Show Notes
Welcome to The Craft Room! Today I am joined by Marni Franks, of Frankensteins Fabrics, who is sharing with us the top 10 supplies & tools you will need to create a quilt top. Sure, there are lots of wonderful toys you can buy to make quilts, but we're talking bare basic necessities. We've each thrown in an honourable mention each, so stay tuned till the end for those. 1. Pattern 2. Sewing Machine 3. Rotary Cutter 4. Ruler 5. Self-healing Cutting Mat 6. 1/4" Sewing Machine Foot 7. Fabric 8. Thread 9. Pins 10. Iron & Ironing Board
Honourable Mentions Dawn - Quick Unpick / Seam Ripper Marni - Thread Snips Marni also has some great hints and tips along the way, especially if you've never made a quilt before, and you can read more information below.
Here are the places you can view Marni's work and contact her with your burning quilt-related questions ...
Website - http://www.frankensteinsfabrics.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/frankiesfabrics Instagram - https://www.facebook.com/frankiesfabrics Email - [email protected] Patterns Buy patterns from reliable sources to ensure that you are not supporting infringement of the pattern designers copyright/intellectual property. Buy direct from designers where you can. Give feedback to designers where you can. Do not photocopy and share purchased patterns as this is a breach of copyright/intellectual property and theft. Support designers by telling people where you bought a pattern from. Sewing Machines Sewing machine is personal preference. My best advice is grab a notebook, write down questions you have about what you want to sew, the functions and accessories and price. Take samples of the fabrics you'll be using and go and visit every machine dealer you can to test drive machines. Buy the best machine your budget will allow. That way the machine will last you longer as you learn and you won't out skill your machine too quickly. Buy from a dealer so you get the after sale care you need as well as warranties and help when needed. Keep your machine cleaned and oiled and serviced regularly and it will last you a long time.
Rotary cutter The 2 brands I prefer are OLFA and Fiskars. Both companies are super reliable. They both do similar sizes but I love my 45mm ergonomic handled OLFA and my 28mm curvy handled Fiskars. I use them for cutting different things as its easier to do smaller controlled cutting with smaller rotary blades. When I'm cutting large pieces like strips, borders and background squares I always go a bigger blade to make it faster and more efficient. If you end up doing lots of strip cutting I also recommend purchasing a ruler with a rotary cutter built into it. This is a faster way to cut and protects your fingers from the blade. Rulers Patchwork rulers come in all shapes and sizes. My most recommended sizes for when you are starting out are a 6in x 24in ruler and if you are doing lots of big squares a 12.5in square ruler. I also found quite handy when I started out a small square ruler and there are two sizes which are good depending on your hands – a 4.5in and a 6.5in square. I tend not to be brand specific when it comes to rulers as not every company makes every style of ruler. I do recommend Matilda's Own, Australian Rulers and Templates, Hobbycraft and Sew Easy. Self-healing craft mat Best recommended brand OLFA. Sizes are small 12in x 18in, medium 18in x 24in and large 24in x 36in. OLFA is by far the best in my opinion as I've still got my original mat from 16 years ago and it's in excellent cutting condition. 1/4in sewing machine foot This foot is a must for accuracy. Most of these feet will come with a small tongue guide that sticks out of the right hand side of the foot and helps you guide your fabric under the foot while stitching. The guide prevents the fabric from moving further to the right and creating seams that are bigger than 1/4in. There are a few out there that don't have a guide, so if you feel
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