DIY Cheaters Quilt – Seriously the Easiest Quilt… EVER! 1

What is a cheaters quilt? 

There are several tutorials on my blog on quilting and sewing. But have you heard of a cheaters quilt? I hadn’t either until I stumbled on an Etsy post and talked with the quilter. 

A cheaters quilt is a quilt with a pre-printed fabric top. Meaning you skip the hours and hours of sewing your quilt top together. See my post here on sewing quilt tops together. 

With our nephew coming, I knew I wanted to make him a special baby quilt, and I wanted my son to have a matching quilt! This was seriously the two fastest quilts I’ve ever done! 

Supplies

Sewing Machine – First and foremost you’ll need a sewing machine to quilt. I have a very old Singer sewing machine, but at some point I’d like to upgrade. The sewing machine linked above is a great machine for quilting.

Fabric – You’ll need a cheaters fabric and a background print. There are many, many cheaters fabrics to choose from! 

Sewing Machine Needles – I generally replace my needle every time I start a new quilt. This is probably overkill, but I want to make sure my needle is perfect for every quilt and they’re inexpensive.

Sewing Thread – You’ll need a quilting grade thread for your quilt. Make sure it complements your quilting colors!

Self-Healing Cutting Mat & Rotary Cutter – The set I have linked here is a great starting set.  It comes with the same self-healing cutting mat and rotary cutter I have.

Fabric Shears – Fabric Scissors are generally more sharp and give a straight cut.

Quarter Inch Presser Foot – This is optional. it is a great tool to have to help make perfect 1/4″ seams.

Batting – Batting is what is sandwiched in between your top layer and your back layer of fabric. You don’t have to use batting if you’re looking for a lighter quilt, but I like to use a thin batting to give it some extra fluff. I used a low loft for the baby and a high loft for my 11 year old! 

Quilting Pins – You’ll use A LOT of these to pin your quilt and add the backing. Stock up! I also use large safety pins too. You might want quilting clips too. I LOVE them. I like them better than the pins for binding. And the little tin is adorable!

Basting Spray – I like basting spray because it temporarily holds my quilt together while I sew it. Not all quilters use it, but it makes things simpler I think. You’ll either use the quilting pins method or the basting spray method. For these quilts I used the quilting pin method.

Iron – Some people iron their fabric before they cut, I don’t do this. I use an old hand-me-down iron, but the iron I have linked is one that’s on my wishlist!

Painters Tape – When you pin or baste your quilt you’ll want the backing to be flat on the floor so you can sandwich it more easily. Some people also use it on their sewing machine as a guide (kinda like a ridge so when the fabric hits it, it doesn’t go past the line) when they sew their 1/4″ seams.

Step 1: Planning

First step is to plan the size of quilt you want. I’m making a baby blanket and a little larger than a throw size. There are some “standard” quilt sizes, but the best practice is to physically measure the bed and size quilt you’ll want on it (if applicable). Below is a chart with standard quilt sizes. I purchased 4 yards of fabric total. I used 1 yard of fabric for the baby blanket and about 2-3/4 yards for my 11 year old. I purchased the same amount of fabric for my backing. 

Step Two: Creating the Front & the Backing

Next step is to combine your fabric to make the front and the back. You’ll want to arrange the fabric so it’s the size that you want and it looks uniform. This will be the entire front of your quilt. Same with the back, you’ll piece the fabrics together to make a whole front and a whole back. For these quilts I’m going to use a self binding method, so I calculated 6″ more on the height and width of the back fabric. That way I have plenty of room for screw ups when I go to bind. You’ll lay the fabric out how you want it, flip one side over (so the good sides, (or bad sides if you choose), are faced together) and pin or clip the two pieces together. Then you’ll sew. Make sure you pin or clip your fabric so it stays together while you sew. 

Basting

Now you can baste the back to the front. You don’t have to use batting in a quilt especially if you’re using a soft fabric, but I prefer to use batting. For my 11 year old’s quilt I used high loft so it’d be fluffy, for the baby I used low loft. 

