What fabric should I use on my patchwork and quilting projects?
Technically you can use any woven fabric, but most quilters tend to stick to 100% cottons known as 'quilting cottons', or any other 100% cotton type fabric.
What is quilting cotton?
You may feel silly asking this question, but trust us - we've been asked it before, many times!
Quilting cotton refers to a 100% cotton fabric that is generally a standard weight of around 200gsm; this means it's a medium weight and because it tends to be roughly the same weight between brands, it's easy to mix and match within your projects. Don't let the name mislead you though - you can use it for other projects too, from bags to dresses!
Quilting cottons tend to be produced by branded designers, and come in co-ordinating collections for ease of matching. A good tip if you're not sure what to put together is to select a few prints from the same collection, as they'll have been designed to colour match and work together in a unified colour palette!
Most quilting cottons are sold in 'fat quarters'. If you've never heard of this term, it's basically a more usable cut of fabric for smaller projects than a regular 25cm cut as you get with most other fabrics. Fat quarters offer the same surface area but in a more square shape which is more flexible for patchwork. They're made by cutting a 50cm piece from the bolt, and then cutting this piece in half, down the fold. This means exact measurements can vary depending on the width of the fabric, but generally tend to be around 50cm x 55cm.
You can choose fat quarters individually, but for beginners a great way to experiment with quilting cottons is to use a fat quarter pack, which offers a selection of co-ordinating designs on a theme, already pre-selected for you.
