My first thought about sewing & quilting was I could totally do this. Y’all, I had no idea how much knowledge it takes to make a quilt. To share the funniest part about it, we're expecting a little girl this April so I was like perfect…. I want to make this baby some special bedding so first I measured her cradle. Perfect first size project. Right?? So, I went through the almost entire project without double checking my length and width. I knew what I was doing because I had already measured it!
Let me just tell you that I ended up with a shorter cradle quilt because I did not take into account that the seams take down the total measurement. Laugh along, I felt so proud but so stunned when I laid this cute cradle quilt in its place and I was a whole square off. Like a complete 5x5 inch square short.
I start by telling you this because there’s too much to learn as a complete newbie to get it all perfect the first time so don’t be hard on yourself. I’m here and I’m showing up for this to tell you the lessons I learned from my first quilt.
· Using the pre-cut fabric squares saves a ton of time.
I chose the fabric based on what I thought was the cutest. To be honest, there were plenty of options that would have been suitable for a first-time quilt and good for a gift from mom to baby. But no way, I had to get what I liked, and this costed me a lot of time. Choosing precut fabric squares would have saved me from a couple of errors such as mismatch cuts and accurately lining up the rows and columns once sewn.
· Getting the larger self-healing cutting mat is a must.
As I got my fabric cut up and sewn into rows, the ends weren’t exactly straight. Not to mention it took forever cutting the squares on my smaller 18 x 6 inch mat. We wont revisit that frustration though. There was also the need to cut down the backing and the batting. Oh, and the binding (the edge). By the way, that’s a ton of B’s to learn. Once I was done getting all the layers prepared, I realized how much easier all this cutting and straightening out at the end would have been had I just spend the extra few dollars on the larger self-healing cutting mat. I found mine at Hobby Lobby here on a 50% off week and I’m so glad I did. Now, cutting multiple squares at a time and trimming fabric is so much faster! So, go with the 18 x 24 at least.
· A sharp rotary blade will give you “cuts you can trust”.
As I started quilting, I researched a ton like I always do and let me tell you I come across a goldmine when I found Melanie Ham on YouTube. I watched her whole series that shows you how to make your first quilt. She’s really great and showed me how to get as she says, “cuts you can trust.”. With that said, I wasn’t obtaining good cuts because I was trying to get every penny out of my Fiskars blade. This caused frays and when the blade would not cut all the way through the line, I was moving from the dull cutter to scissors to just get the cut done. Had I moved to my next blade I could have gotten more cut in less time. When your cuts get ugly and your using a lot of pressure, it is time to change that blade. My first purchase for quilting was a Fiskars 45 mm Rotary cutter kit that included a smaller mat. Knowing now that cutting and sewing tools go on sale every other or third week at Hobby Lobby. I only tend to shop there. The blades I have used with this cutter are found here. They seem cheaper and work just fine. This is what it looked like before and after trimming the 3 layers with a fresh blade.
· A solid fabric makes for less effort and mistakes while learning to bind.
When I got to the binding step, I cut out all my 2.5 inch strips for my edging and enough to have some extra. I think the standard is have about a foot more than you need or measured. Also, extra tip if your reading still... use 3 inch strips if you are like me and have not mastered 1/4 inch seams. My binding was shorter on my firs side and wider on the second side. I think going front to back on the binding works best. I used 1/2 inch seams to learn how to guide my fabric straight because I felt that was easier as it lined up with the side of my footer. Moving on, solid pieces people!! So you have to attach the binding (edging) strips right-side to right-side and wrong-sides to the outside of what I would say is a binding sandwich. Here is the kicker to this tip, if its a solid font and back skip all that jazz and sew your ends together. I just used end to end and did my best at a 1/4 inch seam on these. Smaller seams are important here when machine sewing.
· Do not worry so much about the gadgets on your first quilt.
I got a sewing machine from my mom a month or so ago and this quilt was my first ever sewing machine project. I read article after article before finding the video series I liked and understood well from Melanie Ham. It is a YouTube series that shows you how to make Your First Quilt from beginning to end. Check that out next because she is great at this. Now, when I say I focused way to much on things that were being recommended, let me just say I spent maybe $25 extra dollars buying this presser walking foot and this other foot that helps with straight lines. Y’all, I bet I have $50 more in this Cradle Quilt than needed. That’s embarrassing to admit but extremely funny if you ask me and a total sign of commitment.
Here is my finished product and our girls first baby blanket. ♡♡
Whatever you do, don’t give up on it because I am very proud of my first quilt even if its shorter than my cradle. It surely perfect and cute to me.
Now what is your plan for your first quilt???
