In the cooler winter months, everyone loves to get cosy under the blankets, drink steaming cocoa and watch their favourite movie. What better way to get comfy than under a quilt you made? Or you could spread the cosy joy and sew a quilt for your friends and loved ones! All you need is a sewing machine and a can-do attitude! This guide will teach you how to sew a quilt!

1. Sewing a symmetrical and even quilt starts with symmetrical and evenly cut squares of fabric. Ensure you have the right sewing equipment (scissors, cutting mats and a wide ruler) before you get started. Assemble your thread, safety pins and fabric and ensure you have all the necessary accessories.
2. Pre-wash and iron your fabric. This will make the cutting and sewing process a lot easier and it will be kinder to your tools. It will also wash out any excess dye. Importantly, any possible shrinking that may have happened will take place now, during the first wash, ensuring your quilt stays even after future washing.
3. At this point, you should decide how big you want the squares on your quilt to be and cut them to the appropriate size. Remember to leave a 0,25cm allowance for sewing and overlap.
4. Lay out all the cut pieces and assemble your quilt. At this stage, you choose where each individual piece should go in the whole.
5. To reduce the amount of workspace needed, stack the rows in the order in which they need to be sewn. This will allow you to keep the pattern right but not have to keep the entire quilt laid out on the floor.
6. Sew each individual row, then sew all the rows together. Remember to press the fabric with a hot iron before joining pieces to keep them smooth and wrinkle-free.
7. If you want a heavy, multi-layered quilt, at this step you should sew the layers together.
8. Sew the binding along the four edges, leaving the corners unsewn until the end. Then fold the corners and finish the binding.

Congratulations! You have just sewn a quilt.

Empisal

Empisal is a leading supplier of sewing machines, overlockers, ironing equipment and haberdashery items in Sub Saharan Africa. The Creations sewing machine is perfectly poised to take on any project you have in mind, and the EOL4D overlocker will finish any seam with professional integrity.  Empisal can provide you with both an affordable sewing machine, and the practical guidance and knowledge to turn your idea into a reality. Contact us for more information.