Quilt Kits
 

I am looking to hear from any of you who have purchased a "quilt kit" that comes with a pattern and the fabrics needed to make the quilt. I have found one I adore, but I have never done this before. The website says the pattern is "easy" and it is on sale at Keepsake Quilting. Grandma Mary's Five Patch Quilt Kit...since I have never purchased a Kit before, I am wondering if it is a good idea. Do you get enough fabric? Can you rely on the skill level as described? Are you paying five times more than you would if you just bought everything you needed? (But then how would you know what you needed, as I cannot seem to find the pattern by itself anywhere.)

Would love to hear from those who have purchased a kit as to whether you would recommend this or not. Thanks for your input!!

In a kit you do pay a little more because all the fabric you need is there and cut in the recommended yardage. Also the fabrics coordinate. If it says easy then I believe it will be easy.

Here is the pattern for sale at Keepsakes: http://www.keepsakequilting.com/gran...-quilt-pattern

There are advantages to using a kit. My recommendation would be to check it out as soon as you get it, even if you are not planning on working on it right away. Make sure all the parts are there so that if there is any question it can be resolved and you can move on.

I had to register just to answer.

I am a complete newbie to quilting, (getting ready to baste my first ever) but it's a kit. It has enough fabric plus a bit, even for when I screw up. (I've been chanting, "measure twice, cut once" a lot)

I like kits because my color sense isn't so good, I don't have a stash (yet!) and it's one click.

Did you see the pattern alone is available for $9? http://www.keepsakequilting.com/gran...-quilt-pattern

I bought a kit from Keepsake Quilting and it worked well for me. It was an applique kit and all the little pieces were cut and had the heat and bond applied. I did switch out a few of the colors but it wasn't many (remember, the kit might not have the same fabrics/colors as the original pattern). For the applique, it was well worth having the pieces die-cut and everything ready. I don't think I would have ever finished that quilt if I had to actually pick all the colors and then cut out every little thing.

Yes, kits are a good way to make a quilt. They do cost a bit more but by the time you shop and or search for pattern and fabric you have made up that money by saving time, more time to sew. Keepsake has a great reputation for their kits. Craftsy also has good kits and have great sales when they switch out inventory. I also make my own kits from my stash. I choose the pattern and then pull all the fabrics to use and keep them together in a separate bag. This is a good way to use what you have and you never run out of projects, lol. (Like that would ever happen to a quilter.)

I think they're great if you're new to quilting and looking for a specific pattern. Don't hesitate to call customer service if something is not right with the kit. Go over the instructions/pattern at least 2x.

I use a lot of kits because I have limited space for cutting yardage. I have always been happy with all of them and easy means easy.

In case of this quilt, the fabric is key and I would definitely buy the kit. Keepsake has a good reputation and Maywood fabrics are just awesome. I would say, try it! don't forget to order the recommended backing if you like it to coordinate. As another person mentioned, check your whole kit out and make sure it is all there as soon as it arrives.

I recently received a kit as a gift. It was a Storm at Sea with 24 fabrics! All were pre-cut by laser. The smallest cuts of fabric I would have been able to buy is 1/8 yard for each. So for about $50 that was a great buy! And while not truly "easy" it sure went together nicely!

Its also very good for beginning quilters to learn some of the basics. That said, I haven't made up a kit for years but did enjoy it!

I purchase kits all the time and I also take patterns and fabric lines I like and also make my own kits for later use. I actually don't have a fabric stash because I seldom buy fabric just to buy I usually find something I like I make a kit of it

I'm working on a Star Wars quilt for my Grandson from a kit I purchased at Keepsake Quilting. I'm finding generous fabric yardage. Clear instructions. Hoping to be done by next week. The kit didn't seem to be offered by anyone else. Every piece is Star Wars fabric. The GS can hardly wait until I'm done.

It is an easy 10 inch finished block. They tell you that you can use 2 1/2" strips which are Jelly Roll width. The center is a finished 6" square and the sides are finished at 2". The block will be squared up to 10 1/2" allowing 1/2 inch for the seams.

I have purchased two kits in my quilting life. Both kits had enough fabric to cover a small oops. As a nervous quilter I found the quilts went together easily and the directions very easy to follow. I would purchase another kit if I happened to see something I liked.

A quick story: while attending a class at the Vermont Quilt Show, the teacher asked us what our comfort zone was..... pattern, free form, kit, etc. I was practically last and many before me said they didn't use kits....(almost like cheating). When it was my turn, I said I loved kits cause it was all there and I could just get started. I visit LQS whenever we travel and picking up kits ensures I have the right fabric for the design. Well applause broke out and I was thanked for my Courage to admit that I love kits!!!
So you go for it friend'!!

I love both Keepsake and Connecting threads. Their kits are terrific and if something is missing, not enough fabric, etc. Both of these companies get right to it and send what was missing with a very "sorry" for what was missed. Only happened twice and the fabric is wonderful and it is great quality. I love their sales and extra coupons for wonderful service and great products.

I've bought many kits from Connecting Threads and they are very generous with the fabrics. A couple years ago I bought all of their monthly mini quilt kits and some of them had enough fabric that I was able to make two tops instead of just the top and a pieced back. I backed all of them with muslin.

Cari

Kits can be a great way to get your quilting mojo back once you have lost it. I like the ones where the fabric is precut, so I can't make any oops cuts. It's important to go thru the list to make certain everything is there before you put it away or start cutting. Label, label, label the components. It's sad to cut up the green when you should have been cutting up the purple. You can guess how I know that. So it was off to the LQS to find substitute fabrics.

