Quilting for Beginners

One of the reasons many people start sewing is because they would like to make a quilt. I am quite keen to make one now too, but I'm not overly sure about the process. Luckily my lovely friend Jenny from Mend and Make New is guest posting today for my Back to Sewing Basics series, and her fabulous post is all about how to make a quilt! I will be studying this post very closely! Jenny is a very talented seamstress and makes beautiful clothes and other gorgeous things for her children Noah and Isabelle. Make sure you pop over and visit her at Mend and Make New for lots of sewing inspiration!

 It seems that many beginner sewers aspire to sew a quilt. A lovely, well made quilt has an heirloom quality to it – something to be treasured and past down. Yet despite these aspirations, it seems many sewers (both beginner and even those with more experience and skill) are daunted by the prospect.

I’m here to tell you that you need not be daunted by quilting. If you can sew a straight line (or are willing to learn how to) and can follow simple step-by-step instructions – you can do it!

The quilt I made for my daughter Isabelle (pictured above) is one of the first things I sewed when I got back into sewing as an adult; and it is one of my favourite and most professional looking projects that I’ve completed to date.

If you’re still daunted by the prospect here are a couple of other things you can do:

1) Start small – this is the beauty of quilting – your project can be as little or as big as you want it to be. If even a cot quilt seems to big, perhaps start with a dolls quilt, patchwork cushion cover or something similar. This will help get your confidence up.

2) Start with a simple design – straight lines and squares (more on this soon.)

Hopefully by now you have the confidence to plunge into your first quilting project, here’s what you need to know in order to get started:

The basics:

a) Materials required

I will explain the use of some of these further, later in this post.
The one thing that I left off accidently is my quilting pencil – a very helpful tool that I use to draw my quilting lines on during the ‘quilting stage.’ This pencil’s markings wash off.
And of course you need batting and bias binding too.

b) Quilting demystified – jargon and the stages.

A standard/traditional quilt is essentially made up of three components:

1) The ‘quilt top’ - The design on the top made up of lots of quilt blocks in rows and often surrounded by a border.

2) The ‘batting’ – The wadding the middle that gives the quilt it’s substance. You’re local sewing/ quilting shop should stock various different types of batting. The more expensive ones will most likely be made of natural fibres – cotton, wool, or bamboo, whereas the polyester or poly-cotton blends should be cheaper. They also vary in thicknesses.

3) The ‘backing fabric’ – This is essentially the bottom of the sandwich (with the quilt top being the other piece of bread and the batting being the filling). It is worth checking the width of your selected fabric (compared to the width of your quilt) before buying it, to see if you will need to join two pieces together. For most larger quilts you will need to do this, but for smaller ones this may be able to be avoided.

In my view there are essentially four stages to making a quilt:

1) Preparation - selecting a design and fabric, washing fabric.

2) Making the quilt top – cutting and ‘piecing’ (sewing) together the blocks.

3) Quilting – sandwiching the batting in the middle of the quilt top and backing fabric and sewing them together. (You can choose to do this yourself or get it professionally done.)

4) Binding – sewing the binding on to make the edges all finished and nice and neat.
Then you’re done!

We’ll explore these four stages a little more here, and I’ll share with you a few helpful tips and time-saving techniques (and refer to other helpful links where necessary.)

1) Preparation

Get a quilt design you like. You can either find these online (ask Mr google or Pinterest.) Or design your own. Either way as a beginner quilter you probably want to be going for something simple with mainly squares and rectangles. In my opinion simple is often better and more effective anyway.
All of my quilts so far have been my own designs. This is not at all hard to do – but I would recommend that you draw a plan.

In the world of quilting everything is pretty much done using inches, and most quilt blocks are built on a (finished) 6 inch square.

I use 1/4 inch seam allowances, so if I want a finished 6 inch square I will cut it 6 1/2 inches square (to allow for the 2 x 1/4 inch seam allowances on each side.)In the case of the quilt my Mum and I made for my sister (above), this is what we did for the larger blue and floral squares, while the smaller rectangles we cut 3 1/2 inch by 6 1/2 inch to give a finished 3 by 6 inch rectangle.
I generally don’t worry about getting the exact size of the finished quilt sorted until later; as I will add borders later to get the size I want.

