Fabric-basics-made-easy Linda's Electric Quilters

Fabric basics made easy 🧵🧶

Fabric basics made easy 🧵🧶: Top 5 tips for new quilters (Lindas.com edition):

  1. Choose the right substrate

    • Quilting cotton (43–45") is the bread-and-butter for piecing—stable, presses crisply, and plays nicely with most threads. Linda's Electric Quilters

    • Widebacks (108–120") make backings seamless and speedy—no piecing required. Linda's Electric Quilters

    • Minky/Cuddle backings add ultra-soft drape and kid-approved coziness; look for extra-wide options (80–90") to simplify backings. Linda's Electric Quilters+1

  2. Mind print scale & direction
    Tiny blenders hide seams and show intricate piecing; bold, large-scale prints shine in borders, backing, and larger blocks. If your print is directional (stripes, text, critters), plan cutting so motifs face “up.”

  3. Color + value = instant sparkle
    Build stacks with lights / mediums / darks so blocks read clearly from 6–8 feet away. Use one consistent background (low-volume, solid, or tonal) to calm a busy palette.

  4. Yardage math made simple
    For piecing, add ⅛–¼ yd insurance for fussy cuts or directional matching. For backing, measure your top, add 8" in both directions, then choose a wideback or plan a center seam. (Linda’s stocks a huge wideback wall 90"–120".) Linda's Electric Quilters

  5. Prewash? It depends
    Many quilters skip prewash to keep that factory “sizing” for crisp cutting. If you sew with high-contrast reds/navies or for garments, prewash and press—use color catchers on your first launder just in case.

Bonus: Keep selvages! They’re perfect for labels, scrappy strings, and documenting your fabric’s designer/collection for your quilt journal.


Fabric brands you’ll find at Lindas.com

(A curated roll-call of the brands currently live on site—click around the Fabric & Wideback collections to see what’s in stock today.)

Linda’s Fabric collections page also surfaces an at-a-glance list of brands such as Hoffman California Fabrics, In The Beginning, Island Batik, Kanvas, Lilac Bee Designs, Marcus, Maywood, Michael Miller, Moda, Northcott, Oasis—handy when you want to browse by vendor. Linda's Electric Quilters


Quick picks by project


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quilt fabric by the yard 43–45" at lindas.com • 108" cotton wideback fabric online • extra-wide minky backing 80"–90" Shannon Cuddle • Kaffe Fassett wideback FreeSpirit at Linda’s • affordable quilting cotton solids and blenders • batik quilt fabric yardage and precuts • Moda Bella Solids and modern low-volume prints • Robert Kaufman Kona cotton yardage online • Northcott and Marcus reproduction prints for traditional quilts • buy Dear Stella and Andover designer quilting fabrics • Windham, Wilmington & Studio E wideback selection • fat quarter bundles & 10" squares for beginners • quilt fabric clearance 50% off at lindas.com • kids’ quilt backing ideas with plush minky • how to choose fabric for quilt borders and backgrounds