Quilting tips and tutorials galore!
We just love quilting and have seen that it’s really beginning to pick up some momentum in the UK – though there is a long way yet to go before it becomes as significant an activity as it is in the USA.
As ever with sewing tips, it’s a combination and technique and inspiration that works best – learning those all-important disaster busters and seeing some of the gorgeous ideas that can be seen around the globe.
So here are some of our favourites for you – presented as part of our #SewingTipsFriday series. Enjoy!
10 quilting tips for beginners
Some encouragement for you if you’re just starting out or thinking of your first adventure into Quiltland. Award-winning Claudia Mitchell provides our first reference of the day – and it can be found on the Felt Magnet website.
You know where you are with an article featuring a nice round number and there are some interesting and really important considerations to bear in mind here.
Absolute top tip: “Unless fabric care instructions say otherwise, always prewash your fabric”.
100 top quilting tips
Speaking of round numbers – this blockbuster has got more tips than you can shake a sewing machine at – and it comes from much closer to home. It was put together on the Festival of Quilts 2018 website and was a result of a collaboration with the Quilters’ Guild. (We must admit – the festival was so good we went twice!).
Short, sharp and to the point – these hot how-tos are split into categories such as “Tips for your sewing machine” and “Tips for cutting your fabric”.
We love the tip from Gillian Travis: “Using a top stitch needle (one with a big eye) in my sewing machine at all times saves me loads of time. I can switch from using ordinary thread to more unusual thick and woolly threads without changing the needle”.
10 quilting techniques every quilter should master: important skills for quilters
This one is brilliant for sewists looking to polish their capabilities and move on to the next stage of quilting brilliance – and it comes courtesy of Janet Wickell on the Spruce Crafts blog.
In fact this is one of our all time favourite articles – not least because Janet puts herself in the position of her readers, understanding some of their anxieties and concerns.
She has also written a piece on How to make a quilt https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/learn-how-to-make-a-quilt-2821937 which would be the better starting point if you are relatively inexperienced. Two for the price of one!
All sorts of well-written sensible stuff here featuring becoming familiar with all those technical quilting terms to measuring and sewing borders the “correct way”.
Look out for: “Sewing mitered binding to the edges of a quilt has developed a bit of a reputation of being difficult, but is actually a very easy technique. “
Prepare to quilt! How to get your quilt ready for stitching
And finally, for the time being at least, a very useful piece to have a read of if you’re already underway with your quilt. This combined effort from Lindsay Conner, Anita Grossman Solomon and Lauren Lang resides on the Craftsy website.
Starting off with the quilt sandwich, this really detailed tutorial goes through basting, spray basting, fuse basting and hand basting.
Top tip: “Depending on the size of your quilt, you can hang the quilt sandwich on the wall!”
Send us YOUR sewing tips!
We’d love to hear from you! We may even publish details and links on our blog. Become part of the GUR Sewing Machine community by emailing your top tips to info@gursewingmachines.com.
This is just part of our ongoing #SewingTipsFriday event – where we’ll be posting sewing hints, tips and how-tos all day on our Twitter account and Facebook page.
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