VERY LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE

This is a well-known measurement in the quilting world. A fat-quarter tends to measure 45cm x 55cm. You will need 5 fat-quarters to bring along to the course on day one. They can be in a ready-assembled bundle of co-ordinating fabrics or you can choose 5 yourself to your own taste. Our only recommendation is that they are good quality cotton. Polyester tends to be cheaper but it is often thinner and not as soft.

We recommend you spend about £10 to £15 on a 5 fat-quarter bundle. You can spend less but at the cost of quality. Have a look in Boyes, or local fabric shops like Cool Crafting or Faye's Haberdashery. Hobbycraft and Dunelm also have some lovely bundles. Once you've bought your fat quarters, please wash them in a quick wash. This is essential prep as the fabric may shrink slightly. Don't worry if they fray at the edges. We will tidy them up and iron them when we get started.

TIP: If you find a 4 fat-quarter bundle you love, buy an extra fat-quarter in a matching solid colour. It will look fantastic!

Themed bundles are popular, for special occasions or particular interests. Have fun fabric searching, but if you feel overwhelmed, 5 plain colours will still create a beautiful quilt.

There are many types of wadding but we'll stick to polyester or a cotton/polyester blend for the beginners' course. Thickness is referred to as 'loft', where high loft is thicker and warmer. Wadding aka Batting comes in all sorts of sizes to suit your project. You will need a piece at least 75cm x 90cm (30" x 36"). We can supply a suitable piece of wadding for £5 at Space2Create if you'd prefer not to buy a large piece with excess waste.

Amazon Links

• Sew Easy Quilting Batting Wadding 80% Cotton 20% Polyester Washable Crib Size 114.3 x 152.4cm 45 x 60”

We recommend some good quality cotton as a backing that works with your topper. This will be used to bind the quilt so should match your topper fabric. Your backing fabric should be no smaller than 80cm x 1m (32" x 38") and pre-washed to minimise shrinkage. You can get a metre of suitable cotton from Boyes for £4.50

Widely available from haberdashery suppliers, including Boyes. We recommend a polyester thread as opposed to cotton because it is less prone to breakage.

Amazon Links

• Gütermann Sew-All Thread, 250 m
• Güterman Sew-All Thread 1000m

These rulers are acrylic and come in all sizes. The fact that they are transparent and have many markings is very useful for cutting accurately. They tend to come in inches. Larger rulers are more expensive but in the long-term are more useful for cutting longer lines when making quilt blocks.

Available from more specialist shops, that are further afield.

The king of cutting mats when it comes to quilting is a rotating mat. Regular cutting mats are a fine alternative and are available in most art shops. Again, a larger mat is more useful for quilting. Have a look at the Amazon links below to get an idea of what we recommend.