Rings that bind...fabric selection help.
 

Hello everyone...

I am new to quilting...I have never attempted to make a quilt but I saw the video about the Rings that bind quilt and I am going to try and make it for my daughter. I have learned alot just from reading the forums and saw that fabric selection is important. I would like to know what kind of material you would suggest for this quilt. Is there some fabrics that are easier to work with than others? Any help you could offer me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

100% Cotton is usually used for quilting.

That seems like an awfully ambitious quilt for a first attempt. I hope you at least have much sewing experience, as you jump into the fray :)

I agree with above poster - 100% cotton. After that, it's all about colour/pattern selection. My local quilt store is fabulous at helping with that.

Welcome to quilting & the board!

I agree with kristakz. Many veteran quilters have attempted the Rings That Bind and didn't enjoy it so much for some reason or another, and/or admit it is in the difficult range. Others loved it. If you don't have much quilting and sewing experience, if you feel you might get easily frustrated and are aiming for perfection, you may want to start with a 'beginner' quilt pattern. One that is basic to cut and sew and finish, then move on to the more advanced patterns slowly. Those that have different blocks and techniques. Quilters-doesn't Rings That Bind have a lot of tedious work involved? I have the book and template and have not attempted it yet as I am enjoying learning just about every different kind of block and pattern I can before I start cutting the fabric for that one.
100% cotton, pick out a main fabric, work the other fabrics around the coloring in the main fabric, and use a color wheel if needed. Everything will fall right into place. And make practice blocks before you cut into your fabric selections for this quilt. You don't want to end up short on fabric if for some reason your practice blocks aren't up to your own standards, as well as what the pattern is calling for. (I bet the majority of us have had blocks look differently than what it is supposed to. You know those pesky 1/4 or scant 1/4" seams have a mind of their own sometime.)
In any case, enjoy the process of quilting your first quilt! And when you get Rings That Bind started-please show us some pictures!

Hello again and Thank you for the Welcome...

I realize this is a big project to take on especially since it is my first quilt. I do plan on lots of practice on scrap material I have (mainly old bed sheets) before cutting into the actual fabric I plan on buying for the quilt. Lord knows I don't want to invest in alot of nice material then go messing it up by cutting it wrong. Honestly I don't have alot of sewing expierence either but I am one to believe that all things are possible so with that I am gonna do my best and know that my daughter will love it no matter how it turns out, even if everything don't line up excatly like they are supposed to or any imperfections there may be.

From what I have read and learned so far I was figuring that 100% cotton would be the best option (I just wanted to ask and make sure) From reading I also have learned that the fabric should be pre-washed. Any suggestions on that? Will the edges of the material fray when I wash it and if so is there something I should do to avoid this?

I will post pictures as I do the quilt and i'm sure I will have lots of questions along the way as well. I look forward to talking with each of you and learning from all of you...This forum certainlty has alot of great people.

Take care everyone and Thank you so very much for your help.

welcome and happy [and smooth] quilting

I always pre-wash, generally in the harshest environment I think the quilt will be subjected to. So, for example, fabric for a baby quilt gets washed in hot water. I toss in just a little bit of laudry detergent, to help remove any chemical residues.

Yes, they will fray. Being lazy, I just expect to lose about 1/2" of each piece of fabric. And I spend time between washer/dryer untangling and cutting strings. And then again when it comes out of the dryer. Overcasting the edge with a zigzag stitch would help prevent this - but as I said, I'm lazy :)

Other that than - take it slow and steady. Definitely ask this board for help if you need it. And buy some extra fabric, just in case you need to recut a couple of blocks. I often round up to the next 1/4 or 1/2 yard for this purpose. And post lots of pics so we can cheer you on :)

Cotton as you already know is best. A floral will show less mistakes, we all make them. Sew with a smallish stitch. Buy a self healing mat, large is best, a rotary cutter and extra blade or blades and a good 6 x 24" ruler. Practice using the rotary cutter, not real easy to use. An iron, plain or fancy is a must. Every seam you sew you must press.
I hope this helps. Welcome from St. Louis, MO.

Had to check out the pattern, there's a short video clip & it does look pretty straight forward if you have her cutting arcs etc. Good luck & welcome to the forum. http://phillipsfiberart.danemcoweb.com/ringsthatbind/

I am one who doesn't prewash. So far it has not been a problem for me. If I ever select red fabric, I would prewash that so it wouldn't bleed on the rest of my quilt. Other than that, I am quite happy not prewashing. You will find both opinions here. I am not sure which way the majority would vote...probably prewashing. Oh well, I never claimed to be normal.

