Don’t prewash fabric?
Press to the light side?
Leave loose threads on a quilt back?
Use your scissors for more than cutting fabric?
*Note: This is a tongue in cheek post and no judgement if you do or don’t do any of these. You do you!
In a recent Instagram post, we asked our quilting community to share their deepest darkest guilty* quilty secrets, and their responses were both hilarious and totally relatable.
There were lots of confessions from those who don’t prewash their fabrics, and many who admitted to sewing over pins. She-who-shall-not-be-named (cough Dianne) confessed to using Sharpie pens to hide sewing mishaps, and managed to convince many that this is a great idea! There were admissions of using old thread from garage sales, leaving loose threads on quilt backs, never measuring borders before sewing them on, pressing seams open for ease, and a lot of fudge-work! Thank you for sharing your unconventional techniques so openly, they certainly gave our team a laugh 😂
Here are some of our favourites:
- “… I might have, used a black sharpie pen to hide some white threads after sewing not too straight when sewing binding on 🤫🤫” – @dianne.giles
- “I buy fabric to make garments. I’ve never once made anything to wear …” – @sile.nic.chonaonaigh
- “I use steam for pressing, always have.” – @mckillopmichelle
- “I hate ironing so much I stick to micropatchwork so I can finger press everything.” – @ltwminiatures
- “No pre-washing, I sew over pins, and I “adjust” the fabric to make it line up.” – @sew.mary.anne.quilts
- “Never pre wash fabric. I’ve been known to sew over pins. I always have 5 or 6 projects going on at once. Oh – and my sewing room is always a disaster.” – @jenfinquilts
- “Sometimes – often, in fact – I declare “good enough” and move on!” – @small_bites_quilts
- “I buy what I want, when I want and don’t know what I will use it for. Everything starts as a blank slate and I make it only once! That is my ultimate flex 💪😀😀 and I love it❤️” – @designsbyrsh
- “I fudge, a lot 😂 things might look precise on the front, but don‘t be checking the back 🫣” – @pennyspoolquilts
- “I like to use old Coats and Clark thread that I buy at garage sales🤭“ – @greengroves
- “If I turned my house into a fabric store I could probably live on my inventory for at least a month if people were buying every day.” – @kimstuart123
- “I sew bindings on without a single pin or clip. I never pin anything. Sometimes, instead of using a seam ripper, I just pull that bad boy apart and deal with the stretch later.” – @quiltbarn
So, the next time you find yourself skipping a step or taking a shortcut, remember you’re in good company. Quilting is as much about the journey as it is about the finished product. Embrace your unique methods and share your stories with us – because every quilt, like every quilter, has its own story to tell. Click here to see the original post and read ALL of the confessions then add your own!
If you’re a new quilter … WELCOME! There is nothing like the enthusiasm of a brand newbie. I think I started more projects in my first couple of years than in the decade after (well it certainly feels like that with the numbers of half-finished projects I have in my cupboard)! If you are looking for a project suitable for beginners, click here with over 600 patterns in our archive, there is bound to be one (or many) that take your fancy! And if you would like to look through our Article Index for a topic you want to learn more about, click here.
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Quilt shown is You Hold The Key Quilt by Stephanie Palmer from Make Modern Issue 13.
