Best quilts & quilting books according to redditors
We found 71 Reddit comments discussing the best quilts & quilting books. We ranked the 43 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 71 Reddit comments discussing the best quilts & quilting books. We ranked the 43 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Congratulations, it looks great! No doubt a lot of hard work. I recommend you check out Jacquie Gering's book-- WALK: Master Machine Quilting with Your Walking Foot https://www.amazon.com/dp/1940655218/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_G5qeAbS1RM71W
I made 5 quilts before I read that book and I've learned SO much from it. I wish I had read it when I first started.
Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Pieced-Modern-Step-Step/dp/1607059894
No I didn't look at your post history, but I'll be happy to if you're okay with me doing that with the sewing stuff.
If I'm not mistaken, sewing patterns unless they are labeled as 'petite' are sloped to fit women who are around 5'7", and the petite are sloped for women who are I think... 5'3 or 5'4? Still way too tall for us. So it's not us, it's the sewing patterns!
When I redid my cosplay jacket, it was a daunting process, not gonna lie. I spent a lot of hours trying to basically reshape the relevant pattern pieces, but I learned a lot! I found this old book called Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book at the thrift store for $3 a few years ago, and it was a huge help. They do a great job illustrating how important it is to make muslins and how to adjust the muslin, and through trial and error I figured out how to translate the changes from the 3D garment onto my pattern pieces. I don't know about the newer versions, but I think that these kind of garment alteration methods are a lost art and I don't think people do them so much anymore,which is great about the book because it was published at a time where women still sewed the clothing for themselves and their families.
But here's a before of the muslin, and the after of the changes I made. I didn't document the process as well as I should have, but since I'm about to start making myself a steampunk jacket here shortly, I'm going to have to go through the process again, and I'll document it a lot better, and I think I'll share how to do this in the /r/sewing subreddit. My husband actually helped with pinching the fabric that was on my back and pinning it, you may be able to enlist whoever lives with you if you feel comfortable doing so.
You're going to get frustrated by not having a rotary cutter. At the minimum I recommend getting a 45mm rotary cutter and a 6 x 24 ruler. You already have a cutting mat so that's good.
You can do it without a rotary cutter but you'll have to draw up cardboard templates, trace the squares out onto the fabric and cut them with the scissors. They likely won't line up perfectly after you sew them together and might end up being different sizes due to distortion. It can be done though.
Do you have an iron and an ironing board?
Using old clothing is fine as long as it is 100% cotton. Bonnie Hunter has written a few books on recycling old clothes for use in scrap quilts. You should see if your library has the books so you can check them out. She thoroughly goes over what types of clothing to look for to reuse and what to stay away from. She explains how to "gut a shirt" to get the most yardage out of it.
Missouri Star Quilt Company has good tutorials for beginners showing the process of quilting, binding, piecing etc. They are video tutorials so you can see it in real time quite easily what to do.
Probably made it via http://www.amazon.ca/Quick-Trip-Quilts-Eleanor-Burns/dp/1891776215/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=07MQWZ06B8FA815FZV42
Here are some other free sewing and craft books on Amazon...
11 Sewing Room Ideas: How to Organize Your Room 86 pages
Sewing for Baby: 11 Small Sewing Projects for Your Little One
May Martin's Sewing Bible e-short 1: Everything You Need to Get You Started 40 pages
Quilt pattern - Yo-Yo Flags
Fairytale Pincushion and Thread Catcher Sewing Pattern
Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont
- the hardcover of this book sells for $23
Duct Tape Bags
Practical Duct Tape Projects
Pink Little Lady Amigurumi Crochet Pattern
Easy Quilt Patterns: 11 Applique Quilt Patterns + Quick Quilts
Value and contrast - they are much more important than colour choices. And don't forget that small patches of fabric sewn together may look completely different from the same fabrics on the bolt.
Mary Fons has a good video on this subject and another that illustrates what can go wrong
Quiltmaker Magazine did a video on Value and Scale and OnPoint did one on choosing fabrics here.
You can also get help from art tutorials such as these:
-- Proko: The Basic Elements: Shape Value Colour Edge
-- ArtTutor: Understanding Tonal Value & Contrast
If you want a book for reference, try Alex Anderson's Scrap Quilting - the link is for Kindle (it's out of print but you can get paper copies through Amazon Marketplace). Sue Aubrey's books Pick Four is another good one - also unavailable at the moment but again you can get cheap second-hand copies.
For choosing fabrics from your stash, the photocopy (or scan and print greyscale) method is good. For choosing fabrics in a shop you need something to strip out the colour, such as a red or green filter -- you can buy fancy gadgets or you can make your own from cellophane paper.
If you find that you are really good at blending and not so good on contrast, then maybe you should look at making watercolour quilts, where the whole aim is to have a gradual change in colour and tone.
My favorite beginner's book is Beginner's Guide to Quilting by Elizabeth Betts. Also, Craftsy has some free classes. You can also check out /r/quilting's wiki for a pretty comprehensive list of how to get started and beginning supplies.
