Crafts
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Quilting Advice
I've always been a knit/crocheter, but this summer I'm thinking of attempting a t-shirt quilt. Any advice would be appreciated!
For the moment, I have a coupon and am about to buy supplies. What are must haves and what are things that I can find around my house? Do I really need a cutting mat, etc? What are some good stores to find this stuff for cheap? For example, my coupon is for JoAnn's, but on the website they only have 25 yards of interfacing for $60 (or similar quantities). I don't need that much!
Re: Quilting Advice
For sure you need a good quilting ruler. A cuting mat and rotary cutter would make it a lot easier/fast project. Do you have a Joann's near you? You can by interfacing in whatever quantities you want.
You can also buy interfacing at any number of online stores- etsy and fabric.com will give you whatever quantity you need. Before you order interfacing you should think about the size of the quilt and the number of blocks.
Agreed with pp about a rotary cutter and cutting mat, along with a ruler. Clear rulers will probably work best for this project.
Stand up for something you believe in.
When you cut jersey with scissors, it is more likely to stretch on the sides because you have to be holding it up a small amount for the scissors, versus with a rotary mat where you'll be cutting flat.
Also, when you cut with a rotary mat and a ruler, you're much more likely to get straight lines in my experience. Straight lines are especially important in quilts because otherwise the corners where your shirts meet won't be "square".
The stitching on the quilt you do when it is finished is up to you. I personally like to "stitch in the ditch" which just means quilting 1/4" inside the seams on tshirt quilts because I like to preserve the integrity of the shirts. Other people do other things, it is just a matter of style/ preference.
Stand up for something you believe in.
Thanks! But I don't know what any of the stitching stuff means. Will the quilt be okay if I don't do any of that stitching? If some sort of stitching is absolutely necessary, what are some good resources for how to do it? Nothing I've read has made any sense to me.
Like I said, I'm starting from nothing here and seriously need advice.
If you don't do any stitching you will have a very flimsy quilt- the top and the backing won't be connected to each other or the batting (the padded inside).
You can do any number of different things to put them together-
You can hand tie, which involves taking a needle into the pieces to secure them through all 3 layers- step by step pictures here: http://www.wikihow.com/Hand-Tie-a-Quilt
Or, you can stitch in the ditch, which is essentially outlining all of your pieces with another seam that goes through all 3 layers- video here: http://www.quilt-video.com/2009/03/20/finish-your-quilt-with-stitch-in-the-ditch-quilting/
Alternatively, you can just do the top and pick backing fabric and send the quilt out to be professionally quilted- you'll pay by the inch for batting and the actual quilting. Nestie Nanann has a beautiful Notre Dame tshirt quilt that was done on a long arm (professional) machine in a shamrock pattern that is adorable. (http://nanannwoogies.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/go-irish-again/)
Professional quilting is an investment, but if this is something you think will get frequent use, or you're not comfortable taking the steps you'd need to complete it yourself, it could be a great idea.
Stand up for something you believe in.
If you're not familiar with sewing and/or quilts, I would start with a baby-size rag quilt. Super easy, super fast, and gets you used to rotary cutting, your machine, piecing, etc., while still giving you a "quilt" (just not in the true sense of the word).
There are a ton of rag quilt tutorials on youtube. I use a piece of flannel as the batting, and either do cotton top and bottom with flannel in the middle, or all flannel.
Supplies I would get are a cutting mat (mine is 18x24... it works, but I would like a bigger one), rotary cutter, and an Omnigrid type square in the size you will be using (mine is 6"x6"). If your budget is super limited, you can do without the mat or rotary cutter... but I imagine it would be pretty time consuming tracing and using scissors for every piece.
Good luck!
I agree with PP about doing a different, easier quilt as a starter quilt, especially if you aren't taking a class.
Quilting isn't really that difficult, but it is immensely helpful to have a book, tutorial, or class to guide you. There's a lot of learning in your first quilt and you might not want it to be through such an important one.
Do you know anyone who quilts? I highly recommend seeing if you could borrow their supplies, even if it is just for a few weeks, to see if it is something you are going to stick with before you invest the money on supplies.
A rotary cutter, mat, and ruler are going to be your best friends. They make cutting so much easier and (for me) accurate!
I love quilting and hope you do, too.