If you are a new quilter, the amount of quilting terms or lingo can be a bit overwhelming. Let me help you learn the terms you need to know to get started. Your quilting vocabulary will increase as you continue quilting and learn new skills. However, let’s start you off with the basics.
Unlock the Language of Quilting and Get Started
Fabric
Selvage
When fabric is rolled onto bolts after manufacturing there are a few things to understand. The selvage is the printed edge of the fabric. For quilting, you will usually cut fabric from selvage to selvage across the fabric. If you pull the fabric from salvege to salvage it doesn’t have a lot of give or stretch.
Bias
You can easily find the bias of the fabric by cutting it diagonally or stretching it diagonally. Be aware of the bias, especially when making triangles because they can get stretched out of shape easily.
Yardage
Yardage refers to fabric that is cut off of a fabric bolt. You can purchase yardage in portions of meters or yards. For instance, 3 meters or 1/2 meter, etc. Something to consider is that many quilt stores stipulate a ½ meter/yard minimum cut.
Fat Quarter
A fat quarter is an inexpensive way to build your fabric stash that doesn’t take up a lot of space. A fat quarter is created when a half meter/yard is cut off a fabric bolt, and then that piece is cut in half. Depending on the original width of the fabric that was cut (selvage to selvage), a fat quarter is around 18” x 22”.
Precuts
Precut fabrics have become a big hit since arriving in 2006. Precuts refer to precut fabrics made by fabric manufacturers. Although there are many types, I’m going to talk about the three most popular sizes.
Jelly Rolls
Jelly rolls are precut 2 ½” strips cut from selvage to selvage. A jelly roll usually contains an entire fabric collection. The advantage of using jelly rolls is you have less cutting to do. However, I will caution you that not all jelly rolls are cut well, and there can be a point in the center of the strip. This happens because the fabric that is cut is not on grain. If you experience a point, your strip is no longer 2 ½” wide and you will have waste as you cut around it. Be careful with the jelly rolls you buy to avoid this problem.
Charm Squares
Like jelly rolls, charm squares are precut fabrics from a fabric collection. They are 5” squares of each fabric in a collection. Charm squares are great to use in beginner quilts like a 4 patch.
Layer Cakes
A layer cake is a precut fabric set from a fabric collection. Unlike charm squares, layer cakes are sets of 10” squares.
Sewing
Although there are other terms, I’m going to start with the most basic ones for you as you are starting out.
Quarter Inch Seam
Simply put, a quarter inch seam is the distance from your sewing machine needle to the right of your presser foot. When sewing a quarter inch seam, you line up the right edge of your foot with the right edge of your fabric.
It takes time and practice to create a consistent quarter inch seam. Don’t worry if yours is a little thinner at the beginning and/or end of your seam. Keep quilting for a more consistent seam, and please don’t worry about a scant quarter inch seam.
Free Motion Quilting
Free motion quilting is used when you have finished your quilt top and sandwiched it together with batting and a quilt backing. The layers are pinned together and run through your sewing machine.
You lower the feed dogs on your sewing machine and use either an embroidery foot or a free motion quilting foot. Now that your feed dogs are lowered, your machine is reliant on the speed of your hands to make the stitches. If you should see eyelashes on the bottom of your quilt, it means your hands are out of sync with your machine. I highly recommend doing a practice piece before attempting to quilt on your finished quilt top.
Stitch in the Ditch Quilting
Stitch in the ditch quilting is done by carefully sewing in the ditch between your quilt blocks. Unlike free motion quilting, you do not lower your feed dogs for stitch in the ditch quilting. The feed dogs are still pulling your quilt through your machine. There are feet made just for this technique like my Bernina #10 Edgestitch Foot (see above) which has a flange that runs down the ditch in your quilt. Stitch in the ditch quilting is a good place to start for new quilters.
Tools
As a new quilter, I know the number of tools and notions can be a little daunting. Let me help you start with just what you need, and you can always expand your stash as you build your skills or find a cool new tool.
Rotary Cutter
Essential to quilting, a rotary cutter will save you time and money on needing to purchase more fabric.
Start with a 45mm rotary cutter. I highly recommend the Olfa brand. They are inexpensive and last forever. My first rotary cutter from 21 years ago is still going strong.
