Basic Quilting Tools for
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A see through ruler. Your favorite sewing or fabric store should have a wide variety of these. You don't need to buy every single one, but having one long straight ruler and at least one quilter's square will save you a lot of time. In addition to helping you with accurate measurements, they help grip the fabric when cutting.
A rotary cutter. You'll be amazed at the time you will save cutting fabric pieces with this lttle tool. It's easy to master and will cut through multiple folds at once. NOTE: This great little tool is extremely sharp. Watch your fingers!!
A rotary mat. A rotary cutter is extremely sharp, so you will also need to have a rotary mat to protect your cutting surface. Rotary mats also have helpful cutting guides on them.
Sewing scissors. You'll need these to clip threads and cut your pattern shapes.
Fabric markers. Chalks, wax, water soluable, or air erasable inks. The variety is endless. Always test first to see how long the mark lasts and how easy it is to remove. You will find one, or two, you like best.
Cotton thread. You typically need a contrasting color for basting and a very light color for the quilting stitches. However, the quilting stitch color is entirely up to you. You might WANT it to show.
Needles. You will need a size 11 or 14 for machine quilting, depending on the thickness of your batting. For any hand stitching or basting, you will need a size 9 or 11.
Sewing machine. A conventional straight stitch machine works just fine and you can make an entire quilt using only a straight stitch. If you have a fancier model... great!
Presser feet. You will find your stitching improves with the use of a special walking foot attachment. If you do not have one, use a general purpose foot. For free-motion quilting, you will need a darning foot or a specially designed free-motion foot. Just don't forget to drop the feed dogs when using the free-motion technique!
Cotton fabric You will enjoy your projects a lot more if you stick with cottons, particularly those made for quilting. The design and color choices won't let you down. Once you have mastered quilting techniques, you may want to choose more expensive or exotic fabrics. Here's something you might be interested in: Fabric.com Coupon Corner
One more thing... keep your ironing board up and your iron ready. You'll be doing a lot of pressing.
The following are not "quilting tools", I like to call them quilt accessories! Ok, they're really display options.
Anyway, if you are new to quilting (or not new), you might be interested in these. At some point, you will want to display your quilts (other than on a bed).
If the quilt racks shown here do not interest you, I have a link (to an offsite page) that might. Especially if you have someone who likes to do woodworking projects.
Just be sure and come back, ok?
Happy Stitching!
I hope you this page gives you the information you need; however, if you still want to look around the web, take off! Just be sure to check back again to see what's been added!
