Futon

No two folks learn quilting the same way. Some individuals gain an interest in from a quilting magazine or perhaps from a relative. For me, my nanna was an avid quilter. One stormy day, I was at her home and she suggested that I’d like to have a go at quilting.

She had purchased a quilting kit a fortnight before and had waited until I was bored before giving it to me, so this is how I learned about quilting kits and how I made my first quilt with a green quilt design.

What’s A Quilting Kit?

There are two differing kinds, but the standard quilting kit is an all in one package for making a quilt from beginning to finish.

It includes the material, patterns and instructions on how to make the chosen quilt. The only thing they don’t have is the tools, you’re expected to provide your own.

Now And Then there are ‘block of the month’ type kits, where a different bit of material is sent to you every month and you build it up over the year, but these aren’t the most common.

Kits For Beginners

These kits are the very best way for first-timers to find out how to make quilts. Everything is provided so you do not have to stress about not having the correct materials.

The most worth comes from the instructions. The directions are made for folks who have never made a quilt before. They contain all of the info and guides you have to know to turn the material into the quilt.

Just be sure to pick one that’s labeled for beginners.

Kits For Veteran Quilters

Kits aren’t only for beginners, there are much more advanced and challenging patterns available for the more experienced quilter.

These are great if you feel just like an easier challenge, you don’t have to waste time coming up with and measuring out a design. You can just pick a pattern you love and get to work!

Hopefully this has given you a fair idea on what quilt kits are and has motivated some new quilters to give one a go!

Interested in more green quilt design ideas? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

Your iron gets a lot of use when putting a quilt together.

I could help but notice one day when i was working on a green quilt design that my iron was leaving small smudges and marks on my quilt. It was this that made me realize that my iron required cleaning.

But how do you get all the dirt and dust off that has been baked on over the many hours of use?

Its actually incredibly easy. Here’s how:

Get a bottle of white vinegar. Unbeknown to some, vinegar is an amazing cleaning agent. You may use it to clean drains and floors and it kills a lot of bacteria. Your iron is no exception so we’ll be using it here too.

First, fill the reservoir up to 1/4 the way with vinegar

Next, get a clean white cloth to iron onto. I have found that an old towel or dishcloth works best. Try and use an old one as the vinegar smell can linger after a wash on occasion.

Set your iron to steam mode and wait for it to warm up. When its prepared, spray and iron the vinegar onto the fabric.

Run the hot iron over the top of the cloth. Repeat this until the reservoir is completely empty.

When its empty get some distilled water and fill the reservoir all of the way this time. The reason we use distilled water is that it’ll stop the blocking of the spray and steam nozzles of the iron.

Like you did with the vinegar, spray and iron the cloth again till the iron is empty.

Once this is done, all your nozzles should be completely clean as well as the underside of your iron, this explains why we were ironing over the cloth.

This works perfectly with any iron and I am able to strongly recommended for any iron with a teflon coating as it won’t affect or damage the teflon, unlike washing with a bristle pad or brush.

Now you can enjoy worry free ironing, without the smudge marks.

Interested in more green quilt design ideas? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

Buying a sewing machine is kind of like buying a car. There are lots of different types and all of them suited for different functions. When I was staring out on my very first green quilt design I decided to purchase a sewing machine of my very own.

I did my homework and found out what to check for when buying your first sewing machine, and now, I pass that on to you:

Should I Buy A New or Used Machine?

This is something that’s entirely up to you. The advantages of buying a used machine is that it’ll be cheaper and you will be able to buy more for less.

That having been said, find out why they’re selling the machine, ensure there isn’t too much wrong with it before you buy it.

Second, try it out. This is a vital step and will help you to find out if there are any problems with it and if it is the right sewing machine for you. So you are going to need to bring some bits of material to sew on to.

I’m About To Test It Out, What Should I Look For?

Listen to the sound it makes when stitching. Make sure there’s no grinding, no ticking or thumping. The sound should be smooth and consistent.

Next, take a look at the stitches – are they even length? If some are double the size of others that implies the machine is skipping a stitch. It may not seem like a bad thing now, but later on this will cause big issues.

Ensure that you check the back of the material. The stitching should look the same as the stitching on the front side. Check for loops and inconsistencies. Remember, these can happen on either side.

In the subsequent part, I’ll cover what stitching styles you need to search for and additional guidelines to watch out for with your next machine.

Interested in more green quilt design tips? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

Preparing your materials is an important first step whenever you are beginning a new quilt. You wouldn’t start a brand new job in mucky clothes, so why should your quilt be any different?

To get your quilt off to the best start, I have listed my pre-flight quilting checklist.

Read Any Instrutions

This is the most vital step before anything else, I learned this the hard way – which I’m going to tell you about later on.

The instructions will give you alerts about anything that may damage or affect the materials in the preparation process, so be sure you read all of the directions so you do not get caught out.

Washing

Once you’ve read the directions, your next stop is to wash the quilt. The directions will tell you whether its safe to put in the machine or whether you should hand wash it, as well as the temperature of water to use.

I was recently working on a green quilt design and did not go over the directions. As it seems, the particular dye they used for this material doesn’t handle warm water well and the colours ran and faded in areas, so be vigilant and check!

Drying

Drying is one of the things that surprises numerous quilters. Some material does not react well to being put in bright sunlight shortly after washing.

More frequently, there are other materials that may get damaged if you put them into a dryer, so be sure you know what you’re dealing with.

