You can find several videos and tutorials on how you can start making your quilt. Also, there are several methods and ways you can make your first quilt. You can stitch it with your hands, or you can use a sewing machine. Also, a new famous trend has been seen among many quilt enthusiasts, and that is gemstone quilts. Though the process of stitching a gemstone quilt is no different than stitching a normal quilt, some items need special attention while quilting a gemstone quilt. This article will focus on creating a quilt for beginners.
1. Put together all your supplies
No matter how you start quilting, you will need a few supplies, and it is always advised to have those supplies handy before starting your work. These supplies include a sewing machine, needles, thread, fabric, batting, quilting ruler, cutting mat, pins, wonder clips, rotary cutter, and other fabric sets to make the binding. When choosing the fabric, choose a fabric that is 100% cotton. However, polyester and polyester and cotton mix are also used.
2. Starting with the quilt
Though most people often miss this, it is always advisable to pre-wash your fabric before using it. When you pre-wash the quilt, there are chances it might shrink or remove excess dye. Once you’re done with the pre-wash, you must iron it to remove the wrinkles and make the fabric smooth for quilting. If you’re using different fabrics, take proper measurements and then cut the fabrics as per your needs. Once you’ve got the fabrics into desirable cuts, you must then lay out the fabric as you had imagined the quilt to be.
3. Stitching the fabric
Always remember to start stitching your fabric by sewing the rows. Use a sewing machine as the work will be done easily and save you a lot of time. Once you’ve sewn each row, iron the fabric to ensure no wrinkles and ensure that the fabric is sewn properly. The same method should be repeated for the number of fabrics you have left. Once you’ve completed the sewing process, flip the quilt so that the back is now faced upwards and iron the quilt. Ironing it backwards will ensure that all the fabric is sewn properly and that everything will stick together.
4. Removing excess fabric
Once you’re done with ironing the front and back of the quilt, it is now time to cut off the excess fabric. The next step is basting the quilt. Basting is the process where you align your quilt in place and pin it with safety pins to hold the entire quilt together. People also use some quilt basting adhesive instead of safety pins. Put the layer together. The backside of the quilt will face down, and the front side will face up. Use safety pins on all the layers and if there are any wrinkles, remove them by pushing them away from the centre and towards the end of the quilt.
5. Sew both the layers
This method is tricky as some people get air bubbles and wrinkles while sewing. Therefore it is important that you start the sewing from the middle and then work your way up to the corners or the end. Once you’ve finished the sewing, you need to cut the excess binding. When you cut the bindings, you give the quilt a more professional and finished look. Once the binding is cut, ensure that you have enough binding to sew around the entire quilt. Sew the binding together to create a thick fabric and once the binding is sewn, give it a nice press.
6. Sew the binding with the rest of the fabric
Once the binding is ready to be sewn, you can then sew the binding with the rest of the quilt. The binding gives it a complete look and will ensure that the fabric stays in place. To ensure that the fabric is sewn together, once you’re done with one side of sewing the binding onto the quilt, you must then again fold the binding, covering the quilt and sew it on the backside of the quilt. You might see that the corners of the bindings are open. To close it, fold the binding and then sew it over with the rest of the binding and the quilt. Once done, you can iron the binding to ensure that the quilt stays in shape.
7. Finish the quilt
Once the binding is done on the backside, there are chances that the sewing can be seen on the font. To keep this to a minimum, you can use an invisible thread. But be very careful while sewing it. Avoid stitching through all the layers of your quilt, and be careful around the edges. Once completed, your quilt is finally ready. Give it a good wash, and you’re ready to show your quilt to your family members.
Wrapping up
You can learn about quilts and how to stitch various types of gemstone quilts from MJ Kinman.
