patchwork newbie need some help!

rachbc

first are you planning on hand or machine sewing?

Check out the tutorials on purl bee on the different ways of cutting and piecing hand/ machine quilting. For a first project I'd go with hand - but I then I prefer hand sewing anyway as you can sit and chat whilst doing it!

rachbc

Here the link, there are 3 tutorials one on each step

http://www.purlbee.com/hand-vs-machine-quilting-cut/

Gillybean103

It will be by hand, haven't quite ventured to buying a sewing machine yet

Thanks, i'll have a look at the website

rachbc

ok well you need a template for the size pieces you want - a piece of card is fine to start - draw around it on your fabric then cut about half a cm around that for our seam allowance - pin the pieces and sew on the line, press our seams, pin the wadding and backing fabric, quilt the three layers then use your quilted piece as the front of your cushion

Gillybean103

I feel really thick

Do you mean pin the seam allowance, then sew the next piece of patchwork onto it. I'm not sure what you mean

Triggles

Thank you for that link - the instructions were very helpful!!

Gillybean103

figured it out, didn't help that i couldn't see where to find the next step lol

rachbc

Yes I realised it wasn't clear - take 2 of your pieces - pin them together (right sides facing together) so the lines you drew around the template are together - sew along that line - you will have 2 pieces joined together - the seam allowance is the half cm strip of fabric the other side of your sewing line to your main bit of fabric if that makes sense. Join several squares together in a line til you have a strip slightly larger thanthe width of your cushion. You should end up with one side with your pattern and the back with all the seam allowances - iron the back so all the seam allowances a flat and pressed in one direction. Make another strip the same - then pin the strips together again matching the lines you drew at the start and sew along that line - you will have 1 long seam to sew this time. Repeat until you have a square of patchwork pieces slightly larger than the size of you cushion.

Next you need to quilt your patchwork - you need some backing fabric and some wadding/ batting - you make a sandwich of the patchwork (right side out), the batting then the backing (right side out) and sew them together - you can quilt in various ways for different effect but the easiest is a running stitch along the edges of the squares. You can then sew your cushion using the quilted piece as you would a single piece of fabric for the front of your cushion.

Not sure how much sense this makes but the tutorial I linked to makes it easier to understand with the pictures!!

quintwins

oh what a brill thread i was thinking of patchworking a blanket box (altho i need oh to make the box first) i have a sewing machine but i don't really know how to use it

Gillybean103

That mkes perfect sense, thank you for that.:A

Now going to sit and mark all my squares out and start my cushion