How do you make a quilt?

Question

I would like simple step by step instructions on how to make a simple quilt for the first time

Answer 1

I just started quilting too and this website helped me a lot: http://www.how-to-quilt.com and http://www.quilting-ideas.com
If you register, you get email instructions sent to you, including all the things you need to know NOT to do (this is mainly with the second one)
Hope this helps and happy quilting!

Answer 2

That's way to big a question for this format!
I make prize winning quilts, here's my comments:
(I am assuming that you haven't done much sewing, so bear with me.)

You will need a decent quality sewing machine in good working condition. It only needs to go forward and backward, but if you have one that you can drop the feed dogs on and adjust the stitch length to zero it's a big plus for machine quilting.
You will also need a good, quality pair of scissors and a rotary cutter and self healing mat with a cutting ruler.
Get a good book on basic quilting. There are lots out there so look at a bunch and get one that has all the basics that you like. As you sew more it will lead you to other books.
Start simple and stay geometric with straight lines only. Make a single quilt block for a pillow or potholder, then do that a few more times before you tackle a full on quilt. You will learn basic skills on something besides the quilt you will be showing off later. I suggest your first quilt be a small one. My first quilt was actually for my friends daughters barbie doll. Then I made a quilt for a friends new baby. Then after I had been sewing for only three months I decided to make quilts for all my nieces and nephews for Christmas (it was March). DON'T DO THAT! Four quilts with a single deadline was a lot of pressure and I didn't sleep for two nights before Christmas while I finished them.

I am currently working on a series of very simple quilts made only with 3 to 5 inch squares of threadweave plaid cotton fabrics from recyled thrift store clothing. I choose the brightest plaids and the quilts are really awesome. I'd be happy to chat with you about quilting if you need help while you are learning, feel free to email me.

Answer 3

Choose a pattern and fabric. You can look online for free quilt block patterns by using a search engine. You can also look in books or talk to people who you know that have made quilts. Selecting your pattern may affect what fabric you would like to use, or vice versa. A whimsical pattern of animals or flowers might look better in bright solid colors, or a quilt of your old baby clothing might look better in a more traditional pattern.
Cut out your pattern. This is a very important step. You need to be very precise. It you don't cut the pieces right, the quilt block won't line up correctly.
Sew each block together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Most patterns will come with directions, telling you how to piece the pieces together. Usually, though, you want to put the pieces together so that you are always sewing a straight line. It is difficult to sew around corners. More advanced techniques such as appliqué, where you fold the edges under to sew a curvy piece on top of the block, should wait until at least your second quilt.
Once you have all the blocks made (how many you make will depend on how big they are and how big of a quilt you want to make) you should decide if you would like to put borders on the quilt. Many quilts have strips of fabric around all of the blocks as well as a border or two or three around the outside edge. This is a great way to make up square footage on the quilt if you didn't feel like making up enough blocks for the entire size that you want. Cut long strips of fabric and sew them to the blocks, once again trying to always sew only straight lines. Use these strips to sew all of the blocks together until you have one large piece. Then sew the outside border pieces on.
Select your batting. Batting comes in several different shapes and types. High loft batting is thicker and will make a "poofier" quilt. Low loft batting is thinner and may be easier to quilt, but it won't be as warm. There is also fusible batting, it can be ironed to the top and bottom pieces, sticking to both, so you won't have to baste.
Select your backing material. This is usually a large piece of solid fabric. If you are making a large quilt, you may need to piece together full widths of fabric, since fabric usually comes in 45" or 60" widths and a queen size quilt may be 66" square. If you would like to use the backing material to edge the quilt, make sure the fabric is a couple of inches too big in every direction.
Baste the three layers (top, batting, backing) together. If you bought fusible batting, you will just need to iron the three layers. But, if you bought regular batting, you should lay out the three layers on top of each other, select a contrasting thread (so you can remove it easily later) and sew the three layers together. Start in the middle and work your way out in each direction, smoothing out any wrinkles as you go.
Once all the layers are together, you need to use a matching thread, or contrasting if you like the look, and sew the layers together. Start from the middle and work your way out, trying to use small, even stitches. You will get better as you practice, and no one will ever notice if you are a little messy. The quilt block pattern may have included quilting directions. If it didn't, you usually just "stitch in the ditch." This means you follow all of the seams in the quilt block and borders, keeping your stitching about a quarter of an inch away from the seam.
Remove the basting (if necessary) and finish the edges of the quilt. You should trim all of the layers so that they are the same on the edges (if you want to use the backing fabric, just trim it so that it is an even inch and a half longer than the other layers all the way around). You can buy bias tape to sew along the edges. This you will sew lengthwise on one side all along the edges, then wrap it around to the other side and sew again. Or you can use the backing fabric, just fold in the raw edge, fold it over to the top of the quilt, and sew it down all the way around. With either method, take your time on the corners, as they are a little tricky. Just keep messing with them, folding in the extra fabric, until they look good.
If you would like, you can sign the corner of the backside of the quilt with the date and your name. You can also include the name of the pattern or who the quilt is intended for if you would like. Write lightly with an ink that won't wash out.

Sorry if a bit long but had to type it from a book. hehe

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I would recommend making a rail fence quilt because it is the easiest possible block. I am going to assume you have some experience sewing using a machine. We'll start with a lap size quilt, with a finished size of 54" x 72". It's more gratifying to have a larger project finished, but you don't want something that is going to take forever or you'll lose interest. You can make this quilt in a weekend if you really work at it.

