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Quilting Basics for Beginners

quiltRemember the days of going to your grandma’s house and seeing the patchwork quilt draped over the back of her couch? It was the perfect blanket to cuddle up in and the warmest on those cold winter evenings. Your kids and grand kids can experience that same comfort today, with a quilt that you create to drape over your couch, the foot of their bed, etc. You simply have to get started with the quilting basics for beginners of all skill levels. The rest will fall into place.

Choosing Fabrics

Quilting materialQuilts are made of various pieces of fabric sewn together to give it a patchwork look. It can also be a larger piece of fabric with a beautiful design surrounded by smaller pieces that complement the colors of the first.

Whichever you choose, you will want to make sure that you choose the right patterns to work with and the right size as well. In most cases, you can start with any amount. Color will also be important to consider. A mostly blue piece of fabric is easy to match with others. One that is mostly brown or an odd color, may be a little more difficult. This depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

The Thread Choices

Much the same as cotton fabrics are best you will want to use cotton or cotton covered polyester threads. Purely polyester threading may cut the fabric you are working with and over time, it will start to show. The thread color should compliment the patterns and colors in your quilt. For instance, dark fabrics require a darker grey thread.

Batting and Backing

quilt sewingThe part of a quilt that keeps you warm, is its batting. The thickness of it. This is why most people recommend cotton blended batting. It is high quality cotton and durable parts or polyester. You may also choose to use wool or silk batting if you prefer natural fibers.

The backing that you choose should use the color that you have most of in your quilt. You will want to try and work with one solid piece of fabric. Save the patches for the topside.

Tools You Will Need

Beyond the fabrics and thread, you will need certain tools to make quilting easier. Marking tools are a good thing to consider. This will allow you to make the most of the material that you have available.
Needles or a sewing machine are a good start. You may use a machine or your basic needle and thread combination. As previously stated, cotton threads work best, whichever you choose.
Scissors are also a requirement. They should be sharp enough to provide a clean cut to the material that you are working with. In many cases, people do often prefer shears rather than scissors since it does allow you to lay out the fabric on a table and cut without moving the fabric around too much. Rotary cutters and rulers may also be useful. The rotary cutter will allow you to create odd cuts with ease. The ruler will help you measure everything.
To make working with the fabric easier, especially once you begin with backing and batting, you may want pins. Safety pins or regular pins will work.

Bring A Bit Of Neon Into The Crafting Room

Crafting rooms are a place of solace for many crafters. However, solace doesn’t have to mean boring. With the amount of time spent crafting, spaces deserver to have a bit of flair. Whether that be adding a custom neon sign, high tech storage devices or upgrading the old craft table, there is a way to spice up any space.

Crafters Using Neon

Make A Statement With Neon

Neons were once thought only as a display for bars, restaurants and specialized public spaces. The factor driving the scarcity of such cool devices was price. However, neon has become much more affordable with the modern-day neons, made from acrylic. Acrylic neon signs are a fantastic, modern choice for crafting rooms looking to make a vibrant and unforgettable statement. These signs, typically made from flexible neon tubing embedded (from LED lights) in clear acrylic, are a safer and more durable alternative to traditional glass neon. They are customizable, energy-efficient, and their radiant glow can instantly grab attention, brightening up any premise, day or night.

Acrylic neon signs are not only great for businesses, but they are also popular among crafters and event planners. Crafters can use acrylic neon signs to add a unique touch to their living spaces, whether it be in the form of a personalized sign or as an eye-catching piece of home decor. Although many crafters will choose to create their own version of a neon sign, there are many neon sign makers available online to help facilitate your sign. Event planners can utilize these signs to create a fun and lively atmosphere at parties

Storage For All The Supplies

Craft rooms can often be a whirlwind of materials and supplies, but with a little creativity, they can become a hub of inspiration and organization. One idea is to repurpose old jars for storing small items such as beads, sequins, or buttons – their transparency makes it easy to identify and retrieve what you need. Use a pegboard on the wall to hang tools and ribbons, and consider a vintage suitcase or an accordion-style wine rack for storing yarn or fabric. Stackable, see-through plastic boxes can be used for larger items and projects in progress. Finally, use a chalkboard wall or labels to keep track of what’s stored where. With these innovative storage ideas, your craft room will be a thriving center of creativity in no time.

Crafting Tables, The Cornerstone

Crafting tables, often central to a crafting room, are an essential tool for hobbyists and professionals alike. They serve as a dedicated space for creating, assembling, and repairing various items, from simple crafts to complex DIY projects. Due to their versatile nature, crafting tables provide an organized and efficient workflow, enhancing productivity and fostering creativity. They are usually equipped with compartments and drawers to store tools and materials, ensuring the user has everything they need at their fingertips. Whether you’re a novice crafter or an experienced artist, crafting tables are instrumental in facilitating a smooth and effective crafting process.

Alternative Craft Ideas

butterfly quiltsQuilting is a very popular craft. Today, there are many people who keep the tradition of it alive and well. There are groups that get together to discuss their craft and they work together to create new patterns and ideas. For some, this is a great thing. Others though, spend their time searching for alternative craft ideas.

Why We Like Alternatives to Quilting

mason jar repurposeAlthough many people feel it is the best thing you can do, quilting is often seen as something our older generations partake of doing. Not Us! By saying this, I remember quilting being something my grandma did. I still have a couple quilts that were passed down to me from my great-grandmother, a woman that I do not even remember. I’m sure that I am not the only one to be in this situation.

Admittedly, quilts can be beautiful. They can be solid colors, patterns, and even complex designs. However, our association with our elders serves to make the quilts more beautiful, while also making us feel that these quilts should be made by any one other than ourselves. We prefer to spend less time stitching and more time getting our hands a little dirty.

How We Prefer to Craft

paint pourTake a moment to search for “crafts” on YouTube or even a basic google search. Chances are good, quilting will not be one of the first things you see. You will find jewelry making, pottery crafts, re-purposing ideas for tin cans or soda bottles, and more. You may also see pottery, candle making, soap creations, and resin art. You may also see someone pour various paints into a bucket, send it spinning across a blank board, and call it art.

Since the beginning of time and humans, creating has been something we strive to do. The stuff that we are doing now is designed to turn old into new or unappealing into beautiful. It can be done with needles and thread and a few pieces of fabric, but most of us prefer that the process goes a little faster.

Have you ever watched someone use epoxy resin color pigment to turn clear epoxy into a beach picture or river table? This is one of the best examples of the types of projects we want to focus on in today’s world. Our goal seems to be, pushing the limits to see how dirty we can become.

Old School or New Rules?

We encourage kids and young adults to explore where their creativity will blossom the most. There may be some who feel that quilting is the way to go. It does ensure that keepsake quilts continue to be something we can pass down to future generations. If no one made a quilt ever again, life would be a little colder and less beautiful.

The new crafts that we are making now, can also be passed down to our future “mini-me’s”. Most of them are simple to create, once you know the basics, and outstandingly beautiful once they are complete. Even when making a river table or an epoxy tumbler, mistakes are still outstanding. They are even better because most can be done on the weekend when we have a little free time rather than months of stitching.