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For someone just starting out in quilting, planning a quilt pattern appears like one of the hardest things you could ask them to do.

The good news for these budding quilters is that it seems harder than it actually is, all you need is the know-how.

The Fundamentals of Planning A Quilt

When you’re planning a quilt for the first time, the simplest way to do this is by designing a block. A block is a square section of quilt that holds the pattern. The concept here is that you make a number of the same blocks and then sew them together to form the pattern.

Just be sure to work out how big your quilt needs to be and then work out how many blocks you will need to make the quilt big enough.

When you’re prepared to start working on a design there are a couple of strategies that people typically use, these are graph paper or software.

Graph Paper

This is the commonest way that folks design quilt patterns. You can get graph paper ruled in all different sizes.

On the graph paper, draw a square that represents the whole block, If possible try and make the square a ratio of the scale of the block ie 3:1 or 2:1. This'll help you massively when it comes to measuring and cutting up the material for the pattern.

Then begin working out your pattern inside the drawn square. Its quickest to divide the squares into smaller shapes such as squares and triangles. When you’ve worked on a couple of quilts you can then move on to something more complicated like a rose quilt design.

Quilt Design Software

More lately, quilters have been turning to computer software to help them with planning their patterns.

This program acts as virtual graph paper, letting you draw shapes, divide and resize your square on a whim. It really also help with importing custom shapes and images to add into your design.

There is a vast variation in the capabilities of different bits of software so be certain to do your prep work!

Hopefully this has helped you learn a bit more about the best way to design a quilt and has inspired you to give it a go yourself!

Would you like more rose quilt design concepts? Then head on over to Jane Green’s how to make a patchwork quilt site now!

When starting a new quilt, the easiest and most fun part is going to the store to pick up some new materials and gear. Nevertheless the costs will all add up quickly, so to help your bank account survive your next project, here is a few pointers that may help drive your funds further.

Saving While Shopping

Check for discount bins each time you visit a craft store. Many stores have the discount bins near the entrance, but don’t stop looking there. You’ll often find a couple scattered around the store in different areas. So keep your eyes open!

You might find the very thing you need, or did not know you needed.

If you’re there to buy materials, and you can see that they’re close to finishing a bolt, ask if there’s a discount for finishing the bolt. Many stores are happy to do that so they don’t finish up with little bits of material that they can’t sell. No one is going to need to buy half a yard of a rose quilt design or custom designed material, so it benefits the store to sell the remainder of the bolt at a reduction.

Another fast tip for shopping – its OK to use polyester batting. A few people are against it, but actually there’s nothing wrong with polyester batting, you buy what you are able to afford – so don’t be put off!

Also, its perfect if you are making a blanket that is to cover a couch or for occasional use. No point spending more for something you will likely only use every once in a while.

Spend More Time Looking At Your Fabrics

Many fabrics can often cost over $10 a yard. Nevertheless some fabrics can cost slightly under $3 a yard. Folk generally accept that anything at the low end of the price bracket will be an unacceptable quality material.

This is not always true. A quilter with a keen eye for detail can find a bargain in the discount fabrics. Occasionally even great fabrics don’t sell that well, stores are all about moving stock quickly , so if it doesn’t move off the racks fast enough, they are going to discount the price with no regard for the quality – so keep your eyes open.

In the following article, we’ll be having a look at some different approaches you can take to save money and different places to get more quilting supplies.

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

Have you got an event coming up which you have promised someone or planned to make a quilt but have run out of time? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of people.

To get you out of a pickle, I’ve put together a convenient guide to assembling a quilt if you are pushed for time.

Also, a quick note for people who are against using a pattern to work from, you will probably want to finish reading now. One of the reasons why this quilt is quick to make is that you’re going to be working off a pre-designed pattern. This is one of the ways in which we cut out a few hours from the process.