Once you’ve finalised your quilt design, you need to select your fabric. Most fabric stores will have a selection of pre-packaged co-coordinating fabrics for quilters. Or you can choose to pick the fabrics yourself (usually my favoured option.)

When selecting your own fabric, one helpful tip I’ve found is that on the selvedge of the fabric you often find something like this above, which shows the colour tones used in the fabric. Once you have selected your feature fabric you can take this into the fabric shop and match coordinating with it.
If you have one or two pretty busy fabrics, then perhaps consider getting something with a simpler design (plain or with subtle spots or stripes.)And don’t be afraid of white space – it can be very effective in quilts. 100% cotton of similar thicknesses is best.

Once you have purchased your fabric wash it on a cold gentle wash (wash bright and light colours separately.) I recommend washing it in a pillowcase to limit fraying of edges.) Washing your fabric before hand ensures that it doesn’t shrink and pull unevenly on your finished product.
Once your fabric is washed and dried, iron it ready to be cut.

2) Making the quilt top
This is the most time consuming stage of your project and often the cutting process can feel the most tedious. Cutting accurately very is important so that all your corners match up crisply. This is why we use a rotary/ roller cutter.

I fold up my fabric so can cut through a few layers at one and then line up a corner of this fabric with the markings on your self healing mat, to give a right angle. (You may need to neaten the raw edge of the fabric first, if it is not already cut in a straight line.)

Then you line up your quilting ruler to give the size you need to cut. In the example given here, (a vintage picnic blanket) I want to cut a width of 3 1/2 inches. (As you can see the corner of my fabric is at ‘1’ on my mat not ‘0’ so I’ve cut at the 4 1/2 inch mark.)Before you cut check that the ruler is lined up properly both at the top and bottom.

As you can see now I’m left with some long strips of 3 1/2 inch wide fabric. I need 3 1/2 inch squares, so normally I would just go along the line and cut at 3 1/2 inch intervals – but I’m going to show you a time saving technique that you may be able to use.

Instead I’ve cut an identical 3 1/2 inch long strip in a contrasting piece of fabric. Then I sewed them together with right sides facing (using a 1/4 inch seam allowance) and pressed the seams open*.
Then I cut this at 3 1/2 inch all along the strip(thus saving time!)

NB: This time saving technique will only be useful for you however, if you have a repeating pattern where the two fabrics are next to each other throughout your design

I found it extremely useful when making Isabelle’s quilt (top photo). I was able to flip one of the pieces round (as also demonstrated below) to give the diagonal design.

You basically keep making your blocks and join them together with other blocks until you have a full row. Then make another, join the two rows together and you so on and so forth … and you will see your quilt grow before your eyes!

I have already stressed the importance of accurate cutting. Other things that will help your corners line up and your quilt to look professional are ironing and pinning. *As I said above, I press my seams open, although I understand that a lot of other quilters press there seams towards the darker coloured fabric. Do what you suits you best. Regarding pinning – I pay special attention to meeting up vital corners and junctions and make sure that I pin at these points.

Once you have finished all your rows, add any borders that you require to give the desired size (I usually google or measure old quilts/duvets to get the size I want.) And la voila you have finished your quilt top!

3) Quilting

Before you can begin quilting you first need to ‘sandwich’ your batting in between your quilt top and backing fabric. I find it easiest to do this on a large clean bit of floor. (It also pays to remove curious babies and pets at this point!)

First lay down your pre-washed and pressed backing fabric with the wrong side up on the floor (remember you may have had to join a couple of pieces together to get the right size.) Ensure that this is very smooth. Then place your batting on top, followed by your quilt top, right side up. smooth all layers out. The backing fabric and and batting should be bigger than the quilt top. You can trim around the edges later.

Once you have it how you like it start pinning through all layers of the quilt with safety pins. These serve to hold all layers of the quilt together until it is quilted. As this is a very important job I say the more pins the merrier!

Once you have all your pins in you can now trim the batting and backing fabric down to size. in line with the quilt top.

Then draw your quilting design with a quilting pencil and ruler. I personally love to quilt on the diagonal through squares and find it easy to keep this straight.

