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Quilting for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know About Quilting

Whether you're a beginner quilter or looking for a new hobby to keep you busy, quilting is both a useful skill and a peaceful activity that will help you to relax and unwind. Quilting involves sewing layers of fabric together and often a piece of wadding in between the pieces of fabric for softness and additional warmth. You can sew these layers manually by hand or with the help of a sewing machine.
Quilting is a skill that can be used to create a range of products, but most typically it's used to create warm and cosy quilts. Don't be deterred by the intricate projects you've seen. We'll take you through everything you need to know about quilting, as well as four beginner quilting projects that are perfect for even the most amateur of quilters.
Quick Links
- Key Quilting Terms to Familiarise Yourself With
- All The Quilting Supplies You Need to Make The Perfect Quilt
- Practice Makes Make Perfect: Skills to Practise Before Quilting
- Choosing Your Next Project: Types of Quilts
- Our Favourite Beginner Quilting Projects For You To Try
Key Quilting Terms to Familiarise Yourself With
Before diving into the world of quilting, here are a few quilting terms to learn:
Quilting Term | Definition |
Pattern | This is the design of your quilt. It involves the shape of your quilt and any other pieces you're adding. |
Fat Quarter or Fat Flat | A fat quarter, also known as a fat flat, is a pre-cut piece of fabric and refers to the American measurements of a quarter of a yard of fabric. |
Used to conceal the raw edge of a fabric and adds the perfect finishing touch to your quilt project. | |
Forms the bottom of your quilt and is used to conceal your wadding beneath your quilt. | |
Seam | The line of thread that connects two pieces of fabric together. |
Pressing | Involves using an iron to flatten seams. |
All The Quilting Supplies You Need to Make The Perfect Quilt
In order to prepare yourself for your new quilting journey, you should consider stocking up on a few quilting supplies. Follow along to get an idea of which quilting supplies you may need to create your dream quilting project.
Useful Quilting Tools To Add To Your Craft Kit
With any project, you should make sure you are equipped with the appropriate tools. Some quilting tools to add to your craft kit include:
- Cutters - Create neat cuts of your fabric. Cutters also allow you to create a range of different shapes for your quilting project.
- Mats - Help you to measure and cut accurately and provide a surface for you to cut without damaging your craft table.
- Rulers - Used for measuring your fabric. Accurate measurements are essential for creating a quilt and make all the difference in your final project.
- Pins and clips - Keep your fabric pieces in place when sewing. Pins and clips help to prevent your fabric from shifting when quilting which often leads to errors.
- Pens - Mark out where you wish to cut or sew your fabric. Quilting pens allow for accurate measures, with their markings able to be easily removed by washing your project once finished.
- Glues and tapes - A useful tool for beginners, glues and tapes help you test out where to sew your fabric.
- A sewing machine - If you prefer the help of a machine when putting together your quilting project.
- Sewing needles and pins - For those wanting to manually sew their quilt. You can also find replacement needles for your sewing machine.
- Thread - Joins two pieces of fabric together. Available in a variety of different colours to complement your quilting fabric.
- Additional quilting accessories - Think of all those additional tools that make all the difference in your quilting project such as quilting gloves for comfort, seam rollers to flatten your fabric and templates to make intricate shapes with ease.
Check out our buying guide to find more information on how to select and use your quilting tools.
Handy Quilting Kits For Beginners
Whether you're shopping for the right tools for a beginner quilter or wanting to take up the craft yourself, a good place to start is by shopping for quilting kits. These handy kits take the stress away of making sure you're prepared with the right tools, with no need to be overwhelmed about all the bits and bobs you may need for quilting.
Quilting kits typically include at least a cutting mat, a rotary cutter and a ruler to make sure you're equipped with all the basics you need before shopping for more technical quilting tools.
The Right Material: What is Quilting Fabric?
Now that you're equipped with all the right tools, you can then start to browse which quilting fabric you'd like to work with. It's important that the fabric you choose is a quilting fabric, as other types of fabric are not suitable for this craft medium. You can find varying different types of quilting fabric including quilter's cotton - one of the most common - and voile.
You can shop from a range of patterns and colours including animals, florals, plain, monotones and kids' quilting fabrics to create a wide variety of beginner quilting projects.
Pre-Cut Quilting Fabric
Beginner quilters can also enjoy shopping from our selection of pre-cut quilting fabric. Quilting requires accurate cuts of fabric, so it can be time consuming preparing your fabric for your quilt. Pre-cut fabric is great for limiting the time spent cutting out your quilting squares manually, so they are perfect for beginner quilters looking to jump into the world of quilting.
