| Fortunately, veteran quilters have paved the way for beginner quilters by devising tips and techniques for saving time and reducing mistakes. It is advisable for a beginner quilter to compile as many tips and strategies as possible. When these quilting tips are reviewed, mistakes that once caught the beginner quilter by surprise, can now be avoided or at least reduced.
There are tips and techniques for almost every step in the quilting process. There are also quilting tips that apply to the tools used in making a quilt.
Some of the most popular tips for beginning quilters are:
1) Choosing fabric – the adage “you get what you pay for” definitely applies. Avoid the cheap fabric because often times these products will contain inconsistent, loose, thin, and dull colored threads. Shrinking problems is also a common problem with cheap fabric.
2) Choosing a good quality fabric – should be soft and heavy, crisp colors and clear designs. The weave of a high quality should be consistent and smooth. If using fabric with metallic prints, the metallic material should not flake.
3) When marking a fabric, do not use a pencil, pen, or wash-out markers because these mediums will not wash out and can destroy the fabric over time. The popular choice for quilters is chalk.
4) When using a needle, sometime it is hard to grip. A simple solution is to cut a finger tip from a latex glove and use on finger that holds the needle.
5) When storing pins and needles, insert into plain bar of soap. The soap prevents rust and also coats the needles with a film of soap. This makes the pins smooth and will be able to go through multiple layers of fabric and batting.
6) Always use the same ruler throughout the project. This helps prevent measurement errors.
7) Use sandpaper underneath fabric and rulers. This helps to lessen the chance of slipping and inaccuracy.
8) Rotary cutters are a very important tool and are the source of many mistakes made in quilting. Some tips to help with this tool include: keep spare blades on hand, always keep the blade covered, use the rotary cutter while standing – sitting or leaning can cause crooked cuts, avoid cutting pins because pins nick the blade which leads to imperfect cuts.
The beginner quilting tips listed above is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the time saving techniques that can be applied to any project. These tips should get the beginner quilter thinking constantly on how to improve a certain step whether it is a time saving or quality issue.
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