Making a quilt

[Antheia]

I have desided to make a patchwork quilt for DD out of all her baby clothes. What else would i need to make it?

[Lukesmum]

Sorry I don't know what else you need but just wanted to say what a great idea that is. I might steal the idea if I ever have a girl.

[Salsa]

Yes, thats a lovely idea.
Some others more experienced will come along Im sure, but as far as I know, you`ll need to buy backing fabric (unless you plan to have the patchwork on both sides). And buy some 'batting' which you get from spotlight etc in either cotton or polyester. Its the sheeting that goes in the middle of the patchwork and backing.
Um, you might want to get some binding for the edges, but not nessacary, and Im not sure about needles - depends if you`ll hand sew or machine it.

What pro quilters use to get even pieces of fabric is a cutting mat/board, a quilting ruler and a rotary cutter. You can do without these but the job will take alot longer and be more fiddly probably.

[~Saram~]

hi Antheia,

What a lovely idea! Are you planing to hand piece or machine piece and have you thought about designs? Are you going with squares, patterns etc. a self healing mat, rotary cutter and quilters ruler are great and I would say must haves but I quilt quite a bit and couldn't stand fussy cutting each piece.

You will need to look at the fabrics you are using also and try and stick to 100% cotton so it wears evenly, if you are looking at using a variety of different fabrics you will need to think about how these will sew and wear together, particulary if you are going to machine quilt the finished quilt.

Buy good quality cotton in matching colours to the fabrics you will be sewing together.
Wait until you have finished the top before buying your wadding and backing fabric so you know how big the finished product is.

Have fun!

[Antheia]

Definatly machine. I'm not sure what materials are in there i havent had a good look yet.

Where would i get the rotery cutter and ruler from? Do you know if there are any magazines or books about quilting?

[Salsa]

Spot light or lincraft should have those things. Not all cutters are the same quality, but I dont know which brands are better or worse.

Books from library and magazines for crafters available where most shops that have a good selection.