I quilted off and on during my life, mostly off these last 10 years or so, and have recently come back to it. What I'm wondering is, how many people actually purchase and follow a pattern for a quilt? I have never used a pattern. Some times I look through books or mags for some design ideas, but most quilts are simple enough to do without patterns (squares, rectangles, triangles, etc...) so except for the most intricate ones, are patterns even really necessary? How often do you use them?

I have posted a quilt or two here and the first question that always pops up is: Where did you get that pattern? Do most people piece from patterns?

If I did not use some type of pattern I'm not sure what I would have when I finished. I can make almost anything by reading the directions and following them. However, I have a friend that quilts that never actually reads the pattern, just looks at it. We work well together. I read, she looks at the picture then we both sew our items.

mltquilt

I agree with you...I really do not need a pattern for most of my quilts. I have bought a few but have not used them. I have bought a lot of books...love looking at them but no...haven't made any yet.

While I don't normally buy patterns, I do a bit of drafting ... so I really make my own.

I like to just look at the blocks and do it! I read it but alter it to my specs.

I can't seem to follow a pattern - even the one time I started off with a pattern in hand, it kinda developed a life of it's own. So far it's worked out ok but I'm still a newbie. I've got a couple kits that were passed down to me so I hope to get there at some point.

I'm famous for buying patterns, but hardly ever use them...lol. I could sell those for weeks on end and still have lots...but I won't even start on those.

I'm almost down to the end of my grandma's fabric stash...and once that's gone I've got to rest for a while.

As a new quilter, I do use patterns and like them. They tell me how much fabic I need for one thing. Although, I have adjusted some to fit what I wanted to do and also made one quilt that I alternated pattern blocks with those that I just figured out what I needed. I love looking at the magazines and find inspiration from them, also.

pattern? I thought they where suggestions. I will take a class and fallow the teachers directions on a method but patterns just lead one down a path. I sometimes get a wild hair and let her fly the way it wants. My quilts talk and start shaping the way they want. It is kind of scary really. 8-)

Me too. But for PP blocks I do need the foundation pattern. I may not make the quilt that the blocks were intended for or set them different or just use them for accent. I have followed some patterns but often end up tweaking it by either making the quilt a different size or altering the piece work for less seams etc. I do like patterns for the yardage requirements IF I don't plan on altering the size.

Sometimes I use the pattern as a guideline, but don't think I have ever made one exactly like the pattern is printed. I usually pull fabric that I want to use out of my closet and go from there. Of course, some of the basic old patterns I still love - Anvil, log cabin, courthouse steps

I have never bought and followed a pattern. I have used a pattern for a block to make my quilts...so it's not like I'm completely designing all of my quilts or anything. I "tweak" an existing block pattern to suit me... I have also looked at a quilt I like and figured it out on my own, to suit my needs.

The only pattern I sometimes follow, is the one I draw on my graph paper before I start a quilt. LOL I actually spent the afternoon working on my plan for my next quilt. I pulled fabric from my stash, measured and started calculating and measuring, drawing and colouring. lol

I follow patterns, I follow recipes, I follow directions to build things. If I stray too much...disaster ensues.
I bought Eq7 in hopes of creating my own patterns...should prove interesting! The only thing about a pattern I pay no mind to is the amount of fabric needed for the project. It's all poppycock and fibs and you generally need at least TWICE what they tell you that you need!! :)

I enjoy coming up with my own patterns. I often see something I like and kind of copy it,or skim through a pattern and do it my way. I want to do some with a pattern just to prove to myself that I can do it!

Great topic. I have used patterns but very loosely for the most part. I see a pic of what I like or another quilt that someone made and sorta do my own thing. I started using templates but that was long abandoned when I got a rotary cutter lol.
I have very few patterns and got rid of most of my books. The internet and this board are my sources for inspiration :)

Yes, I use a pattern. I just don't have the creativity to think something up all by myself.
Now, if I see it done up by someone else then I can put my own spin on it. A designer I am not!!

Lucky are the ones that can dream up their own designs.


Chris

A beginner here, but I do both. I have designed some quilts myself, and love doing that. But then sometimes I see a pattern I like, whether standalone, in book or magazine or online, and I followed them to make quilts,althought I mostly had to change size, layout or whatever to suit my needs and wants.

I use patterns mainly for the cutting directions (how many, what size) and the fabric requirements.

No patterns for me. I tried to follow a pattern once but flubbed it all up. Decided it wasn't worth it and started doing my own. I always get the questing about what pattern it that too.

I don't follow patterns nor do I follow recipes. I love to look at magazines for inspiration and cookbooks for ideas. Then I'm off on my own pathway. So far so good. I just let the fabric show me where it wants to go and it usually takes me someplace where I'm happy.

i have never bought a pattern, kit, jelly roll, layer cake, charm pack or anything of that nature. i see a quilt that inspires me and away i go.

I usually use a pattern.But not always. It takes me so long to decide what to do if I don't use a pattern.

Amen, I say, AMEN!

I do buy patterns, but I look at them the same wy I look at recipes. They are only suggestions. Like recipes, they don't always fit the ingredients I have on hand. So I improvise an awful lot.

Me too :thumbup:

I do both. When I buy patterns I sometimes tweak them. If it's an intricate design that I really love I try to follow the pattern. Usually though I just see a quilt I like and make my version of it.

I love everybody's answers!

That sounds like me lol. I might start off with the pattern ,but then I start going off in different directions and add my own stuff.

Great question!

I guess I do a bit of everything with it comes to my quilts. I have a passion for quilting books and magazines, so I sometimes make quilts from their patterns. But if I see a quilt I like online and it doesn't come with a free pattern, I'll just draft it on the graph paper I keep near my computer. Occasionally I'll draft an original design either on graph paper or on my EQ5, so I guess I just go with the flow and use whatever works for that quilt. :-D

I use patterns - sometimes I alter them but I mostly follow the patterns except I usually use a different color choice .

I'm like you, I don't use patterns, BUT I still consider myself a newcomer to quilting, only 4 years or so. I like simpler quilts, love Gee's Bend quilts and do "a variation on a theme" when I see quilts I like. No one I've ever given a quilt to has asked what pattern I used!!

I usually use a pattern but I always end up changing it.
Adding more rows, using more colors, moving blocks around, etc.
Patterns are a starting point and then I go wherever I want from there usually making it up as I go.

Even when I try to follow a pattern I change something around or run out of a particular fabric and end up having to re-figure all the math to make it work.

I make my own. Or I'll look at a picture and figure it out. I have trouble following patterns :(

I do both. There are some blocks that I follow the pattern, especially the more complicated ones. I don't necessarily follow an entire pattern. I will use parts of several.
I create as I go and sometimes make my own pattern.

I started quilting and not using a pattern but have recently begun using them. I have found that there is some difference in making the picture in my head happen and following a pattern. The biggest is less waste ... my head isn't always accurate.
I am currently making mini log cabins for a charity quilt.

I look at patterns for guidance not as a rule...I draw alot of mine out on my own or look at a quilt and tweak out my own rendition

I find that I really want a pattern when I'm attempting something I've not done before.

If I hadn't used a pattern for my French Braid quilt, it would have ended up looking like Mashed Potatoes! LOL I just can't imagine what some of my stuff would look like without one. Although I have made my own way on a lot a lot of quilts, sometimes following the book helps a lot, and am trying to think mo0re out of the box. You guys are very inspiring.