1. Plan Your Quilt. This is way easier than it sounds. Head to your nearest newsagent or craft shop and pick up a couple of quilting magazines. Amateur or Easy labeled magazines are the best as these usually have the fastest and easiest quilts to make.
2. Assemble Your Supplies – the great thing about working from a magazine guide is they nearly always have an inventory of tools and materials that are required for every design. Collect these materials and tools together to simplify the quilt making process.
3. Fabric and Supplies – If you do not have the required fabric you are going to need to get to a craft store and buy some.
4. Cut out the pieces that are to go into the quilt top and sew them together, as specified by the instructions in your guide.
5. Ready your batting. Cut it to the same size as your quilt top.
6. Backing fabric – similar to the batting, you will have to measure and cut your backing fabric to the same size as the batting.
7. Lay the backing, batting and cover down on top of each other like a sandwich.
8. Pin the quilt together. This is a dry run so that you can see if all the sides are correct and whether it needs any adjustments.
9. If no adjustments are required, sew the quilt together using your sewing machine. You can do this by hand, but you will be sacrificing speed.
10. Cut off any loose threads and iron.

You’re done.

I have made a bunch of quilts this way, including a children’s quilt and a rose quilt design.

These are the steps I follow when I need to make a quilt swiftly. However , I will guarantee myself that this won’t happen again.

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

Have you noticed the weather is getting hotter and your quilt is starting to become a burden rather than a great asset? It may be time to put it away for the summer while the hot weather hangs around. If you’re pondering this, there are a couple of things you can do to make certain your quilt survives the months of storage.

Here are the things you’ll want to think about when storing your quilt:

Height

Make sure you store your quilt at a reasonable height. While it may not seem like much, storing it in a middle or high shelf will keep your quilt safe from a considerable number of different elements.

Storing it low to the ground has a tendency to attract dust, hair and insects. As you go higher, your quilt will attract less of these things, though it is difficult for you to avoid dust completely.

Temperature

This is another thing you ought to be cautious about. Make sure your quilt isn’t stored in an area that is close to a heating or hot water system. This can introduce moisture and condensation from steam or cause evaporating moisture to gather in your quilt.

Light

Try to keep your quilt out of bright sunlight. Natural daylight tends to drain the colour from fabrics and materials over a period of time. If at all possible, be sure to store it in a dark or shaded indoor area.

Extra Precautions

If you’re nervous about moisture, put tissue paper in the folds of the quilt when folding. This can absorb any moisture and keep it away from the quilt.

Also, add some mothballs to keep moths and other insects in check. You do not want to discover that some hungry insects have gnawed a hole in your favorite quilt with that beautiful rose quilt design.

Taking a quilt out of storage.

When you take a quilt out of storage, don’t put it straight on to a bed or couch.

You should be careful check for spiders and insects. They like a dark place with heaps of places to hide.

As an alternative take it outside and give it a good shake, this could get rid of plenty of dust which might have been collected, as well as any insects that could be in it.

Then leave the quilt to air outside for a few hours to help get rid of ‘that cupboard smell ‘

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

Everybody has their own specialized quilting equipment, our rotary cutters, the quilting ruler and the specialized quilting mats. There is however one tool, that is owned by quilters and non-quilters alike that saves hours of frustration and prevents lots of possible problems for quilters.

Its the iron.

While nearly everybody owns an iron, any quilter worth their salt, knows that without it, quilting would be an up hill battle, one that would take much longer and be much harder without it.

Here’s two ways that expert quilters use irons to save time and get the ideal finish each time:

Stictching a Seam

If you have ever attempted to stitch a seam, you will know how exact you have got to be to get it right. Its something very few people get right on their first attempt.

You can spend a long time measuring and cutting with precision and what it takes is one tiny wrinkle or fold to undo all your precise work.

Here is where an iron comes in to save the day. Simply place the materials together at the seam as if you were shaping up to start stiching and run a hot iron over the top. This should eliminate any wrinkles and bumps and will make sure that the materials are the same length and flatness.

