My Favorite Quilting Supplies
If you are new to quilting, or looking to expand your supplies, I thought I’d share some of my favorite tools! This page contains affiliate links. I receive a small compensation (at no cost to you) if you purchase an item through the link. All recommended items are things I use and I did not receive them in exchange for any promotion. I bought them myself because I love them and hope you will too.
Self-Healing Cutting Mat, 24"x36"
Quilting involves a lot of fabric cutting on a flat surface, and a large self-healing cutting mat will make life much easier. At a minimum, I’d recommended 12” x 18”. If you have the space, a 24” x 36” mat is ideal.
Rotary Cutter, Olfa, 45mm
Olfa rotary cutters are my preferred brand. They come in various sizes, but the 45mm is my go-to. It’s not too big, not too small, and works for cutting and trimming straight lines as well as curves. This one in particular feels nice and ergonomic in my hand.
If you are looking to expand your collection of rotary cutters, you can add a 60mm larger rotary cutter, or a 28mm smaller rotary cutter for more detailed cuts.
Quilting Rulers
I could probably write an entire blog post about rulers. My two favorite brands are Omnigrid and Creative Grids. Although it’s easy to get carried away by getting all the rulers, the sizes I recommend most for getting started are 6” x 24” and 6-1/2” x 6-1/2”. Sometimes it’s cost effective to buy your rulers in kits, but I will be honest, I do not use the super small rulers. A 12-1/2” x 12-1/2” ruler can be handy for quickly squaring up quilt blocks.
For cutting curves, I absolutely love my friend Jen’s set of acrylic templates.
Dritz Straight Pins and Clover Wonder Clips
I like having both straight pins and Clover Wonder Clips handy. Believe it or not, not all straight pins are created equally. Some ball tops pop right off, and some feel too thick for me. I really like these Dritz yellow ball top pins. A magnetic pin cushion is also a handy addition.
Although most of my basic pinning of simple quilting will use straight pins, if I’m working with a bulky seam or bag making, I will turn to my Wonder Clips.
BLACK+DECKER Digital Advantage Professional Steam Iron
I have gone through a lot of irons. A lot. Basically all the big name quilting iron brands. I’m not going to name names, but most have lasted a year. Looking at my Amazon order history, I know I bought this BLACK+DECKER Digital Advantage Professional Steam Iron 4 years ago (in 2017) and it’s still going strong. It gets heavy use and I don’t have any leaking problems or mechanical failures. That’s basically a glowing review for an iron!
For traveling, I have a little Steamfast portable iron which is HOT. I’ve also had it for several years (since 2014!), and it still works great.
Something new I’ve recently added to my sewing space is a Wool Pressing Mat. I’m told it may be life changing…time will tell!
Dritz Quilting Curved Safety Pins
Yes, I pin baste my quilts. You can even find my tutorial here! I use Dritz curved safety pins. The slight curve in the pin makes it easy to grab the fabric.
Reasons I prefer pin basting to spray basting: you can reuse pins endless times, you don’t get sticky gunk all over everything, you aren’t breathing in spray baste, and I personally get much better results. If you must spray baste, I recommend Odif 505 Spray and Fix Temporary Fabric Adhesive.
Aurifil 50WT - Natural White, Solid - Mako Cotton Thread
For piecing and quilting, I rely heavily on Aurifil 50WT white thread. It works wonderfully with my BERNINA sewing machine and typically blends nicely in with my favorite fabrics.
If you plan to go through a lot of thread, there is a cost savings to get the cone. You will need a thread stand for that, and I have an inexpensive but very sturdy one myself.
OLFA Precision Smooth Edge Scissors
It may sound silly, but I’m basically obsessed with these little trimming scissors. I keep them next to my sewing machine to have handy when I need to cut the thread between chain stitched components, and whatever else is hanging off my stitching that shouldn’t be there.
Grabaroo Quilting Gloves
Quilting gloves…in particular THESE Grabaroo quilting gloves…are one of those things that I would have never thought I needed until I had them. Then I suddenly couldn’t quilt without them. If you’ve quilted anything on a home machine, you know it can be hard to grab and maneuver your fabric. These make the process so much easier. I’ve tried several, and these are only brand I will use.
OttLite LED
Not to sound too old… I’m not sure about everyone else, but my eyes are not what they used to be! I have my sewing machine near a window, but still benefit from additional lighting. I have a few OttLites and love them all. My kids even have them on their desks in their rooms. And my husband at his work desk! Basically, everyone loves a good OttLite!
Sewing Machine
It’s probably quite obvious that I left off the most important tool for quilting…the sewing machine! That’s a huge discussion that has a lot of factors, from price to level of interest in quilting, applique, fashion, etc. When I first started quilting, I bought a Brother Sewing and Quilting Machine, CS6000i and that served me well while I was deciding just HOW much I wanted to get into the hobby.
I am a huge BERNINA fan, I even spent several years as a brand ambassador. I bought my BERNINA 440QEE in 2009 and I still can’t imagine my life without it. It just…works. Every time I sit down, I get a perfect stitch. No fuss, no muss. Completely worth every penny. My kids grew up sewing on it. I sew on it. It’s made endless quilts, clothes, and bags.
I also own the Eversewn Sparrow X machine which I bought as a backup sewing machine that also does embroidery. It connects to an app on my iPad and is actually pretty smooth and easy to use! I purchased embroidery files on Etsy and have stitched them up with no problems.
The 440QE machine has been replaced by BERNINA since the time I purchased it, but I recommend visiting your local sewing machine dealers and test driving different machines to find the right fit for you.