Learn To
Quilt
An Introduction to Quilting
"The art of quilting integrated the European
and African cultures in America during the
slave period. The African folk-tradition was
considered inferior, and the European superior.
In spite of this gap, quilting brought about
the unity of these two traditions and
cultures.
It brought the values of
both the African and European American women
together in a way no folk art tradition did
before. Both of them deeply rely on the
traditions of storytelling and folklore.
Uniting women to sew and pass the traditions to
new generations are the common characteristics
of both traditions.
Not only did both African
and European Americans make quilts to provide
warm blankets for their families, but also to
show their creativity and gain status, record
family history, and to represent various themes
and beliefs. Women considered it to be the best
way to spend time together and display their
skills.
Despite the fact that
quilting is a process with individual
interpretations, it is also a cultural process
that came into being from the exchange and
merging of both African and European
traditions. The emergence of American quilting
was one of the products of this process. The
quilting styles of both traditions are highly
symbolic. Both of them deeply rely on the
traditions of storytelling and folklore.
Uniting women to sew and pass the traditions to
new generations are the common characteristics
of both traditions."
I make no apology for
quoting these extracts, if you like, from my
e-Book - The Essential Guide to Quilting. The
book is basically about learning how to quilt,
but firstly I felt that it was important to
have a look at the history of quilting - like a
lot of you reading this, I had no idea about
how important this craft was to our history,
indeed for much of the world.
I go into more detail on the
History in the e-Book, so, as I said in my
Autobiography, when I started Quilting several
years ago, there was not that much good
information about how to start thus I took a
break from quilting to write the e-Book - The
Essential Guide to Quilting - to put my readers
on the right road without the hit & miss
ride that I had, when I might have given up at
times.
Most important to start out
is to learn the main quilting terms, here are
just a few:
1. Applique - Appliques are
pieces of fabric applied to other pieces of
fabric, using fusible webbing or stitching. The
stitching can be done by hand or with a
machine. Buttonhole, satin or blind stitches
are the usual methods used.
2. Basting - Spray basting,
thread basting and pin basting are common
methods of basting. This process involves
holding the quilt top, batting (the middle
layer between quilts - usually cotton, wool or
polyester) and backing together to finally sew
it all together.
3. Bearding - the process of
pulling the batting fibers through the tops and
bottoms of the quilt, through the holes created
during sewing, to produce a whiskered
effect.
4. Cheater's Panel/Cloth -
They are pieces of fabric printed with quilt
block designs. They are made to resemble a
pieced or appliqued quilt top.
Here I have selected some of
the less obvious terms in quilting with a quick
description to draw attention to the need to
learn them in order to get the most out of this
fascinating craft.
There are lots of terms to learn - believe me
when I say I am not trying to put you off,
merely to help you on your way.
(Article by Rose visit at http://www.aquiltingbee.com)
About the author:
I have been Quilting for quite a few years now
but in the early days I found it very difficult
getting started due to lack of decent
information.
With this in mind I recently
completed my first e-Book - "The Essential
Guide to Quilting" , I have to say I am very
pleased with the result and am happy in the
knowledge that I am helping my readers to gain
a good grounding in the fascinating art of
Quilting.
|