You can often find bundles of pre-cut quilting fabric in cohesive designs, making it easy for you to create a coordinated and cosy quilt.
Wadding & Batting For A Snug Quilt
Wadding is the internal or middle layer of your quilt and influences the shape of your final project. Wadding is used to add softness and warmth to your quilt, so the amount of wadding you choose to add has a significant impact on the cosiness of your quilt.
You should check the loft when shopping for your wadding as this indicates how cosy your quilt will be. A lower number loft results in a thinner and more lightweight wadding compared to higher number, which allows for a thicker and warmer quilt.
When it comes to wadding, you can choose from a range of compositions, such as:
Practice Makes Make Perfect: Skills to Practise Before Quilting
Before tackling your first quilting project, it's a good idea to practise a few skills to make sure you're prepared for your next creative endeavour.
Brush Up On Your Sewing Skills
The best place to start when learning how to quilt is by learning a few sewing tips and tricks. Ideally, before quilting you should know how to complete a few basic stitches or know how to work a sewing machine to do it for you. Practise sewing two pieces of fabric together in a straight line.
Fabric Cutting
Quilts are often made up of various pieces of fabric, so it's a good idea to test your cutting skills and practice cutting out traditional square and hexagon shapes, as well as other more challenging shapes and designs.
Piecing Techniques
To create a patchwork quilt, you should learn and practice the art of piecing. This technique involves sewing pieces of fabric together to make a single layer of fabric then sewing this layer with your wadding and backing to create a complete quilt. These piecing techniques usually require templates that make it easy to measure and piece together identically sized pieces of fabric. Find out more information about this skill by reading through our quilting techniques blog.
Choosing Your Next Project: Types of Quilts
It's common for beginner quilters to be unfamiliar with the types of quilts, but understanding the differences between these types can help guide you in your quilt making, ensuring you're prepared for the skills required. A few common types of quilts include:
- Patchwork or piecing quilts - As the name suggests, these quilts are made up of different pieces of fabric to create a larger design.
- Applique quilts - Involve making a design out of a piece of fabric and applying the shape to your quilt by sewing, ironing or gluing.
- Memory quilts - Made by sewing together cherished mementos like jumpers, t-shirts or old uniforms.
- Wholecloth quilts - A great beginner option, these quilts are made with one piece of fabric as the top layer and are complete by sewing your fabric with wadding and a backing.
Our Favourite Beginner Quilting Projects For You To Try
Now that you're an expert on all the quilting terminology and you're ready with your quilting tools, it's time for you to decide on your first design. We've put together a few of our favourite beginner quilting projects to inspire you in making your first quilt.
The Peaceful Pearl Island Quilt
A great project for beginner quilters that have mastered the art of cutting square pieces, the Pear Island Quilt consists of varying different sized squared pieces of fabric. Choose a range of blue, green, white and yellow fabrics to create a peaceful quilt for draping over your bed, armchair or sofa.
Butterfly Paradise Quilt For Animal Lovers
While the Butterfly Paradise Quilt may seem complicated, this project is great for beginner quilters looking at putting their quilting skills to the test. Our helpful guide provides step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow and takes you through how to create each section of the quilt. The final product is a large, patterned quilt with a lovely heart motif in the centre.
The Bright and Cheerful Prima Quilt
With a bright design, the Prima Quilt Project is comprised of colourful triangular pieces of fabric. This project provides a handy template to follow as a guide, making it the perfect project for beginner quilters. With a labelled diagram, beginner quilters will easily be able to put their triangle fabrics in the correct place and order to create a colourful quilt that brightens any bedroom or living room.
A Nature Inspired Tropical Quilting Project
Quilting projects don't have to be solely based on making quilts. Quilting techniques can be used to create a wide range of products including bags and rugs like our Tropical Quilting Project. This guide takes you through how to put your quilting skills to use and create a matching rug and bag from the same patterned fabric. Complete with a vibrant yellow pom pom trim, this rug and bag combo brings a cohesive style to any room they're placed in.
Learn To Quilt With Spotlight!
If you're looking for a new craft or wanting to brush up on an old skill, quilting is a useful talent that will have you creating a whole range of projects. Discover everything you need for quilting, from quilting tools to quilting fabric, online or at your nearest Spotlight store today!
Looking for quilting inspiration? Check out our incredible collection of free quilting projects and recreate our favourite quilting crafts with your new-found skill.