In order to fully understand patchwork quilting one needs to have a good grasp of the basic.  In patchwork quilting there are some unique terms and words that you may not be familiar with, but with the help of this article you should understand what you need to know in no time.

Basic Terms in Patchwork Quilting

This article will look at some of the basic terms that you need to make yourself familiar with in order to be successful at patchwork quilting.  These terms and phrases are used frequently in guides, instruction manuals, and patchwork quilting plans.  First up are four patch and nine patch.  Four patch is a division of quilt blocks into four equal parts.  With this many other divisions may occur but the basic 5 patch pattern remains.  Nine patch is a division of quilt blocks into nine equal squares.  This form looks very similar to a tic-tac-toe grid.   Again, with nine square more divisions may occur but the basic pattern remains the same.  The next term to look at is batting.  Batting is the layer between the patchwork quilting top and the back.  It provides the loft and warmth of the quilt.  Many different types of batting may be used with varying degrees of warmth.  Down, cotton, polyester, silk and wool are all different kinds of batt.  Batting when used as a verb describes the process of putting the layers together in preparation for patchwork quilting.

Fat eight and fat quarter are two measurements of fabric used in patchwork quilting.  A fat eighth is a cut of cloth that measures about eighteen inches by eleven inches rather than an eighth of a yard cut.   A fat quarter is a common fabric measurement in the United States.  A fat quarter measures about eighteen by twenty two inches.  Next up in a look at patchwork quilting terms is Flying Geese unit.  This is a popular small shape group that consists of a center triangle and two right angle triangles attached on either side.  A Fussy Cut takes a clear template for a particular shape in your design, then isolates it as a single motif.  It can be repeated forming kaleidoscope design patters.  Knotwork is a term that refers to patterns of a Celtic design and comes from the visual formed by interlocking of bias binding strips.

These are just some basic terms found in patchwork quilting.  There are many more that you should become familiar with before attempting to do any work.

Tags: Patchwork Quilting, Quilting

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