This free-form quilting technique is the perfect modern quilt project for beginners. Each quilt finished is 100% original and has enough versatility/ creativity for the more advanced quilter to add their flair.
It’s a forgiving project to work on because rather than corners and straight lines, this quilting technique creates a subtle wavey pattern. These stripey waves can be designed to produce color shifts for ombre palettes, grand landscapes, waterscapes, kids’ quilts, or a simple baby quilt. They can even be recut into squares and pieced.
This is a modern quilt project for beginners as it requires sewing curves. A beginner who is ready to learn or know the basic quilting process (binding, basting, quilting, etc.) will like this project – I cover every step of quilting on this blog post and in the videos.
Improv or Freestyle Quilting
Some quilters call this wavey technique improv quilting or freestyle quilting. My favorite part about this modern quilt project is that it requires minimal (or any) measuring. This is a quilt project that you can come and go from as you please without losing your place. The quilt using this technique can be made and cut to any size. You can also cut your quilt top into blocks and sew those wavy blocks together but understand some fabric will be lost…
This throw quilt I made for my sister in 2022, I called it “the Organic Quilt,” uses this free-form beginner technique. The vision for the quilt look was a high-key, soft, neutral, contemporary, minimal design but cozy quilt. Using 100% cotton, vertical “waving” quilting with large stitches is meant to enhance the flow of the pieced waves fabrics.
Supplies:
Fabric:
- Quilt top: 3-6 of your favorite cotton fabrics, how much is up to you, and how big your quilt is going to be. It’s very easy to plan for this quilt because the length you cut will be near to what your quilt will be.
- I recommend buying one of your fabrics in a larger quantity as the main dominate fabric. Then, a smaller amount of the rest of your colors fabrics. This will ensure your quilt has a dominant pattern/color that will help the overall harmony of the fabric.
- Quilt back and Batting: You will need the same yardage for the batting as the back of the quilt in a single pattern/color. The back and batting should be 4-8 inches larger than your quilt size. (Keep in mind, you may have to sew fabrics together to make your backing big enough.) When choosing batting: How heavy do you want your quilt to feel? I went with a medium to lightweight throw blanket and used Warm and White, which I bought from Johann Fabrics with a coupon.
Thread: Aurifil for all my machine work and for hand binding the edges. I alsorecommend Wonderfil for any hand stitching details or quilting.
Sewing Machine: I use a Juki
Other supplies: Rotary cutter, self-healing mat, fabric scissors, walking foot, needles for hand sewing.
Cutting Your Fabric
To cut the first “wave” of the fabric, lay your fabric on top of one another pin them together if that feels better. Both fabrics should face “up.” Cut into both layers using your rotary cutter.
Take the wave you cut and lay it over your. The right side of the fabrics are face to face.
Pinning the Waves
Place pins along the edges starting with the outside edges, then the center and then the spaces between. Bring the lows of the “valleys” to the top point of the “hills.”
Use as many pins as you need. Unlike other curved pieced quilts, this doesn’t have to be exact for it to turn out great. This tends to feel awkward the first time you do it and you will see below how it doesn’t look like they will line up, but they will I promise!
Sewing the Waves:
After pinning sew these two “waves” together.”
After you’ve sewn your first set of curves together, take your sewn pieces back to the cutting table after a quick press if you feel it needs it. Place the sewn piece on top of another face-up piece of fabric like you’ve done before.
Cut along the curve, pin and sew as you did your first wave. As you get comfortable, you can continue to use other pieces of cut-off, scrap or pieced fabrics you want to add it.
I chose the pattern of wavy stripes to be random but you can create a uniform pattern if you’d like or even create a multitude of designs. Solid color fabrics can offer a change in color and tone and keep expenses low while still looking elaborate and not sacrificing quaility.
How you vary the widths of the “wave” you can create dramatically different-looking quilt styles. Thin stripes will show less of the print or color solid. This creates a delicate, linear or subtle effect. Here, the thinner stripes have a bit of contrast that pulls together the more subtle design. There’s a bit of whimsy in the print, but only a peek of it.
*The fun part about this technique is that each strip it cut and sewn one at a time rather than beforehand. This means you can commit to do one or two strips without losing you place.
Preparing to Quilt For Beginners
Now it’s time to make a quilt sandwich. Place your backing fabric face down and your batting on top of that. The backing and the batting should be the same size and 4-8 inches larger than your quilt. Keep in mind, you may have to sew fabrics together to make your backing big enough. Don’t fret, if you are new to quilting, this won’t be noticeable.
On top of the batting, place and center your quilt. The reason we quilt with so much overhang for the backing and batting is so that the when quilting, any shifting won’t leave us short of fabric.
Basting and Pinning
Pin you sandwich together. Curved pins work especially great. I place my pins about a handprint apart. Basting spray is another alternative. If your quilt is really big or this is your first quilt, you may want to do both! This will all help your quilt from shifting while you sew.
Quilting
There are many ideas for how to quilt – do whatever suits your design best. If you are using a machine like my “Organic Quilt” using a walking foot and follow the curves of your fabric. I quilted along either side of the seams of my waves as a guide.
In places where I had a larger stripe, I sewed extra lines as needed. You can also add hand embellishments to these areas. I opted for minimalistic quilting because I wanted that extra manualibilty for it to feel super comfy and not overly stiff.
Binding & Rounded Corners
You may need to square off your quilt before getting ready for the last steps of finishing your quilt.
The softness of the waves and the neutral colors I used, lends themselves perfectly to rounded corners. I love rounded corners, I find them easier to work with too.
A tube of Clorox wipes makes a template for a rounded corner. Using a water-soluble pen or disappearing ink, I draw around the curve and cut along the line. Don’t overthink this.
You will need 2.5 inch wide strips of fabric that can fit all the way around the circumference of the quilt with some extra (I do about 24 inches extra but I’m an anxious sewer.)
If you do not have fabric long enough you can sew all your strips together to create one long strip. There are a variety of techniques to do this. Whether you sew yours straight or on the biases, this detail will not affect the coziness of the quilt. You can also buy binding tape at the store however I find these aren’t very soft.
If you’ve cut your own, using your iron, fold your strips in half and press. Attach the binding in the middle of our quilt, so pick any side and go in the middle (It doesn’t have to be exact!)
You’ll attach the binding with your machine. You won’t be attaching from the top of your strip, give yourself 8 inches or so. You’ll line the strip up from raw edge to raw edge of the quilt. Use clips to help you secure the fabric while you sew. (Recommendations in my store)
Don’t be intimidated by going around a corner. Use clips and go slow. If you need to turn your wheel by hand that works! Attaching your two ends of binding can be a little tricky.
Final Stitches On Binding
The last step to finishing the quilt is to fold the binding around to the other side and sew by hand. Sewing on the binding is my favorite part of the quilting process. It may seem like a big task but it moves quickly when you get a hang of things. I like to sit on the couch using the quilt as a blanket as I go.
Like I mentioned in the Value of Hand Stitching, to sew fast I like to load up all my needles in advance. I use the invisible ladder stitch to sew the binding closed.
Treat the rounded corners just as you have on the straight edges. Use your clips to secure it and take it a little bit at a time. It’s a bonus to sew the corners by hand as it gives it flexibility and customizability you can’t get with a machine.
After your last stitches of attaching your binding, the quilt it done! Now give it a wash on a medium-low heat and cuddle up.
For your convenience all the links to the youtube tutorial are here:
Try more beginner-friendly sewing and quilting projects:
