If you’re considering taking a quilting class, online or IRL, here are some of the best benefits of jumping in and learning something new.
Benefits of Taking a Class in Person
- You can receive step-by-step instructions for a project or for quilting in general. There’s no need to try to figure out what the instructions mean when someone is right there, ready to answer your questions.
- Get outside your comfort zone! A quilting class is a great way to try a new technique or project.
- You can accelerate your skills faster. Instead of getting frustrated going through patterns on your own, why not take advantage of the community quilting classes offer to learn and improve faster.
- Boost your confidence. There’s no greater feeling than finishing a class with a project you’re proud of! You’ll walk away feeling like you can do anything. And you’ll be right!
- Have a friend who wants to learn to quilt? Sign up for a class together! You can support them while learning something new yourself. Bonus: you won’t have to worry about ruining your friendship when you try to teach her yourself!
- Break bad habits. If your ¼” seam is getting a little wide or you’re developing other bad habits, a class could be a perfect reset to unlearn them.
- Guaranteed “me time.” Yes, please! When you sign up for a quilting class, you’re making a commitment to yourself to spend dedicated time doing something you enjoy. I promise you the laundry and family can wait a few hours.
- It’s easier to take advantage of free resources. By design, all those freebies you sign up for don’t tell the whole story. If you can get a great foundational education in a quilting class or two, it will be easier to fill in the gaps in a free resource.
Taking quilting classes online offers unique benefits you won’t find in a class IRL. Like…
- Work in your own space with your own machine and tools. When you take an online quilting class, you learn in your own studio or sewing space and use a setup and tools you already know, so you’ll feel more confident trying new things.
- See steps you might miss in person. Online teachers are good at making sure you can see the process step by step. Whether it’s great camera positioning and lighting or pre-made slides, online teachers want to make sure you can take it all in. If you’re watching a recording, you can pause and rewind whenever you need to.
- Meet new quilters from around the world. I have met some of the most interesting quilters from around the world, both as a student and as a teacher. There’s no way I’d have quilty friends as far away as New Zealand without online classes.
- Access to teachers you might not normally have. Just as you might make new quilting friends, you can learn from teachers you might never have met without the internet. Online classes also open the door to superstar quilters you might otherwise only learn from at major events like QuiltCon.
And there you have it! Twelve reasons to take a quilting class. If you’re interested in learning from me, I offer a variety of classes and handouts to support your learning.
- Free Motion Magic: This 8-page, full-color guide walks you through everything you need to succeed at free motion quilting before you even sit down at your sewing machine. (FREE)
- FMQ 101: This introductory free motion quilting class builds on what you learned in Free Motion Magic, with videos, a course workbook, and a lesson on how to quilt Meander. (FREE)
- Making a Quilting Plan: “Quilt as desired” is the worst! This download teaches you what a quilting plan is and how to make your own so you can quilt with confidence and a plan. ($21)
- FMQ Starter Pack: Take your free motion quilting skills beyond the basics and learn new designs that will have you semi-custom quilting your quilts on your machine. You’ll learn Loopy Meander, Wishbone, Bowtie, and Switchbacks. ($37)
- FMQ Swirls: Learn the basic swirl and its variations to create five free motion quilting designs. You’ll learn Basic Swirls, Hooked Swirls, Smoky Swirls, Square Swirls, and Swirl Chains. ($37)
- Heart Quilt Vol. I: If you’re ready to jump into foundation paper piecing but would feel better with extra support, this companion class to the pattern is the answer. I walk you through the pattern, share my best FPP tips, and sew a heart block so you can see how it’s done. (Pattern $14, Class $20)