My Mother-in-law tells you shouldn’t have more than a hand’s gap between any two lines of quilting so that your quilt holds together really well. She also tells me it is good to quilt a large bit in the centre to really ‘anchor’ your quilt to start with. Obviously remove your safety pins as you go.

Use a long stitch and take it slow to avoid puckering (and unpick if necessary!) If your making a large quilt it can be tricky at times dealing with so much fabric, but persevere, it’s worth it!

Some people choose to get their quilts professionally quilted, obviously there is a cost to this but the results are amazing and can save you a bit of work (and possibly stress) – so this always is another option.

If you want to avoid the cost of batting, you can always cheat as I did on my son’s quilt (above). I used a woollen blanket from the op-shop which served as both batting and backing.

4) Binding

Hold on, you’re on the home stretch!
Some people choose to make their own bias binding – and if you wish to do so there is a really good tutorial here.

I personally am a bit lazy and prefer to buy nice wide binding from my local fabric store.

There are few different options when it comes to sewing on your binding.

I personally like to follow this but finish the back by hand sewing using a blind stitch.

I would also recommend this tutorial if want to use rounded corners instead.

Once your binding is complete, congratulations! You have just created a quilt, a work of art, a family heirloom! Well done!

(And well done making it all the way through this post! There is so much to talk about when it comes to quilting!)

Thanks for having me Ros!
Jenny x

Thanks so much Jenny! You can find out more about Jenny and her beautiful sewing projects on her blog, on Facebook, Pinterest and Flickr.

A Guide to Buying Vintage Fabric, Patterns & Notions

Today is all about vintage! I love the occasional rummage through the treasures at the op shop, but I'm finding it pretty hard with two busy toddlers. Cass from Cass Can Sew is a vintage superstar - she finds awesome fabric, patterns and notions and then she makes the most adorable outfits with them! Have you seen her vintage romper tutorial? No? Get over there!!! (Once you've finished reading this post of course!)

 When Roslyn asked me to contribute to her Back to Sewing Basics Series to share with her readers my tips and tricks for buying Vintage sewing related goodies, I was more than happy to oblige. If you're familiar with Cass Can Sew, you'll already know of my addictions to all things vintage! I could go on and on and on all day about gorgeous vintage fabrics, patterns and the likes!
There are quite a few different ways that you can source vintage sewing items.

• Op Shops & 2nd Hand Stores
• Garage / Yard Sales
• Church Jumble Sales
• Ebay
• Etsy
• Vintage Online Stores
• or by raiding your parents/grandparents linen closets!

My favourite way would have to be scouring my favourite Op Shops, Gargage Sales & Jumble Sales. There's nothing like walking into your local Oppy and discovering gorgeous vintage fabric remnants, a metre or two of lovely fine lace or that perfect sweet little pattern from the 1960's.

Here's a few of my favourite tips when searching Op Shops, Garage Sales & Jumble Sales for those Vintage Sewing treasures.

Try looking for smaller Op shops...
As we all know, the big oppy's/charities have become really over priced! Although you can sometimes still snap up a nice little bargain, it's often cheaper now to buy a brand new shirt from a retailer than it is to purchase from a charity. The two Op shops that I visit on a regular basis & always seem to come out with something great and at a reasonable thrifted price, are charities for animal welfare.

Small country town Oppy's are a treasure trove! These quaint little op shops will almost always have much more vintage for you to drool over! And will be far less expensive!!!

I go straight to the crafting section. Since I'm a sew-a-holic... the craft section is where I head to first up. I look through all the patterns, you never know what's hiding unless you delve into it properly! Then I search the fabrics, then I head to manchester section and keep an eye out for lovely vintage sheets, pillowcases, tea towels, tablecloths & doilies.

Get to know your local op shop volunteers. They love to chat. I've found that if I get chatting to them about sewing, they sometimes will mention that they have something that you may be after at home and that they'll bring it in the next time they are rostered on. They also sometimes have goodies waiting out the back, just waiting for you to snap up... so I often ask if they have any new items that I may like.

A few extra tips...

When searching for Vintage Patterns...

