Dougstermd

I’m a very much a novice at sewing. I signed up for this board mainly to learn about my vintage machine.

A really good friend saw a post on Facebook I made about how I went from searching for sewing machine parts to having 5 machines in my garage in less than a month. He said make me a Quilt. I kinda laughed it off. I will make you a snugglely the little fleece blanket as sold on TV that you actually wear. Ha ha one year for Christmas I bought him one as a gag gift he actually used it. He has made me and my wife a couple of really cool scroll saw pieces in the past...

I got an invitation to his retirement from the US Navy in April. I already Made reservations for my family for that weekend.

I want to produce a some what simple queen size quilt. I’m thinking an embroidered emblem atleast an 18 inch square as the center piece and then just similar sized squares. I would like to do this on my 1942 singer 15-91.

Im thinking topside will be a rugged material like duck cloth/ light canvas

please please someone stear me in the right direction

sewNso

I sure would not 'design my own quilt' on the first one. some people never get the first quilt done, and it sits for years. your goal is to finish one. period. i'ld do a rotary cut quilt, and i recommend eleanor burns single irish chain as a first.

tjk829

I have a few questions.... are you planning to do the embroidery yourself? Are you planning to quilt it yourself? Have you sewn with duck before? I have used duck for other projects and find it a very heavy duty material that would make a very stiff quilt and I found it very unforgiving as well. I am attaching a picture of the quilt I made for my son when he retired from the military. It is not a beginner quilt but does have the Soldiers Creed embroidered on the white stripes as an example of embroidery in a quilt and the remainder of it was straight line quilting. There are other military-themed quilts that are easier and might be easier for a beginner project. A carpenter star works well with a center medallion and is also pretty easy to put together.
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pewa88

From what you are describing you want to make I would suggest a wall hanging. A bed quilt made with duck cloth or canvas is going to be too heavy and those fabrics do not lend themselves to quilt making. I suggest that you view some beginning quilt making You Tube videos and then decide whether or not you want to take on this task. Good luck.

cjsews

I would not use duck cloth especially for a queen size quilt. It will be difficult to maneuver and be quite heavy. Look up QOV patterns to get some ideas if you are looking for red white and blue quilts. Or just check out Pinterest. Lots of ideas out there.

zozee

I applaud you for wanting to jump into the deep end of quilting a big quilt for your friend. However, since this is your very first one, I recommend you think smaller. A sofa quilt. Something that he could take a nap under (or any of his family, but made with his height and wingspan in mind) . Make it comfortably long and wide. Believe me, that will mean a lot to him and he will use it often. Besides, it's more than brave of you to start with a sofa quilt size.

Keep in mind as you peruse pictures, the more pieces it has, the longer it will take. Think bigger pieces, less cutting and sewing. Best wishes!

Rhonda K

This pattern easy to follow and put together for a nice quilt. You can use a layer cake to get a good mix of fabrics.

https://quiltingtutorials.com/tutori...quilt-tutorial

Barb in Louisiana

For a beginner quilter, I am going to suggest that you buy patriotic fabrics and cut them in a single size squares, 8 or 10 inches each. Then arrange them in an appealing way and sew them together. It's not the fancy quilt you were thinking of, but it's a lot easier and much more likely to get done. Later you can make the more elegant version, but the guy getting this might not want it. My friend who doesn't sew has made 3 of these quilts, although not in patriotic fabric, they are still very pretty. For the backing you can choose your favorite of the patriotic fabrics or make full size slabs across the back that you sew together of several of the fabrics and I know your friend will love it.

This is an example of what I am talking about. https://thecuriousquilter.wordpress....part-1-topper/

There are military panels out there. If you buy one of those, you could use it as a center and measure and fit the squares around it. Or buy several and place them as you want. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...+fabric+panels

Edited to add: I thought of this fun pattern "Boxtrot" This would work, if you buy some of the Navy panels and then sized your strips to be the size of the 17x17 Navy panels. This will be a quick, relatively easy pattern. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...tern&FORM=IGRE

Dougstermd

Well you get my over zealous Idea. Yes I’m thinking of scaling it down. I’m a really utility type of person. Yeah I spent 10 hours behind the sewing machine to make a blanket. Yeah I want you to use it as blanket wash it use it yeah it might wear out but its something I did for you to use.

geevee

I think it's wonderful that you want to do this for your friend, but agree heartily with others to use a quilting cotton - if you use duck, you'll end up with a quilted tarp (if you could even get it pieced and quilted). The best of luck to you on your venture!