The Quilt Shortcut I Wish I’d Known Sooner: Whole Cloth Quilts
If you’ve ever wanted to make a quilt but the idea of cutting and piecing all those tiny bits felt like way too much, let me make your day: you *don’t* have to. Seriously. This is your permission slip to skip straight to the good part with a whole cloth quilt.
Instead of sewing together block after block, you just choose one piece of fabric—one with a pretty design (maybe something that looks pieced, maybe just something you love looking at)—and use it as your quilt top. The rest of the process? Totally doable, even if you’ve never made a quilt before. It’s still a legit quilt (promise!), just less work to get there.
If you want to try it, I’ve got some favorite panels ready to go in my Spoonflower shop. If not, grab any large fabric print that calls to you.
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| My Baby Girl Quilt Fabric Panel |
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| My Baby Boy Quilt Fabric Panel |
You’ll need:
- Your favorite whole cloth panel (grab mine here)
- Purchase 1 yard for a little baby size quilt, or 2 yards for a nice long blanket the child can grow into.
- Batting
- I like 80/20 cotton/polyester for beginners
- Search for "quilt batting 80/20 poly cotton crib" online
- I like brands Warm & Natural, Hobbs, or others
- Polyester batting will be very puffy and cheaper, but might be a little more difficult to work with. Use whatever batting you like! Visit a local quilt store to feel them, that's SO fun!
- Backing fabric (a coordinating fabric)
- Purchase 1 yard for a little baby size quilt, or 2 yards for a nice long blanket the child can grow into.
- Washable school glue OR glue stick, OR Quilter's basting spray, OR Quilter's curved safety pins
- I like the "Odif 505 Temporary Adhesive for fabric" spray
- Quilt binding fabric
- Not sure how much fabric you need for your binding? Here’s a quick fabric calculator so you’re not left guessing.
- Enter Quilt Width
- Enter Quilt Length
- Enter 43 (default) for "Width of Binding Fabric" or whatever width the fabric is that you bought.
- I leave the 2.5 width for the strips as default because that's what I recommend.
- Thread (that coordinates with the top and bottom fabrics)
Let’s Make a Quilt!
1. Layer It Up (Make a Quilt Sandwich)
2. Basting (Temporarily Hold the Layers Together While You Sew)
- Spray basting: Fastest and easiest for most beginners. One can gets you through two baby quilts if you use it sparingly (about $20).
- Glue basting: Super affordable and easy, too! Use washable school glue or a glue stick, dab sparingly, and press with a warm (not hot) iron to set. Avoid glue globs!
- Pin basting: Cheap, but takes longer and can be tough on your hands. You should use the curved quilter's safety pins so they don't bend your quilt like normal safety pins do. (Not my favorite for beginners.)
If you can spare the $20 for the spray, it’s the easiest way to go for a beginner. Otherwise I recommend glue as the other awesome and easy option. Either one is great!!
3. Quilting (Sewing the Layers Together)
Keep it simple and beginner-friendly: use straight line quilting following the grid lines on your fabric. It really doesn’t have to be complicated—just use your sewing machine to sew straight-ish lines along the printed pattern and suddenly it looks intentional (and way fancier than it felt doing it). Don’t worry if they wobble a little bit; once you wash the quilt, any little wobbles will disappear into that soft, crinkly texture (that’s what all quilts do, and why they’re so cuddly!) Here’s a video showing how to quilt. You don’t need to watch all the way to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uv5rCcvH4U
Optional: Walking Foot Tips
A walking foot for your sewing machine can really help the quilt layers feed evenly, but if you don’t have one, here’s a quick tip: as you sew, gently hold and slightly tighten the fabric in front and behind your needle (don’t tug, just guide and let the machine pull it), and sew at a steady, even speed. It all helps keep the quilt layers from shifting and bunching.
4. Binding (Finishing the Edges of the Quilt)
- How you will do your binding:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIvY6qiLxJk
- Important details, tools, and techniques to prep your quilt and binding:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jma6XJzPS18
- If you prefer gluing instead of pinning or clipping:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_OiX91U_9E
Celebrate Your Finish!
If you make one, tag me on Instagram @thread_and_thicket or say hi in the comments—I’d truly love to see your creation!!
-Sara
💛
Shop Fabric:
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