Things a beginner should know?
 

After wanting to learn to make quilts for my entire adult life, I finally jumped in and took an afternoon class a couple of weeks ago. Having spent several years as a papercrafter, there were a million things I wish someone had told me before I began.

Would you all mind sharing what you wish you had known when you first started quilting? Any helpful tips and information?

Most important is to use a safety cutter or a safety glove!!!

This is a glossary of terms that I found and believe it might be helpful to you.

I wish that I had (figured out) known about chain piecing. Saves so much time, thread and effort.
Enjoy this wonderful talent. There is so much help here on the Board and from quilters on YouTube.

I love Craftsy and have enjoyed (and do enjoy) many of their classes.

https://www.nationalquilterscircle.c...uilting-terms/

You should know just how expensive your new hobby can be! LOL ... There are definitely ways to cut down on costs, but with the new quilting / sewing / embroidery machines out there, options are endless, and you can very easily get caught in a frenzy of "wanting" to have rather than "needing"!

Welcome, and have fun

This is number 1 ! No excuse to cut without a safety tool, there are many on the market. My favorite is Quilter's Slide lock. The cut resistant glove is easy and inexpensive. There are many sizes of the gloves on Amazon.

Don't load up a big stash. Your tastes will change.

Don't use a machine that doesn't sew like butter. A finicky machine will cause nothing but frustration.

Join a guild, or even better, a quilting small group, if you can find one locally.

My first class totally skipped the importance of pressing direction for seams...
My life (and my quilt blocks) would have been so much better had I known about nesting seams.
Good luck and enjoy!

Google anything you don't understand and go to several websites.

YouTube is your best friend to learn almost anything about quilting. Bonnie Hunter, https://quiltville.com/index.html has some wonderful tutorials that can teach you a lot.

One of the most important things to me, is learn how to sew your seams so that the result is the size you want the finished project to be after you iron them. Practice this some before you commit to a large project. https://www.thespruce.com/quarter-in...quilts-2821362

And, above all else, Have FUN!!!!

My friend, who isn't a sewer, has made 4 quilts. She used Layer Cakes (10" squares) and placed them pleasingly, sewed the pieces of one row together, then sewed the rows together and the results were good. Nesting seams in this type project is a must. Just wanted to mention, that steam can stretch fabric. I always use a dry iron when pressing. Pressing is lifting the iron up and down. Ironing is moving the iron across the fabric. PRESS seams.

There are many more tips, but you will learn these as you go. Welcome to quilting!

Pin, pin, pin, and press, press, press. I once put on a whole side of binding and toward the end it was shifting. I wish someone had told me to pin.

Lower grade fabric should be passed by, no matter how pretty. I made a little quilt for my dog, and after it had been washed only four times, one fabric was pulling up. After all that work. :(

Quilt to please yourself, and don't fret about other peoples tastes.