Beginner's Guide To Quilting - UK (2020-04)

All about...

MAKING

A QUILT

W

hen you see big, beautiful

quilts on display, it’s easy

to wonder how you could

ever make one of those. But whether

you’re creating a mini make like a

child’s playmat, or a super-sized

bedspread made from beautiful

patchwork blocks, the principles of

making a quilt are the same and

we’re help you get there!

You’ll already have read how to create

the quilt ‘top’ by piecing together fabric

shapes. Over the next few pages we’ll talk

you through how to take this top and add

wadding and backing fabric to make a

‘quilt sandwich’. Fixing the layers

together is sometimes called ‘basting’ a

quilt, and we’ll tell you how to get started

here. Then you’ll move on to stitching

your layers together (find out more about

different quilting techniques on page 66),

and finish it all off by adding binding to

neaten the edges (see page 71). Let’s go!

PLAN YOUR BACKING FABRIC

For the back of a quilt, plain calico is a

popular choice and is often the cheapest

option. Alternatively, pick a neutral

cotton fabric that will complement the

colours in the front of your quilt. If you’d

like something more lively, or have the

option of a reversible quilt, simply opt

for a busier print.

You’ll find most of the fabrics at your

local haberdashery come in 42 – 44in

wide rolls. If you’re making a bed quilt,

this will mean you have to join more than

one piece of fabric together to make the

final backing piece. To avoid this, you can

buy extra-wide backing fabric in 60in, 90

inch, 108in and 116in widths, but the

colour and print choices are more limited.

As a rule, your backing fabric should be

at least 2in larger than the size of your

quilt top all the way around. This allows

for the fabric ‘reducing’ (being pulled

inwards slightly) once you’ve finished the

quilting part of the process (the stage

when you stitch through the layers).

If you’d prefer to get someone else to do

the hard bit, there are seamstresses who

offer a long-arm quilting service – this

basically means you send them all the

parts of your quilt and they’ll assemble

and stitch the quilt together for you. If

you go for this option then you’ll need

your backing to be at least 4in larger all

round than the quilt top. Prepare the

backing fabric by trimming off the

selvedges and pressing.

Gather-up your supplies and clear some space - it’s time to

learn how to put together the pieces to create a quilt.

All about Quilting

56 Beginner’s Guide to Quilting

HOW TO PLAN YOUR BACKING FABRIC

Whether you’re making

a mini quilt (like a

playmat) or a super-

sized bedspread, the

principles are the same.

1

2

One length of backing

fabric, to measure 42x126in

(126in = 3½yards)

Quilt top size

59x80in

Cut the backing

fabric in half across

the width to make

two 42x63in pieces