Beginning quilting classes- what did you wish?
 

Just curious....for anyone who learned to quilt by taking a class....what do you "wish" they would have covered?

My experience.....

Color theory...light, medium, dark. Was not covered...the instructor picked out the fabrics.

How to true-up my seam allowance. It was a year of sewing wonky blocks before I did this. Sure helped!

how to work with stripes amd/or directional print fabric. This Might Be an advanced class topic

sandy

I've taught a few beginning quilt classes. I did cover fabric color choice and getting a true 1/4" seam. I didn't include stripes and directional fabric. I agree. That's an advanced topic. I did tell people to steer away from those in the beginning.

Sorry your class didn't cover all the things you needed. Speak up next time. I always tell my students that they need to let me know if there's something I haven't covered that they want to know. And, usually, I try to make myself available after the class to help by being at the quilt shop on a drop-in day for people with questions.

I teach a Beginning Piecing Workshop on a regular basis, and here is 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.

I've been trying to figure out how to add color theory, but the students need to have their fabric before they come to class, so they can start cutting. Maybe the first class can be color theory, then they can buy their fabric between the first and second class.

The class is already 5 weeks, so that would take it to 6 weeks. Is 6 weeks too long? When I do 5 weeks, I expect that every one of the students will miss at least one class.

I'm interested in what others will say. I've had interest in an intermediate piecing class and am working on putting that together.

I think thread wts and ply and needle size would have been a great help for me. It took me a long time to understand how thread can change the seam allowance. Of course the instructor should be knowledgeable about it, not just say this is what I use.

I loved my beginner class and we covered a lot of basics. It really helped me to cut better and understand why that consistent 1/4 inch seam was so important. I believe that color theory should be a separate class devoted just to that. I think if it had been part of the beginner class it would have been overwhelming. We picked our own fabrics and now, a couple of years later I would have chosen a bit differently but it was still a pretty quilt and I was proud of it.

That is a hard question for me to answer.

The first class i signed up for was for hand piecing.I had already done some sewing when I signed up for that class. I think the instructor did a good job. I did learn a lot.

How much knowledge/ experience does the student have?

The only thing I can think of would have been statements that there may be more than one way to do something and sometimes patterns have errors. But at that stage, I doubt if I would have been able to tell there was an error.

But as a beginning beginner, I can only absorb so much information at a time and prefer to have only one fairly efficient method presented at a time.

Also, only so much information can be conveyed in a given time frame.

It seems like many of us were "imprinted" with whatever we first learned.

I am self taught, life is grand when there are no expectations, Everything is perfect.:D I am glad I had no influence to hold me back or "correct" me.
peace

I also think an i,portant lesson is how to square up the fabric. It is never cut straight when we buy it . That is an important lesson I learned the hard way. The 1/4" seam is important and pressing each seam as we go.

We did a 6 block sampler. The whole group seemed to have a great time, and was so disappointed when the classes were finished, that the instructor agreed to teach another 3 week course on making a whole top and offered 2 'simple' designs. I still have that quilt, in fact it took me a couple of years to realize that she had taught me how to make an Irish Chain!

We covered the very basics--how to straighten the fabric, position the ruler and cut safely, pressing, stitch length, even an intro to paper piecing and applique. I will always be grateful to this lovely patient teacher.

Self taught myself....trial and error is my life! I have taken classes the last few years and I'm learning more and more!

I am also self taught and this board has helped me lots and lots. Thanks everyone!

A few years after I began to piece quilts, I was lucky enough to have a couple of quilting biggies teach me. This was thanks to public television. I had made simple quilts before that thanks to elenore burns book quilt in a day log cabin. But, in those days, it was tear the fabric into strips and we all know how off that can be. But still, it was revolutionary compared to the cardboard templates I learned from books. Honestly, if I had to make quilts like that still, I don't think I would love to piece and quilt like I do now.

I have to say I heard many tips while watching, but, it doesn't become clear why you do those things until you are in the middle of that part of the sewing blocks or tops together. I bought a great book all about quilting tips and highlighted the dickens in it to try and remember it all. I also bought tons of magazines and books and read and read. That is how I learned what I know today. I am still learning by reading and incorporating into my routine. You have to grow and that is how I keep up with the new methods and rulers available that make it easier and easier.

Hopefully there is one great book required to buy as a part of the classes to refer to. That would make it easier on the instructor.

All that being said, I only took one block of the month quilt class called, Sandys lessons from the lake. There were two of us in the daytime class and no one presided over the class! I don't know what happened, but they stuck us back in a sewing room and not one person came in to check on us the whole time! The poor little gal in there with me was asking me to help her. I was able to help but, I didn't get one thing done of my own. I never went to another class because I just was so unset with them I could spit! I mean really???

I've never taken a class other than my home ec classes. And I had already been sewing at home before that. And the quilt I did as a home project was finishing one my mom and her sister had started years before. Took me about 40 years to want to do anything else quilt related!