Pin Basting

There are two ways to do this, and I used the pinning method since these are small quilts, but for larger quilts I use the spray basting method. To pin baste, use blue painters tape and tape the backing to the floor (good side down). You want the backing to be taunt but not too tight. Then you’ll place your batting in the middle (if you’re using batting). I made my batting the same size as the larger back of the quilt so I had room for error. Then you’ll place your quilt front on top (good side up). In each square you’ll use safety pins and pin together the back to the front. Don’t pin your seams. This keeps everything in place when you sew your quilt together. This example below has the binding clips, which you haven’t gotten to, but if you notice my basting pins in the middle of the blocks: 

Here is a picture of the batting on top of the backing fabric: 

Spray Basting

The other way to do this is by spray basting. This is my preferred method for large quilts. A couple things to take in consideration is this is messy but take your time and the spray should be contained, and you’ll want to use this spray in a well ventilated area.

First you’ll lay your backing on the floor with the good side down. Use painters tape just as before, making it taunt. Place your batting on top (if you’re using batting and the same amount of batting as your backing fabric). Lift up half the batting, and start spraying in about a 6-8″ section and press the batting on. Continue to do this until the entire back is glued to the batting. Let sit for about an hour so the glue can make a good bond. Repeat with the quilt top, make sure the quilt top is face up. You’ll still want the backing taped to the floor for this step. Here is an example of spray basting: 

Quilting

Next you’ll sew your quilt together. I use a method called machine ditch quilting. This just means we’ll be quilting in the ditches (or seams). There are SO many ways to quilt. One of the more forgiving quilting methods is doing diagonal stitches and it makes a pretty design on your quilt. I like quilting in the ditches, because I think that quilting is the hardest part of the entire process because it’s the most detailed. 

Before you begin you’ll want to chose a thread color that compliments your quilt. This makes it easier to hide small mistakes. 

This step is where a lot of quilters take their quilt to a professional seamstress. Most pros have a long arm sewing machine which allows an easier way to quilt a large quilt. Because your standard household sewing machine has a small throat, it’s hard to maneuver the quilt through it. I’ve found an easier way to quilt with a regular ol’ sewing machine, and its simple really. Just roll both sides up and start sewing in the middle. That’s it. Simple. Free motion quilting (what you’re doing here) is a hard technique to master. But take your time. 

There are a few tips I’ve found that help make your technique better. 

• Go slow. 
• This step takes hours so don’t rush through it. Pace yourself.
• If you’re doing a large quilt, like a queen or king, put a table in front of you and behind you. This will help your quilt stay on the table and it not fall off the table causing drag. 
• It’s inevitable your bobbin will run out of thread. There are two things you can do here. 1 – Check the bobbin after each line sewn, if low, replace the bobbin. 2 – when the bobbin runs out of thread, tie it off and rethread the bobbin and finish sewing. 

Start by sewing one line down the middle to keep everything together and then work toward the sides. I typically start in the middle and work toward my right, start back in the middle and work toward my left. Then after all my rows are sewn I start on the columns, making complete blocks around my squares. This is an example of starting in the middle: 

After quilting the rows and columns, you’ll end up with a quilt like this:

After you finishing quilting, you’ll want to go around your quilt and tidy it up. Removing any loose strings and tie off where your bobbin ran out of thread. 

My quilt is NOT perfect at all. I have several problem places like where it bunched up in several places and my lines not being perfect. Don’t beat yourself up over this. You’re not a professional quilter. The more quilts you do, the better your technique will get. Focus on the fact that you can quilt!! That’s an awesome accomplishment!

Cutting off Excess Batting

Next you’ll cut off the excess batting down to the same as the front. Be very careful not to cut your backing material.

Cutting Backing Fabric Down for Self-Binding

Next you’ll cut the batting down for your binding. I used 1-1/2 binding on my 11year olds quilt and 1″ binding on the baby’s. I went around and trimmed the sides all to the same size (either 1″ or 1-1/2″). Remember you’ll be folding this in half so you need to account for that.

Binding

Next you’ll bind. This is where I used my clips and folded over twice to form a nice bind.

Here is an example of the corners and how to miter them. You’ll fold one side down, hold it and fold the other on top creating a nice miter.

Next you can sew your binding. When you come to a corner, just lift the presser foot, with the needle still down in the quilt, move the quilt to the next side, lower the presser foot and start quilting on the next side. I also stitch up my mitered corners:

When you get to where you started, backstitch. Tidy up any loose strings, and viola! you’re done! Your quilt is complete! The easiest cheater’s quilt!!

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