Here is a list of (a few of) the Frequently Asked Questions we have been asked to compile by Admin. Please post additional questions, because this is in NO WAY a complete list... merely a starting point. :D

1. How can I achieve an accurate 1/4" seam allowance and more accurate piecing?

2. What kind of sewing machines do you use or recommend for new quilters?

3. How do you layer and baste a quilt?

4. How do you stipple quilt by machine?

5. What is the best foot to use for machine quilting?

6. What is the best method for learning machine quilting?

7. Where can I find quilt patterns for beginners?

8. How do I keep the backing from wrinkling and puckering?

9 How do I make the blocks square
10 Can I use flannel for batting

How much fabric do I need to buy?

Where can I find patterns online? and the variations: What is this pattern? and Where can I find instructions for this pattern?

How do I choose fabrics/colors?

photo transfer, printing on fabric

The Math for 1/4 and 1/2 square triangles

cutting straight strips
freemotion machine quilting
quilting in sections; quilt as you go
rag quilts
jeans quilts

How do I square up my quilt? How do I bind my quilt?

How do I choose the colors?

What batting should I use?

How do I keep the rotary cutter blades sharp?


Just a couple I remembered quickly.... :wink:

How do I foundation paper piece?

How do I piece Y seams?

How close do I have to quilt?

Y seams?

Another one could be:
"How do I print (transfer) my photos onto fabric?"

I think we just need to make a short list to have directed to the answers or people already here will be afraid to ask questions. I check the search option but sometimes can't find just what I want, so I post a question, now I got to look up y seams. we have a lot of new quilters. :-)

How do I square up my material?

How do you cut one trip when you have a large piece of fabric, say a strip 14x 15 " from a yard of fabric?

Calculations for corner triangles when setting on point.

Another question (and I am one that has asked)
How do mark the quilt top?
When hand quilting which frame, hoop, etc are good
What to use for basting.
How to do English Paper Piecing
What type of stitch to use for applique, or how to applique

With me being a newbie I do remember asking these a lot. Hope this helps :)

Additional catagories for questions:
1. Information on marking quilting designs, pencils, etc used for the marking.
2. A list of some common terms used and their definition: squaring, dog ears, on point, etc.
3. A list of any other special sewing machine pressure feet, besides the walking foot that cold be useful in the quilting process.

Please explain how to attach a binding with measurements.

Please explain the best way to attach a sleeve with measurements.

Ruth ... Girlfriend ... you are the Queen of the Search; a Google Goddess. and FAST!

don't start getting chicken about asking questions. especially since you've spent so much time looking things up for everybody else and answering a zillion questions from others. we'll make you sit in the bowl on Kathy's porch.

:wink:

Y Seams p.s. if we start answering the question here, it'll get buried. i hope you'll start a new thread with the Y Seams question. we seem to have done a lot of complaining about them here, but not much explaining.

Should I wash my fabric first?
What do you mean by "squaring up"?
How do I get my corners or points to match?
How do you do a mitered seam?
Or Mitered corner binding?
Tips for keeping the ruler from shifting while cutting with the rotary blade
Thread--cotton, quilting cotton, poly or rayon?
How do you machine quilt a larger sized quilt?

What needles are best for hand quilting
Thimble or not to thimble
Enlarging patterns
Fabric painting
Stains or spots on quilts
preserving quilts
Size of Quilts (King, Queen, Full, Twin)
Just a few I thought I would throw out there. I wanted to contribute.

Just a thought, but quite a few of us have done photo demos on various things. Off the top of my head things I've seen are foundation piecing demo, dyeing fabric on shaving cream, Mitering tight corners on binding, and I'm sure there are many others. But as time goes on these get lost as they move further back in the lists, and a search only works as well as your knowledge of what's available.

Was wondering if there could be some way of creating a fixed thread including links to these things like we do the BOM and then some of us who were willing and able could cover some of these other FAQs in a similar manner and then in future we could direct people to the appropriate demo with the offer of help if further clarification was needed. Just an idea :? Whatcha think

Several times in my early quilting days the question of which way to press seams came up. I was told to press toward the dark colors, but eventually there will be conflicts with just one method.

Should we always pre-wash fabric?

Should quilters mix fabric types and weights?

When buying fabric online, is there a way to know thread count? It seems to me that thread count is VIP becasue of the way the cloth handles in cutting and sewing.

Do bolts of cloth still tell the weight of the fabric? If not, how can we tell how heavy the cloth will be?

When machine piecing, does it matter what color the thread is? Changing threads could be time consuming.

Are 100% cottons better than cotton blends?

Will there be a "question list" compiled somewhere so we may access it?

GramMER

omigosh! i'm laughing pretty hard right now, GramMer. Some of those aren't questions. they are calls to debate. Whenever somebody asks about things like fabric content, prewashing and thread, the camps divide. the tents go up. we argue about it until we're bored. then move on til the next time. we should sell tickets. :lol:

:roll: This is all very true, but to a new quilter, the questions seem serious. If she has any experience at all with fabric, those will be things she needs to hear about. Why not list the best of the pro and con answers? Let the quilter decide.

GramMER

that would be practical, sensible and efficient. i might break out in a rash.

:lol:

What's the difference of ironing seams to one side or open.

Should I buy my backing material at the same time as I buy my top material.

What's the best way to put on binding.

Those are all I can think off of the top of my head.

OK, I have an organzational question, Admin.

