I just can't seem to be able to make a quilt working with a pattern. Everytime I try I wind up putting it away and forgetting about it. I can sit down and throw a quilt top together on my own with no problem. Does anybody else have this problem?

I am only a new quilter but already I am more excited by what I can design myself rather than following someone else design, then I can say it is truly original!
I also like the old traditional patterns and incorporate bits of those old favourites sometimes too! If I cannot see at a glance how it all comes together then I don't chose it as it will probably mean it is too difficult for me! I have so much to learn but I have no illusions, my quilts will never reach a show, they are only for family and friends!
I must admit though that the more I get into making quilts the easier the patterns have become to read so who knows what I shall be making in the future! Lol

Gal

This is how I am with crocheting, I can go either way with quilting. I am bad (but in a good way) about looking at a quilt and then finding out I can't get a pattern for it in the size I want so I figure it out on my own!

Me to :thumbup: I don't know why I struggle with patterns , but I do :oops: Even the basic blocks from Quilterscache stump me :roll: LOL

Isn't that funny...I'm usually better off with a pattern. I have created my own tablerunners but never a full sized quilt. When I create my own pattern, I tend to overthink it, and drive myself crazy. Maybe that is why I am drawn to patterns.

I prefer to wing it, too :D:D:D

Must be wonderful to work without a pattern. I'm not creative at all. :cry:

I am with you with that. I need the pattern but my creativity comes in designing the colors and/or patterns that I used for it. I rarely use the colors they give because they just don't "talk" to me. so, yeah for patterns and yeah for a color quilting ability!

It depends on the pattern. Some are written very well (like Atkinson Designs patterns), and some assume you know what to do and miss some of the details. One of the freebies I was looking at on a fabric company's website was so confusing, I didn't bother to keep a copy. I am easily distracted and I don't do many complicated ones because I'd screw them up. Someday, I hope to have a little more time to myself to tackle a few of those. Probably almost half of the quilts I make are my own pattern or a combination of others I've done in the past.

when you're trying to follow a pattern, you're trying to force your brain and hands to work like the author's do. sometimes that can be like trying to smoosh a square peg into a triangular hole.

if the directions don't make sense, then focus on the block diagrams. make copies. cut them apart to make puzzles. then using your fabric patches, "put them back together".

lather, rinse, and repeat that process with the layout diagram.

I find that I have a difficult time trying to design my own pattern, but give me a picture and I can make the block with no problems whatsoever...

Me too. I usually just find some simple block that I like and do scrappy quilts with a bunch of the blocks. That way I dont have to buy specail fabric, or follow any patterns, I can do what I like. I always look at patterns in the magazine and dream about doing them though!

That's me! I must have a pattern and I am a little envious of you creative types! But I still consider you my friends!!!

i like to take a pattern cut the pieces and then figure out how to put them together on my own. lots of ripping but it is more fun. i am getting ready to make a third hunters star and going to do it more the way the pattern calls for it to be made.

I only get patterns for ones I can't figure out on my own...like the log cabin star and the Nativity wall hanging I got here.
The designing end of it is my favorite part, especially figuring out which fabrics I want to put together...sometimes I'm happy with the results, sometimes not so much...but I'm learning as I go.

I'm not at a point where I feel comfortable with my own design. I'm with Ladybugnana. I need the pattern, but it rarely looks like the picture. I also love to design my own look, but once in awhile, I will deviate from the actual pattern and do something else.

I download free patterns, but you really have to be careful. Instructions are shaky, but the worse thing is the misprints. This even happens with store bought patterns. I was making a purse, and the instructions said to cut 24" strips. I read the instructions before I started, but missed the fact they kept referring to 26" strips. Oh well...so the purse was shorter in depth. :| But it still turned out okay, and my friend loved it.

I like patterns. I can design my own but it's fun to work with another s creation.