Casey Walters

A Beginner's Guide to Quilting

Rotary Cutter, Cutting Mat, and Ruler: I use this exact set and it works for me. I wouldn't get a mat any smaller than this one.
Thread: Cotton is better to work with, but expensive. My favorite is Gutermann .
Pins: Use whatever you have! These sewing clips are fantastic for attaching binding, sewing make up bags, etc. but not neccesary.
Iron: A clothing iron will work just fine. I swear by a Rowenta I found at a garage sale for $10.
Scissors: I try to rely on the rotary cutter, but you'll need them inevitably.
Sewing Machine: I use a Singer Heavy Duty 4432. People hate on it, but I think it's a reasonable beginner machine. And it's important to note Singer doesn't make the same quality machines they made 100 years ago. I have heard good thingas about the Brother XR9950 as well.
Seam Ripper: Typically comes with your machine.
Fabric: The expensive part :/ If you are following a pattern, the pattern will tell you how much fabric to buy. If you are buying fabrics off the bolt, let me know! I can try to help you figure out how much you need.
Space: I personally need a lot of space, I'm sure you can get by with less. See below for my set up when I first started quilting!

Parts of a Quilt

Top quilt:

The meat of your project (you'll spend hours cutting, ironing, sewing, and piecing this part)

Batting:

The insulating middle part. There's lots of options; cotton, wool, bamboo, or a cotton/poly blend. (I've used cotton and cotton/poly blend) Craft stores typically sell it off the bolt, or in traditional bedding sizes (queen, full, etc). If you go through the longarmer I mentioned below, you can buy the batting through her and she takes care of all that for you.

Quilt backing:

Whatever you want on the back. I typically buy "extra wide quilt backing", which is 108 ish inches wide instead of the normal 40 - 60 inches. That way I don't have a seam in the backside fabric. I have heard of people using "minky" as a quilt backing, but I am a bit too traditional for that :)

Long Armer

You can complete a quilt without long arming, but my favorites are all long armed! (we can discuss how this works when it comes up, but this is who I like to use. She lives in Roselle, and takes about 6 weeks. I recommend checking out her "penny pantogram" promotion, and I add on the "exact cut" for $10. Totally worth it. She will also do your binding if you want. I'm sure she does incredible work but I have always done mine myself)

Fabrics

It's an overwhelming topic! Here are some words you might see when you go to buy quilting fabrics:

Charm Packs (precut 5 inch squares)

Layer Cakes (10 inch squares)

Jelly Rolls (2.5 inch strips)

Mini Charms (2.5 in squares)

Fat Quarters (see below)

I don't buy these Precut options much because I like to spend 2 hours in the fabric store matching patterns and colors. If that sounds stressful, Charm packs might be a good option for you!

Fat Quarters

Cut differently than how you would normally ask for 1/4 yard off the bolt at the cutting counter. A lot of Quilters prefer them. Some patterns will specify this cut is required. I don't really have a preference. But that's what it means. I use cotton exclusively when quilting. I haven't ventured out of cotton much with clothing either!

Quilting 101