Make Your Own Memory Quilt Tutorial – Testers Wanted

UPDATE Our ‘Make Your Own Memory Quilt’ tutorial package is now available to purchase! 

Patchwork Castle are offering a fantastic opportunity to three lucky people to test our new ‘Make Your Own Memory Quilt’ tutorial package!

About our Make Your Own Memory Quilt Tutorial Package

This Autumn we’ll be launching a fabulous support package to help you transform your treasured baby clothes into a beautiful keepsake memory quilt full of your precious memories and with love in every stitch.

We know that lots of our followers and visitors to our website would love to make their own quilt, but don’t always know where to start, or are looking for tips on working with clothing rather than new fabrics. Our Keepsake Memory Quilt Tutorial Package will be so much more than a pattern! You’ll get:

• guidance and advice on designing your quilt, with ‘done for you’ layout plans for ‘mosaic’ and ‘square patch’ designs
• clearly written and detailed instructions supported by lots of photographs and including the inside track on special techniques for working with baby and children’s clothes
• interactive support from Patchwork Castle founder and keepsake quilting expert Chris Tingay and other keepsake quilters via our invite only Facebook group.

Right now, we are looking for three testers who are ready to go and keen as mustard to create their own Keepsake Memory Quilt! 

Bonus Offer – just for our testers!

This is a fantastic opportunity to get exclusive early access to the first draft tutorial materials plus updates during development, and a complimentary copy of the final version when it’s launched.

Best of all you’ll get unprecedented access to intensive advice and support from Chris during the testing period through a membership only Facebook group, and also by personal email and telephone/Skype as needed. We’ll work through each stage of the process together. This level of personal support just won’t be available when the product is launched, and is a great chance to get the very best support and advice to make your quilt.

We are offering this opportunity because we need your feedback to make the final tutorial as good as it can be, and make sure we’ve covered everything that will help you to be successful in creating your gorgeous keepsake quilt.

The testing period will run from 1 September through to the 19 October (about 7 weeks). The first week will be about getting to know each other, and getting your materials and equipment together. You’ll then dive in to designing and making your quilt from 8 September.

What we ask in return

To benefit from this fabulous opportunity, you’ll need to:

• Have a pile of baby clothes and be raring to go
• Be enthusiastic about creating your memory quilt, and keen to make the most of the additional support available to our testers
• Be prepared to give weekly updates (including photos) via the closed Facebook group, provide feedback and a testimonial, and be happy for these to be shared as part of our future marketing activity
• Be ready to start work on your crib, cot or cot-bed sized memory quilt at the start of September, and able to give enough time to it to get it finished during the 6 week period (realistically a minimum of 25 hours in total)
• Have and know how to use a sewing machine (you don’t have to be an experienced sewer but basic sewing machine skills are assumed in the tutorial)
• Have (or be willing to purchase) the core equipment and materials to make your quilt (see list at the bottom of the page)
• You’ll also be asked to sign a disclaimer regarding copyright and reselling

To apply

So if this is you then get in touch by filling out the form below! Only applications made using this form will be accepted.  Applications close on 30 August and we’ll be selecting the final three by 1 September.

If you have any questions before sending the form then please contact Chris on [number removed] or by email to studio@patchworkcastle.co.uk

If you’ve not already joined our Make Your Own mailing list and you’d like to keep up to date on developments with the Tutorial Package then sign up here.

Thanks so much for your interest and look forward to hearing from you!

Sorry – applications are now closed.  

Materials and Equipment List

We will cover the best materials and equipment to use in some detail during the ‘getting started’ section of the Tutorial. You’ll need to have your baby clothes, a sewing machine and other basic sewing equipment ready but don’t rush out to buy anything else just yet!

We can supply interfacing, backing fabric and wadding (the ones we use at Patchwork Castle) at a discounted price to our testers.

Materials

• A selection of baby and children’s clothing. Add in some plain or patterned new fabric if you don’t have quite enough. Recommended amounts Crib – 15-20 items, Cot – 20-25 items, Cot Bed 25-30 items
• Sewing thread
• Medium weight iron on interfacing (Vilene)
• Your choice of backing fabric. 100% cotton patchwork fabric is best but you can use an old duvet cover or similar if you wish.
• Quilt wadding suitable for quilting up to 10” apart* – we prefer 100% cotton wadding but there are a wide variety of waddings available. *When you purchase quilt wadding it should state the maximum quilting distance. Many cheaper types of quilt wadding require quilting closer than 10”. If you choose to use this then you may need to adjust your layout to reflect this, or to quilt across any patches that are too large.

Equipment

• Sewing machine – a good basic domestic machine is great for making patchwork quilts, especially smaller sized ones
• Even feed or walking foot for your sewing machine (recommended but not essential)
• Small scissors for snipping threads
• Sewing pins
• Safety pins for basting – larger curved ones specially designed for basting are easiest to use
• Masking tape – for holding down the backing fabric while basting your quilt
• Iron and ironing board

To cut out your fabrics you need:

• A rotary cutter, large acrylic ruler or acrylic templates, and a self-healing mat. (Recommended – especially for the Mosiac Designs)

OR

• Good quality large fabric scissors
• Template materials (template plastic/cardboard (a cereal box will do), a long ruler with marking in inches, a pencil and scissors for cutting cardboard/plastic.
• A suitable fabric marking pencil or tailors chalk