Quilting has a vocabulary unto itself. In this workshop, Liza deconstructs quilt construction and its vernacular – explaining patches, blocks, batting, sashing, binding, borders, quilting and more. This is a beautiful show and tell of different quilt traditions and techniques – from antique log cabin and crazy quilts to applique, string piecing and paper piecing quilts. Throughout, Liza emphasizes the “make-do” tradition of quilting with a warmth and reverence that inspires.

 

The quilting tools aisle can be awfully daunting to newer quilters. With her no-nonsense approach, Liza tells you what you need, and what you don't need to launch into quilting. She takes you on a tour of her own tools arsenal, from pins and needles to templates and quilting rulers. The result is clear, no-fuss advice for piecing, patchwork, applique, and quilting.

 

Prepare your quilt top for quilting at home with this workshop on assembling a quilt sandwich. You’ll start by planning your quilting designs, then learn how to mark simple straight lines as well as common quilting motifs such as feathers and cables. Next you will assemble the quilt sandwich, then Sue will show you how to pin baste your quilt. That step can be dreaded by quilters but it is a critical part of setting up for successful quilting, and Sue will guide you through the process with patience and expert tips.

 

If you’re ready to jump into quilting with your home sewing machine, this workshop is for you. Sue shows you how to get the best results at home, using straight line stitching with a walking foot. She covers how to secure your starts so your stitching is secure, and how to handle the bulk of a quilt on a home machine. Sue teaches you how to straight line stitch on a grid, as well as stitching in the ditch for pieced quilts. This workshop will have you machine quilting with confidence in no time!

 

Create a whole new topography on your quilt tops simply using whole pieces of fabric, batting and thread. Modern quilter, Carolyn Friedlander, shares eye-opening ways to approach wholecloth quilting, giving you a broad overview of hand-stitching and machine-quilting techniques. You will learn how to make modern tied quilts and combine big basting stitching in vibrant designs using Perle cotton and wool yarn. Plus Carolyn shares her tried-and-true techniques for using a walking foot and darning foot at the machine.
 

Color fanatics and hand-stitching aficionados will find a lot to love in Tara Faughnan's “Big Stitch” quilting class. Tara shares her techniques for picking harmonious fabric colors to sew a high-contrast bar quilt, then shows how to quilt by hand with a dazzling array of threads. The final product is a richly layered piece that can be used for a mini-quilt or pillow top – or you can go big and apply this technique to a full-size quilt. The process is playful and inspiring, suitable for both first-time quilters and more advanced stitchers.

Now that you have machine or hand quilted your quilt, it’s time to finish it. Sue shows you how to block and trim your quilt so you are working with a quilt that is square and lays perfectly flat. Then she shows you how to add straight double binding with mitered corners and join the binding for a clean join. Finish with a sleeve if you are going to hang your work, and add a label to document the date of your masterpiece.

 

Custom-made binding tape adds a gorgeous finishing touch to your quilts, allowing you to play around with colors and prints. Binding tape is typically used to bind quilts and can be made with fabric that has been cut on the straight of grain. Ashley Nickels demonstrates how to create your own binding tape using any fabric you like and sew the strips together to create one long strip to go all around your quilt. Watch Ashley's class on attaching binding tape to find out how to sew it to your quilt.

Quilting designer Ashley Nickels demonstrates the traditional method for attaching binding tape to a quilt — a fundamental technique every quilter needs to know. Step by step, you will learn how to pin the binding to the quilt sandwich, attach it using the walking foot on your sewing machine, create mitered corners, join the ends of the binding, and finish with a hand-sewn blind stitch. Watch Ashley's How to Make Binding Tape class for a quick lesson on how to make your binding strips and sew them together.