Watching an expert quilter at work is a very deceptive show. The hands of
artists usually move so gracefully and precisely that you are bound to believe
that quilting is easy. Asking the quilter himself or herself will tell you
otherwise. While quilting might not be the
easiest activity in existence, there are a few quilting tips you could follow to
make the learning and quilting process a little easier for yourself.
Quilting Tips #1: Get Your Colours Right
As a beginner, your first product will most probably have a big say in how
enthusiastic you will be in resuming quilting.
It is easy to get discouraged when your first project turns out bad, something
that is bound to happen no matter how many quilting tips you follow or books you
consult.
Planning should be a big part of your first project, especially with regards to
the fabrics and colours you will use. Even a simple design could look downright
drab or ludicrous once executed with the wrong colour combinations. Once you
have yourself a pattern for your first quilt, try colouring it in with pencils
or markers. That way, you get to see how your quilt will most probably turn out.
You might want to use a colour wheel if you are not very familiar with which
colours work with which.
Quilting Tips #2: Treat Your Fabrics Fairly
Washing the fabric before starting the quilting
process is always put down to your preference, there being alleged benefits for
both cases. However, what you do to one fabric should be done to all the fabrics
to ensure uniform quality and characteristics. Once one or more fabrics have
been washed, it is very likely that characteristics from size to colour could
change. Washing or not washing all the fabrics uniformly will help prevent too
much of a discrepancy between the squares.
Quilting Tips #3: Divide and Conquer
Since you are a beginner at quilting, you will most probably be starting off
with a very basic pattern that is consistent and even all throughout; no complex
designs for you yet. This makes it easy for you to put one of the commonest
quilting tips into action, divide and conquer.
It gets difficult to manage a quilt as it gets larger and larger. Because there
is an increasing amount of material and fabric for you to handle, finding the
right place to stitch or place a block could get confusing. It is a good idea to
plan out your pattern and then divide it into quadrants. You could then make the
quadrants in turn, assembling them together when all of them are finished. It
makes for a neater and easier job, along with more consistent quality.
Quilting is something that is usually learned, not taught. People familiar with
the procedure have received quilting tips from others in the past but have
learned a bulk of the process on their own. A little practice is all it takes,
though, before you start making magnificent quilts of your own.