you have to put together quilt sandwiches together & practice in order to practice- I usually buy inexpensive muslin from joannes & on sale or with a coupon batting- or use scraps- load up, use a dark thread so you can see what you are doing & practice, practice, practice. i've had some pretty cool practice quilts come out. sometimes i zigzag the edges & donate them to the local animal shelter- a few of them my granddaughter's have claimed- they use fabric markers, pencils or paint & decorate them & use them for play quilts- forts, picnics, what ever...don't think of it as (wasting) materials- practice is necessary in order to become (good) a person can't just sit down at a piano & play a concerto with out some practice.