How to Make a Full Size Quilt
Handmade quilts really make a house a home. Whether you make a full-size quilt for your own bed or for someone you care about, you can express your creativity as you choose a pattern and fabrics, piece the quilt together and finally finish it with beautiful hand- or machine-stitching. You can use these instructions for other sizes of quilts besides full size if you adjust the size of the backing and batting.
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Things You'll Need
- Quilt pattern
- Fabrics for quilt top
- 5 1/4 yards fabric for backing
- 3/4 yard fabric for binding
- Full size batting
- Sewing machine
- Rotary cutter
- Self-healing cutting mat
- Scissors
- Pins
- Thread
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Quilting frame
Instructions
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Choose and prepare your fabrics. Your chosen quilt top pattern will tell you exactly how much of each type of fabric to buy. Don't feel that all of your fabrics have to "match." Contrast in color and style of fabrics gives quilts unique qualities. Fabrics that match too closely don't allow you to see the quilt's pattern.
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Wash all of your fabrics, dry them, and iron them flat before you try to cut any of the pieces. Cotton fabrics shrink, so it's best to wash them before you begin cutting and sewing.
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Use your rotary cutter and self-healing mat to cut your quilt pieces out. Your pattern will dictate the size, shape and amount of pieces necessary for your quilt. Keep your quilt pieces organized by stacking them according to shape and size. If you will be setting the project aside for a few days, put your cut pieces in zipper plastic baggies with labels on them such as "2-inch squares."
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Sew the pieces together according to the instructions in your pattern. After you have sewn each seam, use your iron to press both of the seam allowances toward the darker fabric. For example, if you have sewn a white triangle to a yellow triangle, open the triangles and press both seam allowances toward the yellow side. This way, the seam allowances won't show through to the front side of the quilt. Iron after each step. Eventually, all of your small pieces will become part of a full-size quilt top.
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Piece your backing together, so it is the size of a full-size quilt: 78-by-87 inches. You should have about 2 inches of overhang on each side to help you with finishing the quilt. Iron the seams in the backing, so they lay flat.
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Lay the backing piece right-side down on a large open space on the floor. Tap the corners of the backing to the floor (or pin them if you're on carpet), so the fabric doesn't rumple as you add the other layers. Next, lay the batting over the backing, and smooth it out.
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Lay the quilt top right-side up on top of the batting. If you will be hand quilting the quilt, baste all three layers together with long quick stitches about every 4 to 6 inches all over the quilt. If you will be machine quilting, pin all three layers together with safety pins. Your pins should be no more than 4 inches apart all over the quilt.
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Machine-quilt or hand-quilt the entire quilt. You can quilt along the seams dictated by your quilt top, which is called "stitching in the ditch," or you can draw a design in chalk or pencil all over the top of your quilt and sew the design into your quilt. If you quilt by hand, install the quilt on a quilting frame to keep it straight and taut while you quilt.
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Remove the quilt from the frame if you have finished hand-quilting. Remove the pins and basting stitches from the quilt. Trim the edges so that all three layers of the quilt are even.
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10
Cut 1 3/4-inch strips of binding fabric, and sew them together end to end, so you have a very long strip of fabric. Sew the strip of fabric right-side down to the top side of the quilt all the way around the edge. Turn the quilt over, pull the binding around to the back, fold in a 1/4-inch hem, and hand-stitch the binding to the back of the quilt.
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Tips & Warnings
Look at your local library for books full of quilt patterns.
Join a quilting group to meet other quilters and to share tips and ideas.
Be careful when using the rotary cutter, and retract the blade every time you set it down.
Do not allow children to play with the rotary cutter.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
