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10 Essential Supplies for Beginner Quilters
Here are my 10 essential supplies that every beginner quilter should have on hand. You just might have more from the list than you think! Look around your house and don’t forget to ask your friends and family that sew or quilt. They just might give you the items. I know that I more than a couple of each on hand!
1. Sewing machine – get the one within your budget. Do not go overboard thinking of what you might/might not use. Make a list of the features you would like. Don’t forget to go to quilt shops, test drive their sewing machines, and start making a list of what you like and dislike about each one.
2. Sewing machine needles – My favorite needles are the Klasse needles and they are made in Germany, but you can get them at your local quilt store. Or you can ask and see what your local quilt store likes to use/carry.
3. Threads – You will need quality threads to do your piecing and quilting. I like using Madeira for embroidery (made in Germany) and Aurifil for piecing (made in Italy). I love using Superior Threads – Omni or So Fine for my longarm machine. Those are just a few of my favorites. There are others, but you will have to try them out with your machines. Some machines are known to like other threads and it will be a trial and error kind of thing. You will find which thread or threads you like to work with.
4. Cutting mat – My favorite rotary cutting mats are the Omnigrid, they are self-healing mats that give you 1” grid marks with 1/8” intervals on all sides. I prefer not to use the grid marks as my cutting lines on the mat. I like to use my ruler grid lines to cut my fabric with. DO NOT put your cutting mat standing up, it needs to lay flat and DO NOT have it in the sun as it will warp.
5. Ironing board & Iron – You will need something to press on that will not ruin your surface that you are working on. Any iron will do. Remember that we PRESS and not IRON in quilting!! You will not want to distort your blocks when you worked so hard on them.
6. Rotary cutter – My favorite rotary cutter is the Kai Rotary Cutter, the blade will only come out with pressure and is used by either right or left handers. I do have others on hand but these are my go to rotary cutters!
7. Seam Ripper – “Jack the Ripper” or the “Grim Ripper” will become your best friend. So keep them close at hand. You can never have to many seam rippers.
8. Rulers – My favorite rulers are the Omnigrids and you get them in different sizes. My favorite sizes are the 15” square (for T-Shirt quilts), the 8.5” x 12” (for smaller projects), and 8.5” x 24” (for cutting strips).
9. 1/4” seam guide or guide foot – this will help you get an accurate 1/4” seam allowance when you are piecing. Check out my 1/4” seam allowance post.
10. Scissors – I love my stork scissors that I keep near my sewing machine and my Gingher scissors. The Gingher scissors are costly and my hubby knows NOT to cut paper with it. Well, he found out to just NOT touch it at all!!!
Even if you don’t have the rotary cutter or mats you can still make templates and draw on your fabrics then cut them with your scissors. This is how they did it back in the day when there was NO rotary cutter!! I’m so glad someone invented the rotary cutter!!! Such a HUGE help and time saver!!!
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