Tutorials

Hi there! Do you know what it feels like to have it all together? Like really, all together… Your life is perfect. It is amazing! You have the time to quilt and you’ve already learned all the skills to perfection. YOU are a master quilter now!

Do you know how perfect that feeling is!?

………………….. yeah, me either.

I can guess that you maybe DO know the feeling that you’re struggling and the pattern you once felt joy for suddenly now might as well be in Greek…. and if you have to pull that seam ripper out ONE MORE TIME… ARGH! (Well… let’s not go there right now)

If you are looking to gain confidence in your quilting skills…

This is the real truth is this…

You’re not alone! We all feel less than confident from from time to time. I have seen it in every single quilter that I have ever met.

In fact, I was having a conversation with a quilter friend just today. She has been quilting A LOT longer than I have and I watched her struggle with matching some of the pieces in her pattern. the planets were all out of line and for whatever reason… it just wasn’t working right.

It just was one of those days.

I thought that as much quilting as she had under her belt and as many years experience in classes etc, SURELY she must be so confident in her skills that she never ever second guessed herself! No way!… I was apparently wrong.

This really brought about a new feeling of love and appreciation for quilting for me. We’re all the same and we all struggle with confidence, no matter how long you’ve been quilting!

5 Actionable Steps to Gain Confidence in Your Quilting Skills:

1. Give up on perfection.

(Hear me out, ok? I’m not telling you to give up everything and quit.)

When you take perfection off the table as an option, things always get a little easier.

Just strive for being better than you were yesterday. I promise you will be amazed at what you can accomplish if you work in small steps!

How do you eat an elephant? – One bite at a time.

As for your quilts – we all want them to be the absolute best they can be! Especially if your quilt recipient is a really cherished loved one.

Really be honest with yourself and know your limits. If you’ve only made 1 or 2 quilts so far, a king sized quilt maaaaay be a bit of a leap for you instead of the small step you should be looking for (hello, me in 2013 – I speak from experience on this one)

2. Step just slightly outside of your comfort zone

I wrote an entire blog post on this. You can read the whole thing here. I highly recommend you give it a read.

Cliff notes version is this: Stagnant water grows stinky and yucky. Its not flourishing with life and new amazing things!

If you feel like you even sort of have an idea what you’re doing, it is time move forward to kick it up a notch!

If you see a new pattern or idea that kind of scares you a little bit, but you love it… figure it out as you go. Challenge yourself and learn how to make it happen.

I’m not saying it is going to be easy, but imagine how amazing you’ll feel once you’ve finished it. It will be worth it!

3. Take a class

blow the dust off and g learn something new! Make your brain work a little bit.

This is a great way to build your confidence! The more comfortable you are with a variety of different skills, the less daunting some of the others will seem.

Me, when I figured out how to do the quilt binding and it actually looked good? – boom! I was ready to take on the world! hallelujah! note: I made a video to show step by step how I do my quilt bindings.

You can check out your local quilt shops and see if they can point you in the right direction for local classes or you can check out a few online classes. I personally really love Bluprint (formerly known as Craftsy). You can search absolutely everything there.

4. Teach

You don’t have to teach a whole lecture in front of 100 people!

Just find the kid down the street who seemed interested in your sewing machine or invite another friend over who is curious about quilting with some of the old fabric she has laying around.

Bonus points if they already know how to sew a little bit and you can learn from each other. Work on a project together!

5. Don’t let failure scare you

This is a hard one to learn sometimes, but goes along with what I said earlier on shooting for small steps forward instead of frustrating big leaps.

If you know if your heart that you are not quite ready for a quilting skill or pattern, but still really want to try it… go for it. You may surprise yourself. -or- you may fall flat on your face in a heap of ‘well that didn’t work out‘. ouch.

Either way, don’t let it deter you from setting it aside to come back to it later and move on to trying other things!

You never know if you don’t even try, right?

In conclusion, confidence isn’t something you just inherantly have. It is something you build over time.

If you want to gain confidence in your quilting skills, you’re going to have to work at it. Give yourself win after win and really allow yourself be proud of what you accomplish!

