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Beginner Basics

No matter who we are, we are all beginners at some point in life. This is why I have a section of my website dedicated to those first time questions. To see each section, either click on the phrase, or scroll down to see all selections.

Photo Glossary
How To Use A Rotary Cutter
1/4" seam - why it is important
4-patch, 9-patch, 5-patch What's the difference
A Fat what?
What's a stash?
Pressing Seams
To Wash Or Not To Wash
Fabric Selection


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Photo Glossary

Rotary Cutter There are many different brands of rotary cutters. All of them have a round razor blade attached to a handle. You will want to find one that you can use comfortably and safely. Always be sure to keep the blade sharp. You can buy new blades, or you can sharpen the old blade with a special sharpening tool. The most important rule about rotary cutters is: Always close the blade when you set the cutter down!
Rotary Cutting Mat Just as there are a variety of rotary cutters, there are a variety of rotary cutting mats. There are small ones, that are just 4 inches square, up to large table top mats. The most common mat would be the 18" x 24" mat. This size is great for the average quilter. A smaller mat is more convenient for taking to classes.
Rotary Cutting Rulers The three basic size rulers that are nearly essential for a quilter are.. the 12 1/2" square ruler with a 45deg. diagonal marking, the 6 1/2" ruler with the 45deg marking, and the 6 x 24" ruler for the longer cuts. The 6 x 24" ruler generally will also have markings for 30, 45, and 60 deg angles. There are many other sizes for the basic rulers, and all are excellent. The three sizes I have mentioned are the most commonly used in my opinion.
Specialty Rulers For some projects, it is helpful to have a special ruler made just for that project. An example of these are the Tri-Recs Rulers and the Dear Jane Rulers. The Tri-Recs rulers are great for making Peeky & Spike (Named by Doreen Speckmann I believe). This is a triangle in a square used to make trees, pinwheels, and other very interesting patterns. The Dear Jane rulers are helpful if you are a Dear Jane fanatic. The Dear Jane book is a very special collection of patterns, from a quilt made by a woman in 1863. To read more about Jane, click here.
Other Specialty Rulers Wondercut Ruler, EZ series, MasterPiece Ruler, Add-a-Quarter, and Square-in-a-Square are just a few examples of rulers that are available. They are all excellent rulers, the one(s) you will want is just a matter of what method is comfortable for you. My advice is to see these rulers demonstrated before you buy them.
Scissors Again, as with all the tools available for quilters, there is a great variety of scissors available. All with their own plus and minuses and all with their place in your sewing box. You will want a large blade scissors and a smaller scissors for starters. The fiskars soft-touch handles are my favorites. Note never use fabric scissors on paper, it will dull the blade quickly! You can also buy special thread snips, that are small and easy to carry around for applique and hand quilting projects. I use the small blue pen-like thread snips to carry with me for hand quilting projects. They have a cover for the blade, so you don't accidentally cut something, and are easy to use for clipping small threads.
Writing/Marking Tools There are many different writing tools available. For temporary marking you can try water soluble, chalk, no 2 pencil(be careful with this one), and vanishing ink pens. All of these will give you a marking for a time, and either vanish with sunlight or be washed away with water. NOTE never iron a temporary marking unless you want to make it permanent!!!!
There are a few permanent marking pens on the market also. Pigma pens have long been a favorite for some quilters. Recently, the gel pens have been tested by some and found to be easy to use. A word of caution, test any pen you use on a scrap .. write, then let set, then iron, then wash to see if the marking will come out. Ironing is generally a necessary step to ensure that the ink will stay. Only iron markings that you want to be permanent!
Thimbles Thimble-It, leather or metal Thimbles, .... are examples of thimbles that are available. As I don't use a thimble, I can only say that try the thimble on before buying it, especially if it is expensive. One of the favorites I know of is the Roxanne Thimble.
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 How To Use A Rotary Cutter

This feature under construction.
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 1/4" Seam - Why It Is Important

You may be asking yourself "Why do I have to have my seams exactly 1/4 inch? Why the exact? What if all my seams were 3/8 inch or even 5/8 inch? Would that be so bad?" Well, my answer is... No! That is not so bad.. IF you were sewing all the same blocks into one quilt and not sharing work with anybody else on group projects, and if all the blocks you sew have the same number of seams. It would be perfectly alright for you to have you own personal seam allowance if you don't plan on doing any sharing of your work (i.e. charity quilts where each participant makes a block, and all the blocks are made into a quilt to be raffled or given to charity.)

However, if you intend to make quilts using a variety of blocks, or if you want to submit blocks for an exchange or for a charity project, you will need to try your best to use an 1/4" seam allowance. It can have big consequences if you are off even a little bit. For instance: If you use a 1/4" seam allowance minus just 1/16th of an inch, then in a block with 4 internal seams (5 patch block) the one block would be off by 5/16 or nearly 3/8 of an inch. If you sew the quilt in rows, and you have five blocks across, that 3/8 of an inch turns into 1 full inch. This is why you should try to keep an accurate seam. That 1/16th of an inch can have big consequences when put in the wrong context.

A good way to practice the 1/4" seam, is to take three pieces of 1 1/2" x 3" strips of fabric. Sew them together. Now, measure the middle piece. It should be 1 inch exactly. If it isn't, you should try to adjust your seam allowance.
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 4-patch, 9-patch, 5-patch What is the difference

The naming of some of the simplist blocks can be confusing.
For example, here is a four-patch. It is made up of four squares, 2 across, 2 down.
 A nine-patch is similar, made up of 9 squares, 3 across, 3 down.

But, then you have a five-patch, which isn't made up of 5 squares (impossible to get a square from 5 smaller squares). A five-patch is a block which has 5 squares across and 5 squares down, for a total of 25 squares in the block.

