The quilt police may have something to say about this blog post. Who cares. Here are some of the rules I think you can ignore!

Stop Buying Fabric Just Because It's Pretty

This is how you build a stash that becomes out of control. Sure, you can buy the pretty fabric…. But buy the blenders and accent colors with it… and have a plan. I have a hard time doing this sometimes, but I know that if I don’t go in with a plan, I’ll never use it! If you have a hard time figuring out what goes with that pretty fabric, be sure to stay tuned next week for my post about choosing a fabric pull from a single print. 

Finished Is Better Than Perfect

Your points don’t have to match perfectly. Your quilting does not have to be perfectly straight. Most mistakes are only visible to you. Your skills improve by not trying to be perfect. Perfectionism makes it hard to start. Not every mistake needs to be fixed. 

You Don't Have to Use Every Scrap

Find what size works for you and keep everything that size or bigger. Some people will keep the tiniest scraps, some people will keep everything above 2”. Anything smaller than something I can use in an FPP project, I usually toss in my “unusable scraps” and use as stuffing (eventually). If your scraps are an odd shape, cut them down to the size you want and then throw the rest away. I don’t organize my scraps by size, simply because I don’t want to go through that effort, but I do see the appeal of having everything ready to go when inspiration strikes!

Always Pre-Wash Your Fabric

I never prewash my fabric for quilting. A lot of the reason is because I like to use precuts and scraps rather than yardage, and when you wash those small pieces, they will fray and get tangled like crazy. Even if I were using yardage more often, I wouldn’t prewash. I make the quilt, and then wash it, to get that lovely crinkle. 

Always Finish One Project Before Starting Another

Impossible. I get bored so easily. I like to have some large projects in different steps in the process, with some small projects thrown in there for a quick win. Now I do try not have SO MANY PROJECTS going on that I get overwhelmed and start getting a WIP mountain or UFO pile. But that amount of projects is different for everyone, and if you ARE stuck there, I have a blog post about how to get out!

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Consider this your official permission slip to break the quilting rules that aren’t working for you. Make what you want, make it how you want, and have fun doing it.

Now tell me: which quilting rule are YOU breaking?