It also makes it significantly better for sewing as the materials will tend to keep a flat smooth edge ready for sewing.

Adding a Border

Attaching a border or edging to a quilt is comparable in nature to sticthing a seam, fundamentally you are just adding a big seam to the exterior of your quilt. Nevertheless this is harder than a standard seam as any inconsistencies are magnified.

Running an iron around the exterior of the edge makes sure you can accurately measure the quantity of mateiral needed for the border and will also highlight any uneven or jagged lines.

These are both quite common activities and you should come across these many times in any quilt, whether its an emborided, victorian or rose quilt design. Without out it, you’d see more scrunching, uneven and basically poor seams and edges.

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

Quilts are amazing things. They make great presents, look great in just about any room and can keep you toasty warm during even the chilliest of winter nights. Its simple to grasp why you’d need to speed your way though it.

In any case whether its a puffy quilt or a rose quilt design, there are a bunch of rock solid reasons why you should not do this. The first of which is:

You Can Make Mistakes

Not only can you make mistakes, you most probably will mess up. Even the most experienced quilters are way more sure to mess up when they are rushing. Its the primary cause of most automobile accidents and thats when the drivers personal safety is at risk!

Most likely you’ll make a an error and when you do, it’s going to be minutes or most likely hours of undoing your mistakes, whether its inaccurate measurements, wrong stitching settings or who knows?

Poor Finish

This is the second likely side effect of making an attempt to rush your quilt making. You are likelier to find yourself taking shortcuts.

This can come in any amount of ways. You might be spending less time measuring correctly or not taking as much care with your cutting as you should. This can end up in clumsy joins, gaps or scrunching with your quilt – something that’s better to fix by beginning again.

If you have got to begin your quilt from scratch, its going to take you twice as long as if you had just taken your time the first time.

Pattern Problems

Planning your quilt is a vital part of the quilting process. When you’re in a rush you can lose sight of the overall picture.

You could pick a pattern for a friend they don’t like, forget the decorative style of the room and make something that clashes badly or merely pick some colours that do not really work well together.

Whatever the case may be , whatever the reason, it never pays to rush a quilt. So just take it easy, relax and take heart in the undeniable fact that if you did rush it – it just would not work out.

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

Making a quilt for someone is a challenging business, especially if you’re making it as a surprise gift.

You’ve got to find out all sorts of information about what the person needs or wants, but you’ve got to do it in a way so that they don’t discover what you are up to.

So we have got to use out best ninja skills and go undercover to find the details you want to make a quilt they need!

Your first mission should be to recon the house of the person you are making the quilt for. I’m assuming you know this person – it would be peculiar to be making them a quilt if you did not know them well.

Find a reason to go over. Coffee, a catch up heck even bake a tray of muffins and bring them over. The crucial part here is to get a reason to go over.

If you can, wait for a moment until they are out of the room. Then do some fast recon of their bedroom and lounge room.

Pay very close attention to the colours of their decor, noting any patterns or common themes. Also have a close look at what cover they have on their bed already – it may give you an insight into what they like.

Secondly find a smooth way of starting a conversation on quilts. You might say something similar to “I was taking a look at buying a new quilt cover last weekend” or “I was at a store recently and saw a pretty quilt cover”.

Go into detail about what you liked about the pattern and quilt the most. They should then tell you what they like in a quilt. If not, you may have to gently nudge them into sharing their thoughts.

“If you were able design the ultimate quilt cover, what would it be?” or “What do you think of rose quilt designs?”

Fundamentally, asking them without letting on what you’re up to and making it feel like a natural conversation.

If they don’t want to share or do not have an opinion during this conversation, don’t push them too much. It will look suspicious.

In this case, your next stop is their pals or immediate family. You’ll be surprised about how much they pick up about the taste of people near them or they could have simply overheard them talking about a pattern or colours that they like.

These are some great ways to find out what you have to know, without letting on what you’re actually up to.

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