I have taken a few classes at my LQS and quilt shows which were nice to improve my skills. My first class was actually at a joanns and was very basic. I don't think I was really taught how to accurately cut, how to square up my blocks(kind of learned this one on my own). I started about a year ago taking craftsy classes and honestly have learned so much more in taking those classes and asking questions than I ever could have learned at an LQS especially price wise

I WISH.......I wish they had told me that after you piece all these fun beautiful quilts, you have to be talented enough to actually QUILT them. I love to sew. It is my passion! But I am not artistic and have tried for three years (after quilting for three years) to quilt my pieced projects on my domestic sewing machine (Viking Diamond) and have finally given up. I have taken classes and read a zillion books, practiced until I feel sick every time (very stressful) and I have no talent for it. Having someone else do the quilting (by check) is not an option. I am not rich. I really feel the finished quilt's beauty lies in the Quilting. Wish I knew all of this before I took two years of classes!

Me too! I'm self taught! Now I take classes to perfect what I know.

there should have been a basic discussion of fabric. I have a handout that briefly touches content, values, etc. I try to get them to not use 'fussy' fabrics for awhile. Then we usually do a churn dash block. This way they can match seams, play with triangles and color variations. I had a mother daughter team use the same fabric and made the opposite blocks - great example for the others in the class. I also give them a single page instruction sheet so they can make more blocks at home and then come to the next class to assemble the top.

I see a lot of expectations here...and most of them are great; but let's not forget that we are talking "beginners' now. Just as we learned to sit up, then crawl, then walk [and dance comes in there somewhere ;o)]; so we have to take small steps to get in all of the skills necessary to be proficient. If each class can include good demonstrations and explanations, good handouts, and good samples, it will all fall together after a while. Each skill learned is a foundation for the next skill. Also a good suggestion could be included for a basic quilting book.

I would like to have acquired 20 years of knowledge and experience in three one- hour classes!

There really is no substitute for experience.

I have taken many classes and also taught many and it takes lots of classes and there is still room for learning for beginners unsure on their fabric I always told them to get a pretty print that they really liked then had them pick colors to go with that but as for techniques and things to learn well I am still learning and I still enjoy going to a good class and or retreat

I am not artistic either, but wanted to make quilts anyway, so I have taught myself to do QAG (quilt as you go). Watching you tube videos and picking what worked for me. None of the videos actually shows how I do it. I use one method for sewing them, another for connecting, and another for binding, but now all of my quilts are "Kelly made"!

timely topic as I'm co-teaching a beginner's class right now. We start with a class on fabric selection--color, value, print value, etc. and rotary cutting. Then a week later, we started with rail fence--strip piecing, nesting seams, and accuracy were the skills, 3rd week is a star block--HST, flying geese (flip and sew) were the skills, followed by Drunkard's path (curved seam) and quilt care; applique(both neede turned and machine); an easy pineapple(a complex looking block that isn't--and how color & value can change the look); sashing/borders/binding and prepping for quilting; hand quilting. This is spread out with a couple of skipped weeks, which allows them to "catch up" if needed. We provide a notebook with basics and the written directions for each week. We also recognized that every one is a different type of learner--so besides written directions, we provide step-by-step displays, demos, and encourage them to use their phones to take pictures. We start each class with a show & tell and celebrate where each student is at that point, plus prizes periodically (FQ, needler threaders, etc). Overall, we stress the learning process, that perfection is not as important as learning by our mistakes and getting something finished, and having FUN!

I learned to quilt at Quilt in a Day. They did the log cabin block and used the Quilt in a Day book. The class and instructors were great. I went in to buy fabric and received great help. The instructor also made sure I picked the fabrics.

you sound like a great teacher I'm sure your students are going to enjoy and learn

Beginners need to know to IRON and how important it is along with 1/4 inch seams.

I agree with everything that Quilted Sunshine stated. One more thing I learned to do in my very first class was how to fold and cut the fabric on the straight of grain. I had never learned to do this when sewing garments. It's such an important skill and definitely makes a difference in the end product.

I loved my first class. The basics were covered and then we were given a choice of a log cabin or square in a square quilt to make. We supplied the fabrics - the teacher had already covered how to select fabrics, and if we were stumped, gave us her time to go out into the fabric shop with her to select fabric. I loved the fact that the end of the four week class, I had actually produced a completed quilt.

We try to teach all the the things mentioned by everyone. Currently we are doing two classes one for home schooled teens and the other for adult beginners. The classes are every two weeks. We try to give them a project that teaches them new skills each time and gives them something completed to take home with them.

I took a 6 week course and I think she did pretty good given the 2 hours she had to teach. I think an advanced class would teach about needles and thread, color and more about the quilt sandwich. I made my first quilt from that class and it took me 6 months to do it from start to finish. I made a huge queen quilt and quilted it on my home machine. I personally do not expect a teacher to teach me everything, it's my responsibility to learn some things on my own by reading and doing the projects. I was the only student in a class of 3 that turned in my finished blocks each week. One was such a perfectionist, she absolutely could not finish a block and the other just goofed off. I am very grateful to my teacher, she was great.

I have taken a handful of classes. Most were for a specific task - binding, paper piecing, etc. One was a complete beginner class for a personal sized Rail Fence quilt. I felt I got exactly what I should have for each of these classes.

Consider this my shout-out for Julia at Little Blessings in Crossville, TN. She is an awesome teacher. I like that she didn't just say "Do it this way," but also explained WHY to do it this way. When you know the why its easier to remember the how, and you can make an informed decision if you decide to break the rule.

I agree with others who have stated that color theory should be a class of its own. I have a couple of books by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, and they talk about color theory quite a bit. I would love to take some of their classes.