A Charm Box Quilt by Katy Cameron.

QUILTING FOR BEGINNERS (EVENING COURSE)
Course Information

COURSE LENGTH

9 weeks - One 3-hour session per week

TOPICS COVERED

Sewing machine basics // Overview of basic sewing supplies // Measuring and cutting using a rotary cutter // Making patchwork blocks // Making colour and pattern choices // Machine assembling the quilt top layer // Quilt wadding and layering-up // Machine quilting // Making and applying a binding (edging) // Hand-finishing techniques

OUTCOMES

Each student will make a Charm Box Quilt (as shown) in fabrics of their choice.

 

Do I Need To Bring a Sewing Machine?

No, but you are welcome to if you wish. We have a Janome CXL301 sewing machine available for each student to use.

Although not essential, having a sewing machine at home is helpful for this course. If you don't own one already, we sell a range of Janome machines, and offer discounts on these to our students. Contact us for more details.

The Janome CXL301 - We have 10 of these in our studio for student use. 

The Janome CXL301 - We have 10 of these in our studio for student use. 

If you're planning on bringing your own machine, please contact us and let us know the make and model. 

How Do I Pay My Balance?

If you booked your place with a deposit, you're balance is due no less than 14 days before your course begins. For instructions on how to pay please visit our balance payments page.

If you're thinking of cancelling your booking, for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible, so that we can offer your place to someone on the waiting list. And also please have a look at our Cancellations & Refunds Policy on the FAQs page before doing this. Thanks.

Basic Supplies

In this section we explain some of the basic supplies you'll need for the course. 

BASIC SUPPLIES LIST

All of the items in this list are available for purchase at The Stitchery:

  • 100% cotton thread - We sell Gutterman brand. 
  • Fabric scissors - Fiskars are a brand that we recommend and sell.
  • Size 80/12 sewing machine needles (size chart)
  • Embroidery scissors or clippers 
  • Seam ripper 
  • Seam gauge 
  • Bobbins (Janome compatible to work with our machines)
Tools of the trade for quilting. 

Tools of the trade for quilting. 

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PINS & NEEDLES

The pins and needles used for quilting are often longer than standard, due to the amount of layers being sewn through. Here are our recommendations:

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

These are common tools of the trade for quilting. We have a small supply of them handy at our studio, which students are welcome to use. If you would prefer to have your own, you can order them through us in week one, or at any point during the course:

  • A rotary cutter - These are like pizza cutters for fabric and very handy! 
  • A quilting ruler - a useful transparent ruler, with a gripped surface on the underside. 
  • A self healing cutting mat - For quilting, a mid-sized version around 45x30cm (17x11inches) is good.

Fabrics & Haberdashery

In this section we've given you a breakdown of the fabric and haberdashery items you'll need for your course. We highly recommend NOT purchasing all of them before the course begins. Some of them may require further explanation by your tutor, and this way you can also spread the cost.

WEEK ONE

In week one of your course, you'll need to bring solid colour (plain) fabric, plus your Charm Packs. 

THE CHARM PACK

A Charm Pack is made up of 5" squares of quilting cotton from one fabric line, and can be found in the Quilting section of your fabric shop or bought on line.  Depending on the number of prints in the line, you may get one or more charms with the same print in it, and depending on the company a Charm Pack can have anything from 20 to over 40 pieces in it. So double check before you buy to ensure you have enough for the pattern!

For your Charm Box Quilt you will need 60 charms. So, for example, with Moda Fabrics, 2 packs will cover this, but for other manufacturers, please check!

SOLID FABRIC

You will need 1 metre of solid colour fabric. This fabric will be used as the background colour to your quilt, so it should compliment your Charm Pack. We recommend 100% cotton for this. If you're not sure what to buy, take your Charm Pack to your fabric shop and ask to see their 'quilting fabrics' or 'craft fabrics. 

SHOPPING FOR FABRICS

Please feel free to pick up your fabric from wherever you like, but we do have some recommendations:

WEEK FOUR/FIVE

Somewhere around weeks 4-5, you will be taught how to create the 3 core layers of your quilt. For this you will need the items below. Again, we advise not to purchase these items at the start of the course, since your instructor will be explaining them. 

  • 1.5m of 90" wide quilting wadding (100% Cotton or 80/20 cotton blend). This will be available to purchase from your instructor at a competitive price. 
  • 1.5 m of standard 45" quilting fabric.
  • 1 roll of masking tape
100% Cotton Wadding 

100% Cotton Wadding 

80/20 Cotton blend wadding

80/20 Cotton blend wadding

WEEK EIGHT/NINE

Around week 8 or 9 you will add the binding to your quilt, giving it a quality finished look and protecting the edges from fraying. For this you will need 1/2 metre of quilting or 'craft' cotton. This will be explained in the weeks that precede, so don't worry about buying it at the start. 

Grey striped binding on the edges of a quilt. 

Grey striped binding on the edges of a quilt.