Ironing

Like drying, ironing is another step in which you can ruin a supremely good fabric. Materials like silk and polyester will burn or melt if you use an iron that is too hot.

There are too many materials to cover here, so in short if you are uncertain, put your iron on the lowest setting simply to be safe.

When you are ironing, start from the center and push your iron out to the edges. Once the material is flat, run your iron over the edges to eliminate any tiny wrinkles and make ready for sewing seams.

If you follow these steps, your material will be prepped and ready to be included in any quilt, eliminating any likely problems with the fabric itself.

Curious about more green quilt design ideas? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

Quilting has not always been butterflies and rainbows. It used to be much tougher and more labour heavy than it now is. Thanks to modern inventions, it has been made much easier – not to say it’s very easy now, but there were some big inventions that have eased the suffering of many quilters:

Cutting Mat

No-one wants to see a good table or table fabric messed up. In the olden days, before these mats were invented, quilters would decide between selecting a table that would get nicks, scratches and marks or find an old table cloth or material that they didn’t want anymore and let that take the punishment.

But the cutting mat does not just save your table, it also includes pre-ruled grids and rulings, measurements and templates.

Many cutting mats also have templates for corners, circles and other various shapes. This straightforward addition has saved quilters world wide hundreds of hours in measurements and rulings, not to mention their tables and table cloths.

Rotary Cutter

If you don’t know what a rotary cutter is, imagine a pizza cutter, only much sharper.

This replaces the typical scissors and allows folk to cut the same amount of material in a fraction of the time. Because there isn’t any need utilize a squeezing motion like scissors, you can cut in one swift, smooth motion and avoids jagged bits that can happen when separating your hands for another scissor cut.

Another great thing it does is cut through multiple layers. So folding your material along the cutting line can further reduce cutting time without compromising the standard of your cut.

This device alone has slashed my cutting time by more than half.

The Quilting Ruler

The quilting ruler is another brilliant invention and when you need it, you really need it.

While its perfect for measuring distances, gaps, widths and cuts, it actually comes into shine in some of those clumsy to gauge situations.

It has got a good range of pre-set angles and is transparent, so you can measure and check things that it the ruler is sitting on top of.

It has really turn out to be useful in some very unusual situations, there’s one particular green quilt design that I could not have completed without it.

These are the things that I simply could not do without and if they were to vanish from my world tomorrow… I’d probably give up quilting all together!

Interested in more green quilt design ideas? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

When we are making a quilt for someone, we should always work to put plenty of love and thought into it. We are doing it to see their face light up when they see it, to give them something they will actually appreciate.

Its no little thing to begin a quilt for somebody either! You are announcing ‘I know you well, i care about you and you are going to love this ‘

So to be sure your quilt is a triumph and not a flop there are a couple of questions you ought to be asking.

What is their favourite color?

This is always a great place to start. I am a huge fan of green. I’ve a green quilt, but if somebody made me another one, I’d still be excited as I just love the relaxing effect the color has on me. The individual you are making the quilt for will have a favorite colour. If you don’t know what it is, you should find out.

Will this mix in with the rest of their decor?

When you’re making or buying a quilt for your room, one of the first, and most critical things you can think about is the decor and colour of the room. If you had a room that featured cream and peach colors, you would not be thinking of a green quilt design – this would clash badly with the colours.

By considering what colors their room decor is, you can make a quilt that should fit perfectly and maybe even draw the room together.

Listen to me, this won’t go unnoticed and they will truly appreciate the lengths you went to, to make sure everything was perfect.

What size is the bed will this be going on?

This is a critical one, one question that should be answered before you even start. It’d be quite humiliating to realize that your quilt is too small for the bed it was intended. A simple check will stop this from happening

You might even find that it would be better to go on their couch, or even used in the lounge room for those cold winter nights. If this is the case, you must re-evaluate what size and shape would work the best for this.

By answering a few of these easy questions, you’ll avoid some of the easy to make mistakes.

Curious about more green quilt design ideas? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

It doesn’t matter if you are sewing a pattern onto a pre-made quilt or whether or not you are making a quilt from the ground up, there are several factors you have to take into consideration before going about your project.

It doesn’t matter if you’re making a green quilt or a patchwork quilt, you still need to take these shared characteristics into consideration:

Climate

The very first thing you must consider is the average temperature that your quilt will be used in. This is especially critical if you’re sending the quilt to a relative in another country or a significant distance away.

While you could be living in a nice, temperate area, they may be living in a place where the temperature frequently goes below freezing in the winter or could could soar in the summer.

Bear in mind where this quilt will be used and then work out how much stuffing would work the best.

Allergies

Consider the person you are making this quilt for. Do they have any allergies? Are they allergic to certain materials?

It’s not uncommon for folk to be allergic or sensitive to feathers and yes, even cotton. If you are ever in doubt, get in touch with the individual your quilt is for and ask!

Also keep your work space under consideration. You might not be sensitive to cat hair, but the individual you are sending the quilt to could be. Make sure you work in a clean, sterile environment whenever possible.

The very last thing you want is someone who has allergies to your quilt.

Weight

One thing that is usually overlooked is weight. Materials can change greatly in density. The more dense or thick a material is, the heavier it is. While this might not weigh much for the square or section of material you might be working with, remember that each piece will add up.

To check, hold all of the material you are looking to use and see whether it would be too heavy to use for a quilt.

Also remember to add the weight of the quilt and stuffing when determining the weight!

So there you go, a few things to keep in mind when planning out your next quilt.

Interested in more green quilt design concepts? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!