How to Build a Quilt
After completing the quilt top you are ready to build your quilt, which means putting all the layers together before doing the actual quilting. This is probably the easiest part of making a quilt and can easily be learned in just a few steps. Cotton fabric is the best choice for the quilt back, as it is for the quilt piecing of the top. Blended fabrics are more difficult to push the needle through when quilting.
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Things You'll Need
- Quilt top
- Fabric
- Quilt batting
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
- Large safety pins
Instructions
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1
Purchase or gather backing fabric. This can be plain muslin or one of the fabrics used in the quilt top. It needs to be a couple of inches larger than your quilt top all the way around. The extra fabric allows for any pulling that may happen while quilting. It's better to have too much fabric than a shortage that can ruin the whole project. You will also need quilt batting, the same size as the backing fabric.
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Lay your backing fabric on your work space or floor, wrong side up. Lay the batting on top of it, evenly distributed. Put your quilt top over the batting, right side up.
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3
Pin the three layers together with large safety pins starting in the middle of the quilt and working outward. In other words, start in the center and work down to the bottom. Go back to the center and work to the top. Do the same for the sides out to the corners.
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After completing the quilting process, trim any excess backing fabric and batting from the outside edges to match the quilt top. Bind the outside of the quilt in the style you desire.
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Tips & Warnings
Wash and dry your backing fabric in warm water and a warm dryer to allow for any shrinkage before starting to build your quilt.
Resources
- Photo Credit ransson at Flickr
