Making a girls quilt???

I'd love to make a quilt for my young daughter...where do I start?

Do you use patterns? I have never quilted before in my life but can sew...

I tried to google patterns but that didn't really work...I guess I could do a really simple one, but thought some good ideas may come from here [], given that there seem to be a few keen, experienced and very clever quilters out there

you can just make one square (say 6inches square) and then another one made up of four squares to total 6 inches.. repeat that across the quilt and you'll have a lovely look.... just make sure you measure well and you'll be ok.. because you'll have one solid square between each four square you don't have to worry too much if the lines are not 100% perfect across.. you'll never notice... to quilt it you'll need lots of safety pins and a walking foot but if you get the top made we can talk you through the wadding and backing later...

My wife, a quilter of 25 years , suggests you have a look at this link:
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/i-spy-four-patch.html

It gives detailed and clear instructions for the idea described in the previous reply.

Also a good idea is to buy a 1/4 inch foot for your sewing machine, the one with a guide on the side is best. Then every seam will be exact and the squares will work out a lot better, as otherwise if you are guessing the seams, you will not end up with correct sized blocks, and the quilt will become an UFO (unfinished Object) as you will get disheartened because its not going to look right.

highgirl;383333 wrote: I'd love to make a quilt for my young daughter...where do I start?

Do you use patterns? I have never quilted before in my life but can sew...

I tried to google patterns but that didn't really work...I guess I could do a really simple one, but thought some good ideas may come from here [], given that there seem to be a few keen, experienced and very clever quilters out there

I am like you - a competent sewer but never before a quilter!

I have recently tried a bit of quilting and did one for my daughter. Got a pattern off TradeMe and bought the required fabric. It is stunning and i am pleased with the result - am yet to have it batted and quilted but with the price of fabric I am so glad I did it properly and did it to a pattern.

on the other hand if you have lots of scraps you could play around but i doubt the outcome would be gobsmackingly gorgeous

Even my experienced quilting mate still uses a pattern...and she taught me the technique of setting up the panels and looking at it through the binoculars backwards to see the glaringly obvious colour problems and clashes that you don't notice when looking at it up close.

Any thread that starts with "I'd love to make a quilt" gets me really excited, LOL. Good on you Highgirl - be prepared to become addicted once you've made your first one! In my opinion, there is little that matches pouring love and time into making a quilt for someone special, that they can then wrap themselves in and keep warm and comforted with. A magical feeling for both maker and recipient.

The Quiltville site that WillEyre mentioned is a really good place to start as the patterns aren't difficult, use a variety of fabrics and come with good instructions to print off. Another site I like is www.quilterscache.com - this is a treasure trove of free quilt block patterns that you can spend hours going through. The instructions are step by step and you get to see different examples of how the finished quilt will look. The blocks come in a variety of sizes as well, so something for everyone.

As the others have said, accurate cutting, using a quarter inch foot on your machine and being able to stitch in a straight line are pretty much all you need to make a simple, but lovely quilt.

I'd suggest you find yourself a nearby quilt shop (there are lots around, but if you have difficulty, PM me and I'll give you some details of ones close to you) and go in and talk to them about what you're planning. There are several tools that you can buy that will make accurate cutting and sewing a breeze, although you can do well with a ruler, pencil and scissors for very little outlay. Also check out what quilt books and magazines your local library might have or be able to get in for you. You may have a local quilt guild that you could join to get practical assistance, encouragement and enjoyment from. Quilt shops should have details.

Generally it's recommended that you use 100% cotton fabric as this is often the easiest to work with.

Do let us know how you get on, and yell out if we can help - there are quite a few quilters on this site and it's hard to find one that doesn't love to encourage others into this wonderful craft.

Cheers, Mich.

Oh - a PS - once you've made your first quilt, you will probably have leftover fabric aka scraps. This will be the start of your fabric stash, so in order to keep it from getting out of hand, you need to make more quilts. Which leads to more scraps. And then there's the fabric that you buy 'just because'. And then there's the sale fabric. Like any artist, one needs a good 'palette' of colours. Get the drift? Scrap quilts can be absolutely stunning and there are oodles of quilters that prefer that kind over anything else - me included. If you're after particular shapes to applique onto fabric, a good place to check out is www.susanclaire.com . She's based just north of Wellington and has some amazing pre-cut shapes of all sorts of things (specially farm animals, flowers, hearts etc). All you need to do is take the paper backing off and iron to the backing fabric, then machine applique to secure.

OK, I'm finished now...

Well its been a while.....

When I made my first ''quilt'' it was suppposed to be a small wee thing but being me I just got into it and what I did was just buy fabrics I liked.

Being me, nothing is just sample size, its big (if you are going to stress, it might as well be with something worthwhile). I made it into (oh I can't remember the pattern was it log cabin?) for my first quilt, and as per my normal way I added sides etc and I didn't get the shading right so it added a different pattern but still interesting (my tutor said so) and my Girl just watched what I was bringing home after each lesson and when it was done she said she really liked it.

Being so, and being my only, it was my gift to her. My first quilt. Its still my favourite too and its big enough to fit a bigger bed.