Do you know what pattern or block you're going to do? With any pattern, especially if you're machine piecing, it is CRITICAL to pin seams securely. This is what makes all the difference between all those blocks lining up and slightly off messy looking lines.
Also, hand quilting is not easy and take practice to get the motion down. Don't be disheartened! It seriously takes a lot of practice to get those tiny stitches down. I've been focusing on big stitch quilting which gives a different look, but it still works well. If you have a regular sewing machine, you are pretty much limited to straight line quilting with it.
Eleanor Burns wrote the book Still Stripping After 25 Years.
All of these items are from my "Things I really Want" wishlist which is full of stuff from my other wishlists so that's how I'm organizing this, if that makes sense.
The Highest priority of everything is my tv, which I am not linking because it is hella expensive. I don't have a TV, and I kind of really want one so I can get cable and watch tv.
For Ezra and Jude this cat bed because Ezra loves to curl up under the covers with me and Jude has taken over the other bed.
From my "for the home" wishlist, I would love paper towels I burn through these so fast so it would be awesome to have a nice little stash so I don't have to worry about not having them.
From my girly stuff WL, these shoes because they are super comfortable and I walk to class. And I really want them because they are cute.
From my books WL, this quilting book because I am learning how to quilt and I hear it is a great resource.
From my get my ass in shape WL, this arm band so I have a place to put my phone while I'm jogging/walking that isn't my sweaty bra.
Thanks for the super awesome 'discussion' =)
I found Quilting Makes the Quilt to be immensely helpful in seeing how the quilting impacts the overall look of a quilt.
http://www.amazon.com/Quilting-Makes-Quilt-Lee-Cleland/dp/1564770753
No true fiasco ever began as a quest for mere adequacy
Thanks for the contest!
I've heard good things about this, if you're intending to make things for the kiddos. I just stocked up at Joann's - a lot of the stuff I've made I use craft felt, since the wool felt is so much more expensive, and the kids' attention spans are so short. :)
I got bored, so thought what the hell.
Anitaxjffdskjarizard On her otter heading to McDonalds, handing out awesome art stuffs.
186394 On his dragon heading to his castle giving away gold and kindles to everyone. Oh and wearing an invisible shield he can activate at any time.
Artsy item
Thanks for the contest!
There are so many ways you could quilt this and nearly all would look good. You could stitch in the ditch for all tram tracks and then FMQ around the fabric designs in the blocks; you could ignore the pattern and quilt any design you like; any curved quilting looks good on geometric blocks.
For inspiration you might like to look at Lee Cleland's book Quilting makes the quilt.
I got the pattern from this book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1607056844?pc_redir=1409600524&robot_redir=1
You can get an e-version of it I see but I got to say, I love this book. I've now used 3 of the patterns in it and plan on using at least 2 more. I'll likely repeat this one, it's called Freah.
Source
Curved log cabin piecing! Optical illusions, but looks pretty dang nifty. Jean Ann Wright has a book out, and the ruler is pretty simple to use too
http://www.amazon.com/Curvy-Cabin-Quilts-Jean-Wright/dp/1935726684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457222085&sr=8-1&keywords=curved+log+cabin
Hi! I have to agree that a scrappy quilt is the way to so. It will give you a lot more freedom design wise and if you happen to make a small mistake here or there, it won't be as liable to stand out. Pattern-wise, I would suggest looking up t-shirt quilts and memory quilts people have made out of their children's clothing. Both styles tend to be scrappy and have a work with what you've got mentality about them pattern wise.
Personally, I've found this book ( http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Quilting-Better-Gardens/dp/0696218569 ), and youtube to be invaluable in learning how to put a quilt together. The top stitching, as mentioned, can be done by hand, by machine, or with some investigation, you can even send it away to a company to have it quilted professionally. I've never done this before, but some local quilt shops might be able to help you in that direction. You also have the option to tie the quilt, which essentially uses yarn or thread to tie the front and back together at regular intervals. Beginner-wise, I think this is the easier way to finish a quilt but it gives it a more rustic look, in my opinion. As a positive aspect to tieing the quilt, you can have a tieing party and your grandmother might be able to help you if her hands are still strong.
Make it easy on yourself.
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Step-Step/dp/0696218569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483336921&sr=8-1&keywords=Learn+to+quilt&refinements=p_72%3A2661618011
I really like the quilts from the book 'midnight quilts'. They use black backgrounds with dark colors and jewel tones. I'm making one for my teenage son now.
http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Quilts-Sparkling-Projects-Light/dp/1607054566/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372594861&sr=8-1&keywords=dark+quilt+book
I quilt, and have been doing so since November of 2011. I got started because my grandmother used to sew and there are a few other women in my family who are crafty and I decided "hm, this must be genetic, right? RIGHT!?", and I'm always freezing, so making quilts seemed like a good extension of that. This is a quilt I made for a coworker's grandbaby sometime last year.
Items from my wishlist that would help me continue pursuing the hobby include this book; this tool to make the fabric strips that go around the edges of a quilt; or this set of scissors, because I seem to have lost my last set when I moved in April.
Thank you for your generosity!