Welcome to quilting and to this group. It is a great place to learn about anything you want to know about quilting. Any question I have ever asked has been answered, usually immediately!!

Dina

Do you have the book for this quilt? And the templates? It might be very difficult with out. I tried to purchase the book some time ago, and was unable to find one. Maybe I didn't look in all the right places. I did see mention at one time that it took a lot of fabric. I saw Cheryl Philips do a demo on "Simpley Quilts" several years ago, and also on Kay Woods site. It's a lovely quilt. Good luck. You are a brave woman!!

Hello Quilting Friends

Thank you all so very much for making me feel so welcome and all your help and suggestions so far. I look forward to taking on this task that I am about to attempt and learn from each one of you all.

Well I was asked do I have the book and template? As crazy as this is gonna sound...No I do not have either one of them. I am going on watching the video on Kay Woods site and all that I have learned just from reading. I am making my own arc...which I think I have almost figured out. I have watched the video over and over again and measured and cut and measured and cut some more. (smile) I realize just from what I have read so far that the double wedding ring quilt is one of the hardest quilts to make and I most certaintly have a big challenge ahead of me...but I am determind to figure it out. The double wedding ring quilt is the one my daughter has always loved, every time she sees one she will tell me how much she would love to have one. My daughter is not one to ask for anything so it means the world to me to be able to do this for her. I don't plan on actually starting the quilt until after Christmas. Christmas is when I will be getting my material for the fabric and hopefully a sewing machine as well. In the mean time I plan on learning and doing it all by hand, even the quilting part of it. I have recently just learned how to do the quilting stitch by hand and I may end up doing all the quilting by hand because by Christmas I plan on having that down as well. We may not have a sheet or pillow case left in the house by the time I actually get my fabric for the quilt, but I will have it figured out. (smile)

It was mentioned earlier that it takes alot of material to do the quilt with the Rings that bind method...I was able to see how much material it takes. On amazon they sell the book and you are able to take a peek inside and one of the pages they show is the amount of fabric needed for each size quilt...Which by the way, I plan on making a queen size quilt. It does take alot of fabric but I figure if I can get it on sale it will be do-able.

I know alot of you probably think I am crazy and that this will never happen for me...but I am determined and I do believe I can do this.

When I get my arc figured out and I complete the first circle I will post a picture of it. I've been working on the arc for a couple of weeks now and I think I almost got it figured out. I just cut out my pieces again and will try and piece them together in the next few days...hopefully all will go well.

You all take care and again I want to Thank you so much for your suggestions and help and most importantly for making me feel so Welcome even though I must sound like I have lost my mind for attempting such a quilt in the way that I am.

Have a wonderful day...

A big welcome from Texas.

Welcome from Indiana. You are one brave lady and you'll find here that you have a great group cheering you on:thumbup:

Hi, welcome from NE Ohio. I always use 100% cotton.

I have the book. The video demo leaves out a lot of helpful steps. You can figure it out as you go but the book and tool make it much easier. Why not buy them?

Good Morning and again Thank you for all the "Welcomes"

I have to say I love this forum...You all are such a great group of people. It's so nice gettin to come here and seeing where you all are from and knowing that...my help in making this quilt is from all parts of the country. I'm from the hills of Kentucky and just about as country as you can get (which is not a bad thing...I consider it a Blessing)

Well as to why I don't buy the book and tool...I would love to have the book and tool, I'm sure it would make it alot easier but I just can't afford to buy it. I know that may sound crazy to some because it is only about thirty dollars...but when you aint got it...You just aint got it. The way I see it is I could spend that thirty dollars on myself to make things easier on me... or I could give that same thirty dollars to someone else to make things easier on them in someway. If I had the thirty dollars to spare I would choose to help someone else out...Trust me I know I am not doing this the easy way...(even with the book and tool I know it's not easy) but I will figure it out and with the help of all my new quilting friends here whatever I can't figure out on my own, I'm sure I can learn from you all.

I'm gonna pull out all my stuff again today and cut and measure some more...I will figure this out. Just as soon as I do I will post pictures so that you all don't think that I am just totality hopeless.(smile)

Take care and you all have a wonderful day

I know you'll do just fine figuring it out. I grew up in the woods of the delta area of AR. I know country. LOL.

What is the name of the book?

