New to Quilting? Why Your First Quilt Matters More Than Perfect Seams
Everyone’s a Beginning Quilter Once
I was scrolling through Facebook the other day when a post from a beginning quilter caught my attention, and honestly, it broke my heart a little. She shared her discouragement after seeing so many “perfect” quilts online and after getting some pretty harsh critiques on her own. She was ready to give up quilting altogether.
And you know what? I’ve heard similar things at quilt shows. Instead of walking away feeling inspired, some people leave feeling inadequate or overwhelmed. That’s not what quilting should be about! We should be running home from a quilt show buzzing with ideas, fabric purchases, and the urge to fire up our sewing machines. Not packing away our tools because we feel we’ll “never be good enough.”
The Truth About “Show Quilts”
Here’s something important to remember: the quilts you see at shows, or even on Facebook, are usually made by professionals, experts, or quilters who’ve been at this for decades. Many of them design patterns, quilt for hire, or spend full-time hours honing their craft.
And guess what? They didn’t start out quilting like that. None of us did. I certainly didn’t.
My First Bear Paw Quilt
I pieced my first quilt top almost 30 years ago a Bear Paw mixed with polar bear blocks. (Not exactly a beginner-friendly choice!) The seams were crooked, the points were off, and my long seams wandered like a country road. But I was so proud of it.
Looking back now, I can laugh at all those wobbles and missed points, but you know what? I’m still happy with it. It reminds me how far I’ve come.
I wonder if I had started quilting today, if I would still feel that way. Back then I didn’t have a guild, or Facebook, to share my project with, so I didn’t have anything to compare it too. I also didn’t have any “helpful” people explaining to me how to “fix” my quilt.
👉 Question for you: Do you still have your very first quilt? How do you feel when you look at it now?
The Longarm Learning Curve
When I finally got a longarm, I realized this was the quilting path for me. I had no patience for hand quilting (my stitches looked like Morse code—dot dot dot, dash dash dash!) and quilting on my domestic never quite clicked.
Even with the longarm, there was still a learning curve. I was very fortunate that several of my first longarmed quilts were juried into major shows. Don’t think that this had very much to do with my quilting skills. It didn’t. It had everything to do with my photography skills. Anything will lie flat and hang straight if you nail it to the wall before you photograph it. My crosshatching? Let’s just say “straight” wasn’t in the vocabulary yet.
More than a decade later, I’m still working on it.
My Encouragement to You
If you’re a beginner:
✨ Have fun.
✨ Make the quilts you want to make.
✨ Be proud of every finish—even the wonky ones.
If you’re more advanced:
✨ Remember what it felt like to be new.
✨ Offer encouragement instead of critiques.
✨ Celebrate the joy in the process, not just the perfection of the outcome.
Because at the end of the day, quilting isn’t just about the stitches or the points or the perfect seams. It’s about joy, creativity, and connection.
My First Quilting Attempts
I’ve been sewing since grade school, mostly garments at first. Dresses, skirts, even custom suits and alterations through high school and college. Quilting? Not really on my radar.
When I finally did make a quilt (other than the small baby blankets I had done for various nieces and nephews), I was living in Chinle, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. Picture this: one gas station, a couple of motels, and the nearest Walmart 90 miles away. Needless to say… there wasn’t a lot to do on days off. So I started piecing quilt tops.
When I first started piecing, I thought “no problem, I know how to sew. I’ve been doing it for years”. I figured quilting couldn’t be that much different from sewing clothes. And wow, did I learn quickly that quilting isn’t the same as sewing clothes at all! A ¼” seam allowance isn’t just a suggestion, and accurate cutting actually matters. I made plenty of mistakes, but each one taught me something.
The Sharing Trap
These days, with guilds, Facebook groups, and Instagram, it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison. Don’t get me wrong sharing ideas is wonderful! But not every photo is an invitation for critique. Sometimes it’s okay to just say, “That’s beautiful!” or “What a fun idea!” without suggesting how to “fix” something.
One of my favorite customers is in her 80s and nearly blind, but she still makes t-shirt quilts for every one of her kids and grandkids. Her tops aren’t flat or perfect, but they’re loved. And isn’t that the real point?
What I’ve Learned
The only difference between me now and the me who pieced that Bear Paw quilt almost 30 years ago is thousands of hours of practice. That’s it. It’s not rocket science; it’s practice.
When students tell me they’ll never quilt like I do, I remind them: yes, you can. Just spend 40–50 hours a week quilting for five years straight, and you’ll get there too.
But here’s the thing you don’t need to quilt like me, most of us don’t want to quilt like someone else. We want to quilt like ourselves. And that’s the beauty of it.
Let’s Talk!
I’d love to hear from you:
💬 Do you remember your very first quilt?
💬 What mistakes did you make that still make you smile?
💬 What encouragement would you give to today’s beginning quilters?
Share your stories in the comments below—I can’t wait to read them!
Want to take a class with me check out my available Quilting Classes
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