said no. First he needs to know about my machines and how to sew 2 pieces of fabric together. He knows a little about rotary cutters and rulers but hasn't used them together. Everything will be new to him. He will be 67 in January so is really starting late. He says he wants to make a rag quilt but wants to wait til next summer when we go camping in the upper peninsula so he can get flannel from the village craft shop in Paradise,MI which has a fabulous, large collection of quality flannels. Maybe he should learn to sew on a button first.
It's wonderful that your husband wants to learn quilting! You are never too old to learn and he is doing his brain a favor by tackling a new skill.
True confession: i hate to sew buttons on, so rarely have a button down blouse in my closet!
When I showed my grands how to sew, I let them pick fabrics from my stash, showed them how to thread the machine, and we chose a 4 patch as the first project. They made their first quilts for themselves, so were very interested in the process and the result, and perfection was not one of their or my goals. They loved doing it and were as natural as could be on my machine. When it was time to quilt, they made it interesting by using the decorative stitches on the machine. Now they are older and have other interests, but some day they may come back to learn more.
A quilt is like a good life. It's full of mistakes, but, in the end, it looks pretty good.
My True Confession is with my arch enemy the dreaded ZIPPER, I don't sew clothing much anymore but I could never get a zipper in correctly so I refuse to do anything that involves a zipper period! It's funny in that when my mother was still with us she could walk me through putting a zipper in over the phone & it would be perfect, but when I lost Mom I lost how to do zippers via phone call are just trying on my own.
Jeri
You would have to decide how basic a level. Are they familiar with a sewing machine and basic tools? Next level, are the familiar with sewing on a machine and want to learn quilt piecing? Next level, can piece but want to learn to sandwich and quilt?
I like the list too. I would add "Folding Fabric to avoid the dreaded V"
Martina
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Fabric!
I teach a 5-week Beginning Piecing Workshop. Here's the description: Skills taught in this course include: rotary cutting, sewing accurate 1/4” seams, quilting tools, thread, machine set-up, pressing, 4-patch, half-square-triangles, sparrow block, “twist and shout,” snowball corners, flying geese, square-in-a-square, matching points and diagonal corners, squaring-up, chain piecing, block construction, “needle down and stomp your foot,” “steering with the pin,” and borders. Here's a picture of our project:
Annette in Utah
A cute quilt, no doubt. That course would have helped me immensely when I started quilting.
A quilt is like a good life. It's full of mistakes, but, in the end, it looks pretty good.
I would take a class.... even though I started sewing at 8 yrs old making doll clothes and later helping my grandmother when she did gowns for weddings and such. And I worked in the garment sewing factories over 20 yrs .I wish there was a quilt shop close to me to take lessons only ones are joanns and walmart unless I drive to lancanster about an hrs drive I rather have in person teaching then watching videos but they do help.
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