Quilters Companion

Quilters Companion is the definitive patchwork and quilting magazine. Published since 2001, Quilters Companion provides readers with exciting quilting projects. These projects are accompanied by easy-to follow instructions and accompanying pattern sheets, stunning styled shots and interesting stories about the featured projects. We pride ourselves not just on being an instructional publication — we are a good read as well! Purchase includes the Digital Edition and News Service. Please stay in touch via our Facebook Page.

BERNINA Hoop Frame

Editor’s Journal

Quilters Companion

Quilty Treasures

Quilt Contest

Full Moon – Part 1 • Inspired by the colours of the full moon over the seasons, with lots of fabrics and fussy cutting! Some of the patchwork was worked by hand and some by machine. Margaret worked with four different colour groups but used lots of different individual fabrics. Fat eighths are ideal. You don’t have to have assembled all the fabrics before you begin: make a start and add others as you go. While many of the print fabrics are medium and dark in value, use an array from light all the way through to dark in each colour for the Fan blocks in the corners.

Modern Spider’s Web • Photos and stories of old quilts in beautiful settings were a feature of the American magazine Quilt that Wendy used to buy years ago. Many of these quilts she wanted to make; one that she did make was a string-pieced Spider’s Web quilt in 2012. Recently, feeling nostalgic, she decided to remake this quilt, using more modern fabrics and new techniques. She used only what she had on hand. Cutting up leftover fabrics into smaller strips, mix and matching backgrounds – a great journey into the realm of scrap piecing!

Japanese Hexagons • Machine-sewn Tsumugi fabric hexagons are hand stitched with sashiko stitching to enhance the wonderful Japanese allure of this quilt. Tsumugi is a traditional slub-woven silk fabric that has a rough surface. It is soft and drapey, softening further with age. The fabric and other materials required to make this quilt can be purchased from Robyn (details below). Rather than regular binding, Robyn chose to put a facing on this quilt. There are full instructions to achieve this.

The Dempster Quilt • When 19-year-old Mary Emily Marsden arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, from Britain in 1859 with her stepfather, mother and siblings, she brought with her what is now known as The Dempster Quilt. The words on the label say: “ME Marsden from dear grandmamma 1857, worked by herself.”

Botanicals • This medallion-style quilt features simple squares and rectangles in the centre and the borders showcase Flying Geese and Nine-patch blocks, combined with glorious florals. This quilt is beautiful to make and beautiful to gift.

Stash Building Club

Rare Textile Discovered • Among the more than 10,000 items in the Royal School of Needlework’s unique textile collection was a stitchery believed to be a typical sampler made in England. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered to be a rare embroidery made in Barbados in 1771 – one of only three samplers of this kind in the world.

Round About • Chris shares another of her bright and beautiful quilts with us. It is machine pieced and some areas are foundation pieced. The instructions assume you have a good working knowledge of this technique. Remember to sew all the foundation-piecing seams with a short stitch length to make it easier to remove the papers without affecting the stitching. Chris shares her tips for using freezer paper templates for cutting your appliqué shapes.

Beyond the Grid: Crosshatching with Curves for Sit-down and Stand-up Machine Quilters • Crosshatching is a classic quilting design, offering texture, dimension and a touch of timeless elegance. But who says crosshatching has to be confined to...