Congrats to yesterday’s winner, Linda Webster, on winning Day 20’s daily giveaway! Congrats too to Elizabeth on winning Day 21’s daily giveaway! We will be in contact so that you can claim your prize.
It’s Day Twenty-One of National Sewing Month! Don’t forget to visit Seams and Scissors every day to find daily giveaway opportunities and sewing ideas! To enter today’s daily giveaway, find the contest rules and leave a comment below. Also look out below for details on how to enter our National Sewing Month grand prize that includes a BERNINA 215 Sewing Machine! Too see the daily blog posts, projects of the day, and more National Sewing Month details, click here.
If you’re new to quilting, you’re probably looking for some shortcuts. Have no fear because we’ve gathered the best quilting secrets in this blog post.
The Lazy Girl’s Quilting Guide is guaranteed to save you precious time. And time is money, right? So really, you’re saving both time and money!
If we’ve missed any of your favorite quilting tricks, please fill us in. Leave your best suggestions in the comment section below. Help a quilter out, ladies.
We can’t wait to hear what you think.
How to Baste a Quilt
Searching for more quilt basting hacks? Check out this page for clever quilt basting ideas. Everyone thinks that basting and sandwiching a quilt is the worst part of a quilt project, but it doesn’t have to be once you know these awesome tricks.
2) The Basting Trick That Will Save Your Life
4) How to Baste a Quilt on a Table
Shortcut Rag Quilt Patterns
With a rag quilt pattern, you don’t actually have to bother with basting. Just sew your quilt blocks together.
4) Lovey Raggey Heart Stitched Baby Quilt
Top Secret Quilting Hacks
These quilting hacks will save your life. Honestly, you’ll wonder why no one else gave you this free advice before. Save all of these links!
2) 6 YouTube Quilting Videos for Beginners
4) Quilt Backing Yardage Requirements
Also remember to check out the Project of the Day right here!
To enter the daily giveaway, leave a comment below telling us:
Have Any Quilting Hacks We Forgot to Mention? Comment Below for Your Best Kept Quilting Secrets!
Official Rules for Daily Contest
- There is a maximum of one entry per person. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.
- Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.
- You have until tonight, September 21st, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
- Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.
Enter here for the National Sewing Month 2014 Grand Prize Giveaway.
- 14 Cozy Winter Quilt Patterns - October 24, 2020
- Flavors of Fall: Pumpkin Spice Quilt Pattern and More Delicious Designs - October 21, 2020
- 13 of the Best Jelly Roll Patterns Ever! - October 16, 2020
The most important thing is ignore the Quilt police, not all quilts are show quilts, just have fun. Measure 4 times, cut once and always buy extra fabric because you will cut something wrong because you can’t read at 3AM.
Don’t point out your mistakes. They may shout at you but no one else usually sees them.
As hard as I try, my points are not always perfect, nor do things line up perfectly every time. I feel like if I like the finished project and it keeps whoever is going to use it warm, then I am happy. I am by no means perfect so how can I expect to create a perfect quilt every time I start cutting and sewing. I sew and quilt because it makes me happy and as long as my end result is pretty…well perfection is not as important to me.
Have not made a quilt yet……..
Come on in – the water’s fine! Just need to start.
I haven’t been quilting for long so I don’t have any hack. I love all the examples given. Happy Stitching!
I am fairly new to quilting so I don’t have any hacks yet. But the best advice I have heard is Embrace the mistakes, they make the quilt homemade. Thanks!
And, if you don’t tell, no one will ever know! They will be looking at your lovely “creation” and wondering how you did it!)
Embrace your mistakes. You learn from them.
Don’t worry so much about your quilting being perfect. Just quilt!
If you’re like most of us, your stash has some “what in the everlovin’ world was I thinking” pieces in it. They keep getting shoved to the back or bottom of shelves, you’re tempted to “Gift” them to somebody (maybe that’s how you got them in the first place? sheesh, that’s a heck of a gift isn’t it?), or even throw them away – as blasphemous as that sounds.
Well, stop hating! Those are the Protectors Of Beauty and Guardians Of Inspiration! With these, you can practice that new cutting technique without risking your OMG! fabric, or sew up that complicated curved shape without worrying about appearance, just results. Not caring can give you an amazing amount of confidence.
If you hit a dry spell in your creativity don’t give up. Just discipline yourself to do a little bit every day. Even if it’s just one seam. Eventually you will get inspired to do more.
