You might associate fabric starch with the pleats on your grandpa’s jeans… but he’s not the only one who uses starch. Quilters use fabric starch, too! Fabric starch is a magical spray-on formula that stiffens fabric, making it easier for you to work with while quilting… especially when you’re sewing intricate, complex patterns.
Category Archives: Blog
Whether you’re a newbie quilter or someone who has been sewing for decades, there’s always something new to learn – be it a time-saving tip or a new handy notion.
I am made aware of my knowledge...and lack of knowledge every time I get an email from a fellow quilter asking about specific sewing techniques.
You know those songs that immediately transport you back to a place in time? Well this song, this album, sends me back to 1966. And even though I technically wasn’t alive until 20 years later, this groovy summertime music most definitely contains the magical power of time travel.
Quick note! The quilt featured in this post is my Fly Away quilt. You can find the pattern in the shop! Click here.
Machine quilting can be daunting. I didn’t even attempt to quilt my own quilts until I had 3 years of sewing under my belt.
Subtitle: The Life-Changing Magic of Beautiful Fabric
One aspect of sewing that all quilters deeply experience is the power of beautiful fabric. Beautiful fabric will make us quilters do crazy, irrational...partially erratic things – like convert a guest room into more fabric storage, even though you have lots of company and they would REALLY appreciate not having to spend the first hour of their visit pushing fabric off all of the furniture; like labeling boxes of fabric “MORE TAMPONS” so your husband never fully knows how much you actually have; like buying yardage from your favorite designer knowing full well that you love it waaaay too much to ever cut into it – thus perpetuating the cycle of having stacks and stack of too much fabric.
What makes a quilt block modern? I’ve been thinking about this question, and the best answer I can come up with is negative space. When I first learned how to quilt 15 years ago, the idea of using solid fabric wasn’t on my radar.
For all of your scrap-busting needs, I bring you - 10 FREE scrap quilt patterns!
You don’t have to be a quilter for very long to start accruing scraps of fabric. A little snip here, a slice there, and pretty soon a pile forms...and
For a link to the FREE Retro Plaid quilt pattern, scroll to the bottom of this post. The SQ quilt pattern library includes other similar designs that come in lots of different sizes. The following patterns are not free, but if you need a pattern for a size other than throw, I encourage you to check them out!
What better way to enjoy summer than this FREE watermelon quilt pattern! The Mod Melons quilt pattern focuses on sewing curves. If curves are new to you, I have lots of tutorials and resources to help you learn this fun and gratifying skill.