Things I learned making a quilt
Quarter-inch mistakes, done a handful of times in a project with a finished size of one hundred and eight inches, matter enough that things will not line up when they should.
One hundred and eight inches is a lie when it comes to backing material, which is one hundred and six inches wide and advises pre-laundering because it shrinks.
Some kinds of batting reek and need a pre-wash in a protective bag.
If I had it to do over, I’d pre-wash and iron all the fabrics. As is it, I can only hope nothing shrinks.
I can no longer thread a needle first try every time. Closing one eye and doing it over a contrasting color to the thread—I used my bare foot—helps.
Precision and attention to detail are extremely important. You can’t do a good job without both.
If you are sleep-deprived, you have no business holding scissors. I nearly ruined this quilt.
A quilt big enough for a bed will disrupt your home. The sewing machine and ironing board will be set up for months, and unless you have a quilting frame, your floor is co-opted, too.
If I were smarter, I’d have relearned the craft (not used in forty plus years) on something substantially smaller, like a baby quilt or a lap throw.
Finding and using every cotton print in the theme adds needless busy-ness to the finished product. I’d have been fine with half as many skulls, skeletons, flames, and musical notes.
A simple pattern is your friend. No diagonals or curves, since they add difficulty levels you don’t need until you’re ready for a challenge. Large pieces cut and assembled into squares or rectangles let the cool fabrics star rather than the complex patterns (that starred because quilts used the worn fabric of old clothing).
Red stands out way more than purple of equal color intensity.
Tying off a quilt—a much faster option than actual quilting—will hurt your back, your knees, and lots more.
There will be blood. Especially if you use cheap-ass pins made in China or Pakistan. It’s hard to find good pins in stores now.
If you include a print that must be straight, such as a musical score, it will be printed crooked and look stupid. Both the red- and the white-background ones were off, the white one really a lot.
The creator sees only the flaws; the recipient sees only the love--I hope.
The pictures I just now took are large, so click through to see.
The
back, which is rumpled and imperfect.
The
front, suitable for a metal girl/professor who loves purple and her musician/professor husband-to-be, assuming they never want to sleep again, because man, this is busy!
Maryn, who still doesn't have a dress for the wedding but can always wrap herself in the quilt