3. GET THE PROPER EQUIPMENT

Before you spend money on supplies, you should first check to see if any of your friends (or their parents or grandparents) have any equipment you could borrow. But even if you have to buy all your stuff, it's still pretty cheap. However you get your equipment, it is vital that you get the right stuff because without it, you'll get frustrated. We don't want that on our conscience.

When you go to the fabric store, you should definitely tell the salesperson that you're a first-time quilter and that you need help. Bring this list with you, in case you get one of those evil quilt salespeople who tries to take advantage of you and sell you crap you don't need.

You will need:

  1. Fabric: The best 100% cotton fabric you can round up. Don't use fabric from T-shirts or sheets (what will you sleep on?). Cheap fabrics tend to have designs that bleed when washed or that stretch out over time, so you're safest going to a quilting store and getting material made specifically for quilting. The quality quilt fabric will probably cost around $6.00 to $8.00 a yard. After you buy your fabric, wash it by hand with a tiny bit of liquid laundry soap (NOT hand soap), don't pull on it too much, and let it dry on a hanger.

  2. Quilting thread: Assuming that you are quilting by hand, you need tough strong thread or the entire quilt will fall apart. It usually has a waxy covering to make life easier on your fingers.

  3. Pins: You'll need little sewing pins to keep everything in place while your stitching or your quilt will turn out deformed.

  4. Fabric scissors: The sharpest you can get your hands on.

  5. Needle: What are you going to stitch with? Your fingers?

  6. Marking pencils: You need to use these special pencils to draw on the fabric because the lead from normal #2 pencils won't erase.

  7. Batting: We recommend 100% cotton stuffing because it's the coziest. But you can use whatever you like.

The following can also be used, though are not absolutely necessary:

  1. Seam ripper: This is basically your "screw up" insurance. After you make a block, you might look at it and notice that you screwed things up. A seam ripper will very neatly unstitch your seams without destroying the entire block.

  2. Rotary cutter: This is a fabric-cutting tool that looks like a pizza cutter and is especially useful if you are interested in patchwork quilts.

  3. Self-healing mat: This handy matt has grids to help you align your fabric, and it prevents you from accidentally cutting through your kitchen table when you use a rotary cutter. We recommend the mats (and cutters) made by Olfa.