Would you like one of us to go back and look at the question subjects most asked about by new folks? I will volunteer to set up the list in an Excel format if you like. But not this week, I HAVE to quilt the edges of my niece quilt.

HOWEVER, please please don't let folks get afraid to ask a question, we just want to make it easier, right?

How do you square a large quilt?

:lol:

I just realized last week that my wonderful cutting table is not square!! Actually it is a beautiful, handmade, teakwood table just the right height so I do not have to stoop over to do the cutting, and it has a shelf underneath for supplies. Could anyone ask anything better? Well, whoever made it might have made it using a "T" or an "L" square!!

I hope nobody can say such a thing about my quilts.

GramMER

Okay, here is my two cents worth. I like the idea of a fixed post with links to demo's. In terms of subject matter, well that is covered by the search feature. If someone would be willing to put a list of links together for me, I would be willing to start such a post.

Many of the questions asked, are either covered here in the forum or been covered by Konstantin's newsletter. I would like to see a link to the newsletter archives by subject matter. This would allow anyone easy access to detailed information and open a post for debate if so inclined. What am I saying? :lol: Of course there will be those of us who have found a different method that works better for them. That is one of the best qualities of this forum. The sharing part! Each time someone asks a question, I am amazed at how many of us have different methods of achieving the same result. Don't you just love Quilters????

I'm a newbie and here where some of my first questions

Do you wash your fabric before cutting or not?

How do you know which direction to cut the fabric?

What in the heck is a "Walking foot"?

What are the basic tools that I relly NEED to have? Like what size mat to buy, what size rotary cutter, what type of pins and needles, etc.?

How do you know how much fabric to buy?

Where can I get inexpensive quilting tools like rotary blades?

There are many more, but these were some of the basics that popped into my head...and of course...HOW in the heck am I supposed to thread THAT??? :shock:

How about these beginners' questions: :roll:

How do you bind a quilt?
How do you assemble a quilt without a binding? (pillowcase method)
Should I wash my fabric before using it?
What do the numbers on needles and/or thread mean?

Hi, I just joined today, too. I can answer your questions. First, unless you really need to because it is dirty, don't wash before. The sizing on the fabric makes it a little stiffer and easier to cut and sew. That said, very dark blues and some reds might bleed a little, even with today's fabrics. You can cut a small piece and put it in a container of warm, not hot, water. Agitate it a little and see if color comes out. If it doesn't, there is no need to pre-wash. You can also use a color magnet in the wash to catch extra dye.

Unless the directions say different, cut strips across the full width of the fabric.

A walking foot is a sewing machine foot used when quilting by machine (unless you have a Pfaff). Pfaff has a built in system.

Basic tools: a comfortable rotary cutter, a mat that is about 18"x24", a 6"x18" ruler and a square ruler (12"), thin pins (I like ones with ball heads), a small very sharp, pointed scissor. A pressing sheet is a good idea, too. Don't buy one especially for quilters. Go to a discount store and buy one in the kitchen section. They use them for baking cookies.

There is no such thing as inexpensive blades. Watch for 50% off coupons at chain stores like JoAnns and stock up then. They are also cheaper if you buy the 5 pack instead of singles.

The amount of fabric depends on the pattern and size of the project. Patterns tell you. If you are buying for your stash, no less than 1 yard, and 3 is better. That way you at least have enough to back a small quilt. You'll never find it again when you want it.

I hope this all helps you. :-)

Okay, just a reminder, this not a thread for answers. Admin. asked us to compile a list of frequently asked questions. The purpose of this thread is to find what questions come up most often.

Thank you all for your input. As I always say, Quilter's Rock! :lol:

Like someone already suggested, maybe we could arrange the questions into categories and then have links to categories of questions.

Would it be possible to have "Beginner's Lessons" with the very basic questions first? The categories could be "Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3," etc.

There probably is no reason to re-invent the wheel, so why not take some of the best links that have been used here before and post them in the various categories?

The first questions I had as a beginner were:
1. How much cloth should I buy for various sizes of quilts?
2. What are the standard sizes for quilts?
3. What are the best beginners' patterns?
4. How would I calculate yardage for various patterns? Certainly, the rail fence would not be the same as Jewel Box.
5. What supplies do I need for the various types of patterns?
6. Should I know certain vocabulary before beginning?
7. What is WOF? What is Warp?
8. What is bias? or cross-cut?
9. Should bindings always be bias? Why?
10. How many lives do I need to learn all this? LOL :lol:

One of my early classes in quilting had to do with cutting bias quickly. That was one lesson I laid aside and should not have.

Does anyone on this list have that info?

Search Queen, where are you?

GramMER

Let me say your jacket is *beautiful.*

I am sure we can learn from each other on another thread.

GramMER

A drop-down menu would be helpful. It would take a lot of "computerizing" and "geeking", but you are all familiar with those sites that have drop-down menues when you hover your mouse over a title. If the home page were to be set up with the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, then the various departments, like recent topics, BOM's (with each month in a drop-down for reference), Members, etc; I can see the vastness of this project, but I would like to keep all of the regular's entertained, plus encourage folks who have legimate questions that can be answered here. Sara

Thank you, GramMer. I made the jacket and matching bag for a competition. The back is even better, but for some reason, my PC wouldn't open the picture. I'll have to retake it. The jacket is actually very easy to do. It is from a pattern by Lacy Hill- no tailoring, no set in sleeves. I've made 3 versions.

GramMER, I just checked your profile and see that you are a retired teacher also. What did you teach? Where are you living now?