Rotary cutters come in a variety of sizes, but a medium size is the best to start with. If you choose to use regular scissors, be sure that they are well sharpened and will not snag the fabric. Get a cutting mat. Cutting your fabric on a regular tabletop may seem the easiest, but you are likely to score your furniture and you will not be able to get as straight of a line. Get a self-healing cutting mat to cut against to prevent this. These come with a printed ruler on the topside, making lining up your fabric and getting the perfect edges easy.
Consider the colors and scale you are using. How many different colors do you want to incorporate? How many different patterns? Try to get a good mix of large and small patterns as well as colors from the same family. Get creative with your fabric options. Look for vintage tablecloths or sheets at thrift stores rather than relying solely on the fabric options at your local sewing store. Your backing fabric will be larger than both the front of your quilt and the batting, so make sure that you get enough to allow for a bigger size.
Polyester batting is more likely to spread out towards the edges of your quilt over time and fusible batting has high chances of puckering. Therefore, beginners should look into the cotton, cotton blend, or bamboo batting options first. If you’re making a large quilt, such as a comforter for a bed, using a higher loft may be preferred. Smaller quilts may not require such thick batting, unless you want an extra warm blanket. [1] X Research source
Even if you do not purchase or make a pattern, drawing a rough sketch of your design before starting is highly recommended. The easiest quilt for beginners is a blanket made of rows of quilted squares. Using larger pieces for each square will be easier than many small pieces.
The size of your quilt and each piece is rather arbitrary unless you are using a specific pattern. Therefore, make your pieces as large or small as you like based on your skill level. If it helps, you can use a washable fabric pen to mark your measurements on your fabric prior to cutting.
Keep in mind that large-scale quilt blocks made with larger pieces will be faster to sew than those made with a lot of small pieces.
You may find that you want to add additional fabric pieces in a different color or pattern at this point. Simply substitute out some of your pre-cut squares for new ones in different prints. Keep track of the rows of fabric by using post-it notes or chalk to mark each piece.
Pin each square to the one it is being sewn to before sewing to help keep them in line. Getting a consistent seam on all your pieces is vital to having your pattern line up in the finished quilt. Make sure that you are sewing at exactly ¼ inch for each piece of fabric.
If the rows and pieces do not line up, do not worry! Your quilt will still look lovely even with some minor mistakes.
If you use a basting spray, lightly mist each layer before adding the next one on top of it. Smooth out the fabric after the spray has secured the layers in place. If you are pinning your quilt together, use safety pins in the center of each piece. Work from the center outwards as you pin. If you want to be extra cautious, you can use both basting techniques by spraying and pinning your quilt in place. Doing this will make sure that your quilt is extra secure before sewing.
If you want to make sure you are sewing in the right place, use a washable sewing pen to mark the exact locations on your quilt that you want to sew. The more seams you sew through the entire quilt, the better the finished product will be. Adding more seams will prevent the batting from moving around or bunching inside the quilt. You can add a border seam around the edge of your quilt once you have sewn together the entire center of your blanket.
