Batting  The ‘inside’ of the quilt. Fiber contents vary from cotton, polyester, wool, and cotton-poly blends. The "loft" will determine the thickness of the final quilt, as well as the required/recommended quilting. Generally high loft polyester battings are used if the quilt will be tied; whereas low loft and cotton battings are used if the quilt will be quilted (machine or hand).

Chain Piecing  Used to conserve time and thread. Chain piecing links sets of patches together with a continuous line of stitching. After completing the chain, remove the pieces from the machine and clip the sets apart.

Cutting block parts  When cutting multiple pieces from the same fabric, be sure to cut the larger one first.  This is particularly important when constructing a block/quilt from one of our kits.

Design Wall  Allows preview of all quiltmaking steps from fabric selection to layout of finished blocks. To make a portable design wall, you may purchase yardages of flannel-backed tablecloth vinyl. The fabric, when placed on the flannel side, attaches itself onto the surface of the flannel. If traveling with your work, simply roll or fold the tablecloth and you’re off!

Fabric Preparation  There have been several debates regarding fabric preparation…to pre-wash or not to pre-wash.

Pre-washing: some recommend prewashing your fabrics to pre-shrink as well as to remove excess dyes and sizing. After washing and drying the fabric, iron to remove wrinkles. Then, fold the fabric for storage. The best way to fold it is selvage to selvage – the way it was when you purchased it. This will be helpful when it comes time to cut the fabric into strips.

Not Pre-washing: some recommend not prewashing your fabrics. They suggest that the fabrics are easy to work with if the sizing is not removed. Therefore, after completing the quilt (patchwork as well as quilting and binding), wash it in mild detergent on the gentle cycle. This will allow the fabrics (batting included) to shrink together.

Fabric Selection  Most patchwork quilting is from 100% cotton. Batik fabrics are generally 100% cotton, those in our WebStore are 100% cotton unless otherwise noted. Regardless of the content, you want to try to always use the same throughout the entire quilt (i.e. don’t mix 100% cotton with polyester or blends). If you are making placemats, aprons, or potholders - something that has a good chance of being easily and regularly soiled – it is recommended to use cotton-poly blends or 100% cotton with some sort of pretreatment (ex. Scotchgard).

Fabric Storage  It is always important to store your fabrics away from direct sunlight – don’t want them to fade with time! Also, it’s a good idea to fold your fabrics so that they are easier to use. We suggest folding the yardage in half (selvage to selvage), then again in half (selvages to fold). Make sure this last fold is parallel to the first fold. This will allow for a smaller, neater, more manageable "pile" of fabric. After you’ve folded the yardage, use a 6" x 12" acrylic ruler to wrap the yardage around. This will enable you to quickly and easily cut strips from the yardage.

Ironing and Pressing  Ironing is removing wrinkles from newly washed fabrics (using steam if necessary). Pressing is for setting sewn seams (generally using a dry iron). Pressing can cause stretching and distortion to the fabric if not done carefully and correctly. After pieces of fabric are sewn together, "set" the seams by pressing the stitches on the darker fabric. Then using your fingers, open the fabrics and guide the iron to press open. This method insures the seams are pressed to the darker fabric.

Rotary Cutting  Suggested materials for cutting include a rotary cutter, a self-healing cutting mat, and an acrylic ruler. To cut strips on the crosswise grain, fold the fabric selvage to selvage, aligning the cross and straight grains as best you can.  Place fabric on the mat with the folded edge closest to your body. Align the ruler with the fold and roll the cutter away from you to cut the fabric. To assist in holding the ruler steady, place your pinky-finger off the ruler and onto the mat.

Rulers  It's always a good idea to use a ruler appropriately sized for the item being cut and the dimension required - whether it be a strip, square, or block.  If you are instructed to cut something that is in 1/8" increments, the best ruler to use is one with an 1/8" grid.  Likewise, if you are instructed to cut a 4" strip, the best ruler to use is a standard 4" or 6" wide rectangular ruler rather than a 12" square.

Seam Allowance For piecing, the traditional seam allowance is ¼". This is enough to hold the seams securely without adding thickness to the piecing. If you have to piece the backing of the quilt, a ½" seam allowance is generally used to add strength.

Squaring up a Block  Normally, you would trim the block to measure the size specified once it is constructed.  However, for BOTMs, we suggest delaying this step until all blocks in the series are completed. This will ensure all the blocks are the same size when you are ready to assemble the quilt top.

Thread Selection  We recommend using cotton thread for all patchwork piecing. This allows for the materials of your quilt to be the same: fabric, thread, batting, etc. Using a polyester thread can cause excessive damage to the fabric in the event the quilt is stretched or pulled. Polyester thread is stronger than cotton fabric, and therefore won’t break, instead the fabrics will shred. In a situation like this, you want the threads to break before the fabric is damaged. It’s easy to repair popped stitches, it’s not so easy to repair shredded fabric.

Walking Foot (also known as Even Feed Foot)  A sewing machine accessory that provides uniform feeding of multiple layers of fabric and batting. Generally the walking foot is used for straight-line quilting – not piecing, as the foot is usually larger than ¼" and is not necessary.

1/8 yard =  4-1/2"

¼ yard =  9"

1/3 yard =  12"

3/8 yard =  13-1/2"

½ yard =  18"

5/8 yard =  22-1/2"

2/3 yard =  24"

¾ yard =  27"

7/8 yard =  31-1/2"

1 yard =  36"