Quilting isn’t always easy and we all have our struggle days… but the more you can move forward with these 5 steps, the more you will really let that confidence flourish inside of you.

Hey! Let me know what you do on your worst quilting days and how you give yourself a pep-talk when things aren’t going your way. I would love to hear it! 🙂

I can’t speak for how people in other parts of the world answer the question “how are you doing?” but here (and for a while now) the answer has been “busy, but good!” I hear other mamas say it to me all the time!

And honestly, life IS good. But we’re always on the go and always busy. There is that word again… It’s a mystery how we can fit in one more single thing into our schedules much less a time-consuming hobby like quilting!

But I can’t help it! I LOVE to quilt. I LOVE to sew! And I really love making things for my family. Seeing them snuggled up on the couch with one of my quilts brings me so much joy!

I’ve learned that doing things for myself makes me a better mom and a better wife, but doing those things for myself doesn’t have to come at the cost of not being able to care for my family.

It is totally possible!

And I think its really a necessary part of life to try and figure out how to squeeze it in.

“BUT HOW?” you ask…

I get it, we all want to quick fix answer. I’ve never been one to hold back secrets that can help others!

Over the past several years I have developed little tricks and figured out how to squeeze in bits of time to do the things I love. Quilting being one of them! And I’m going to share them with you today!

I’ve created a FREE download e-book that explains my whole philosophy on the idea and how to implement it into your own life. Don’t worry it is short! and you can start working through it TODAY!

I’m also really excited to announce that I’m releasing 5 new patterns in my shop today that are made for YOU!

Yes, YOU – The busy girl who desires to create beautiful quilts that look complicated but are actually achievable in the midst of our busy lives!

Yes! You can totally do this! 🙂 Click on over and check them out! The feedback that I’ve had from my pattern testers is amazing. I can’t wait to see what you create with these patterns!

Today I’m going to share with you some tips for piecing the perfect quilt top. If you’re looking to improve your quilting skills there are a few things you should keep in mind. With these 10 tips, you’ll be on the road to better quilting in no time!

The very first quilt you make will be full of flaws and many moments of learning along the way. This is to be expected… but how do you improve when you’re ready to take your quilting from “wow, you’re just starting out quilting, aren’t you?” to “Wow, you made this?!“

10 Tips for Piecing the Perfect Quilt Top

*ha, say that 10 times fast*

1. Make sure that your pieces are cut to the exact right size.

I know I am guilty of fudging it in the past and “close enough” was good enough for me for a number of years, but when I really wanted to take quilting to the next level, I had to realize that quilting involves a lot of math. And math is exact. It isn’t up for discussion.  

If you want to all those pretty seams and corners to line up without any fuss, make sure you trim your pieces to the right size before you sew them together.

Take those extra 10 minutes and square up your pieces and trim off any little sliver of fabric that could cause you headache later.

2. It really helps to have the right tools on hand.

It can be a bit of an investment, but it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With a few essential items, you can create a quilt that rival the pros. – What it will cost you in time and frustration without the right tools is a far greater cost in the end. (at least this is what I tell myself when I want to go shopping for new ones!)

For me, these tools are an absolute must – bare minimum, every quilter should have…

• Rotary cutter – with a good sharp blade (don’t even get me started on the dangers of a dull blade.)
• Self Healing Cutting Mat – to protect your tables and surfaces
• Cutting ruler – something wide and comfortable – see through
• Sharp Sewing Needles – Did you know you’re supposed to change your sewing machine needles about every 10-12 hours of sewing? It really helps keep your machine in tip-top shape.
• Sewing machine – It doesn’t have to be a top of the line fancy model. Most home sewing machines will work. As you get more into quilting, you can upgade your machine as budget allows.

Here are a few other recommendations of mine if you’re wanting to make sure you have the essentials.