Check the Contents of Vintage Patterns. When finding vintage patterns, I learnt very quickly to check and make sure that all the pieces of the pattern are there. There's nothing worse than getting all excited about making that cute little apron dress, to find that you are missing the main piece of the pattern!

Sizing. Most vintage patterns were published in individual sizes. If you spot a pattern that you love, that you actually plan on sewing (and not just hoarding it for it's loveliness), make sure that you have the correct size. You can usually find the size towards the top of the front side of the packet.

Another word on sizing. The measurements for sizing on vintage patterns often differ to the sizing charts of today. It's best to have a little read of the measurements table that's printed on the back of the pattern packet.

Vintage Sewing books are a wealth of knowledge! Don't forget to search through the book section of your local op shop for wonderful sewing books and magazines. Many of these get right back to basics and can teach you all about drafting your own patterns. You may even learn some traditional sewing skills as well!

When searching for Vintage Fabrics...

When you come across a lovely vintage fabric, you'll often find it rolled up and secured with twine or a rubber band. Take the time to unravel the fabric to make sure that it is in one piece. A few times now I have been in a hurry and not done this, only to get home and find that the fabric would be better used for scraps!

The same scenario as above goes for searching for that perfect vintage sheet to use for your next sewing project. Have a good look at the sheet for wear and tear. Fading is often an issue when you come across a vintage sheet, so be sure to checkout the condition before purchasing.

A little word about notions...

Often times, buttons can be found at op shops, tucked away in jars under the glass cabinets at the counter. But sometimes they aren't so easy to find. I know that my local Op Shop keep a jar of buttons out the back. They'll often take the buttons from garments that aren't fit for selling. So if you can't spot the button stash, it always pays to ask the lovely volunteers.

Trims, ribbons & embellishments are more than often stored in shoe boxes or the likes within the vicinity of the fabrics section of an Op Shops. It's always worth having a good rummage through these boxes to see what treasures may be hiding there.

I hope this helps you all on your search for your own Vintage Sewing Treasures! I love ooh-ing & ahh-ing over others' fantastic finds. So please don't hesitate to stop by Cass Can Sew via Facebook or Twitter and share with me & our little crafty community, your best finds!

Thanks so much Cass! For many beginners, once you have bought your machine and a few essential tools, there is not much money left over to build a big fabric stash! Thrift shops are great to pick up vintage lovelies and garments for refashioning. Happy sewing, and don't forget to check out the rest of the Back To Sewing Basics series!

Vintage Lovelies for Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! *closed*

Edit: This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations Angelika Oberleitner - you are the winner!!

Woohoo! I adore Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! Don't you?

Today I'm joining in for the first time, and I'm loving sewing with vintage fabrics at the moment. So I'm sharing some with you!

 These beautiful fat quarters have been cut directly from some vintage sheets that I have in my stash.

 

But wait, there's more! A selection of coordinating buttons is also part of the giveaway!

There are up to 5 ways to enter so you have lots of chances! I've decided to use a Rafflecopter widget for this giveaway - it's very user friendly and makes each entry option clear. Good luck and thanks for participating!

This giveaway is open internationally. The vintage fabric has been washed, line dried and pressed, ready to be sent to its new home!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Anna's New Pyjamas

Winter has really set in down here in Melbourne and so it was time for me to make Anna some new toasty warm pyjamas.

I had some pretty vintage flannelette fabric in my stash - it came from my Grandmother-in-law's stash of which many pieces had little hand written labels stapled to them with prices in shillings and pence. Australia changed to decimal currency in 1963, so the fabric I used is possibly over 50 years old!  It is a gorgeous pink with little pink squirrels and blue flowers.

I used a simple method - I turned a pair of roomy trousers of hers inside out and used them as a pattern. I placed the straight leg seam along the fabric fold. I made the cuts along the crotch  / inside leg seams. I used the piece I cut as template, folded the fabric and cut the second piece. I put the pieces right sides together, stitched up the crotch seams, flipped to form a proper trouser shape, then stitched the inner leg seams. I created a casing around the waist, inserted elastic, then hemmed the ankles. Done! It only took about 30 minutes. Perhaps I should do a tutorial?