First, choose your fabrics. You'll use five fabrics - make sure they're 100% cotton. Start with a "focus fabric" - a medium to large scale print that has at least two colors in it. You'll use this fabric as a wider border, so make sure you like it. You'll also pull the colors of your other fabrics from this one. For example, say you like blue and rose together. You want to make a primarily blue quilt with rose accents. Choose a focus fabric that is mostly blue with rose in it - flowers, santa hats, whatever. Now choose a "tone on tone" rose fabric. Tone on tone means that it looks like a solid color from a distance, but is actually a print using different shades of a single color. You'll use this for a narrow inner border. Finally, choose three primarily blue fabrics. Again, try to stick to a tone on tone or a very small print. One should be dark, one should be light, and one should be in between. They should be a distinct difference when you put them side by side. Get a yard of each of the fabrics. If you want to play it safe, get a little more than a yard of the three blues. You'll have extra of the two border fabrics. Choose one of your fabrics for the backing and get an additional 3 1/2 yards. You'll need 1/2 yard of another one for the binding (there's enough left of the rose to do the binding if you like).

Now for the supplies. You must get a good beginner quilting book. I recommend "Start Quilting with Alex Anderson" - you can get it at Amazon for about $11. This will explain the details to you that I can't fit here. You will also need 100% cotton thread (just get a neutral color - cream, tan, gray, white, black, etc.), a rotary cutter, a rotary cutting mat, and a rotary cutting ruler. If you can buy only one ruler, get a 6" x 24" (or 6 1/2" x 24 1/2" if you can find one). If you can get two, get a 6" x 12" (ditto on the 1/2") and a 3" x 24". You need the length, but the shorter one is much easier to use on smaller pieces. I'd start with a 45mm rotary cutter with a grip-type safety handle (rather than the slide-it-into-place type). You MUST use the safety feature - this is basically a round razor blade, and it will cut you if you so much as bump your finger against it. Trust me - I've done it. Self-healing mats come in many sizes - I'd start with an 12" x 18" for now. It's big enough to work, but not too expensive.

Some people pre-wash their fabric; I don't. If you have very dark fabrics or cheaper fabrics, it's a good idea to prewash. Once it comes out of the dryer, iron everything out flat. Spray starch or sizing is your friend.

There are all sorts of details in how to square up the fabric and cut straight strips. It would take pages to describe this without pictures. The book can explain it much better. Suffice to say that you will straighten your fabric, fold it to fit on the mat, and trim off the edge of the fabric to make it square using a rotary cutter and ruler. You will then use the ruler and cutter to cut twelve 2 1/2" strips of each of the blue fabrics, six 2 1/2" strips of the rose fabric, and seven 4 1/2" strips of the focus fabric. Set the rose and focus fabrics aside for now. You'll then trim the selvages off the blue fabrics using the rotary cutter and ruler.

You will be making 70 blocks. WAIT!! I know it sounds scary, but they'll go very quickly. First, you'll sew together the strips of the light and medium blue, so you have twelve long strips that are 4 1/2" wide. Be careful to sew 1/4" seams, or just a hair less. Make a pencil mark on the front of your sewing machine to show where you need to line the fabric up to get a perfect seam. Once you have those twelve sets done, sew the dark blue strip on the other side of the medium blue. You'll have twelve long strips that are 6 1/2" wide and go light-medium-dark. Gently press the seams to the center. Do not iron them vigorously - they will distort.

Now square up the ends of the strip sets just like you did the fabric, trimming off the end to make it perfectly straight. Measure and cut 6 1/2" wide blocks from the sets until you have 70 blocks. (There - 70 blocks wasn't so bad after all.)

Here comes the fun part. Lay all of your blocks out on the floor, seven across and ten down. Make sure the darks are all on the same side to start with (all at the top, for example). Now go through and turn every other block 1/4 turn to the right. It will look like steps walking up your quilt. You can leave it like this, or play with turning the blocks other ways if you like.

Sew the blocks together a row at a time, using 1/4" seams (this is the magic number). Sew the rows together, matching the intersections between blocks. Pin at the intersections before sewing. Once the center of the quilt is done, sew the rose inner border on each edge, starting at the long edges first, then the short edges. Sew the outer border on in the same manner. You may have to sew sections together to get enough fabric for the length of the border.

You've made a top! Now you need to sandwich it and quilt it. Choose your batting based on how you'll use it and what you like. I prefer a flatter, heavier quilt so I use Warm & Natural cotton batting. Read the instructions, specifically how close it has to be quilted and whether it has to be prewashed. If it doesn't have to be pre-washed, it will shrink a little in the washing and make a slightly puckery, old fashioned looking quilt (I really like this look).

Piece together your backing, if necessary, so it is at least 6" bigger than your top on each side. The batting should also be a few inches bigger on each side. Layer the backing, batting and top, smoothing out any creases or ripples. For a quilt this size, you could use basting spray (a spray adhesive to hold the layers together while you quilt). Otherwise you can pin it every few inches or use a needle and thread and make a long running stitch through the entire quilt. Now sew through all three layers, creating an interesting pattern over the top. The easiest is a simple grid pattern. Sew a line down the center, top to bottom, then down the center, left to right. This holds everything in place. Work your way out from the center, sewing lines equal distance apart. For example, you could quilt it every 3" by sewing down the seam between each of the blocks, then down the center of every block. Trim the excess batting and backing off when you're done.

Finally, cut the binding fabric into seven 2 1/2" strips. Sew the strips together end to end, pressing the seams open. Fold the loooong strip in half and press so you have a long 1 1/4" wide strip. Sew to the front of the quilt, cut edge lined up with the edge of the quilt. Fold it over to the back and hand sew it down. See the link below for binding instructions with photos.

Answer 6

to make quilt you need small peices of diffrent coulered cotten with patterns on sew them to geather to make a size to cover your bed then put a backing on and then cover with a piece of matching matirial and hey you have a quilt