How to sew a quilt! (Quilting 101)

Quilting is my biggest passion. I think it's probably hereditary. :D

I also think it's a skill that is useful beyond words... quilts are beautiful and functional and I consider them to be the greatest gift in the world. (Really, who wouldn't want a quilt?) They're family heirlooms, passed down through the generations until they fall apart. They're an amazing way to use up scrap fabric, and a cheap first sewing project.

Not to mention I find sewing/cutting them very therapeutic... lots of straight lines with no pressure. :)

In this instructable I'm going to take you through creating a basic queen size 9-patch patchwork quilt. These are my favorites because they are not complicated and can be completed in far less time than other quilt types.

I'll teach you about the tools needed for quilting, how to cut squares, choosing fabrics, batting, making a quilt sandwich, how to choose and attach backing, and assembling the quilt top among other things. It's also important to note that you can easily complete one of these in a couple weeks - I started this one on March 7th, and finished it on April 3rd - but that included lots of documentation and only working in good sunlight. ;)

I do hope this instructable is helpful for you and inspires you to quilt. We need more quilts in the world! :D

Step 1 Basic Quilting Definitions

Like most skills, quilting comes with its own lingo. I thought I'd add this here and give my own definitions of many of the words I'll be using in the instructable.

Backing: the bottom part of the quilt, typically made of one solid piece of fabric. Most times this fabric is white - I like to use sheets for this!

Batting: the cushy middle of a quilt - can be made from cotton, polyester or wool. Typically bought according to the size of the quilt you're making - found in rolls.

Bias-tape: strips of fabric used to bind the edges of a quilt.

Binding: the edging of a quilt - it encases the raw edges.

Blocks: a piece of fabric made from sewing 9 squares together.

Piecing: sewing together pieces of fabric to form the top layer of the quilt, typically done in blocks.

Quilt sandwich: what I call the three layers - top, batting, backing.

Quilt top: pieced fabric, typically put together in blocks. 

Quilting: sewing through multiple layers of fabric to create one thick layer - typically involves three parts: cloth top, batting middle, cloth bottom.

Seam allowance: the standard seam allowance for quilting is 1/4 inch.

Square: smaller pieces of fabric that are sewn together to make a larger, square piece of fabric. In this case, we will be sewing together 9 small blocks to make one large square. A quilt top is made up of these blocks sewn together.

Comments

[amylea]

That's fab, thank you! I have been so inspired by your instructables - I am an absolute beginner (seriously, I can hardly sew a button on) but I feel like I have absorbed so much useful information to get me started. Thank you!

[amylea]

This is probably a really ridiculous question but - is there an easy way to hand-sew a seam at a 1/4 inch seam allowance? I don't have a sewing machine but would love to make a quilt. Am I setting myself up for failure?!

[jessyratfink]

You're definitely not setting yourself up for failure. My grandmother sewed all her quilts by hand, and she made TONS of them!

If you do a really tiny running stitch (just make sure it's nice and tight) it'll work! And if you're worried about making the 1/4 sea allowance nice and even, pin the squares/blocks together while sewing and use the pins as a sewing line.

[kattywompas1]

Great tutorial! Try 505 Basting Spray. No pins needed. It holds together as long as you need (for over a year if you can't get back to it right away), comes apart if you need to readjust and doesn't gum up your needle or sewing machine. I have a very expensive machine, and have had no problems. It runs about $12.99 a can and a little goes a long way. Joann's has it if you don't know where to find it.

[bpucks]

Wow, you make me feel like I can complete a beautiful project! Thank you!

[straycatmeow]

I really like your deer lamp. Is that a DIY or store bought?

[saitaiable child]

how did she make her paw bend that way?

[irwinkris]

hi agen! have you tried a disappering 9 patch quilt. its just as easy and it is a nice change up.

[irwinkris]

i love it. my mother inlaw has been begging me to make her a quilt for years. she says its easy. i have tried 17 times and just figured i sucked. i would then pick up the knitting needles and make her another blanket. you have taken all my questions and solved them for me. i can not thank you enough. THANK YOU!

[rquickel]

What a thorough, helpful and clear instructable. I finally understand how to do those friggin' corners! Thank you so much.

[CherylTX]

The binding is where we differ but yours is definitely the better finish and traditional. For me, instead of trimming my backing even with the quilt, I always bought a king size sheet and, at this stage, trim it to be 4 inches beyond the top, all the way around. Then fold it over the front (two folds so it's hemmed), pin it well and sew it down, miter fold at the corners.

(there's nothing worse than a know-it-all commenting all over your instructable; I'm just so excited to see such wonderful, well done instructions!)

[ToniRose]

That would make a great instructable on its own! (hint, hint)

[CherylTX]

Oh, good idea!

