Photo courtesy of Kei Noguchi
This is a pieced quilt. Everything here is done with geometric shapes.
Fall is always the first season to call me to the sewing machine. It’s an especially inspiring time for quilts and my quilting friends also find this to be true. It could be the shorter days, the cooler weather, or the upcoming holidays. In any case, if you’ve never quilted before I encourage you to start checking into it this fall.
With a little research, you can find a few quilting shops in your area to haunt. Make it a morning event! Call a couple of friends who may be interested in quilting (or sewing in general) and meet up for coffee or a bagel. If you have a friend that’s already a quilter, you get bonus points. Then make the rounds and peruse the quilt shops.
When I say “quilt shops” I mean exactly that. Sure, there are other sewing and craft places that have a lot to offer (and you won’t want to skip them), but they really can’t replace a true quilt store and the knowledge of the seasoned quilters therein. For the beginning quilter, you’ll want to pay close attention to the smaller wall-type quilts because they’ll usually be less daunting than their bed-size counterparts. Wall quilts are just as fun and super gratifying because they take less time to complete. Look for simple patterns and shapes.
Pieced or Appliqued?
You’ll notice that some quilt patterns mention that they’re “pieced” and some say they’re “appliquéd”. The difference between the two is that a pieced quilt uses fabric that’s been cut out into geometric shapes and then sewn together to create a pattern (above image). You’ll recognize them as the familiar quilts of our grandmothers.
Photo by Stella Blu
This quilt’s background is pieced, but the leaves are appliqued.
An appliquéd quilt is one that has any kind of cut piece out of a different fabric that’s been sewn to the top of the quilt. These shapes aren’t limited to geometric ones. They can be the curvy body of a woman or a little girl’s jump rope. It feels a little “freer” in a sense because anything you can cut out can be placed onto an appliquéd quilt.
This is because it doesn’t have to be matched up against another piece – it’s not actually creating the quilt top. The appliqués are like drawings on the top of the quilt. Of course, the top becomes the backdrop for the appliqués and this backdrop can certainly be pieced before the appliqués are added.
My first quilt was a table runner with appliquéd hearts placed on muslin squares. I’d been sewing in general for years, but I wasn’t at all sure about quilting. But that table runner came together and I was amazed!
Beginning Quilting Websites:
Another thing you should know is that quilting is done in two phases. The first phase is creating the quilt top. Creating the quilt top is part of quilting as a whole. But the literal “quilting” part is when the quilt top, the quilt back and the batting in between are all stitched together. In many (many) cases one person will quilt the top and another will actually quilt it together. I mention this because in quilt books, you may notice that some photo captions say something like, “Made by Jan; quilted by Mary.”
I promise this isn’t cheating, it’s just that we’ve all gotten busier since the days of the quilting bee and often long-arm quilting machines do a lot of this work for us. Of course, there are those who still hand quilt – which is wonderful, too. But for now, focusing on the pattern and design of the quilt top will make the entire process less overwhelming.
Enjoy!
I’m so going to make a quilt one of these centuries. I swear.
You really must…but I have to warn you – it is addicting!!