Quilting For Dummies, 2Nd Edition

Get the know-how you need to create beautiful quilts and decorative quilted items

Quilting is a fun hobby -- but where do you begin? From selecting fabrics and designing a quilt to stitching by hand or machine, this friendly guide shows you how to put all the pieces together -- and create a wide variety of quilted keepsakes for your home. We'll have you in stitches in no time!

Discover how to
* Select the right fabrics and threads
* Design your masterpiece
* Use quilting software
* Save time with rotary cutters and other cool tools
* Quilt by hand or machine
* Get creative with applique

Cheryl Fall (Brush Prairie, WA) is the author of 12 how-to books and over 2,500 how-to articles in various publications. Magazines featuring her work over the last 19 years have included The Quilter, Quilt World, Quick and Easy Quilting, Family Circle, Woman’s Day, Country Living, Craftworks, and Sewing Savvy. Cheryl is also the host of The Creative Life with Cheryl Fall, a nationally distributed PBS ‘Plus’ program that features lifestyle-enhancing projects, ideas, and useful information for women. She has also spent years creating quilting and sewing projects and teaching for various manufacturers, including Coats & Clark and Singer.

Introduction.
Part I. Gathering Your Tools and Getting Ready.
Chapter 1. The Art of Quilting.
Chapter 2. Threads, Needles, and Gadgets - And All That Jazz.
Chapter 3. The Piece de Resistance: Fabric.
Part II. Planning Your Masterpiece.
Chapter 4. A Patch in the Fabric of Time: Designing Quilt Blocks.
Chapter 5. Creating and Using Templates.
Chapter 6. Playing with Blocks and Borders: Which Way Should They Go?
Chapter 7. Using Your Computer as a Crystal Ball.
Part III. Sharpening Your Sewing Skills.
Chapter 8. Cuts and Creases: Pressing Matters.
Chapter 9. Positively Perfect Piecing.
Chapter 10. Do You Know the Way to Applique.
Part IV. Ahead to the Finish: Quilting the Pieces in Place.
Chapter 11. The Plan of Attack: Deciding How to Quilt Your Quilt.
Chapter 12. Assembling the Quilt Sandwich.
Chapter 13. Ready, Set . . .Quilt! The Inns and Outs of Quilting Your Masterpiece.
Chapter 14. Finishing Touches: Bindings and More.
Part V. Completing the Circle: Projects to Try.
Chapter 15. Fabulous Skill Builders.
Chapter 16. Mixed-Technique Projects.
Chapter 17. Projects for the Machine Queen.
Chapter 18. Small-Scale Projects.
Part VI. The Part of Tens.
Chapter 19. Ten Quilting Timesavers.
Chapter 20. Ten Tips for Displaying Your Art.
Chapter 21. Top Ten Criteria Quilting Judges Use.
Appendix. Resources for Quilts.
Index.