Quiltingboard Forums - New from Connecticut

Hello, and welcome from sunny Nevada! So you want to make a quilt, and you've never done it before. Well, we've all been there. Let me give you my nickel's worth of advice.

I have more quilting books than the library, I think. When I started, I thought I had to have them all. You don't. I would highly recommend Quilt with Confidence by Nancy Zieman. It also has a companion DVD that is very helpful because you get to see what she is doing in the book. No doubt you can find it several places, but for sure you can get it at her store: Nancy's Notions. Just google it. I think the book is great because it assumes you have no knowledge of quilting, and starts with the very basics, like choosing the fabrics, getting the ¼" seam properly, squaring and measuring your blocks to make sure you've done it right, that sort of thing. You need to practice a bit. A lot of importance is in getting those seams right. If you need, for example, a perfect 6½" block, and you are consistently making blocks that are either just over or just under 6½", then you have to go back and fix your seams. They are either too wide or too narrow. I have found that I need a "scant" ¼" seam to get a square block. What's that? Well, it's just shy of a ¼" seam. What's that? Well, you won't know until you practice and find out for yourself. This is critical. If your block is off, then your whole quilt will be off. So you start with the seams and the blocks, and then start putting the blocks together and make sure they stay square as well. If you can do that, you're on your way to making a quilt. All of this is explained in detail.

She walks you through all of the steps needed to make a quilt, from the first seams to the final binding of the quilt. Since this is your very first quilt, and an important one, I'm going to suggest you have it professionally quilted. That's the hardest part, and even the more experienced among us struggle with the quilting. You'll also need someone who can quilt around those photos without just quilting over them. Tough for a Newbie.

There are several projects in Nancy's book. You certainly don't have to do them all! You might want to do a couple. There are several projects that could lend themselves to exactly the kind of quilt you have in mind. They are quilt blocks that can be put together to make lovely quilts. I'm thinking of quilts that have solid square or large round areas in them. Instead of the square or round area, you could substitute a photo. And all around the photo, you'll still have a classy looking quilt! There are quite a number of those. They even have a quilt block called: the Creative Framed Square, which is meant to surround some kind of photo or motif. If you don't have enough photos to turn just the Creative Framed Square into a quilt, and it might be boring to do that, just pick a similar square or two and alternate to make it interesting. You can use color and print to pull it all together (see the first chapter: picking out the fabrics). Look all the way through the book before choosing a pattern, because the patterns go all the way through. Honestly, everything you need to know is in that one book, and the DVD if you are a visual person.

About the photos. I've seen them a couple of different ways. If they're printed on sturdy material, then just go ahead and use them as is. However, a number of photo fabrics I've seen have been printed on very thin material, I'm not sure why. If this ends up to be the case for you, all is not lost. All you have to do is use a "fusible backing" on the back. Go to a quilting store with the photos, and tell them you need a fusible backing that you can iron onto the back of the photos. You want a permanent fusible backing that will become one with the material, won't come off in the wash, and will give the photos strength and body. They'll help you with what you need. I'd give suggestions, but various fusible backings are available in various parts of the country. You need this because otherwise, without the backing, the thin material will wear away in just a few years.

That's what I know. If you have more questions, and you probably will, please come back to the Quilting Board and ask them. Also, check out the tutorials. They're great!

Happy Holidays!