I love to buy kits from Connecting Threads because, as others have said, they are extremely generous with the fabric cuts. Many times I've had enough left over to make a small project. Another good resource for kits that I seldom see mentioned here is Shabby Fabrics. Again, they always provide more than enough fabric.

Quick Question
 

I've bought a couple of quilt kits at estate sales. They came cut out (both were dresden plate type kits) with everything to make the top. Of course, these are older kits. Some of you are implying that you just get the fabric as you use the phrase, "generous fabric". Do you sometimes have to cut them out?

bkay

glad you joined & shared your comment. a member of one of the quilt groups i belong to, buys kits more often than yardage. in fact i don't remember when she last shared a new pile of fabrics with us :). she's an experienced quilter, has a wonderful sense of color but says she likes to buy kits because the kit example made up & on display in store is what draws her attention. the print, color etc that the kit has. she says she doesn't think she can do any better in fabric choices than the ones in kit that has attracted her attention & made her want to buy.

and welcome to the Board ..it's a great place to hang! :)

The kit I'm doing right now is from Connecting Threads. It's the Move Over kit; 12 fabrics, 3/4 yd each except for the one also used for binding, which is 1 1/4 yd. The finished size should be 60 1/2" X 80 1/2"

The instructions called for each piece to be cut individually, but when I looked at it, it's made for strip piecing, 20 strips each of two arrangements, with the only variation being the length of the ends, so they're staggered in a wave pattern.

I had enough fabric to cut the strips so the ends were as long as the longest needed, and I got 24 strips of each fabric arrangement (so I could have made it another 16" longer?) which was great, because I had a couple cutting mishaps.

Amazon link to the pattern - I couldn't find it on the CT site recently: https://www.amazon.com/Connecting-Th...ecting+threads

Thank you for the warm welcome! I knit, and the main site is Ravelry; which is an amazing community as well. I'm looking forward to the advice and chatter!

I have purchased and constructed two quilt kits which I fell in love with at quilt shows. In both, I had plenty of fabric and even some extra...I have not been disappointed in either purchase.

I have bought some quilt kits and ran short of fabric (so I had to add from my stash) and I have bought some kits that were generous. Keepsake and Connecting threads do seem to provide a reasonable amount of "mistake insurance" when cutting their fabric so I do tend to go back to them for my kits.

Thank you so much to all of you who responded. Based on your experiences and input, I decided to "go for it" and ordered the quilt kit. Will post a picture of it when I complete it.

I LOVE this board...you are so helpful, and I feel like I have received advise from a friend. Thanks again!!

before i stumbled into quilting all i did was knit/crochet, needlepoint, counted cross stitch etcetcetc ...i love ravelry and a few other sites that are for yarn crafts. yup ..online forums are great places to visit with folks of similar interests. especially if you live waaaaayyy out here w/o neighbors :)

For a first quilt something like a DP9 is far easier. I would recommend something like a rag quilt, then a DP9 or something like that before I made a quilt kit.

I finished a cute "quilt" kit a few weeks ago. It was a gift my daughter gave me. It was more of a little wall hanging then technically a quilt, but it did start as a pieced top. Then I had to add the wool felt applique. None of the pieces were cut out. That would have been easier. But I managed and have lots of wool felt left over. It was tedious work because it was so little and mostly done my hand. But it was fun and turned out great. I would buy another in a heartbeat. https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Stack-Qui...cats+quilt+kit

I have also used kits for bigger quilts, makes life easy.

I'm to the point of preferring to purchase kits whenever I can. The fabrics all go together. No more trying to find just that one perfect piece of fabric that I "think" will go and then it doesn't. And now what do I do with THAT piece? For me, I actually save money by buying kits....especially when they are on sale!

I agree that when kits are on sale I find that you can often get more for your money.

Welcome to our board. You will love it. Everyone has so much to offer.

I have purchased lots of kits from CT. They are very generous with there fabric. I usually can make another project with the left overs.

The particular kit that you are looking at seems to have some cute, unique images in the squares. I doubt that you could find those particular images elsewhere. If that's what you are looking at, you really should get the kit.

A kit is a great thing if you like all the fabrics and don't want to have chase them down on your own. I used one kit from Craftsy, on sale for about half price. It was all Kaffe Fassett blue and green prints (expensive, normally!) and they gave plenty of extra. It was beautiful and a very good buy.

By the way, Craftsy has a kit sale going on right now-- some less than half price-- but I think it ends either today or tomorrow.

I love to have all the fabrics in a kit and ready to just cut and sew. I have a few ready for those days that I just don't want to search and scrounge around in my stash to find what goes together. I once started kitting a quilt that took four years before the perfect fabric presented itself at a quilt store to finish the top. It took the wind out of my sails I can tell you that. All that being said, I just found a magazine block of the month I will begin gathering the fabrics for. I honestly am dreading it.

I love spontaneous quilt making and designing and I try to have a variety of fabrics that could all go together in scale, print and color. That is good and bad really. Sometimes the grouping just keeps growing and my stash gets out of hand. So I am sure it would have cost much less to just buy the quilt kit and be done with it. I am rambling. Oh dear...

If you do buy the kit please check the fabrics as soon as you get it. I've ordered a kit from Keepsake & half of the batiks were short. Not only weren't they 42 in. some were 36 & one was only 10 in! Needless to say I was upset & customer service was not helpful at all. This happened a few years ago, so hopefully they have improved their custom
er service, but I haven't brought anything from them since.

love kits but check them make sure all fabric is right size needed and all fabric in kit voice of experience speaking