Not all quilts are created equal

What to look for in buying a quilt

There are a lot of quilts out there for sale and you should know that not all quilts are created equal.  Here are a few tips on what to look for when shopping for a quilt. Quilts are one of those things that you get what you pay for. All of the things I've listed below will affect the cost of the quilt. Not all quilts you buy need to last for a 100 years or needs to be handed down for generations to come. Sometimes you just need a cute gift. What ever your needs are I hope this helps you make an informed decision so you get what you truly want and don't get something you are embarrassed by.

1. The kind of fabric will greatly affect the price of a quilt. Fabric can be bought as cheap as a dollar a yard and made in China all the way to 10.00 to 12.00 a yard of good fabric. Fabric that is cheap will not last AND some of it is full of toxic chemicals. Higher end fabric will be well made and last a lifetime. However middle of the road fabric, well there is some good and some bad, so ask questions before buying.

2. How the quilt is made will affect the cost as well. To make a nice quilt is not just about the cost of the fabric. It is also about the TIME that goes into washing, cut, starched, pressing, piecing, quilting and the binding. So you want to ask yourself:
  a) How is the piecing? Is it simple blocks or more detailed cuts? Is it a one piece fabric panel that is really just a print.

  b) Does it have things that take more time to do? Applique's (hand and machine sewn),  Embroidery designs or embellishing?

  c) Is it machine quilted, hand quilted, tied or longarm quilted?

Tied is where they pull thread up through the quilt and tie at the top every so often and is the cheapest option. It doesn't take much time or materials to tie a quilt.
Hand is hand sewn with a needle and thread. This can be very beautiful and take a lot of time but needs to be done by an expert. So be careful and make sure its been done right.
Machine is done with a regular sewing machine and is generally a more simple design then a longarm. Machine quilting should cost more than tied or hand quilting. Unless the hand quilting was done by a pro!
Longarm is a more professional quilting. Very few people and quilt as well on a regular sewing machine but I have seen it done. I prefer the longarm quilting, it is smooth and endless in design possibilities.

3. Binding, Binding, Binding!! The binding is more important than you think. The binding will determine the life of your quilt. The binding takes on more wear than the rest of the quilt. If its not done right you will end up with a beautiful quilt with ragged edges. So its really important and will affect the cost. This binding is a double fold binding, the best binding for quilts.


Double folded binding and machine sewn to the top of the quilt and pressed. Flipped over and hand sewn on the back with perfect mitered corners.

    

                                                                                   

                                                                              

So I hope this helps you find the best quilt for your budget. Here is a link to get back to my Etsy store. https://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplySewing?ref=pr_shop_more

Prewashed vs not prewashed. Can you believe some people dont prewash?

I was online checking out quilts and quilt top lately and came across a bunch of people who don't prewash their fabric and I freaked out! So I was thinking maybe people don't know they should prewash...or maybe they do it so the quilt is brighter and stiffer which would be easier to sew but a huge nightmare once it was washed. So they look pretty to sell but what nightmare is waiting for you?

It's hard to believe it but there are people out there who are making  quilts that DON'T prewash there fabric. So buyer beware!!
I'm not sure what the reason is so I welcome comments from those who don't prewash. I would love to know why you wouldn't prewash.

With that said here is why you should prewash your fabric before cutting.

• Bleeding: Even high quality fabrics bleed, so prewashing will tell you if there is a problem with the fabric. There is nothing sadder then a quilt with bleeding all over it! 
• Shrinkage: Some fabrics shrink at quicker rates than others. If you have a mix of different fabrics, and most quilts do, they would shrink at different rates and cause puckering and uneven blocks which will cause an uneven quilt. 
• Chemicals: Imported fabrics are sometimes manufactured using chemicals that are not considered safe in the United States. Plus all fabric have some kind of chemicals and even if they say they are safe do you really want to snuggle with chemicals? Plus, what if a baby or small child snuggles with all those chemicals...yuck!

So PLEASE prewash your fabric!
Need to know a good way to prewash....Check out my blog on : How I wash my quilting fabric

Happy Quilting

Learning to Quilt

So you want to learn how to quilt...

I remember when I first learned to quilt years ago. My best friend Sharon got me started. Looking back I should have tried quilting sooner. Turns out my grandmother was a quilter and very crafty as well. If I had lived closer to my grandmother maybe I could have started my passion sooner. However, I feel as if I've been quilting all my life. So its never to late to start quilting!

 

Picking your first quilt.
If you can you should start out simply and small. You will have an easier time with something simple like a baby or lap size quilt. Don't worry, you'll make a bigger quilt before you know it.

 

Pick out fabric you love!! Yes it's nice to use stuff you have laying around but its also hard to make a quilt that you are not passionate about.

 

Remember, you are going to make mistakes along the way and that's how you will learn. Just have fun and enjoy.

Happy Quilting

How I wash my quilting fabrics

It sounds silly but I found this to be the best was to wash all my quilting fabric. When I bring my fabric home I try to wash it right away. Here are the steps.

• First I sort every piece of fabric light to dark.
• I fill the sink with warm water and a very small amount of laundry detergent( I use warm instead of cold because most people might wash their quilt in warm (even though I ALWAYS tell them to wash in cold) The warm water will let me know if I have any fabric with a bleed problem.
• I wash each piece one at a time starting with the light fabric working my way to the dark. (also I use detergent for two reasons) One it helps remove nasty chemicals. Two it will help in letting you know if you have cheap fabric by washing away layers put on cheap fabric to make it look good. (Better to know now before you put it in a quilt you worked very hard on.)
• If I have any fabric that bleeds, I use Retaine.
• After washing each piece I refill the sink with cold water and rinse each fabric starting with the light.
• after rinsing I roll the fabric in a towel to remove the excess water. I let each piece drip dry or I use the dryer sometimes when I'm in a hurry but not as a rule.

Happy Quilting

Baby Quilts

Baby Quilts

Baby quilts are really a lot of fun to make. There are so many patterns to choose from these days. You can also put some squares together to make simple baby blocks but I always look for something more or different. The quilt that is shown here is a Strawberry Shortcake quilt I made for a very special little girl. I had a hard time finding the fabrics I wanted but I didn't give up. I finally found all the fabric I needed and started sewing. I loved how the quilt turned out!

I will say right after I started this quilt we had two very sad tragedies that broke ours hearts! Both of our fur babies were killed. So this made it really hard for me to work on this quilt. However, I learned so much from it. I learned it's hard to make something that is creative and full of passion when you are blue!!! I also learned no matter what try to push forward and remember the saying, "try, try again"! I took this quilt apart many, many times and that's okay :) Sometimes the world plots against you and you just have to fight back :)

 

 

The quilting was fun (it's always the best part) I did a couple of different quilting ideas, stitch in the ditch, free motion, straight line and diagonal lines. I plan to do another one in this and make a pattern when I do I post the pattern.