Learn basic quilting techniques with step-by-step photo instructions.
There are at least four ways to make Flying Geese Quilt Blocks. This post gives you step by step instructions for one of them: making the block from one rectangle and two contrasting squares. How to Sew a Flying Geese Quilt Block from Squares and Rectangles You will need a rectangle for the “goose” and…
Photographs and other images add something special to your quilts, t-shirts, and other sewing projects. Pretreated ink jet printer fabric makes printing on fabric at home fast and easy. You can print your first image on fabric in just a few minutes. Supply List for Printing Pictures on Fabric Here’s what you’ll need to print…
When a quilt top is done and you’re ready to assemble the layers into a finished quilt, there are several ways to attach the layers together. There’s hand quilting. There’s machine quilting. And then there’s the simplest option, tying the quilt. Hand tying a quilt consists of stitching a tough, heavy yarn or thread through…
The Courthouse Steps block is a variation on the traditional Log Cabin quilt block. Like other Log Cabin blocks, Courthouse Steps is made from light and dark quilting fabrics arranged in a step formation around a central “hearth” square. The arrangement of the logs in two sets of graduated light and dark “steps” gives the…
Do you prewash your quilting fabric? I do if I know the quilt I’m making will be washed after I finish it. I have a superstitious fear that if I don’t prewash, I’ll spend days and days making a quilt, only to have it shrink after I finish it and ruin all my hard work….
We really do live in a golden age of quilting, with all kinds of time-saving devices and techniques the quilters of old didn’t have. I’m especially glad I started quilting after the invention of the rotary cutter and that fabulous time-saving trick, strip piecing. If it’s possible to strip piece a quilt, I do. Three…
The Rail Fence quilt block is one of my favorites because it is so easy to strip piece and because it shows off a pretty fabric so well. This post shows you how to make Rail Fence blocks in several sizes and configurations. I usually make 6-1/2″ blocks, but I’ve also included cutting instructions for…
The more time I spend quilting, the bigger my scrap pile grows. The thought of throwing away all that precious fabric makes me break out in a cold sweat, so I keep all but the very smallest scraps. But what is a quilter to do with all those odd bits and pieces that accumulate as you…
Psst! Don’t tell the Quilt Police, but sometimes I’ve had trouble making my blocks come out the right size. How about you? Do any of these sound familiar? Your quilt blocks end up a bit too small. The points of your stars or triangles get chopped off at the tips. The seams on your quilt tops…
I love Log Cabin blocks for their history, their homey look, and the many different quilt patterns you can create with them. They are easy to make, too. You can strip piece a whole quilt’s worth of Log Cabin blocks in just a few hours. A Log Cabin block consists of two sets of “logs,”…
My favorite way to baste most quilts is with basting spray. But sometimes basting with safety pins is a better choice–if you don’t like breathing in chemical fumes, for instance, or if you’re basting a quilt that you might not get finished for quite a while. Pin basting is easy to learn, low-tech, and involves…
What’s your least favorite part of making a quilt? Mine is basting. Or it was, until I discovered basting spray. Basting spray glues the layers of a quilt together temporarily until you can quilt them together permanently with your sewing machine. It’s by far the fastest and easiest way I’ve found to baste, and the…