First Quilt - Lessons Learned

Exactly a week after I began my quilt, I have now finished it, and it is lying snugly on Fred's bed where it will keep him nice and warm. It is a big improvement on time from my last one, which I sewed by hand and which took three years to complete!

Ta da!

Here are some useful things that I have learned in the process:

• Scissors just don't cut it when you cut seven fat quarters into 6.5" squares {well obviously they do cut, but a rotary cutter would be a big improvement}. I think I am quite good cutting with scissors but even a minor misjudgement will show in the eventual sewing.

• Plan your pattern {if using} and stack your fabric squares in order per row and keep all pattern directions the same. I made a minor error with one square facing the wrong way!

• Iron open the seams when you have sewn one row, and repeat. I thought I could cut corners by ironing them open at the point that I had sewn the whole top! Very laborious!

I sewed my quilt top to the batting by stitching in the ditch in the vertical ditches only. My poor machine found that pretty hard going, and I felt it was sufficient to not bother with the horizontals.

I used the thickest cotton batting I could buy in my nearest fabric shop which is probably why my machine struggled with it!

Seven fat quarters cut into 6.5" squares, sewn 7 squares by 9 gives you a cot bed or small bunk bed sized quilt. Adding a large border and binding would make it more suitable for a single bed. I haven't bound mine, mainly because I didn't see the need for it on this size.

Note on the fabric:
Curious Nature is a fabric range from David Butler's brand Parson Gray (David is the husband of Amy Butler!). My colours are from the Ocean colourway {others are Mineral and Rare Earth}.

Love Mrs Jones x