[jessyratfink]

Haha, thank you! My grandmother did it the fold-over way too... I really like the look of it, but I'm always too lazy to handsew it, and not brave enough to do it by machine. :D

[DiannaCarter]

I have been wanting to make a quilt and your instructions are very detailed along with great pictures to walk you though it all. I had always wondered if I needed a walking foot and you cleared that up.. I have also wanted to make my own binding, so your instructions have inspired me to pick up all the extra's and get started. Thank you for taking the time to ease the beginning sewers into it all. I cannot wait to try this, the forcast calls for rain this weekend and my husband will be out fishing, I think I will try to start something this weekend.. I might not finish it by this weekend but at least I could get started. Thanks agian,

[jessyratfink]

You're welcome! I'm so happy you liked it. :)

[Rynrambles]

Thank you soooo much. Have always wanted to sew. Took one class last year that taught me how to thread a machine. I had hoped for more. Bought a $120 Janome & googled instructions. Found this page. Just finished my quilt yesterday. Took 110 days, where I didn't touch it for a solid 6 weeks and would put in a few good 8-10 hours days here & there at my leisure. The bias tape scared me the most & the tool was more frustrating than not but (: I made a quilt (her name is Josie Bell Woods) and I am beyond pleased. My biggest mistake was not sewing close enough to the crease on the mitered corners. However, I added a lil stitch & do not mind the flaws. Thank you sooooo very very much!

[jessyratfink]

That's so neat! I'm so excited you finished your quilt. Happy I could help. :)

[cparke1]

I've never done my own binding. I always use satin binding because it's easy. But, I love your methods and directions for your binding. I don't have a binding machine and don't want to go to the expense. Do you think I could just fold the cut fabric in half, iron it, then fold the cut edges inside to the fold and iron again? Wouldn't that give me the same end result? I am going to try doing my own binding because you made it seem fairly easy and the finished product looked beautiful. Thanks for the instructable!

[jessyratfink]

You can definitely do that! I do that for smaller items all the time. I just like the bias tape maker shortcut for when I'm making yards and yards of it. :D

[mz anne thrope]

This is such a great intro to quilting that I'm going to go thru my old clothes and fabric stash and try one. But I have a question...when you start to sew the columns do you sew them vertically then across?
What a great way to get rid of cloth and make Xmas gifts. Thanks!

[jessyratfink]

Yep, sew them into vertical columns, and then sew those columns together!

[jhawes1]

You said its helpful to iron again...where was the 1st part of ironing?

[jessyratfink]

Step 13! Once you have all your blocks sewn I like to flatten them before you lay them out to decide your final layout. :)

[Rane]

Is it odd that I'm a married man, and I want to do this? I love quilts and I'm decent at this sort of thing. Do you just cut up old T-shirts and re-use fabrics? Thats what my grandmother did when I was younger.

[mz anne thrope]

Sewing is nothing but construction with softer building materials. So, not strange at all. There's a lot of spatial thinking going on with both, too. Good luck with your projects.

[jessyratfink]

No, not odd at all! And you definitely should. :D

I have yet to use tshirts, but I do use little bits of fabrics left over from other projects and pieces from old clothes. My grandmother did that as well!

[cdye]

i LOVE the curved pins idea...i have tried so many many things to STOP stabbing myself so much, but must admit that Istill do! I checked at our local store and they don't carry then, but i'm going to look online and maybe i can find some there!

PS I LOVE YOUR TUTORIAL!!! IT IS AWESOME!!!!! I LOVE QUILTING AND YOU MADE THIS THE EASIEST TO UNDERSTAND I'VE EVER SEEN!!! THANK YOU BOTH!!! :)

[belbix08]

Your quilt is beautiful! I've been taking on more craft projects lately and I can't wait to get started on this one! You make it seem so easy and fun, thanks for putting this up for begginers like me =)

[jessyratfink]

Awww, thank you. Glad you liked it! :)

[PurpleKat]

There will indeed be more quilts in the world! My bedspread is long past worn out, but I don't like the synthetic microfiber things that they sell now. I thought I'd need a big fancy machine to make a quilt, but now I know better. I'll be off to the fabric store soon. :)

[jessyratfink]

Yay! Happy I could convince you. :D

[RobSmith51]

About how much of each fabric, roughly?
Thanks

[jessyratfink]

It depends how many fabrics you want to use in your quilt, honestly. If you want to use only a few colors it's easy enough to estimate, but if you want to do lots of random colors it's much harder. I'd check step five and try to work out what you think is best.

Just keep in mind that you'll have a total of 400+ squares in your quilt, and you can get 90 squares out of a yard, so you can easily do a quilt out of 6 yards or so. :)

[RobSmith51]

I've been wanting to make a quilt ,I usually make clothes and some crafts but quilts always scared me off. But after looking at you instructions I'm ready to try one. Thanks for the directions.

[balalawi]

thank you very much .You are very clear in your instrutions.
but do you know how can I make a quilt with photo?
my sister will marry soon and i want to make a quilt with her photo as a present

[jessyratfink]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Photographic-Quilt/

There's always something like the instructable above, or printing images directly onto fabric. It all depends on what you want the finished product to be like. :)

[cbledsoe31]

I've been thinking about tackling my first quilt and I've been trying to find an easy pattern with clear, detailed instructions. This seems like something I can handle (hopefully!). Thank you SO much for posting this!

[CherylTX]

Do you ever sew two squares together and without cutting the thread just keep going with two more and two more. You wind up with what I think of as a kite tail. Then cut them apart and sew the third square to each pair without cutting in between. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner but you've got your time-savers down to an art and kite-tail piecing is one of my fav ways to speed the process.

[jessyratfink]

I've always heard about this but haven't actually tried it... though I'm going to be making a baby quilt for a friend soon, so I might give it a go!