wesing

My sister and I went to a retreat in May and worked on our Lone Star quilts. In the process, the teacher and the venue owner suggested I teach a Quilting 101 class. I’ve decided I’d like to do it, and we scheduled the class for June.

I am writing up a pattern for an Irish Chain quilt and have a couple of pattern testers on standby. The retreat goes from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon. I think that’s enough time for them to finish their tops. I’m going to cover very basic info like tools, materials, how to use the rotary cutter, troubleshooting sewing machine issues, how to read a pattern making a pressing plan. I have a quilter lined up who will quilt the projects and mail them to the owners. I also plan to have them make and bind pot holders so they’ll be able to bind their quilts when they get them back.

I want to show them a bunch of basic units and possibly demonstrate how to make some of them. I want to give them a list of acronyms and abbreviations. I want to touch on picking colors and establishing contrast.

I have taken a couple of classes, but most of what I’ve learned above the very basics is from this board and watching YouTube videos. I’ve often thought it would have been nice to have a lot of what I’ve learned early on.

Now my question: Is there some bit of knowledge that you consider essential that you think every beginner should hear? I’d really like to make the class helpful so the attendees will enjoy the process and want to continue.

Thanks in advance for your comments!