The basic rule of thumb is that the four-patch and the nine-patch are the only ones that have the total number of squares in the name (4 squares in a four-patch and 9 squares in a nine-patch). All the other "number-patch" blocks have the "number" as the number of blocks in one direction. (i.e. - a 7-patch has 7 squares down and 7 across for a total of 49). It is important to have a basic understanding of these classifications because many block indexes on the internet and in books have the blocks divided into these construction categories.
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 A Fat what?

You have probably heard the term "Fat Quarter" or even "Fat Eighth". This isn't refering to fractions in need of a diet, or even to those metal objects that every one is collecting nowadays. These are simply alternative ways to get 1/4 yard and 1/8 yard cuts of fabric.

More specifically, fabric comes on a bolt, with the material folded once lengthwise. The width of the fabric is generally 40-44 inches for the 100% cotton that is most popular with quilters. So, 1 yard of fabric would be 36" by 40". A 1/2 yard cut would be 18" x 40", a 1/4 yard cut would be 9" x 40", and an 1/8 yard cut would be 4 1/2" x 40". A Fat Quarter (FQ) is a yard of fabric (36"x40") cut in half both ways to yeild four 18"x20" pieces. A Fat Eighth (FE) is a FQ cut in half (9"x20" or 18"x10").

The 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 yard cuts are great for many applications, and they are especially nice if you want a long strip for a border (which is under 40"). However, suppose you want 16" square of fabric. With a regular cut, you would need 1/2 yard, and would have lots left over in the width. If you had a FQ, there is much less leftover. Fat quarters allow quilters to build a stash quickly and economically. FQ are also available pre-packaged so you do not have to wait for your yardage to be cut. so, it is best to think about how you are going to use the fabric to determine whether you want a FQ or a 1/4 yard cut off the bolt.
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 What's a stash?

A stash is simply a collection of fabric. You become a fabriholic when your stash is very very very large. A stash is something that most quilters just must have. Who wants to have to go shopping every time you want to start a new project? I recommend that you buy 100% cotton fabric at every opportunity, assuming your checkbook will allow you to. Also, buy more than the pattern asks for. This way you will never run out! However, if you are not buying for a particular project (which is about 90% of the time lol) then there are three simple guidelines.
1. If you like scrappy quilts, buy lots of fat quarters, of all colors, of all designs.
2. If you really like a fabric, buy no less than 1 yard.
3. If you think a fabric may be the focus of your quilt, or used in the border, buy no less than 3 yards.
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 Pressing Seams

There are a few different ways to press your seams. Listed are the choices, and why you might choose one way over the others.
Press towards the darker fabric - This is a good choice when sewing squares or rectangles together. When you press towards the darker fabric, the seam is less likely to show through the front as a shadow.
Press the seam open - This is a good choice when you have a lot of seams (more than 4) coming together at one point. For example, if you have a pinwheel block, where you have 8 seams meeting in the middle, pressing the seams open will balance the bulk so the center doesn't feel like a huge bump. There will still be a bump, but it is easier to control it with the seams open.
Press for ease of construction - Occasionally, you have to break the above two rules in order to make sewing two pieces together easier. When matching two seams, it is sometimes to match the seams if the seam allowance is going in opposite directions. If all of the seam allowance is piled on top of each other, it is near impossible to match the seam and get a nice crisp point. Another time when construction tells you which way to press is for curved seams, like in the wedding ring blocks or drunkard's path. With these patterns, you definitely want the block to tell you which way it will lay flatter.
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 To Wash Or Not To Wash

There are two schools on whether to wash or not wash your fabrics before cutting and sewing. On the one hand, if you wash the fabric before working with it, it helps to remove excess dyes that may get on other fabrics in the completed quilt. Also, washing before hand will get rid of any extra sizing in the material. Different fabrics will shrink at different rates. For example, you may have two 12" squares of fabric. When washed and dried, one piece may measure 11" square, the other may still be 12" square. When the difference is great, it can affect the look of the finished quilt. However, sometimes you may want that look. You may want the quilt to look wrinkled and "old" when it's done. The shrinking after sewing may help to create this look.
My recommendation is either wash all fabrics, or don't wash any before cutting and sewing. Either way, I also recommend using a Dye Magnet. This is a piece of towel-like material that you throw in the washing machine with your clothes/fabric and it absorbs excess dye. It will help to minimize any running of dyes onto lighter colored fabrics, which will "ruin" the quilt.
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 Fabric Selection

When you first start selecting fabrics to make a quilt, it can be scary. Will fabric A go with fabric B? Do these clash? How many fabrics should I use in one quilt? These are all valid questions, and if you are not comfortable with your color instincts, then there are a few rules that you can apply to get a fabulous looking quilt.

1. Choose one fabric as a focal point. This fabric should have many colors in it. It should also be a medium to large design. This fabric could be a floral print, a juvenile print, or other medium to large conversational print.
2. Choose companion fabrics that closely match one or more of the colors in your focal fabric.
3. To give the quilt a little more pizzaz, use a small amount of black or red or yellow, even if it is not in the focal fabric. This little bit of unexpectedness will liven up the fabric selection and move the viewer's eye over the quilt.

If you are not comfortable with the focal fabric concept, you could also choose to use only two colors. Blue & White, Blue & Yellow, Red & White, and other simple color pairs have always been popular. For a child's quilt, using the primary colors red, yellow, and blue would produce an eye catching combination.

When the quilt is finished, the most important point about color selection is and always will be, "Do you like looking at it?". If you can answer yes to that question, then you have done a great job. (Note: After spending so much time making the quilt, it is best to put the quilt away for a few days, and then ask yourself that question.)
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