I teamed the pants with a simple top from a chain store. When the winter nights get even cooler she will switch to a long sleeve tee.

And what better way to celebrate a new pair of pjs than a good session of jumping on the bed!

Are you sewing for winter? Or is it summer in your part of the world?

Linking at Creative Spaces today.

Needle & Thread Interview - Cass from Cass Can Sew

Today I'm excited to welcome Cass from Cass Can Sew! Cass was one of my first Australian bloggy friends and as luck would have it we discovered that she lives just near my parents in sunny Queensland! Last time I was up there we met in person and it was so great to chat about sewing and blogging while our girls played together! Things I love about Cass, her blog and her style - she just whips up amazing outfits and bags without a pattern, she writes with a lot of humor and fun, and vintage has become a real signature for her. Her creations from thrifted fabrics and linen have that old world beauty with a new practicality and purpose. She has also just (this past week!) opened her etsy store, Rosylou Handmade, where she will be selling her gorgeous items made from vintage fabric. Welcome Cass!

 In Cass' own words:
Hello there! I'm Cassandra... some of you may know me from Cass Can Sew!  I was so excited when my lovely sewing friend Roslyn asked me it take part in her Needle and Threads Interview Series.
I'm lucky enough to live in a lovely little bay side community just north of Brisbane, Queensland, right on the water! Literally!  I'm not kidding... there's only about 5m between the beach and my back patio!!!  Here, I reside with my fiance Tony... better known as "My Man the Muso" & my two gorgeous girls Emily (11 yrs) & Hannah (13mths) - HUGE age gap, I know!

 Is sewing a hobby you have had since you were young or has it been something you have come to as an adult?
I HATED sewing when I was young!  I recall grumbling my way through the sewing module of my home economics class in High School.  When we were set the task of making an alteration to an item of clothing, I cut off a pair of my jeans and frayed the edges!!!  As you can imagine, my teacher was less than impressed with my efforts!  Sorry Ms Ball.
I only discovered my love/addiction for sewing about two years ago!  To be honest, I can't recall exactly what it was that made me decide to learn again... what I do know is that it must have been my destiny! LOL!!! 

Is/was your paid job or educational background creative? 
Not in a crafty sense.  The closest I've come to working with clothing would have to be when I took a job slicing up clothing (by the 20kg bag) for those rag bags that mechanics use!  Let's just say that I didn't stay in that job long... working in a sweat shop environment just doesn't suit me... but it helped out a teeny bit until something better came along.  I've actually got quite a mix matched resume that includes Dental Nursing, Postal Clerk, Waitressing, Food Service, Customer Service & Administration.  Out of all of these, I'd have to say I enjoyed my role as a Major Projects Administrator the best and will quite possibly go back to it again one day once Hannah is of school age.
I've always been the creative type though.... I've gone through the arty stage, card making stage, knitting stage & have always had music in my bones!

What types of projects do you enjoy creating the most?

I love working on upcycling projects!  I love how I can take something pre-loved, like a vintage dress or pillowcase and give it new life as an adorable little outfit for Hannah or a market bag.  Every time I sew something new, I can't help but look at it and chuckle at how clever I can be!!!  Go on.. admit it.. you do it too!!!

What are your favourite sewing tools and materials?

I couldn't live without my rotary cutter & mat.  If you don't have one... YOU NEED ONE!!!  They make cutting patterns soooo much easier!  I also have to give a mention to my overlocker (serger).... I just love being able to create that professional finish on my projects.

As for materials, although I love working with lovely vintage cottons, I'd have to say my favourite fabric to work with would have to be knits.  I often read that people are afraid of working with knits, but I've never had an issue with them.  I love that if I'm feeling a bit lazy while working on a knit skirt project, I don't have to hem the bottom because the end will roll up nicely on it's own!

Name your top five sewing inspirations.

Wow... this is a hard one to narrow down into five!  So I'll go with sharing the fantastically creative and helpful crafty bloggers who have taught me almost everything I know in the world of sewing & who I stalk regularly....

Dana Made It 

Little Betty 

Threading My Way 

What I Made Today

and of course.. Sew Delicious!!!

How do you balance your sewing and blogging with your ‘real life’ eg. Paid work, family?

