Q & A – What’s an Easy Quilt for a Beginner?

“What’s an easy quilt for a beginner?” has been a frequent question over the years.  How can someone make a quilt fairly quickly and without a great deal of difficulty so they don’t become discouraged?

I found that a quilt made with 7-inch squares could be made easily and quickly.  Why did I choose 7-inch squares?  I have no idea!  Perhaps I read about it at the time, saw a quilt I liked, was informed by another quilter, or had an order for one of this type. 

So I cut 7-inch templates from heavy paper (often the front or back of a magazine), pinned them to 2 thicknesses of fabric and cut out the squares.  With a rotary cutter (something that was just coming onto the market when I began quilting) you can cut more and cut them quicker.  I planned for a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

My pieces might be mix and match, using up various fabrics I had on hand.  Or I might choose specific colors and lay them out on the floor or cutting board to make a pattern.

Then I sewed them in strips using a sewing maching, and pinned and stitched the strips together.  These squares can be used for any size quilt you want to make.  You can use these for crib size; however, for the small quilts, I generally used 4 or 5-inch squares.

Then fill, back and bind as for any quilt. 

Also, when I was making quilts to sell, these were popular because I didn’t have to charge so much.