Quilting has taken on an exceptional comeback in recent years, probably thanks to the pandemic and its stay-at-home culture. And for beginners, sometimes it’s not enough for the expert grandmother or great aunt to show you the tricks of the trade. Which is where these 9 exceptional books for quilters provide that missing thread.
Whether you’re preparing for your first ever stitch or have lost count of the baby blankets you’ve knitted for your grandkids, these books for quilters will help up your quilting game:
1. First-Time Quilting: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide
by Creative Publishing International
If you’re a true beginner, this is the quilting book for you. Breaking down the entire process into simple stages—and even offering guidance on fabric selection—you’ll love the visuals that accompany each specific step.
First-Time Quilting: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide lets you choose from 11 simple projects that focus on specific skill sets, like cutting pieces with a rotary tool and mat, adding sashing, borders and basting layers, as well as both hand and machine quilting.
2. The Quilter’s Bible: The Indispensable Guide to Patchwork, Quilting and Appliqué
by Linda Clements
The Quilter’s Bible spans a huge thread of skill sets, making it a great choice for almost any quilter’s shelf. From basic techniques to trickier methods, like applique and patchwork, the super helpful instructions and beautiful illustrations makes this one of our favourite quilters guides.
That said, it’s packed full of information. So, if you’re looking for something simpler to get you started, a beginner-specific quilting book could be the best place for you to prepare for your first stitch.
3. Quilting for the Absolute Beginner
by Cheryl Owen
Cheryl Owen is no stranger to craft magazines and publications, with numerous sewing books hitting global shelves, such as The Book of Bags: 30 Stylish Projects for Beautiful Sewn Bags. Her beginner’s guide to quilting is a must-have for any newbie quiltmaker, with her trademark easy-to-follow steps and confidence-boosting projects enough for anyone to quickly progress with their brand new hobby.
4. Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century
by The Modern Quilt Guild
Quilters looking to move beyond the basic techniques and skills will love the beautiful showcase of contemporary quilts and inspirational designs in Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century.
Admittedly, this is not a guide book but a gallery of stunning quilts that could serve as excellent inspiration for those with advanced quilting knowledge. Even if it sits on your coffee table, this book by The Modern Quilt Guild—who serve over 18,000 members across the USA—is a beautiful pledge to the timeless art of quilting.
5. Quilter’s Complete Guide
by Marianne Fons and Liz Porter
This is a fan-favourite, particularly for beginners, and gives the first-time quilter incredible confidence on how to make both traditional and appliqued quilts.
Beautiful patterns and colour photographs accompany each page and project in the book. And the hardcover version even includes a spiral binding, allowing you to lie the book completely flat and rotate the pages 360 degrees. We couldn’t recommend this amazing guide highly enough.
6. The Big Book of Strip Quilts: Start with Strips to Make 60 Stunning Quilts
by Karen M. Burns
Karen M. Burns uses her decades of experience to teach you strip quilting, a beautiful quilting technique that applies longer strips of fabric to create stunning, intricate designs.
Over 60 patterns feature in the book, which will keep you busy all winter long, and it doesn’t discriminate between beginners or experienced crafters.
7. The Book of Sampler Quilts
by Dorothy Frager
Another one for the intermediate-to-advanced crowd, this is a deep dive into sampler quilts. A sampler quilt is made up of many unique blocks, separated by strips of fabrics (known as sashing strips). You never repeat the same quilt block twice, which makes this style of quilting so fun and exciting.
Finishing any one of the projects in this book will be cause for celebration, as the skills required are not for the faint of heart. Perhaps a good book for beginners to aspire to.
8. Farm Girl Vintage
by Lori Holt
Nostalgic to the very core, Farm Girl Vintage will appeal to quilters who love themed projects with a vintage feel. A whopping 45 quilt blocks are featured in Lori Holt’s insightful guide, focusing on a charming, retro style and traditional, farmhouse designs.
These themed blocks have a range of uses, for larger quilts, table runners and even home decor.
9. The Art of Quilting: A Collection of Contemporary Quilt Projects
by Ruth E. Levin
Looking at quilting as a true art form, Ruth E. Levin showcases projects that highlight creative expression in modern day quilting. Traditional quilting goes out the door in this beautiful book, and helps the advanced quilter step out of the box and create one-of-a-kind quilts they’d perhaps never dreamed possible.
Warning: traditionalists may baulk at the very contemporary design elements in this book!
Far from the complete list of books for quilters, these titles will serve you exceptionally well, no matter where you are on your quilting journey.