What are?
 

The misconceptions or misinformation you have heard about quilting. I get confused with all different opinions. What can I believe.

What do you mean? When I read your statement, the first thing that came to my mind was that "Quilts are cheap to make." It takes alot of fabric, time and effort to make a quilt. It seems that most people think you use scraps of clothing and it's practically free. I was just in Sarasota, FL and saw some beautiful handmade Amish quilts selling around $1,200.00 for an average bed size. Good for them!

I don't think its as much about what you can believe, as it is about what you prefer. There are as many opinions on how to make a quilt as there are quilters. Pre-Wash vs No Pre-Wash, Steam vs No Steam, Starch vs No Starch ... the list is long and all sides are very firm believers in their decisions !

There really are no "rules" when it comes to making quilts. Quilting is an art form. One would not presume to tell Picasso that he was using the wrong brush or technique, yet we as quilters do it to each other all the time.

Even the " 1/4 inch seam rule " . Yes, the most basic of all quilting lessons tells us that we MUST use 1/4 inch seam allowance or we are doomed to fail. Not so true. You could use a 5/8ths seam allowance if you really wanted to. You would just need to make adjustments to what size you cut your fabric to compensate. You could always go back and trim your seams down before quilting. Is it the " standard " method ? No, but it can be done.

For me, learning to quilt was rather daunting when I first started, because there are SO MANY different ways of doing or not doing things that I never knew which one was the " right " way. Once I learned that it was less about right vs wrong and more about what works for ME and what doesn't, things got ALOT easier. I still try new ways of doing things, because it may work better for me than what I was doing before.

One misconception I hear a lot is that seam allowance doesn't matter, as long as you're consistent. (That only works with a very limited set of patterns. The rest are designed for a 1/4" seam allowance.) Another is the complaint that patterns should be designed for 1/4" instead of for a scant 1/4". (They are designed for 1/4". The scant comes in because fabrics and threads have different thickness, which has to be taken into account.)

Another misconception is that all quilt store fabric is good and all bargain store fabric is bad.

And then there are many, many misconceptions concerning copyright.

I think you will find the biggest misconception is that there is only one right way. The best way is usually the one that works for you.
I love SimplyOffQuilter's comparison to Picasso.

The only things you need to follow are these:
1. There are quilt police all around that insist that you do things a certain way. Ignore them entirely.
2. Find your way to do things among the many suggestions out there.
3. Have fun with your quilting.
4. Come here and ask questions. You will get lots of help from which you can choose what works for you (see rule 2!)
5. Be proud of what you make. You are a quilter! Have fun!

There are a lot of opinions, ways of doing things, and ways of viewing things. Like parenting, right? There are libraries full of parenting books that have been written in just the last 70 years. But I get a kick out of an image of a baby in diapers reading a book titled "how to raise parents."
So as quilters, we don't need to focus on our differences. What is "misinformation" to one person works for another person. What is true for one is not true for another.
Have fun. Learn and grow.

you can believe anything that you've proven works for you. It's all just thread fabric needle, not complicated...

I TOTALLY agree with sewmary. There are many ways to do things and you have to find out what works best for YOU !! And definitely enjoy the road trip as you make each quilt. :)

One of the things I kept hearing is "your not old enough to be a quilter"
I was in my early 40's (42-43) when I started quilting.

Still I get the occasional your not old enough line. Now I just tell them
you don't have to be "old" to have a love of quilting.

I turned 50 on June 12th........... does that make me old enough now? LOL