Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Let An Online Quilting Store Help You Drive Away The Winter Cold

By Jerri Perry


In winter, the ultimate comfort is to wrap yourself in a warm quilt and have a mug of hot chocolate. If you're not the type to curl up with a book when it's too cold to do anything outside, you may even want to start making your own quilts. The great thing is that you don't have to venture out to buy the supplies you need. Simply visit an online quilting store and have everything delivered to your doorstep.

Quilting as a craft dates back thousands of years. A quilted garment was found on an Egyptian carving from more than five thousand years ago. Medieval knights brought many quilted objects with them from the Middle East when they returned from the Crusades and archaeologists have even found a floor covering in Mongolia that dates from around two thousand years ago.

Today most people think of bed coverings when they think of quilts. They're often associated with home decor from the American colonial period. However, they were often made in other faraway colonial societies too since fabric was expensive and in this way even the last little scrap could be used. Sometimes the designs included stories or secret messages, like in those made by slaves in the American South.

A quilt typically has three layers. There is a the top layer which contains the design. Underneath that is the batting and right at the bottom is the backing. The batting can be thick to give the quilt that padded look or it can simply be a layer of regular fabric to create a light quilt that is perfect for summer. The three layers are joined together with stitches that pass through all of them at the same time.

You can use almost any fabric to make a quilt. Some people use luxurious velvet or satin, for instance. For that vintage look, printed cottons from the Depression era are very popular. Of course the real thing would be very expensive and for this reason many fabric stores sell more affordable reproductions of vintage prints. If you shop online, you may buy a special kit to create a specific quilt but you can also come up with your own designs.

Online suppliers of fabrics for quilting often sell other items too. You may order batting, backing and even the tools you'll need to create your quilt, such as scissors. If you need inspiration, buy a book or individual patterns too.

Creating a quilt is very easy. The craft is simple to learn and there are many websites that offer tips and advice. Even tutorials on everything from the basics to more advanced techniques are only a click away.

Once you've discovered the joys of making your own quilt, you may find that it becomes addictive. It lets you be creative and with every finished piece, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment. You may even want to consider getting your friends in on the act and have get-togethers where you enjoy a glass of wine, chat about everything under the sun and quilt away the winter weather. Some people turn their hobby into a business while others get together to make huge story quilts, art quilts or quilts for charity. All you need to get started is a visit to an online quilting store.




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