How to Make a Rail Fence Quilt Block image

The next block in our basic block series is the rail fence block! Its simple design makes it a good starting place for beginning quilters, and its versatile appearance keeps experienced quilters coming back for more. In this how-to guide, we'll show you how to create a design with two alternating color strips, but you can rearrange the order of the colors to get a pi...


6 Kinds of Batting and When to Use Them image

A quilt sandwich has three parts: The quilt top: the part of the quilt where all the piecing magic happens. The batting: the fluffy material that goes between your quilt top and backing. The backing: the fabric that makes up the backside of your quilt. Batting isn't flashy, but it impacts your quilt's outcome in several important ways. Things to Con...


How to Make a Design Wall for Quilting image

Have you ever spent hours finishing a quilt only to find out that the design just doesn’t look the way it did in your head? Maybe the fabric doesn’t jive, or you sewed a block the wrong direction, or all the little pieces don’t go the way you thought they would. All that frustration could have been avoided with a design wall! Design walls can be...


11 Life-Saving Tips for Quilting without a Longarm Machine image

Sure, you’ve been piecing quilts on your trusty sewing machine for years, but if you thought that the actual quilting had to be done by hand, on a longarm quilting machine, or with ties, think again. Plenty of talented quilters work exclusively on domestic machines, making everything from baby quilts all the way up to king size. All it takes is the bravery t...


How to Choose the Right Thread for Your Project image

At face level, choosing the right thread for the quilting or sewing project you have planned is easy. Just pick the thread that will best complement the colors of your quilt top, your backing, your binding.   It turns out, there’s a little more to it than that.   Don’t panic! We’re here to help you navigate the consideratio...