Welcome to "Quilting 101"

Other useful tools are scissors (to snip threads), pins, a seam ripper, a sewing machine, a regular steam iron and a pressing surface.

Fabric
Quilters LOVE fabric. In fact, most quilters have a "stash" that they add to periodically (some more frequently than others!). Depending on your quilt, you could need three fabrics or 50 fabrics. Scrap quilts can have many hundreds of different fabrics in them. Most seasoned quilters choose 100 percent cotton for consistency. Cotton handles well, wears well and dyes easily. It also presses easily, which is important in quilting.

Pre-Washing Fabric
It's a good idea to pre-wash because fabrics can shrink and fabric dyes can bleed. Also, if the quilt is going to be used, you want to wash the fabrics just like you probably would do prior to wearing new clothing or using a store-bought blanket. If you're making a wall quilt that won't be washed, you can skip the pre-washing.

Quilt Top Designs
When just beginning, choose simple patterns. You can find patterns and books in local quilt, craft and book stores and via the Internet through mail order.

Quilt Top
1. Line up selvage edges then fold fabric in half. Using rotary cutter, measured self-healing mat and ruler, trim away cut edge of fabric at a 90-degree angle (straight up and down).

3. Repeat step 2 with dark color fabric, cutting eight dark color triangles.

4. Repeat step 2 with medium color fabric, creating four triangles. Cut an extra 3-7/8" square to use as the center block.

7. Take the chained patchwork to your pressing surface and press seams (toward the dark fabric is the rule, but press adjoining rows in opposite directions to get more crisp corners. Set the seam by holding the iron on the stitches for a second, then open the triangle to reveal a square shape and press. Tip: Press fabric while it's right side up so you don't press a tuck into it.

9. Stitch blocks together to create quilt top design.

Quilting
11. To complete the quilt, layer the backing fabric (right side down), batting and quilt top (right side up). Tape down the corners of the backing so it doesn't shift.

12. If hand quilting, take long hand-sewn basting stitches down the center of the quilt top, biting into all three layers. Baste horizontally, vertically and diagonally. Use a neutral color thread for basting to avoid any dye bleeding issues that could occur. If machine quilting, baste with quilter's basting pins (curved safety pins). The goal is to keep the layers from shifting while you quilt. If hand quilting, position the quilt in a hoop to keep it taut while you quilt.

13. Quilt thread designs into the quilt layers. You can quilt simple lines or squares, or go for bolder, freeform designs. For quilting ideas, look at other quilts.

14. Add a binding by folding and stitching a bias-cut (cut diagonally across the grain of the fabric) strip of fabric to the front of the quilt. Trim away excess batting and fabric, squaring up the quilt. Fold bias strip around to the back, turn under and hand stitch down.