Keep in mind that rotary cutting blades are sharp like kitchen knives, so the same amount of caution should be taken when working with them.
Self-Healing Rotary Mat
To go along with your rotary cutter you need a self-healing mat. Do not be fooled by a low cost mat because most low cost mats are not self-healing. The reason your mat needs to be self-healing is you will cut hundreds, if not thousands of times on the mat and if it isn’t self-healing you will cut through it at some point. Nobody wants that. Again, I recommend Olfa, but if you have the budget, Martelli is a fantastic choice. I have been using my Martelli mat since 2018 and it’s as good as new.
Rotary Cutting Rulers
Here is an area where you can fall down a deep hole and end up with a lot of rulers in your stash. While there is nothing wrong with having rulers since many can be used in multiple ways, the problem is when you end up with rulers that you only use once or maybe even never.
Not to be mistaken with machine rulers, rotary cutting rulers are used with a rotary cutter and mat to cut fabric. Machine rulers are used in the quilting process of finishing your quilt.
As a new quilter I highly recommend only two rulers. They are a 6” x 24” long ruler and 6” x 6” square. These are all you need to get started. That 6” x 24” ruler will be used frequently with yardage bought off the bolt. The 6” square will be used in cutting down smaller pieces and squaring up blocks.
As for ruler brands, my favourite is Creative Grids. I have been using them for many years. There is a grip on the back of their rulers that doesn’t let the ruler slide. The above-noted rulers in Creative Grids brand are 6 ½” x 24 ½” and 6 ½” x 6 ½”. I am not sure why their rulers are ½” bigger than most quilting rulers.
What is a Quilt?
A quilt consists of 3 layers:
- Pieced top
- Batting
- Backing
When you quilt (sew through all 3 layers), you will have a finished quilt. Before quilting, a quilt is just 3 separate layers.
Quilt Blocks
A quilt block is the smallest part of your quilt top. A block is the unit that is sewn together to make the quilt top. In the photo above looking at the bottom row, each of those double triangles (or half square triangles) is a block.
Quilt Rows
A quilt row is a row of quilt blocks sewn together.
Quilt Top
A quilt top consists of quilt rows sewn together to create the quilt top.
Batting
Batting is what goes between the top and backing of your quilt. The main goal, if you are making a bed quilt is to keep you warm. My favourite batting is Quilter’s Choice. It’s a quality, 100% cotton batting that I have used for years. Please do not use polyester batting in bed quilts since it is flammable.
Quilt Add Ons
There are various ways to enlarge your quilt such as adding sashing (like in the photo above) or borders.
Sashing
Sashing are fabric lines that run between blocks. In the photo above, it is the blue lines running between the star blocks.
Cornerstones
In order to give a more sophisticated look to your quilt top, you can add cornerstones to your sashing. In the photo above, the cornerstones are the yellow squares in the sashing lines. While this is slightly more complicated since you have to add the cornerstones to your sashing, it is an easy way to add elegance to your quilt top.
Borders
Borders are the outermost fabric rows on any quilt top. Be careful when adding borders to your quilt top. In order to do this correctly and avoid wavy borders, you need to measure the sides of your quilt and cut your borders exactly to the size of the sides.
Binding
After you have finished quilting your quilt and are ready to finish, all you need to do is add a binding all the way around the outside. Binding encloses the raw edges of the 3 layers of your quilt.
Binding is usually done by creating a 2 ½” wide binding strip that will go all the way around the finished quilt. You can either sew it to the front and turn to the back and sew it down or vice versa. You can bind either totally by machine or machine sew the front down and then turn it to the back and hand sew the back down. It’s up to you which way you want to do this.
My Final Thoughts
I didn’t expect this article to be this long, but simply giving a small explanation of each term wasn’t going to be enough. This is enough terminology to get you going. I will explore a second article with more advanced topics in the future.
Get Your Freebie!
I have written a quick, one page guide called The Top 5 Tools Every Beginner Quilter Needs. I know it is daunting when you get started in quilting because there are so many tools and notions out there.
Click here to get my free guide and let me help you not end up with a drawer full of tools you will only use once or even worse, never.
I hope you have found this helpful. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me here.
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Until Next Time,