LOL... this is always a fun question!  Ummm.... with a fair bit of neglect to the housework!!!  It's not like my house is filthy... I'd just rather sew or blog... or play on Pinterest... than fold washing!  I have my sewing space set up in our living area, along with the laptop... so if Hannah is playing nicely, I'll quickly get a bit of sewing or blogging time in.  It's extremely rare for me to get even the quickest of projects completed without any interruptions. I have also commandeered the pool table as my cutting table.... much to the disapproval of My Man the Muso!

Apart from sewing, what other creative pursuits do you enjoy?

I love music!  To me, music = Life!  I'd be so lost without it.  When I get the time, I like to play my guitar, sing & write little ditties.  It's been a while, but when the opportunity arises, I love to perform & have been known to make the odd appearance in open mic nights, jam sessions.  I love nothing more than doing duets with My Man the Muso and even Emily has joined me at the microphone a few times.

Oh! and I LOVE fishing!  Which is helpful, considering that we live right on the water!  Although I don't mind eating seafood every now and again, I'm not what you would call a seafood lover... but I love catching fish!  There's nothing like feeling that tug on your line when you've hooked something!!!

Thanks so much for sharing with us today Cass!  How gorgeous are those pictures of your little girl Hannah?!

You can find out more about Cass here:

Blog

Facebook

Etsy

Pinterest

Have a great weekend!

Scrap Bag Swap - My gifts from Anissa

Last post I shared what I made for  Kerrie - today I am sharing what I was sent from Anissa from Grow Mama.

How lovely is it to receive a parcel in the mail? Especially when it is an international parcel!

All the way across the ditch from New Zealand came my scrap bag swap gift which was vintage themed. I received a lovely selection of vintage fabrics.

Some florals -

 
Some children's prints -

And as an extra surprise, these sweet little pictures were sandwiched in the layers of fabric. How gorgeous!

And finally some vintage buttons in greens and blues -

All of these lovely bits and pieces came in satchel style bag. My photos of the bag didn't do it justice, but you can see the vintage detail in this picture below. Anissa made it from a rose floral and the bottom of the bag has a lace trim.

Such a lovely gift - thanks so much Anissa! I highly recommend participating in swaps - it's a great way to connect with other crafters and the best part is receiving a surprise in the mail!

Pillowcase to Drawstring Bag - Tutorial

More of a mini-tutorial - this is a really quick project.

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The story behind it is that the other day, the cheap plastic ikea laundry hamper that I had in Lucy's room lost its leg. No idea how, the leg just fell off. So I needed something to keep all those dirty little clothes in while they wait for their turn in the wash. A drawstring bag was a perfect choice, because it can be hung on the hook on the back of Lucy's bedroom door.

You need
- a pillowcase (mine is a pretty vintage one I thrifted for 50c - score)
- 1 metre of ribbon, I used 1cm wide white grosgrain
- seam ripper and other basic sewing supplies

Take your pillowcase and turn it inside out. Use your seam ripper to split one side seam 5cm (2") from the top. This split creates the opening to thread your ribbon through to make the drawstring.

If your fabric is a bit raggedy on the edge, just fold the edge in and press it down. Stitch it if it continues to misbehave. It will be enclosed in the drawstring casing.

Fold the top of the pillowcase over 2.5cm (1") and press. Stitch all the way around to create your casing. 

 Each side of the pillowcase will look slightly different because one side will have that extra envelope of fabric. Once it is turned right side out, you won't see that and it makes no different to your casing.

 Take your ribbon and use a safety pin to thread your it through the casing.

Turn your pillowcase right sides out.  Tie your ribbon to the desired length. You are finished!

You might find that the bag is a bit too long for your liking. Just turn it back inside out, and stitch across the bottom of the bag at the desired length. Cut off any excess.

As I mentioned earlier, mine will be used as a laundry bag for Lucy, but it can be used for anything! Old pillowcases are often very soft due to be washed so often, which makes them a great choice for a lingerie bag. I also like to pack a bag like this when I go on a trip - it is handy to keep dirty washing separate from the clean items in your bag or suitcase.

If you make one, please share it with us over at my Flickr group!