Today, I'm very excited to announce the launch of my new e-course, Improvisational Quilting for Garment Sewists. When sewing clothing, it's nearly impossible to not have fabric scraps leftover and as someone who cares about living sustainably and tries to reduce my waste as much as possible, it was important to me to find a way to use these scraps. However, the more my scrap pile grew, the more stressful and overwhelming it felt. I couldn't bear to throw them away, yet I didn't know how to make good use of them.
A handful of years ago, I had an idea for a quilt. I gathered all my blue scraps together and set about stitching them. I created my own process of improvisational piecing and along the way discovered how fun and freeing it was to sew in this way. I had a great time, made use of fabric that was gathering dust and taking up precious closet space and turned it into a useful, beautiful and completely unique quilt.
I learned how to quilt in the early 00’s but never really put those skills to use until about five years ago. I discovered after my first improv quilt, that when it comes to quilting, I really enjoy the freedom of this process more than following a pattern. Garment sewing requires a lot of careful attention to detail as well as many decisions about sizing, fit, fabric choice, and notions, to name a few.
Sewing an improvisational quilt is a great way to take a break from the pressure of decision making and get in the flow of making. Trust me, I still love garment sewing, but it's nice to have different ways to practice the craft of stitching.
Plus, using your garment fabric scraps creates a quilt that is uniquely your own and filled with the memories of your past makes. I love that I can look at one of my quilts and have reminders of tops, pants and dresses I've made and loved. I’ll even use fabric from muslins or garments that just didn’t work out.
This is a blog style course that uses a combination of video, image and text to teach you everything you need to know to sew your own improvisational quilt. While the course is detailed and comprehensive, the lessons are broken into bite sized chunks so that you can learn as quickly (or slowly) as you want. To learn more about the course, head over to the about page.
Testimonials
I had a great group of beta-testers for this e-course and I’m so amazed with the things they made. Read on for a few of their makes and testimonials about the course. You’ll notice that a few people made things other than quilts and that’s totally do-able. This course includes a few tutorials for other projects (with more planned to added) but you can easily use the skills and improvisational process you learn in the course to make a fabric that can be used in a variety of applications.
ANNA @sew_op_makerspace
This course was so much fun. It really inspired my creativity in a brand new way. I am pretty creative with garment sewing, but it is still a very precise and ordered process. This course showed me how to use all my gorgeous scraps of fabric in a totally free form practice. The quilt I created is a beautiful piece of art from a pile of scraps!
ALENE @alenesews
This course is the perfect way to learn quilting if you’re a garment sewist! The sections are broken down in a way that is entirely manageable for the novice quilter yet chock-full of useful information and tips. You’ll develop a new appreciation for your fabric scraps and find yourself wanting to quilt ALL the things for the foreseeable future!
CHLOE @PRSSRFT
As an advanced beginner garment sewer, the thought of quilting always seemed too daunting and advanced. Sew DIY Improv Quilting not only clearly introduced quilting basics, but did so through an improvisational, low-cost process that had opened the door to quilting for me.
As a first quilting project, this was perfect for me: because the quilt was improvisational, I wasn't overly worried about "getting it right" or messing up expensive materials. The library of videos in the course walk through the entire process step by step, but are also a valuable resource to come back as questions arise through the process.
REBECCA @sew_becky
I love the videos along with the written instructions. I’m a visual learner and the videos helped me so much. Beth breaks down the trickier parts of quilting and makes them understandable and adaptable to every situation you might encounter in the improvisational quilting process. I highly recommend this course.
Rebecca made a quilted playmat for her granddaughter.
TESSA @tessaberry0407
I'm a keen sewist and love to keep my scraps in the hope that they will find a new project and purpose. This course has been an amazing introduction to quilting, a practice that I thought would be restrictive and too precise - and made it fun and exciting! I have just loved seeing my scraps grow into sections of the quilt, and its been awesome to be reminded of shirts and dresses and all the things that have been made before - all now being a part of this magical process!
I feel so proud of what I have achieved, and thanks so much Beth for clear instructions and your fabulous relaxed style, you welcomed me to this new practice, gently talking me through my anxious first steps to grow my confidence and I will be eternally grateful!
KIRSTEN @readrunsew
This course makes the process of improv scrap quilting utterly foolproof. It made me completely reevaluate what I consider a fabric scrap. I loved every part of the process: the step by step bite sized video tutorials, choosing and cutting the fabric, piecing, quilting... all of it! I am completely addicted to scrap quilting now- I want to incorporate it in everything I make from now on!
Kirsten made the Bombazine oven mitt.
I hope that you enjoy this ecourse and love the process of improvisational quilting as much as I do. I want to send a big thank you to everyone who tested the course for me. I truly appreciate it! Click the button below to learn more about the course and sign up. The about page has some FAQs but if your questions are not answered there, feel free to send me an email. Happy sewing!
