#quilting tips

[tj-crochets]

Do you have any tips about how to work on quilts? I’m just starting out and I’m in awe at how quickly you can make quilts and how beautiful they turn out.

Hey! Thanks, and welcome to quilting, it's a lot of fun! So, these tips are going to be a bit haphazard and out of order, because that's how I operate lol - do iron your fabric before you cut it - do iron your seams before sewing rows together, and before assembling your quilt sandwich - you can use the backing as the binding for your quilts and then you don't have to try to wrangle binding strips, it's all attached and easy to do - this one is going to sound kinda silly, but use fabric you like whenever you can. Even a super simple patchwork can be awesome if you use fabric you like, and the most complex intricate pattern can be terrible if you don't like the fabrics - sewing clips are the BEST. I think the brand name is clover wonder clips, but the generic is so much cheaper and nearly as good. You'll break the generic versions occasionally but they come like 100 for less than 10 bucks so you can throw away the broken ones and the rest still work. They are just so much faster than using pins - a rotary cutter, quilting ruler, and cutting mat make quilting so much easier - your seam allowance does not have to be 1/4". It can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you either account for it while making your pattern or use a pattern where it doesn't matter as long as it's consistent (like a simple patchwork). Do make sure you seam allowance is large enough that the fabric won't fray apart around it - never buy batting full price at Joanns, it goes on sale regularly or you can almost always get like a 40% off one full price item coupon when it's not on sale - when you are cutting fabric on a rotary mat, you can cut more than one layer of fabric at a time (might be obvious, but I did not know that at first lol) - shop around online for replacement rotary cutter blades, the prices vary wildly and seem to have no rhyme or reason, sometimes it's cheaper to get a two pack of blades than to buy just one? Most of all, make patterns that you want to make. Almost all the quilt patterns I make (except my improv scrap quilts) are really, really basic quilt patterns, because that's what I like making. I like keeping the pattern super simple and letting the fabric be the star, because my favorite part is arranging the fabrics like a puzzle. I have a quilt friend who makes really really intricate, beautiful paper pieced quilts I 100% do not have the patience for, but that's what she likes making and she's great at it. Enjoy what you're making and you'll find the parts of quilting you like best over time :)

[bevanne46]

Sewing Hacks - Dollar Store Tricks

by Dancing Stitches

Just an FYI Dancing Stitches is in Ontario, Canada so what's available in her Dollar Store may not be available in my area but I love all her ideas so these are things I will look for.

[onemillennialquilter]

So I've been struggling with chain piecing my latest project. Every time I'd end up with a knot of thread and I was losing my mind. Turns out I wasn't keeping enough tension between pieces. Was kind of venting to the husband and he reminded me that I was a beginner and it wasn't possible to just know everything.

So, for all you people just getting into crafting like me, here's a message from my husband. Be kind to yourself as your learning. Learning something new is hard enough without you kicking yourself over every mistake.

[extravagantliar]

here’s my last canonical veilguard thought - Varric and Solas’s fates are explicitly tied in my mind. Narrative and artistic foils too. Varric has to try and Solas must do, it’s their great power and undoing.

ANYWAY, on a happier note as I put myself back in jail, nothing changes here with me. Varric will always be looking for a way home to family, a great story he could never put down. His cobbled together family and whatever is left of Kirkwall.

[cryoriku]

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Quilt and a movie! The pillow on the chair was a gift my mom made for me.

I only have a little bit left, and then I can trim the edges and attach the binding. After that, it'll just be washing and final picks before shipping it off to my mom.

I'm currently designing a pattern and making a thing with it. The pattern will be free in my shop after I finish the thing.

[catwouthats]

WIP/rough draft of the first page of The Extraordinarily Ordinary Adventures of Preston Lindsey fan comic

I’m practicing using my feather quill bc that shit makes such nice lines etc so this probably isn’t the final version.

Feather quill >>>> any other pen/inking tool imo

[eusuchia]

took a little workshop on english paper piecing today and holy shit. I can feel the pull of it. I am going to become so crazy about quilting

[anielskaaniela]

How to Choose and Use a Sewing Machine for Your DIY Fashion Projects | sewing machine for beginners

In this post, you will discover the best sewing machines for beginners and advanced sewist and how to use them effectively. Do you want to create your own garments, accessories, home decor, and more with sewing? Do you want to learn how to choose and use a sewing machine that can help you achieve your sewing goals? If so, you are in the right place. In this post, I will show you everything you…

[kajenus]

Bought myself nail serum. Hope it helps

[reno-dakota]

These are mostly patchwork/quilting related, but some apply to sewing more generally

Get to grips with all the controls on your machine early on so you're comfortable adjusting them for various projects down the line. It does make a difference and will make your life easier.