Learn from mistakes and be happy with the quilting process! It should be fun! thanks!
I am to new to quilting to have any hacks yet, but love all the fantastic information I just got.
Learned this one from Happy Quilting Melissa. When you are cutting out everything put the same size blocks or pieces in a plastic bag and label it. Either size or how it’s labeled in the pattern. Also if each of your blocks is a different design or color, take a picture of the fabrics you want to use for that block so you don’t get them mixed up. Then put all your little plastic bags for that block into a larger plastic bag. Amazing how well it works.
Other hack: chain stitching.
Thanks.
Making HST’s and you don’t have the right size ruler to square up the squares. Leave the HST’s as triangles. Then take a quilting ruler and mark on the corner the right size of the triangle for the HST with a dry erase pen. A 3.5 inch square should be a 3.5 inch triangle. Line the bottom of the triangle up with your sewing line and trim the extra fabric off.
I have yet to make my first quilt; so sorry no tips here.
I have trouble putting colors together. I have a kaleidoscope from an Art Supply store that I look at the fabric selection and it gives me some idea of what will and won’t work together. (I use it for yarn too)
Choosing colors.
Start with colors you like. Many quilters choose colors that are the same as colors they choose for clothing and may not realize it. This is a good place to start. As your confidence grows try choosing a ‘zinger’ color for a quilt. For me it was yellow & I used it my borders or as a small piece of a block; Later i began to use orange—this really adds energy to a quilt. Audition your fabrics together to see what works. You may need a different shade or hue of the color with your other fabrics. When I choose fabrics for a quilt, I take the bolts & stack them on top of each other to see how they look together. Then I may lay the bolts out on a table in a fan shape or in a row & shift the bolts until I’m happy with the selection. If you want to experiment with color make some baby quilts—-juvenile fabrics are filled with color and fairly inexpensive to make if you make a 36″ quilt. Best of all they can be given as gifts or donated to a children’s wing at a hospital. Just have fun with it. The more you experiment the better you become at color selection.
I haven’t yet completed a quilt but enjoyed reading the other tips here. Getting inspired!
I haven’t made a quilt yet.
If your not sure how to do something, watch a video. I have learned more about quilting from YouTube and Craftsy videos.
I haven’t been quilting long, but I spend at least 15 minutes a day on my first quilt and learn something new every time!
My signature statement on my quilt is a cross. I started it because I wanted my quilt user to always be blessed. Comes in handy too! For example I am quilting on my “new” 1937 singer I ripped a small hole in it. I tugged and maybe one of my quilting safety pins ripped it a bit. Don’t know, no worries. This quilt will also have a small cross appliquéd on top.
What great ideas! I learned to quilt from my Paternal Great-Grandmother over 50 years ago. I learned all my needlework skills from my Maternal Grandmother, who learned her skills in Holland as a young girl. My wife, children and now grand=children take great pleasure in the quilts and other things that I make for them. I actually have 7 quilt tops the my Great-Grandmother made and rest her soul she has been gone for over 30 years, so the tops are probably 40+ years old. I also have 8 quilt top that I made ready to go. Being a professional musician and teacher, creativity was bred into me and sewing and needlework is my relaxing outlet. I love all the tips that are offered here. The best gift is the one that comes from the heart, so for those who have not started what are you waiting for? You will be amazed at the reception of a gift made just for one person right from your heart. Those are treasures that will be passed on. HAPPY QUILTING!!
I love this site, always find simple tips to help teach beginners class I am teaching…it helps them understand what I have been telling them.
This is my first time on this site. WOW! what a resource, and it’s right in my sewing room whenever I need it. I’m relatively new to quilting although I have sewn for many years. I look forward to more hacks, thanx
I need all the tipsi can get!
When you make a quilt, make a pillowcase to go with it. The pillowcase is for storing the quilt. It will keep the dust off and will allow it to breath.
Remember to breathe & say a little prayer each time you sit at your machine 🙂
I need your tips
I just started doing rag quilts. I’ve done about 4 so far. But between the fabrics, tools, and batting it was costing a ton of money. So my husband had this great idea. He went to our local thrift shop an bought flannel sheets for a song. This takes care of the batting and on some cases the backing as well. We are upcycling and making something pretty, useful, and new at the same time.
Just remember what you may see as a mistake or a glaring error almost always will go unnoticed by others. The love you put into your quilt is what shines through!