Quilter's Resources
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
May 23, 2026
From beginners to experienced quilters, we all have things to learn, or techniques we haven't yet tackled. Even if you live in a remote area, or don't have other quilters around it is possible to branch out and try new things, or learn alternate methods of doing things. There are many resources available to you right in the comfort of your own home as well as some you may not have thought about out in the community. I thought it might be nice to touch on some of these. And with today's economy being the way it is, I wanted to focus on "free" resources..........plus that way you have more $$$$$ to spend on pretty fabric! Many you may be familiar with but some might be new to you. And one thing is for sure, the more you search anything quilting related online, the more things you will find. You will find yourself diving into many rabbit holes, lol.
1) We obviously are all aware of free patterns that are offered by many sources. Some are from the designers themselves, or fabric manufacturers, or quilt/fabric stores. Many of these will have an actual section on their website dedicated just to the free content.
2) Blog posts are another great place to find everything from free patterns, tips and techniques, to some of the handiest "cheat sheets". I can't begin to tell you how many times I've used some of those charts. There are charts with fabric cutting sizes to make things like hst's, flying geese, and square in a square blocks. You can usually find these charts for a multitude of sizes and methods as well (single flying geese charts, or 4-at-a-time method for example). I find it handy to have some of the ones I commonly use printed off and in my sewing room so I don't have to keep looking them up.
Many fabric manufacturers even have a section of the website dedicated to free cheat sheets you can download. Click this link to see a great example of this on the Art Gallery Fabric site:
3) One resource that I often use is the Robert Kaufman Quilting Calculator app on my phone or tablet. If you haven't ever used it I highly recommend that you check it out. It is totally free and user friendly. Ever wonder how much fabric you need to cut 100 pieces measuring 2.5x4.5???? Just plug it into the "Pieces to Yardage" section of the calculator:
Of course there are a lot more sections to the app, but I use this one and the section that will calculate the fabric needed for borders the most (it even calculates the borders if you are putting multiple borders on the quilt!).
I love this free app, and it's simple to download by searching the app name wherever you access apps on your particular device. I found it in my Play Store on my Samsung device by searching "Robert Kaufman Quilting Calculator".
I love that I can have this on my phone, comes in really handy when you are in a quilt store trying to figure out how much fabric to buy!
4) I don't know how many times I've seen a picture online of a beautiful quilt or quilt block and discovered the pattern is not available to purchase but was featured as a free pattern in a quilting magazine. And of course.........you obviously don't have the magazine, right? Well many libraries in larger areas have an extensive collection of older magazines. Or how many second hand book stores have you seen with piles of old magazines? These can be great places to find and revive older patterns that cannot currently be purchased anywhere. Many of these were never available for purchase but could only be found in that particular magazine issue.
And don't forget that libraries will probably have quilting books too, both pattern and technique books!
5) Facebook is also a great place to find free resources. Many quilting designers, or quilt stores have groups and pages that have great file sections with free patterns, tips for using certain notions etc...
But an often overlooked resource on Facebook is the different brand sewing machine groups. There are groups for almost every type of sewing machine: Juki, Pfaff, Bernina, Featherweights, Janome......... They are great places to troubleshoot a problem you may be having with your machine, or if you can't figure out how to use certain features, there are often videos walking you through it step by step.
6) And we certainly can't forget You Tube! It is a never-ending source for inspiration, free patterns, how-to video's, demo's of both techniques and or quilting notions. It is so easy to watch a video that shows you step by step how much fabric to cut, the piecing directions, as well as tips for easiest construction. Not to mention that many of the quilting channels have fun sewalongs that you can follow each week or month. Even if you aren't living close to other quilting pals or a quilting guild you can still be part of a guilting group with like minded interests.
You can find channels from small stores like Quilts by the Bay to huge companies like Missouri Star Quilt Company. And the options are endless, if you don't like the first one you try, keep looking. I have a few I've tried but for one reason or another they didn't keep my interest.....but I sure have a bunch I love to follow. Nothing better than putting on a good video in your sewing room to keep you company while you sew.
Once you start delving into some of these resources you will find a ton of information and it constantly has new content added. So many neat things right at our fingertips!
Twila
Click the You Tube link below to drop by the Quilts by the Bay Channel if you haven't already done so!
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