How to Make Quilt Bedding
Quilting is a time-honored tradition in many cultures. Quilting started out as a way to use up scraps of fabric to make and repair blankets. Today, quilts are appreciated as much for their beauty as their functionality. Quilt tops can be simply random squares of various fabrics stitched together or intricate patchwork designs composed of a variety of shapes and colors carefully pieced. No matter how simple or complex the patchwork, the method of assembling quilted bedding is the same.
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Things You'll Need
- Fabric for the quilt top
- Batting
- Backing fabric
- Masking tape
- Iron and ironing board
- Pins or spray adhesive
- Sewing machine or hand sewing notions
- Rotary cutter and ruler
Instructions
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Assemble the Quilt top
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1
Piece the quilt top by machine or by hand. The method you choose will depend on the pattern you've selected for your quilt top. As a general rule, you'll construct blocks from patches, sew blocks together to make rows, then join the rows together. Press the blocks and seam allowances as you go.
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2
Square up the quilt top. If necessary, use a rotary cutter and ruler to trim the edges of the quilt top so that all edges are straight and even.
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3
Apply borders. Use a 1/4-inch seam to attach the border fabric to all four sides of the quilt top according to your pattern.
Make the Quilt Sandwich
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4
Lay the backing fabric right-side-down on a large table or on the floor. Use masking tape to secure the corners of the fabric to the work surface so that the center of the fabric stays taut.
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5
Center the batting on top of the backing fabric. Smooth the batting from the center out but be careful not to stretch it.
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6
Center the quilt top right-side-up on top of the batting. Smooth from the center out without stretching the quilt top.
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Start in the center of the quilt and pin or baste the three layers together. If you're using basting spray, roll half the quilt out of the way and spray a small section near the center of the quilt. Adhere that section, then spray another small section working your way out from the center.
Finish the Quilt
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8
Sew through all three layers of the quilt sandwich to permanently secure them. You can quilt on the sewing machine, by hand stitching, or by tying knots at even intervals across your blanket. Start at the center of the quilt and work toward the edges.
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9
Remove any remaining basting stitches or pins and lay the quilt out flat.
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10
Use a rotary cutter and ruler to trim and square up the edges of the quilt.
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11
Apply the binding of your choice. Use bias tape, hand-cut binding strips, or self-bind the quilt by folding the backing forward or folding the quilt top to the back and stitching down.
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Tips & Warnings
Use cotton thread for quilting.
Refer to the directions for your batting to determine how densely it needs to be quilted.
Instead of batting, use an old blanket inside your quilt.
Remember to make matching pillows or pillow shams!
Prewash your quilting fabric to ensure it doesn't shrink or bleed.
When machine quilting, use a walking foot to avoid skewing and bunching.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit bed and breakfast image by feisty from Fotolia.com
