Quilting is a favorite hobby for many people out there, and its popularity has increased severely in the last couple of years. As you may presume, it is a highly complex procedure and you will need a lot of practice before you can say you are successful with it. So, you will need to invest a lot of time and effort before the task is complete.
When you do that, there is no fear that your next project will not be the best one yet. Of course, creativity is the most important element in this hobby, so you need to think hard about how you’re going to go with certain moves while you do it. If you lack the expertise, you can always enroll in some online classes.
If you don’t know where to start, and you want to improv quilting, then be sure to pay a visit to Carolina Oneto. Today, we want to provide you with a couple of tips you will find useful when it comes to quilting, especially when you are a beginner. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the most important ones out there.
1. Use a Good Baste
Before you are ready to start with your little project, you should make sure that you have obtained a good baste. It doesn’t matter how proficient you are with your skills if you do not obtain a good baste, then chances of being successful are quite limited. So, you need to make sure that you have found the right one, which is not always easy.
It is essential not to miss any of the important steps in this procedure. The first one is to start with ironing the quilt top, and do the same for the backing, However, you should be careful about not doing the same for the batting. The reason is quite simple, it can get somewhat cramped, and you don’t need this.
When all layers in your quilt are nice and flat, then you should proceed to baste it. Once again, this is something that requires a lot of patience and craftsmanship. If you come across some bumps and lumps, then you shouldn’t hesitate to perform the same process again. That way, you can make the whole surface even again.
2. Using Sewing Machine
Most people who don’t have enough experience with using a sewing machine presume that this is not a skill that requires a lot of their time. However, we beg to differ, for a variety of reasons. We are talking about a craft, and you will need to invest a lot of hours before you can get to the level where you can conduct it seriously.
When it comes to the machines themselves, you don’t need to pick too much. It is just important that it functions properly, and that the maintenance has been conducted properly. Besides these two elements, you don’t need to worry about much. If you do not have the appropriate one, then you should invest in it.
However, you should be careful not to invest too much of your money into one of these before you obtain the necessary skills. Therefore, we advise you to start simple, and then slowly upgrade when you get the proper set of skills, and when you are ready to do something big with the device you own.
3. Rotary Cutter
The next thing we want to talk about is the use of a rotary cutter. Once again, we are talking about a device that can look pretty simple to use, but this is not the case. In most cases, you will see that we’re talking about 45mm ones since they are the handiest ones out there. Smaller ones are just too hard to handle sometimes.
Before you buy one of these, make sure that you find one that comes with a set of spare blades. In cases of some of these getting damaged, you can easily replace them and use completely fresh ones for your project. If you cannot find the package with more spare blades, settle for the package that has just one.
4. Using Rulers
To establish the measures needed for your project, you will need to use rulers. Using these is not always easy, and you will become aware that using these comes with a string of pros and cons. Measuring the right size, no matter which one we are talking about is quite a challenge and you need to be careful about that.
Of course, there is not just one ruler you can use for this, and it is way more likely that you will have a set of a high number of different rulers you can use to measure the material you’re working with. The one you will use the most is 6.5” x 24.5” since it is of the average size, and you can use it for most of your projects.
Another quite common one is 8.5”, better known as a square ruler. Still, we feel it is important to say that the one you will choose should complement the needs of the project, and you need to pay attention to this.
5. Using Pins
Last but not least, we want to address the question of pins. As you may know, there are several types of these, and all of them will help with the situation. If you have the budget, then you should decide to use glass-headed ones. The reason is quite simple, they will not melt at all, no matter how high the temperature is.
If you are on a tight budget, you can always decide to use those that are of lower quality. When you do that, you need to be a little bit careful about using them. However, you will see that this will not be too big of problem down the road.
Summary
As you can see, quilling doesn’t have to be as hard as some may think it is. Here, you can check out a couple of tips that can help with your project in the future. We are certain you will find each one of these to be of great help.
