Quilter? I barely know her!
May 14, 2019 5:25 AM   Subscribe

I’m an “advanced beginner” in quilting (I’ve made a handful of completed quilts, know the lingo, follow a fair amount of social media), and I’m having trouble finding enough quilt patterns. Quilters of MeFi, what are your sources?

I like modern patterns, but not necessarily art quilts; one of my favorite pattern makers is Cluck Cluck Sew. I have found some patterns on particular maker’s sites, and from quilting books. I mostly buy fabric from Joann, local quilt shops when traveling, and Fat Quarter Shop online.

If you’re a quilter, where do you get your patterns? Open to specific creators websites/social media, book titles, or even online quilt shops.
posted by itsamermaid to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
The public library.
posted by bile and syntax at 5:56 AM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


Pinterest is an excellent resource,as is YouTube. You can google free quilt patterns and get piles of results. When I get to my computer I will copy some links.
You can also go to the library for books and videos, and check out fabric websites such as Moda, Robert Kaufman, Free Spirit, Kaffe Fassett. If you'll like scrapped, check out Bonnie Hunter's site.
posted by Enid Lareg at 6:03 AM on May 14, 2019 [2 favorites]


Check out The Fussy Cut Sampler. It has 48 different modern quilt blocks, each using the "fussy cut" technique to highlight your favorite fabrics.
posted by dayintoday at 6:18 AM on May 14, 2019


The other thing I'd recommend is getting an instagram account if you don't have one. There are a ton of fantastic quilters on there using any style you can think of, and it's been wonderful for me to see a lot of people making very different kinds of fabric and textile art. It can be a bit of a rabbit hole, but it sounds like you're looking for that right now. Make an account, post what you're working on, check out tags, and you'll shortly find yourself inundated with more quilts than you have time to look at.
posted by bile and syntax at 6:24 AM on May 14, 2019 [5 favorites]


Best answer: 1,000 Quilt Blocks has been keeping me busy for a while.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:29 AM on May 14, 2019


Best answer: Maybe Alison Glass? Personally I like Denyse Schmidt (she has a couple of books out too) & Tara Faughnan. Definitely Instagram, the #modernquilt tag should be helpful as a start.
posted by The AhForgetIt Tendency at 6:36 AM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


I prefer finding ideas in print, versus online. Flea markets, yard sales, and thrift stores can be a gold mine for used quilting books and magazines. I just got a stack of 20-30 quilting magazines for a couple of dollars!
posted by fourpotatoes at 6:37 AM on May 14, 2019


Best answer: Some quilt magazines cost $7 per issue, so I used to get mine from the library a lot, and I trade magazines with quilting friends. I mostly make simpler quilts and have been quilting many years, so I just collect pictures of quilts I like on Pinterest and try to figure out the sizes of the pieces that will work using graph paper. Looking at Cluck Cluck Sew suggests to me that you might also like to look at Amish quilts because they are made with solid color fabric. There are quilting videos on YouTube that can inspire you, also.
posted by puddledork at 6:37 AM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


I see lots of quilt supplies and books at estate sales
posted by dawkins_7 at 8:43 AM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Cluck Cluck Sew is one of my favorites too! You may also like Elizabeth Hartman designs....she has a few books out too. Block Party is also a fun book that uses designs from a variety of pattern-makers. Also try searching for Modern Quilt Guild. There may be a group that meets in your area, but more importantly I think they will help you find folks online that speak to what you're after. There is a huge online community of modern quilters that are making quilt blocks and writing books and designing fabric and the Modern Quilt Guild kind of launched out of all that.
posted by cheese at 10:48 AM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


I would also encourage you to consider designing your own quilts.

Wait, hear me out!!

It probably sounds intimidating but honestly it's really fun. I have an app called Quiltography that I use to do a lot of my designs. It comes pre-loaded with a lot of traditional quilt blocks, and you can also add your own custom block templates. Then you can take photos of your fabric stash and make mock-ups, and try out different layouts and color combinations.

If you don't want to jump right into full patterns, you could analyze patterns you like and break down how they are made, then do variations.

Looking at Cluck Cluck Sew, that designer has several variation designs. For instance, the tennis and baseball quilts are the same quilt in different colors. Pixel Chain looks like it's made completely out of nine-patch blocks - you could get graph paper and make any "pixely" design and break it into 3x3 grids and use 9-patches to create it. There are a lot of variants on chevron quilts. The "4th of not July" is just two different sizes of 4-patch blocks (I forget the exact name of the block, but it's a 4-patch where two of the patches are smaller 4-patch blocks.) "Random Friday Tidbits" is this same block, but bigger, as is "scrappy summer tutorial." "All the florals plus" is another one that's easy to do with 9-patch blocks. "Uptown" looks like once again, your friendly 9-patch. "Modern chain" is a single Irish chain, which is made with... 9-patches. She also uses a lot of framed designs (a strip that "borders" a block.)

Anyway you get the picture. As you practice analyzing patterns - not just following the instructions, but looking at the building blocks, and seeing how the same base unit (like a 9-patch, or a 4-patch, or a star block) looks different when you use different colors and put it together in different ways is the key to being able to make whatever you want, because you don't need someone else to make the pattern for you. You say that you like modern patterns, but looking at Cluck Cluck Sew, a LOT of those patterns are really traditional ones; the quilts look modern because of the fabric choices. So don't necessarily discount "dated" patterns you might find, because so much of that is from the fabric and not the actual design.

Good luck and have fun!
posted by oblique red at 8:33 AM on May 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


Seconding following #modernquilt on Instagram for pattern inspiration. Specifically I would check out Meghan Buchanan at Then Came June patterns, Libs Elliot, Suzy Quilts, Carolyn Friedlander.
Quilt shops: Pink castle Fabrics, Hawthorne Threads, fabricworm.com, Missouri Star Quilt Company, Cottoneer fabrics, Quilt Addicts Anonymous, and Etsy has sooo many sellers, big and small. Welcome to the modern quilters club!
posted by killy willy at 4:47 PM on May 18, 2019


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