Margaret Ellis has taught beginning quilting for 23 years. The number-one thing that stops new quilters isn’t skill — it’s not knowing where to start. This book fixes that with a direct, technique-first approach: 15 chapters, 20 projects graded from beginner to advanced, and step-by-step instructions for 15 classic quilt blocks including the nine-patch, pinwheel, Ohio Star, flying geese, and log cabin.
Here’s what you’ll have after finishing the first project (a 54×63-inch two-fabric throw built from 42 nine-patch blocks):
• A finished quilt — not a practice sample
• Mastery of the quarter-inch seam, chain piecing, and pressing
• The cutting math to calculate fabric for any project
The book covers every essential skill: fabric selection and what makes quilting cotton different from fashion fabric, rotary cutting on a self-healing mat, pressing seams for accurate intersections, reading quilt patterns, making the quilt sandwich, walking-foot and free-motion quilting, and double-fold binding with mitered corners. Chapter 14 covers selling finished quilts and patterns for those who want to turn the craft into income.
Starter budget for your first project: approximately $80–120 in materials. No long-arm machine required. A basic sewing machine with a straight stitch is sufficient for every beginner and intermediate project.
The Project Library lists 20 quilts from a quick charm pack table runner (4–6 hours) to a Lone Star (multi-week). Start with the nine-patch. Work carefully. Finish it.
