Any advice on where to start if I want to make a quilt for daugter but don't know how to use a sewing machine

Question

Is there hope for me or will I have to sew it by hand? I don't mind this but can I finish a full size quilt by hand in a year and a half? I really wanna do this for my girl. Any advice is appreciated. Thanx

Answer 1

Why not take a class? Many communtiy colleges offer continuing education classes which often include arts and crafts classes. A beginner's class would show you how to machine sew the top as well as machine quilt, and would provide you access to machines and expert quilters who can help you with all aspects of your project.

Other options would be:
- look for a quilt shop in your area--they often offer classes
- find a fabric store (JoAnn's, Hancock)--once again, they often offer classes
- hand sew as you suggest--I think this would be slow going, and I know it would frustrate me, but many women do, in fact, construct entire quilts by hand. I can't answer how long it would take you; it depends on how fast you sew and how much time you can commit daily to the work.

Answer 2

Yes, you can probably finish a full size quilt by hand in a year and a half. It's a big project for a new quilter, but it can be done. You should consider taking a class from a local quilt shop, because there is a lot to know about quilting. If that isn't a possibility, get a beginning quilting book, especially one that focuses on hand quilting. The methods for cutting are completely different for hand and machine piecing. With hand piecing, you often use templates because you mark your sewing line, then cut about 1/4" outside of that line. With machine piecing, you cut the fabric and then sew 1/4" inside the cut line (which is easier to do with a machine). Check out Jinny Beyer's book on hand piecing (and check out the rest of her website - she has some incredible quilts and she works exclusively by hand). You can also check out a book called "Hand Quilting with Alex Anderson." It's geared toward beginning hand quilters.

Keep in mind that hand piecing is only part of it. If you're going to hand piece the top, you'll want the quilting (sewing together the layers of the top, batting and backing) also to be done by hand. This can be VERY time consuming. A full size quilt with a basic grid or fan pattern could take months - even a year. It is possible to send the quilt out to be hand quilted by others, but this can be expensive.

Hand piecing and quilting is lovely, but don't write off machine piecing and quilting. Learning to use a sewing machine is not difficult, and machine quilters are just as artistic and accomplished as hand quilters. Saying that hand quilting is better than machine quilting is like saying that painters who work in oils are better than painters who work in water color. Both are artists. If you decide to work by machine, some books that would be helpful are "Start Quilting with Alex Anderson," "Quilter's Complete Guide" by Marianne Fons and Liz Porter, or "It's 'El'ementary" by Eleanor Burns. All three are often used in beginner quilting classes.

Answer 3

The very best, most valued quilts, are done by hand. One of the easiest to do is what ladies in the old days called a friendship quilt. Cut squares from pieces of fabric that mean something to you, such as a grandma's old apron, your dad's hunting shirt, etc. Fabrics should be of similar weight and texture. You can make the squares any size you like, but all should be the same.

Take nine squares and arrange them in three rows of three, like a tic-tac-toe pattern, and sew three into a strip, then another three into a strip, then the final three into one more strip. sew these together to make one large square. When you have enough of these big squares, join them together. You will have completed the quilt top.

At that point, visit a fabric shop that caters to quilters and ask them for suggestions for batting (filling) and fabric to use for the backing. Some people like a solid color edging, too. You can then assemble the quilt. If you make stitches where the squares intersect, you will have a lovely quilt.

If you want to do something very personal, embroider your name and the year on one of the corner squares. That will be evidence of the source and age of the quilt years from now.

Good luck with this project. You will be so proud of your efforts. My Girl Scout leader, a very dear lady from Arkansas, had our troupe make a quilt like this many years ago. We were only seven-year-old Brownie Scouts when we started, but we finished before we old enough to be Girl Scouts. Since then, my sisters and I have made several of these friendship quilts of various sizes. Some were small baby quilts, some large enough for a queen-size bed.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

take a sewing class at your nearest craft store. Such as JoAnns, Hobby Lobby, or somewhere like that.