Sewing the Quilt Top

• A patchwork quilt begins with the piecing. Quilts are made from smaller patterns, known as blocks, and the pieced blocks are sewn together to create the quilt top. An optional border, or multiple borders, can then be sewn around the blocks to complete the top. Within the various block patterns, there are many fabric options based on color, size of the pattern and/or whether it is a light, medium or dark fabric.
  
  Typically, a beginner block would be a four-patch, nine-patch, rail fence, pinwheel or a simple star. Because these blocks are constructed with only straight lines on the grain or along the diagonal, a beginner can practice sewing 1/4-inch seams without having to worry about piecing curves or odd angles.
  
  After the quilt top is complete, mark the quilting pattern on the top with a water-soluble pen or pencil made for quilt marking. Never use a regular pencil or pen. Your quilt pattern should complement the piecing to create a secondary pattern along the face of the quilt. Beginners can benefit from selecting a quilting pattern that uses straight lines.
  
  

Sandwiching and Basting

• The quilt's backing can normally run 6 inches longer and wider than the top to allow for 3 inches of overage around the quilt top. Working on a large table or floor, spread the backing out flat with the printed side of the fabric facing down.
  
  Next you will need to lay out your batting, the inner layer, over the backing. The batting should be as large as or larger than the quilt top. For beginners, a low-loft batting tends to be the easiest to work with. While cotton batting is fine for machine quilting, a beginning hand quilter will find a low-loft poly easier to needle.
  
  The last layer of the sandwich is the quilt top placed over the batting with the right side facing up. The sandwich can now be basted together with safety pins spaced every 4 to 6 inches or with large stitches moving in and out of the fabric every 4 to 6 inches. Work in a grid pattern starting in the center and moving outward until the entire quilt is basted together.
  
  

Quilting

• When quilting, begin in the center of the quilt and work your way toward the outer edges to keep the layers flat and prevent puckering or excess bunches of fabric. Follow your drawn quilting lines until the entire quilt is complete. If working by hand, don't worry about the size of the stitches; simply focus on making stitches that are even in length with the stitch and the gap between stitches being equal.
  
  

Finishing the Quilt

• To complete the quilt, you'll need to attach binding strips to the outer edges. Binding strips hide the edges of the three layers (backing, batting and top) and help prevent wear on the quilt's edge. Typically, a binding can be made by cutting long 2-inch wide strips of fabric. Press the strips lengthwise to create a 1-inch wide strip with the right sides facing out.
  
  Align the edges of the binding with the edge of the quilt top and sew 1/4-inch in from the edge. The folded edge of the binding is then wrapped around to the back of the quilt and hand stitched down. Attach a signature panel to the back to list the who, what, when, where and why of the quilt. This is especially useful if you are giving the quilt as a gift to catalog the event.