Machine sewing is definitely much faster and less labour intensive - but you must consider the capacity of your machine when planning. Think about your materials and whether your machine can cope with them, lest you end up for instance, having to hand sew your intricate quilting design and it takes you days instead of a few hours.

Use fabric scraps from your project to test tension, stitch length etc on the fabric you're using before you go for it on the actual piece. For quilting test the design/style on a scrap of your quilt sandwich, especially for free motion quilting.

If you find you like a slightly "informal", warped look to a patchwork quilt you can wash after it's finished to take advantage of the warp during washing and give it a crinkly, imperfect feel. This is better for quilts which are to actually be used and will be washed regularly e.g. baby quilts where texture is as important as aesthetic and it has to be washable.

If you're at all concerned about colorfastness always wash before making and wash your binding & backing fabric too.

The machine looks/sounds dangerous but the rotary cutter, if you use one, is much easier to hurt yourself with. Measure thrice, cut once, and keep thy fingers out of the way of the blade. A metal ruler with a handle on top is an excellent tool for keeping your fingers well clear and getting nice, clean, straight cuts. Jabbing yourself with a pin is kind of inevitable.

You don't need tons of gadgets, start with the basics and see where there are gaps before you invest in things.

If in doubt, make a toile (a practice mock up using cheap/scrap fabric). Even if not in doubt, making a toile is immensely helpful for getting your head round a pattern and finding/figuring out unforeseen complications.

Make the most of the communities around the type of sewing you do - there's so much expertise to draw on whether locally or online. You can ask questions, commiserate, and if you want to, show off what you've made to people who will recognise your effort, skill and progress.

It's as creative a pursuit as writing or music or sketching and the creativity advice that gets repeated for those also applies. Make what makes you happy and excited. Whatever that is. You don't have to slog through projects that feel like a chore (unless you're into delayed gratification, you do you).

You will have a fabric stash and you will need somewhere to put it.

Things I wish I had read in "beginner" sewing tutorials/people had told me before I started getting into sewing

You have to hem *everything* eventually. Hemming isn't optional. (If you don't hem your cloth, it will start to fray. There are exceptions to this, like felt, but most cloth will.)

The type of cloth you choose for your project matters very much. Your clothing won't "fall right" if it's not the kind of stretchy/heavy/stiff as the one the tutorial assumes you will use.

Some types of cloth are very chill about fraying, some are very much not. Linen doesn't really give a fuck as long as you don't, like, throw it into the washing machine unhemmed (see below), whereas brocade yearns for entropy so, so much.

On that note: if you get new cloth: 1. hem its borders (or use a ripple stitch) 2. throw it in the washing machine on the setting that you plan to wash it going forward 3. iron it. You'll regret it, if you don't do it. If you don't hem, it'll thread. If you don't wash beforehand, the finished piece might warp in the first wash. If you don't iron it, it won't be nice and flat and all of your measuring and sewing will be off.

Sewing's first virtue is diligence, followed closely by patience. Measure three times before cutting. Check the symmetry every once in a while. If you can't concentrate anymore, stop. Yes, even if you're almost done.

The order in which you sew your garment's parts matters very much. Stick to the plan, but think ahead.

You'll probably be fine if you sew something on wrong - you can undo it with a seam ripper (get a seam ripper, they're cheap!)

You can use chalk to draw and write on the cloth.

Pick something made out of rectangles for your first project.

I recommend making something out of linen as a beginner project. It's nearly indestructible, barely threads and folds very neatly.

Collars are going to suck.

The sewing machine can't hurt you (probably). There is a guard for a reason and while the needle is very scary at first, if you do it right, your hands will be away from it at least 5 cm at any given time. Also the spoils of learning machine sewing are not to be underestimated. You will be SO fast.

I believe that's all - feel free to add unto it.

[bevanne46]

FREEZER PAPER MAGIC: 5 SEWING HACKS EVERY CRAFTER NEEDS TO KNOW! by Just Get it Done Quilts https://youtu.be/5hakqZnKWnY?si=eUxc0cjRAGxXRQ-O

[onemillennialquilter]

I've been gone for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to share this as more of a life tip then the normal quilting tips. A tip that more or less boils down to: you got to put in the work, and it is okay to acknowledge both where you are now and the journey to come.

Story is a little long, but I have a point I promise.

