Mistakes I Made As A Beginner Quilter

This post contains affiliate links from which I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Within the last year, I have taken up quilting. I have made three so far, and have learned many valuable lessons from the mistakes I have made as a beginner quilter.

Background

I have been sewing off and on since I was young. When I got married, I wanted to make a quilt for our bed that we could enjoy for years to come. When I was pregnant last year, I finally got the chance.

I started off making a baby quilt, so I had some idea of what I was doing before I started on a queen-sized quilt. After completing our bed quilt, I made a second baby quilt.

It is worth noting that I have only machine quilted. I have never done so by hand.

Right Tools

Having the right tools makes every job easier. For my first project, I used a regular ruler. While it worked, and my squares turned out mostly even, having a quilting ruler would have made the process so much easier and faster.

The tools I would recommend having for a quilting project are:

• Rotary cutter
• Quilting ruler
• Cutting mat
• Clips
• Basting spray (far superior) or safety pins

Stiff Fabric

My first quilt was meant to be an experiment, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Therefore, I went to the thrift store and found a shirt and a sheet to cut up. It worked out well enough, but I spent a lot of time fighting with the stretchy shirt fabric.

Finding second-hand material is great, but a stiffer fabric will make the process much easier. Bed sheets make fantastic fabric as long as they are stiff.

Binding

Everyone I have talked to about quilting agrees that binding is the worst part. At first, I tried cutting strips of fabric to use as binding, and it was not a good time. After that, I tried folding the backing material over the top to bind, and it worked so much better.

After you finish quilting, cut the backing down so it is one inch wider than the quilt top. Fold in half to hide the raw edge, then fold over the quilt top and sew down. I use my machine to go around as near the lip as possible to avoid it curling up.

Basting Spray

The last quilt I did was the first time I used basting spray, and I deeply regret not using it sooner. My other quilts would have turned out so much better had I used the spray adhesive instead of safety pins.

Start Small

A very good decision I made was to start with a small baby quilt before beginning a bigger, more expensive project I cared more about.

It might seem like a waste, but you will learn so much, and I am sure you can find someone who is having a baby to give it to.

Delayed Gratification

People talk a lot about instant gratification, but delayed gratification is addictive. The whole time I was working on my bed quilt, I swore I would never quilt again. At least not for a long time. As soon as I finished, I was looking at fabric for my next project.

There is a sense of accomplishment that comes from completing a big project like that that is hard to come by.

I hope you found this helpful as you begin to quit yourself. If you have learned any good lessons from your experience, I would love to hear them in a comment.