Sew your first quilt in just hours following this Beginner’s Quilt Sewing Tutorial.
I have just (almost) completed my 4th basic beginner’s quilt. My first three include:
The first three were Wordless Wednesday posts, but I think I’m finally ready to create an actual sewing tutorial. Before you proceed, I must warn you – I don’t know the first thing about real quilting. This is a really simple way to make a nice blanket using the least number of steps possible. Great project for a beginner!
*This tutorial will contain the best images from all 4 quilts. Follow the directions without being confused by the colors/patterns of the fabrics.
Materials:
- 6 ft of coordinating patterned fabric (I usually get one foot of 6 different patterns, but you can do 2 feet of 3 different patterns or even 3 feet of 2 different patterns)
- 2 packages of coordinating quilt binding
- 5 ft of solid-colored muslin (I do either white or ivory)
- Warm & Natural Needled Cotton Batting – Baby size (45″ x 60″)
- coordinating thread
Directions:
- Begin by cutting your fabrics into strips that are 4″ x fabric width (usually about 45″). You should have a total of 18 strips. When I made my first quilt, I did strips of different thicknesses, but I found that consistency looks more attractive.
- Lay the muslin on your surface first. Place the cotton batting directly on top. Choose your first fabric strip. Pin the right-side of the fabric strip down so that the edge of the fabric strip overlaps with the edge of the muslin + batting. Sew a straight line along the edge of your pinned fabric. Be sure to sew through all three layers.
- Flip over fabric and iron down.
- Pin the next fabric strip right-side down over the previous strip. Sew in place along the top edge.
- Flip fabric strip up and iron. You have now created your first two rows.
- Continue this process as you work your way toward the end of the muslin and batting. Pin strips in place, sew, iron, and repeat until you reach the far end.
- At this point, you will probably find that your fabric strips were slightly different lengths, so the sides of the quilt appear uneven.
- Trim around all four sides to create straight edges. This is what the back looks like after the edges have been trimmed.
- Pin the quilt binding in place all around the quilt. The corners can get pretty tricky, so take your time. I find that it usually takes one entire package and about 3/4 of the second package. Sew around – and your quilt is complete!
Here are four different themed quilts I created.
Beginner’s Owl Quilt with Owl Pillow
Beginner’s Dog Quilt
Beginner’s Princess Quilt
Beginner’s Undersea Quilt
These are super cute ! What size are they when finished ?
Thanks! They are about 45″ x 60″ – It’s a great size!
Can you show a picture of the back? I am very tempted to attempt one?!
Anne – I will have to add a photo. No problem at all 🙂
i love them all !!!
Thank you so much!
I love this!! I have a nephew coming soon, and want to try this! maybe this is a stupid question, but did you use a sewing machine, or hand stitch?
I used a machine. I suppose it could be hand-stitched, but that would take a lot more time 😉
Do you wash your fabric prior to making the blanket or after it’s completed. Also – can you throw it in the washer? thanks!
I do not pre-wash my fabrics, but I would recommend doing so if you want to make sure the quilt holds up well. My sister has washed her Ocean quilt several times, but she said it’s fraying a bit in a few spots. That’s probably due to me sewing quickly. If you know your work is really good, you should be able to wash it. Good questions!
I know how to put squares together and put the filler and backing on but I have so many issues with borders do you have any tips