What is your best tip for a complete beginner
11-21-2013, 05:48 AM
#61
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 368
Take the time to develop good habits and techniques right from the beginning instead of rushing to finish a project. For example, fold carefully before you cut and then cut as accurately as you can. Practice so that your scant 1/4 inch seam just comes naturally to you. Press (not iron) seams being careful to not distort the block, then square up carefully. Those little tiny, seemingly insignificant steps, make so much difference in your finished project.
One final thought once you get a little experience, take time to carefully read your pattern BEFORE you start cutting, sewing and so on. I take a yellow marker and highlight important points so I understand exactly what the designer had in mind. Why? Because I have made some really dumb mistakes going off half cocked instead of taking time to read and plan ahead. LOL
One final thought once you get a little experience, take time to carefully read your pattern BEFORE you start cutting, sewing and so on. I take a yellow marker and highlight important points so I understand exactly what the designer had in mind. Why? Because I have made some really dumb mistakes going off half cocked instead of taking time to read and plan ahead. LOL
11-21-2013, 06:10 AM
#62
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 102
Listen to all the advice above. I have been quilting only 15 months. My sister is my mentor. The videos, tutorials, the quilting board are all very valuable resources. Most of all I learned from my mistakes. I was told to be accurate. That didn't come until I had to rip a few times. This is the greatest hobby. Give yourself time to grasp it all. It really doesn't take long. I started with table runners and small quilts and it wasn't long before I graduated to queen size bed quilts. I can now actually look at a picture and figure out a pattern by myself. I told my sister that would never happen. You will surprise yourself. Good luck to you.
11-21-2013, 06:44 AM
#63
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Walker Missouri
Posts: 199
How true. I am a complete newbie, just a wanna be and it completely overwhelms me to even begin.
Originally Posted by pumpkinpatchquilter
Take suggestions from other quilters with a grain of salt. 
You would think there is only one way to screw in a light bulb...but ask ten different people how they do it and you'll get ten different answers.
You would think there is only one way to screw in a light bulb...but ask ten different people how they do it and you'll get ten different answers.
11-21-2013, 08:20 AM
#64
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Ohio, the land of 4 seasons. sometimes all in the same week!
Posts: 2,487
good advice from all. the one thing I learned here and loved was (if I don't explain it well, someone please jump in) to line up my seams stick a straight pin in the top seam and make sure it lines up with the matching seam underneath before you sew it. it helped me use the seam ripper a lot less.
11-21-2013, 08:41 AM
#65
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
Posts: 7,484
Originally Posted by marand
Use the same brand of ruler for every project because the lines on different brands are different thicknesses. Invest in good thread. Go read about it. Finer thread makes for better quarter inch seams! Change your rotary blades more often!
this ruler brand is one suggestion I believe in whole heartedly. Using two different brands can lead to tiny miscuts that will drive you insane until you discover what's happened.
11-21-2013, 10:07 AM
#67
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Taylorsville, Utah
Posts: 161
Don't overwhelm yourself by taking on too big and too complicated a project. I knew nothing and I mean nothing. Didn't know what a fat quarter was and what was a scant seem...etc. Took a class which was supposed to be for beginners and it wasn't. I finally learned, but not without feeling stupid, making mistakes and almost giving up. If I'd have started with a pieced hot pad, or a table runner in a simple design, I wouldn't have put my project in the closet for 8 years before trying again. The youtube videos are in valuable and so are the websites that are now all over the net.
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