My Sewing Info

Before I started  quilting, I had to take a few classes. I knew how to sew, how to use my old sewing machine, how to cut out a pattern. What I didn’t know would fill volumes. Quilting was a whole new story.

Quilting requires precision cutting and sewing. You can’t fudge on a seam, they have to be exactly 1/4 inch. You can’t cut crooked or wavy lines. You can’t cut on the bias, unless you’re making your own seam binding. And, let me tell you about the tools that are necessary; all sizes and shapes of rulers, cutting mats, rotary cutters in various sizes. Then there’s the fabrics. Quilting is usually done with 100% cotton fabrics. When I was growing up cotton was coarse, cheap and undesirable because it had to be ironed. Now, cotton is soft, with beautiful colors and patterns, highly sought after, and doesn’t always need ironing. And, it’s definitely not cheap!

I was living in South Florida at the time, and I went to a quilt shop in Davie. I was entering a world I knew nothing about. Suddenly I was surrounded by large tables with cutting mats on them. There were bolts of batting on the shelves, along with some of the most beautiful cotton fabrics I had ever seen. There were little bundles of coordinating fabrics called fat quarters. There were displays of rulers, pins, small craft irons, rotary cutters, gadgets to make your own seam binding. There were pattern books and magazines. And there were quilts hanging on the walls. Beautiful quilts, quilted garments, quilted bags, quilted home decorating items.

The class was to be a few weeks, and we would learn to cut, sew, quilt and bind a lap size throw. On the first day, we picked our fabric, pressed it, and cut it into strips. We would then sew the strips onto  muslin squares measuring 12 1/2 inches.  These squares would then be sewn together. Learning to sew 1/4 inch seams was different than sewing clothing with 5/8 inch seams, and they have to be exactly right. One wrong measurement, whether cutting or sewing, and your whole quilt pattern is ruined. We took our fabrics home to finish our blocks, and brought them back the next week. In subsequent classes, we cut and sewed  setting strips, backing and binding. Then we learned to hand quilt.

There’s some controversy about the actual quilting of a quilt. Some people say the only way is to do it by hand. Others will tell you to use a machine, which opens up another line of discussion about types of quilting machines. Personally, I like the rhythm of hand quilting, the durability of machine quilting for babies, and the ease of paying someone with a long-arm quilter for large quilts. But, I am thankful that I learned the basics of hand quilting first. It takes a long time to perfect your stitches, but practice and it will become easier, and your stitiches will be beautiful.

I have been quilting for about 14 years now. I’m glad I took that first class, and I have taken many others since that time. Besides learning new techniques, I have made some good friends along the way. And after all, isn’t it fun to meet new people who share the same interests as you?