If you are willing to put forth the effort to discipline yourself to learning how to quilt, you’ll find that it’s not only an enjoyable craft, but it also can be a very profitable one. The process of learning to quilt in many ways is comparable to learning to walk; You start out crawling, then taking a small step or two, then a larger step, and all of a sudden you are walking.

Below are essential quilting tips:

1. A quilter needs to develop imagination.

If you can imagine in your mind a particular quilt design, you can make it. Of course, to achieve and become proficient in creating unique quilting designs, you will first have to master some basic sewing skills and familiarize yourself with the various quilt patterns that are already available.

Since the imagination forms pictures from words, it behooves you at the outset to begin learning the quilting jargon and terminology. In any trade, to reach your greatest success, you have to learn the terminology. When you enter the world of quilting, you are going to encounter unfamiliar words. Don’t skip over these, but pause and look up the meaning.

2. Reflect back to what I said in comparing learning to quilt to learning to walk.

Just as you wouldn’t start out running when learning to walk, but instead would start out taking baby steps, the same is applicable in learning to quilt. You do not start out attempting to sew complicated patterns. Start, instead, with simple patterns and leave the intricately designed, more complex patterns until you have mastered the basics. There is nothing, perhaps, more frustrating to beginning quilters than tackling a quilting project that’s above their present skill level.

3. As a quilter, you have the option to choose hand quilting or machine quilting.

Ultimately, it’s a matter of preference as to which one you choose. Both have their pros and cons. Hand quilting is the oldest method and is preferred by many people because of its recreational appeal and traditional, and perhaps, more importantly because it provides an ideal vehicle for socialization among extended family and community members. I can still remember sitting in front of the fireplace hand stitching a quilting project with my mother and sisters. The special feeling of love and togetherness provided by these hand stitching sessions will forever be embedded in my memory.

4. You will also need to learn the different stitches, styles, and techniques that are used in quilting.

There’s the regular rocking stitch, the buttonhole stitch, the compact zigzag stitch, the satin stitch, the counted thread stitch, the free embroidery stitch, and the big stitch; And in machine-stitching, there’s the straight stitch and the stitch in the ditch.

Take a look at the Quilter’s Review for the best quilting irons.