Roughly 9 months ago I agreed to run a marathon with my husband, his two brothers, and my father-in-law. Now I was NOT a runner when I started. I was actually rather out of shape and chubby. Now my amazing FIL who knew what he was doing gave my husband and I a training regimen that started with a couch to 5k (3.1 miles) training plan and then built on that foundation for the marathon training.

Day 1 was 1 minute jogging followed by 1.5 minutes walking for a total of 20 minutes. So I jogged for 8 minutes total on day 1. Now I wasn't so out of shape that I couldn't do that, but it wasn't exactly a breeze either. "How am I ever going to run a marathon (26.2 miles)?" I wanted to quit before I'd ever really begun, but pride, spite, and the fact that I would have to pay my FIL $80 if I failed fueled me to keep to find the answer, which was (unfortunately) keep running.

I progressed from 1-minute jogs to 20-minute jogs, 20-minute jogs to 3 mile jogs, to 5, 8, 16, 20 mile jogs! Finally, I jogged/walked 26.2 miles for 6 hours and 10 minutes to cross that finish line.

Y'all there were so many days that I woke up and thought "I hate running. I don't want to do this. This is stupid." I still showed up, though. I put in the work, and I finished! Was every run fantastic? No! I had some truly terrible training days, but I kept running. When I began 3 miles seemed like a Herculean task. Now? I nearly signed up for a 5k on a whim, because why not?

To bring this back to quilting, I've only been hand quilting for a couple of months. I keep getting frustrated and I catch myself thinking that I'll never have even stitches, I'll never master the rotary cutter, I'll never finish a big project, etc... And I have to forcefully remind myself that I'm at 1 minute. I'm on those short runs that are slowly building up my skills to go further. Just as 9 months ago I couldn't have run a marathon, I can't expect to suddenly just be awesome at sewing. And that's OK!!! Y'all I can do it, because I spent 9 months running which I don't even enjoy. I did that training; I've put in the work. So for all of you that struggle at being not great at something and feeling like you should quit immediately because "I'm clearly just talentless at this" your just at 1 minute. You just gotta put in the reps.

[flannelepicurean]

All those things they tell you to prevent hypothermia, like "cotton kills?" That's because wet cotton LOWERS YOUR BODY TEMPERATURE FASTER and like... shovels your body heat away into the open air as the water evaporates.

Do some searching around about actual safety tips, but there's a reason you'll see dudes taking breaks from basketball in my neck of the Southern woods with just like... sopping wet, white hand towels draped over their heads and necks.

Cotton, linen, and other natural fibers in light colors and loose cuts are your friends if you gotta go out and about. MAKE SURE YOU ARE STILL GETTING SUN PROTECTION, even through clothing. Them lighter fabrics might not do jack shit for actual SPF, wear fuckin sunscreen, homies.

Go light on your lotions and oils if it's humid. The excess moisture in the air is gonna make that stuff stick to you and weigh you down like you wouldn't believe. You will feel greasy just from stepping outside.

Piling on baby powder will not help you. Likely you will end up covered in paste as you continue to reapply throughout the day. Stick with me on this one, and please really do believe me here: DERMATOLOGISTS ARE NOW SAYING THAT ALUMINUM ANTIPERSPIRANTS ARE NOT GOING TO KILL YOU.

Take a cool shower at night. Dry yourself off. PUT ANTIPERSPIRANT ON YOUR BODY. Not just your pits, friends. You can put it on your tits, your thighs, the backs of your knees, the insides of your elbows, it doesn't fucking matter. IT IS OKAY THIS SUMMER.

When you put it on clean, dry skin, AT NIGHT, it has a chance to actually soak in and do its job, which is block sweat. And then throughout the day, IT DISSOLVES AWAY, and you can wash it off and purge it from your body or what the fuck ever. Point being, when you apply it properly, it is temporary, and WAY more effective.

This T-boy is no longer rancid in the goddamn Southern summertime because of this one single change, okay? IT FUCKIN WORKS.

Also, if you can let your car doors hang open for a few minutes before you get in there and turn on the AC, it helps. The sun pouring in through that glass turns that vehicle into a greenhouse oven; let it normalize closer to the outdoor temp before you overtax the AC. Make sure you're using the "cabin interior/recycled air" setting on it, don't try to cool the air that's coming in from outside and across the engine. I've been told many a time that the AC actually dehumidifies more than the heater, which is why running the defrost with AC on gets the job done faster; so using the interior air with the cycle might actually keep the car less humid, too.

