I would like to make a quilt, and not knowing what all it entailed, just that the quilts I had seen were beautiful, I decided to jump in and try to teach myself, with a little help from my mom. So far I've just sewn things together, made 2 pillows for my children, attempted a pillowcase, but got lost in the terminology so although it is functional it was not very pretty. I plan to practice more on scraps keeping straight lines and lining up squares, but as for a first quilt I am lost as to what to do. I was also under the impression that for it to be a quilt you had to hand quilt the stitching on top. I have researched this some and know the basics of it, however I have no clue what you are supposed to hand stitch. One person was just doing circles in the corners or blocks and one person was talking about lines from the center to each outside edge. So any help for this beginner would be very much appreciated.

This is place to come with your question. Quilting doesn't have to be hand stitched, it can be machine stitched, or not stitched at all but tied instead, at regular intervals. This is what I did on my first quilt. I'll leave and let others jump in.

A quilt does not have to be hand quilted. Many have been tied :wink: and machine quilting them is perfectly ok, too. This is solely a personal preference :D:D:D

Many quilters choose a quilting design after they choose a pattern, something that compliments the quilt top.

I'd suggest that you just enjoy your project. Tied quilts are still quilts. When you are ready to quilt, then go for it. I personally don't hand quilt everything. And I have never sent a quilt out to be long arm quilted because I make quilts to use scraps, not make blue ribbon projects. I like quilts that I make my self, and that they are usable. I like to crows foot (you can do a search on that topic), because it's quick and tidy. The main this is to have fun! Get it finished to keep motivated, but there are NO quilt police here!

Lots of good information out there for beginners. Tutorials are a good to watch and the Missouri Star Quilt Company has some good ones on their site that start with the basics. Check their website and look for them, and other great quilting tutorials on You Tube. They make you confident enought to try it.
My first quilt in 1976 was a crazy bad disaster but my daughter loved and stayed warm under it for years! You get better and better the more you do it!
Happy quilting!
Patti

TiffanyE,
My first quilt was one quilt block made really big that I tied with the help of my grandmother. Tied quilts are made by taking yarn or embroidery thread and making one stitch, then tying a knot and leaving some of the string as a trailing end.

It's a perfectly great way to make a simple quilt that can really be used (and washed over and over). Panel prints of material work really well with this method, especially when your sewing machine can not handle the quilt sandwich (top, batting, back).

As you gain proficiency, then you can practice your hand stitching - maybe even take a class - or explore the tutorials on this board.

Go for it!

Libraries usually have good quilting books with lots of pictures to talk you through the process.

Also, there are lots of videos on Youtube about quiltmaking.

The rail fence pattern is an easy one for a beginner.

Another thing to check out - continuous line quilt patterns. That is the circles or waves you mentioned in your post.

Depending on the type of quilt square you create, you will want to stitch a pattern that helps/ softens/ embellishes the block you create. This pattern can be done by hand or by your sewing machine, whatever you have time and desire and energy to do.

Best of luck and keep us posted on what you do. We like to share our good and bad attempts as a big learning experience.

Go to YouTube and check out the quilting videos.

A wonderful quilter's reference guide is: "Quilter's Complete Guide" By Fons and Porter. It has lots of good instructions and great pictures. I used to teach begining quilting and recommended this book to my new students.