Embroidery Designs, software, machines

9:05 PM | Labels: Quilting

There are many intricacies when it comes to learning how to quilt online. It is wise to start with a very basic idea and expand those ideas as you improve in your quilting skills. With a little bit of practice and some devotion, depending on the time you have to devote, you can create a well made quilt within a week or so.

Reading Patterns

One of the first things that you'll want to learn about is how to read a pattern from a pattern book. The best way to do this is purchase a book that has been designed for beginners. This type of quilting book will take more space of the book to carefully explain terminology that is used with quilting. There will also be a guide to any abbreviations that are used in quilting patterns. If you carefully study this book and perhaps create your first quilt from this book, it will be easier to read and follow other patterns that may be more difficult.

Making Color Choices

Having a basic knowledge of a color wheel will help greatly in choosing the colors that you will use in your quilt. A color wheel will help you understand the way that colors can work together with slight variations in hue. It will also show how colors can contrast nicely in a piece of work. A 'cool' color can work as a contrasting element to a 'warm' color in a quilt.

Blocking And Pressing Material

When your color choices have been made and you're beginning to understand a simple pattern, you will need to block and press your fabric. As most fabrics are cotton, it may not be a bad idea to wash your fabric before you set to cutting it into the squares that will eventually make the quilt. This will ensure that any shrinking the fabric will do will already have been done. Once this has been done, you will want to 'outline' your quilt by placing your material where you believe it should be and then pressing them down to make sure the size is correct and will still match out when it is sewn.

Batting And Sewing

You will add batting to your fabric squares before you sew them together. This is what will create the 'quilted' or cozy feeling once the quilt is made. Your fabric squares will be filled with batting and you will sew them together either by hand or with a sewing machine. Once this part is completed, the quilt is nearly finished.

Binding

The final step when learning to quilt is binding the edges of it. At this point it has been sewn together, but the sewn edges of the quilt are exposed. A binding can be created out of most any material. Its purpose is to cover and add a finishing touch around the edges of the quilt. It will surround the remaining exposed edges and be sewn on to those edges of the quilt.