And if you've got watermelon available, put chunks of it in your water. All of your water, still or sparkling, any temperature you need. Trust me. You will thank me.

Y'all stay safe out there.

For all of the northerners that stood up for Texas during our freeze and said, "Don't make fun of them, they've never dealt with this before. Their infrastructure isn't made for snow and freezing."

This one is for you.

Where I live 108°F with 80% humidity with no wind is normal.

Pacific North West is dealing historic best waves 35-40°C or 95-105°F.

First of all. Don't make fun of them for bitching about the heat. Just like Texas isn't built for a freeze and our pipes burst, Pacific North West isn't built for heat and a lot of their homes don't have AC.

If you live somewhere with a high humidity like 80+ HUMIDITY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. The "humidity makes it feel cooler" is a lie once it gets beyond a point.

If you live somewhere with a lower humidity, misters are nice to cool off outside.

Once you get over 90°F (32°C) a fan will not help you. It's just pushing around hot air. (I mean if you can't afford a small AC unit because they're expensive as hell, by all means a fan is better than nothing).

If you have pets, those portable AC units aren't safe. If your pets destroy the outtake thing, it'll leak CO2. Window units are safer.

Window AC units will let mosquitoes or other small bugs in. Sucks, but that's life.

Now is not the time to me modest. If you have to cover for religious reasons, by all means. If you don't, I've seen people wear short shorts and a swim top. It's not trashy if it keeps you from getting heat stroke.

If you do have to cover up for religious reasons, look for elephant pants or something similar. They're made with a breathable material.

Shade is better than no shade, but that shit it just diet sun after some point. Don't think shade will save you from heat stroke.

I know the "drink your water" is a fun meme now, but if you're sweating excessively you need electrolytes. Drink Gatorade, Powerade, or Pedialite PLEASE. I don't care if you're fucking sitting in one spot all day. That shit WILL save you from heat stroke.

Most importantly. RESEARCH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAT STROKE AND HEAT EXHAUSTION PLEASE!

If you're diabetic and can't drink Gatorade, mix water, fruit juice, and either lite salt or pink salt

If you can afford it, cover windows with thick curtains to insulate the house

If you have tile floors, lay on them with skin to tile contact. If you don't, laying your head on cool counters works too.

If the temperature where you're at is hotter than your body temperature, don't wear heat wicking clothing. Moisture wicking is safe though.

Check your medication labels. Many make you more susceptible to sun and heat

-Room temperature water will get into your body faster. This is something I learned doing marching band in high summer in Georgia, and it saved all of our asses. Sip it, don't gulp it, especially if you're getting into the red; same goes for whatever fluid you're drinking. And just in general drink during the day.

-If you are moving from an air conditioned space to an un-air conditioned space, if at all possible try to make the shift gradual. When my dad and I were working outside and in un-ac houses a few years ago, he'd turn the air down to low in the truck about ten-fifteen minutes before we got where we were going. This way your body doesn't go from low low temps to high temps. S'bad for you.

-If you can, keep your lights off during the day. Light bulbs may not generate a lot of heat, but the difference is noticeable when it gets hot enough. I literally only turn my bedroom light on in the evening when it gets too dark.

Don't be afraid to just like... pour water on yourself if you need to. The evaporation will cool you off.

Put your hand to the cement for 15 seconds. If you can't handle the heat, it'll burn your dog's paws. Don't let them walk on it.

Dogs with flat faces are more prone to heat stroke. Don't leave them out unsupervised.

Frozen fruit is delicious in water.

Wet/Cold hat/handkerchief on your head/neck will help you stay cool.

Pickle juice is great for electrolytes! You can even make pickle juice Popsicles!

Heat exhaustion is more, "drink water and get you cooled off." Heat stroke is more "Oh my god call 911."

Image Description provided by @loveize

[Image description: an infographic showing the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The graphic is labeled "Heat Dangers: First Warning." Signs of heat exhaustion: faint or dizzy, excessive sweating, cool, pale, clammy skin, rapid, weak pulse, muscle cramps. If you think you or someone else may be experiencing heat exhaustion, get to a cool, air-conditioned place, drink water if conscious, and take a cool shower or use cold compress. Signs of heat stroke: throbbing headache, no sweating, red, hot, dry skin, rapid, strong pulse, may lose consciousness. If you think you or someone else may be experiencing heat stroke, call 911. End description]

Be safe.

-fae

[patterncenter]

Do you want to try yourself in sewing? Start with a simple project to get a quick and motivating result! Learn how to sew a quilted placemat with a detailed video tutorial and photo instructions 🪡