Quilting involves many different skills apart from sewing. Some love creating and planning the design, some love the piecing, and others love the actual quilting, but everyone loves the finished product! If you’ve looked around a store that has quilting supplies, you’ve seen an awful lot of sometimes baffling equipment. Don’t be intimidated! You don’t need a lot of fancy stuff to make a quilt. Your great-great-granny certainly didn’t have all that, and she made gorgeous quilts … and so can you. So, here’s a ‘how to get started’ manual to get you headed in the right direction. After that, it’s your road and your quilt. Take two layers of fabric, stitch them together with padding in between, and the why and how are up to you.

Quilting is as varied and creative as the millions of people who quilt. Every quilt is unique, and so is every quilter. There are no ‘rules’ for quilting; there’s really no right or wrong way to do things. It’s an ancient traditional craft that is still innovative, fresh, and constantly changing with the times. From Buenos Aires to Beijing to Belfast, you’ll find quilters, quilts, and an astonishing array of color and creativity.