Do you remember how comforting it felt to snuggle in your grandmother’s quilt? If you are interested in quilting, the most important quilting basic is choosing the right material. The material is the basis of the entire quilt.

There are many different types of material that you can use. Most quilting material is made from 100% cotton. Cotton is easy to work with, soft, durable and usually colors don’t bleed. These attributes make it the best material for quilting. There are other fabrics such as polyester and flannel. Flannel would be a good choice if you were making a baby quilt. Polyester and silk do not make good quilting materials because they can pucker and the color can bleed. It can get very confusing when trying to decide on color. You might want to start with a color you like and then blend some other colors that are lighter or darker. If you decide to use prints either use a mixture of scales or all with the same scale. In other words, use large prints, medium prints, and small prints in the same quilt or use only large, medium or small prints. If you use all large prints with one large scale print, the one large-scaled print would look out of proportion. You will also need to consider the fabric you use for the quilt backing. This fabric should be similar in fiber content and care to the fabric you use for the quilt top.

The main thing though is picking a fabric that you like, because you want something that you don’t mind looking at for a long time and you want to enjoy it.