so... who really knows what a prayer square is?! i personally have no idea... however, a friend from knit night asked me to make some for her friend's friend's church somewhere across the country way up high, there's a land that i heard of, once, in a lullaby... you get the idea...
the criteria:
- 16"x16"
- handmade (crochet, knit, sewn, whatever...)
so i had this genius idea... "
I'M GONNA QUILT ONE!"
STUPID IDEA, JOHN!
i had never quilted a thing in my life... i had hardly used a sewing machine... i hadn't really touched one since middle school (when i made the only apron in class that got a perfect score, might i add!)... buuuuuut, i did buy a sewing machine a few years back with the intention of learning how to quilt... so i set out to make a prayer square.
step 1) buy fabric.
i went to wal-mart (i live in a tiny, little town... this is the only place to get fabric (especially in the middle of the night, when my creativeness flows...)
step 2) cut the squares.
i am so fortunate to have susie in my life because she owns a
fabric cutter thing... and they are made by jesus, himself... they are the best craft invention. ever.
i just found out... they are called rotary cutters.
step 3) sew the squares.
so once they are cut, you just sew those suckers together... i like to use my sewing machine in super mode... this is where i put the pedal to the metal and see how fast i can sew... it's
almost like driving, right?
step 4) make your border thing.
sew some border stuff around the edge.
AND DONE!
i.
wish.
little did i know, there is A LOT more to quilting than that...
so i suggest a few things:
- practice using your sewing machine first, especially if you've never used one... it is best to be comfortable enough with the machine so that you can understand how to execute what you want to do...
- do some research. find websites, beginner tutorials, and blogs that teach you basic quilting techniques... they are all over the web... this art is dying out so people want to share the love...
- youtube should be called quilttube... there are 15,800 videos when you type in "quilt" into the search bar on youtube... i found a lot of helpful youtube pages
like this one...
- start small. this project was great because it wasn't huge... i learned some of the nuances of the art, and made more mistakes than actual stitches... but i learned a lot... and still have a lot to learn...
- and finally... BE PATIENT... quilting is hard. it takes a lot more patience than a lot of other things i have tried... so be prepared to get poked and rip seams and cut yourself and rip seams and burn yourself and rip seams and cut the wrong fabric and rip seams and scream. i did.
whoever got this prayer square better love it a lot... because it was hard to make... hopefully a monk or a nun got it and i hope they carry it around... all day, everyday...
PROS:
- ummmm... i made a quilt. a tiny quilt that maybe a mouse could use, but i made one. so BOOYAH!
- this is hard for this project.
- did i mention i made a quilt?! this outweighs all of the cons... i made a freakin' QUILT.
CONS:
- fabric can add up quickly. even cheap fabric is expensive. (i'm a broke college student.)
- you have to own a sewing machine... a basic sewing machine will run you about $75... and that's for no bells and whistles... but, i'd probably spend $1000 on a sewing machine that will just quilt it for me...
- patience. (see above.)
- prerequisite skills. you have to know how to sew... i tried my best.