Tanya, the book is Rings that bind by Cheryl Phillips. It's been out of print for some time, but has just recently been re-released.
Havinfun - welcome to the world of quilting & this board! There are a bunch of good people here to learn from. Just ask, someone will come up with the answer. We're also a great cheering section too! As far as this project goes, I commend you on it! It's a tall order to do this quilt as a first quilt. If I were you, I'd invest the $30 in the book & template. Like someone said, the videos aren't telling the whole story. I have the book & template, have watched the videos & there's several tidbits left out that you really should know to do this quilt. I, like others, will watch for your posts to help you any way I can.

There is a good demonstration that Kaye Wood did with Cheryl Phillips and it is on DVD. The book has lots of suggestions for fabric and colour. You are lucky as it has just been reprinted:

http://www.kayewood.com/item/Rings_T...ue_DVD/497/c50

I'm pretty new to quilting and I have learned a lot from these wonderful ladies, also, you may want to watch some tutes on u tube, i enjoy watching the missouri star quilt company on u tube and she can show you how to cut and put together some cute and easy quilts

Welcome and , practice, practice and read all the good helpful stuff on here. I have learned a lot. I'm also a new quilter, I like the simpler blocks, like three rail fence and log cabin. I think all quilts are beautiful. :)

I use batiks because they are a tighter weave and won't fray as much and there is no right or wrong side which helps when starting out. Connecting Threads has less expensive batiks. I would also starch the daylights out of the fabric before cutting to help minimize stretching. Good luck!

I checked out the rings that bind, whee it scared me to death just looking at it. I think I will stick to the simpler patterns, please post pic if you decide to do it. It might inspire me to try. :)

welcome to the quilting world and I have been quilting for 30 iears and I did a table size topper of rings that bind and it is not an easy pattern to work with and does take some experience I have also taken a few classes from Cheryl Phillips wno wrote the book and that does help also if you have a rotary blade like pinking shears and trim both sides of your fabric that is not the selvedge will prevent most fraying

I just looked up the pattern as I wasn't familiar with it. It looks hard to me but if you take it slow and use your patience you should be able to do it. As for fabric, go to your local quilt shop and ask for help in choosing. Just buy some that you fall in love with. There's lots out there that you will just love, believe me. Most reputable quilt shops are more than happy to help you with any questions you have. If they aren't, find another shop. We are here to advise as well. You might want to buy a few fat quarters and make a sample block and see how you like them or look on the internet for quilts already made and see how you like them. Help is out there for a beginner so just jump in with both feet and good luck.

Maybe someone here would lend you the book and the ruler. I don't have them or I would lend them to you.

You know, when I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. I picked out a pattern I liked, and went for it. Only when I was done did anyone tell me that a Drunkard's path with curves was difficult. I loved it , and was hooked forever. So, go on and do whatever your little heart desires and you will be ok. Fabric is something only you can choose; according to your likes, etc. Enjoy....
Judy

If you go to Google and put in Used Books then go to cheapest books there is a store selling thus book for $18.75. that's a reduction of $12.25 over the usual price, if that helps anyone. I'm not going to make the quilt myself.

Well, I do think you're a **little** crazy, but determination conquers all. :)

You might try posting an ISO on the Yahoo site Sew It's for Sale.

I understand that the money is an issue. But if possible, buy the book used. You can always resell it later.

Good luck. It's ambitious!

Hi,you can order the Rings that Bind book and template from Phillips Fiber Art. I have ordered several items from them,they are great to order from, I've never had a problem with them.Do you have the book and template? I think this is one pattern that you really need to have the instructions. Phillips Fiber Art has re-issued the Rings that Bind book with the tempate attached. Also, they have a smaller arc template to make smaller blocks. Be aware, this pattern requires a lot of fabric, since you are making both the top and the back at the same time. Good luck!

Welcome to the Board. I always prewash my fabric and use 100% cotton.
I would also take advice from assistants in your local quilt shop. Good Luck.

One way to prevent fraying is to cut a small triangle from each corner of your fabric--every piece. They will fray some, but you will not have birds' nests of thread on each one. Also, after drying, if you are going to sew right away, starch lightly before you cut. That will make it easier, I think.

Wow, I just went to Alibris (used books) and they have this book priced from $30.63 to $262.95!!!! Most of the books I buy from Alibris.com are in the $.99 range. If I understand this is a double wedding ring pattern. Isn't there something on internet for free that's like paper pieced?

On today's weekly newsletter from Kaye Woods they have the book with template on sale.

I really admire your determanation! And hay, Cheryl Phillips figured it out with out the video's, and did a great job, so I say "go for it" and good luck! I really think you can do this! I may ask for your pattern when all is said and done :)