One longarmer's advice - Starting your Quilt

The advice I give here is from my experience of how the best outcomes for your quilt can be assured. I'll be giving this advice over a couple of blog posts. I am hoping this information leads to your best quilt.

Starting your quilt

The fabric

Every quilt needs the best fabric you can afford. The best fabric you can buy comes from quilt shops. When I buy fabric, I buy from local shops. The reason is simple; I want to make sure the fabrics match. What you see on a website depends on their cameras and your computer as to the accuracy of the color.

You do have the option of buying precuts and bundles. This makes color choice easier. I don’t do this often solely because I always seem to have fabric leftover that I don’t like and need to get more of others to fill the gap. I’ve very rarely had precuts work out for me. If you find a designer whose fabric designs you love this may be the way to go for you.

What if you can’t afford quilt shop fabric. This is when innovation comes into play. Are you part of a guild? Will people who don’t like keeping scraps donate them to you? Also, thrift stores sometimes have quilt fabric. But check the selvage for the maker to be sure of the quality. Another option is estate or garage sales. Many people have fabric that has been bought over the years that now need a new home. That home can be yours.

Now that you have your fabric, do you wash it or not? The wisdom is not definitive. I’ve heard theories for and against. This is my theory. If your fabric has come from a quilt store you probably don’t have to. The current fabrics seem to be color (dye) stable, no bleeding to other fabrics in the quilt. But if you’re buying from places other than quilt shops, I’d wash them. If you get scraps some may have been washed others not. Just put those in a lingerie bag and wash and nearly dry so you can iron dry. If they’re from thrift stores, estate or garage sales I’d always wash. You have no idea how old they are or the color (dye) stability.

When washing, I always use Bounce Color Catchers and dry partially so I can iron the pieces dry and flat.

Always iron your fabric whether you've washed it on just brought it home from the quilt store. Now you have pieces of fabric perfect for cutting!

It’s time to start creating that beautiful quilt!