3. Master your quarter inch seam

Do it, practice it on scrappy fabric until you can do it in your sleep. Quarter inch seams are an industry standard in professional quilting. For more tips on how to master it, you can check out the post I wrote. How to Master the Quarter Inch Seam

4. Nest Your Seams

This is KEY to getting those laser perfect corner matchups. It’s much easier if I show you but I do not have a video (yet! – video is something I hope to add to my blog soon) For now, check out this tutorial from Sewcanshe.com

5. Save Your Scraps!

*This is not permission to be a hoarder. (Though your definition and my definition of the term may be different)

When I first started quilting, I wouldn’t see the need for little pieces of fabric leftover from a project. I didn’t have the room to store things and I was more than happy to toss it. Then, I discovered “scrappy quilts”. Oh man, was I wrong to let go of so many pieces of fabric that had yet to live up to their full potential?

A scrappy quilt is exactly what you think it is. It is made from scraps of fabric. A scrappy quilt can be intricate and detailed. It could be wild and completely improv sewing or it could be something that takes you years to sew just a tiny bit at a time. But what it is, is beauty in what otherwise would have no further purpose.

As a DIY addict, I love that.

And when money is tight or your husband questions why you HAVE to go to the fabric store because he just doesn’t understand… you can make everyone happy by digging through your leftover fabric and creating something out of nothing!

For ideas on storing your scraps, check out this link:

Cheap Sewing Room Storage Ideas

Scrappy Holiday Table Decorations

6. Iron Your Seams

Like with a real, hot and steamy iron. not just a roller or finger press. Press that fabric into submission and make it do what you want it to. Just don’t scortch the fabric, ok? Your quilting will turn out better, you won’t have to worry about wrinkles or fabric being askew.

If you’re not sure if you have the right iron, check out this post. 

7. Read through the Pattern

Yes, do it… Take 10 minutes. Prep yourself. Just do a quick read through. This isn’t a novel where you want to be surprised by little fun moments in the middle of the story. 

Those little surprises will lead to moments of torment and frustration..  

Go ahead and read out all the steps. Get a clear vision of what you’ll be creating and how it will all come together.

Treat this moment as a mini prep for a test. – Your test results will be your final quilt. 

8. Prep your supplies

This goes with number 7 and “things you should do before you quilt”.

Productivity wise, you should cut all your pieces at the same time. I know not everyone does this but it has been an absolute time saver (and sanity saver) for this busy momma. 

I like to use these wonder clips and clip each one of my blocks together.

So whenever I get a few moments to sew a block together, I have everything I need in a nice neat package and ready to go. I don’t have to backtrack and try and remember how many 1×4″ pieces I need or what fabric was I using for the background again? 

Basically, I’ve dummy proofed the fabric blocks for myself. 

It’s all here and ready to go. 

9. Do A Test Block

If you have a particularly new pattern that utilizes skills you’re not 110% confident in, don’t waste your good fabric on your first block. Grab some scrap fabric or cheap fabric and do a trial run. 

You’ll be able to work out the kinks and “oooooh! I get it” moments. without having to seam rip all over your desired fabric for the piece. 

10. Don’t be afraid to be picky

I am one of the WORST people I know with the phrase “done is better than perfect“. I would whip up a quilt top in no time flat. The seams would be slightly wonky, corners not perfectly met… I said “it shows character”… but that was a sorry excuse for I couldn’t be bothered to fix it at the time. 

Over time, I realized that I was really insecure about my quilts. I knew (and remembered) every single flaw and felt really uneasy when people would want to inspect my work. 

Hanging on a chair or draped over the laps of my children were one thing, but under the eyes of another quilter was an entirely different thing. (and a rather scary thing) 

I didn’t have any excuses.

I picked out a rather challenging quilt pattern and vowed that I would be meticulous no matter how long it took me. This was going to be a quilt for me and I was going to learn to perfect it along the way.

Whenever something wasn’t JUST right. I used the seam ripper and did it again. – Don’t get me wrong, I’m not selling this as a sunshine and roses experience. I was not the most joyful person to be around at that time. 

But it was a tremendous LEAP in quilting skills for me to finish this project. and really helped me perfect my quilt top piecing. 

I really hope that you were able to gain some insight within these tips for piecing the Perfect Quilt Top .

If you have other advice or tips, please leave them in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!