There are some art and craft forms which provide not only a means to spend leisure time in a pleasant manner but also indulge in some interaction with the community. Quilting is one such community hobby. Not that quilting should always be a group activity! Quilts are some of the best gift options. Quilts could have a story behind them as well. In the movie ‘Stepmom’, Susan Sarandon gifts her children quilts for her last Christmas. She stitches photographs of her kids on the quilt taking them through their life’s special moments. Quilts have a special personal touch to them. Quilts are now becoming popular for their aesthetic value as well.

Quilting is done for wall hangings, bed spreads and other clothing. Typically quilting is done in three layers: the top fabric (quilt top), the insulating material and backing material. It involves making a running or a straight stitch across the entire piece. The stitches could be decorative or purely functional. You have hand quilting and machine quilting as well. While in the former a quilting hoop or a frame is used to help the process of stitching machine quilting you use a sewing machine. In hand quilting, the stitch can be in one running stitch at a time; rocking stitch involving the quilter wears a thimble on one finger and puts this hand on the quilt and the other hand pushes the needle back up; four or more stitches are made and then the needle is pulled through the cloth in ‘loading the needle’. Longarm quilting is a type of machine quilting in which the layers are placed in a quilting frame and the frames are used with a platform mounted professional sewing machine. This machine is moved across the fabric although in normal machine quilting the fabric is moved. Tying is a process in which the different cloth layers are tied together and not actually stitched. Square knots guarantee that the quilts maybe used without the knots coming off.

Quilting involves selecting a pattern, then a fabric and batting. Now you need to measure and cut the pieces to form blocks and then piecing together the cut fabric (hand stitching or machine stitching). You then make a “quilt sandwich” with the batting, backing and the insulating middle layer. You finally stitch the three layers and trim the extra from the edges.

In patchwork quilting, the top layer has a design formed by stitching pieces together. This is a good way to use up the scraps of cloth remaining from some other craft expedition of yours. The quilter could make the stitching obvious by using bright and a colorful combination of threads. It is also possible to make quilting ‘disappear’ by means of nylon or polyester thread. This form of needlework is combined with appliqué, embroidery, and patchwork. Satin, polished silk, and other embellishments could also be used.

Echo quilting is a Hawaiian quilting in which quilting is done around an appliquéd top and then the quilting is repeated around the previous round of stitching. Watercolor quilting involves putting together similar sized prints to form a picture. Ralli quilting is a form of Indian quilting in which animals, trees floral motifs and waves dominate. The lives of the people who make these quilts are woven into the quilts. The patterns and colors symbolize the mysticism of the East. The Japanese Sashiko quilting uses a white cotton thread on an indigo blue cloth. The running stitch is often used only for decorative purposes.

There are many sites to help you get started on quilting. It is necessary that you choose the right type of quilt depending on where it shall be placed and what it would be used for. The person using it should also be considered; the quilt should not be in a terrible contrast with the user. You can choose colors, materials and the method of quilting accordingly. You don’t want a quilt for your 80 year old grandmother to be loud and gaudy. You could also try the design on a sheet of paper before starting on the quilt. Use warm colors for creating an exciting and a stimulating effect. Cool colors are soothing and calming. Placing contrasting colors makes the light color appear bigger. Add white to a color to give it a ‘tint’ and black to make it look ‘shade’y. There are also sites dedicated to quilting where fellow quilters share their experiences and leave behind tips for a newbie. Books on quilting  are also available.

The quilt fabric should be chosen to ensure that the fabric is colorfast. Wash the fabric before you use it to let the color bleed and thus it won’t affect the other material. Pre-washing also reduces the chances of shrinkage. 100% cotton is a good option for quilts; very rarely would you go wrong especially if you are relatively inexperienced in the field of quilting. Synthetics are difficult to deal with as they pucker along the seams. They offer more variety in terms of colors and texture. The backing material needs to be similar in weight and color as the quilt top. Having different materials could make the sewing process difficult. Buying a little more cloth than what you think is sufficient is a good option, especially if you are trying your hand at quilting for the first time. A finger cot placed on the index finger helps pull the needle easily.

There are quilt kits for the beginner who thinks it would be tough to quilt with no help at all. These kits contain information and how-to's on how to build your quilting skills. Some kits also contain material and needles of different sizes to help quilt a pillowcase, a bed spread among others. Kits for experienced quilters are also available. A bar soap or a candle could also be in the kit to help pass a threaded needle through to make stitching the different layers of fabric, easier.

If things go wrong, the best part about quilting is that the mistakes can often be ‘patched’. The stitches are very visible, you think. Don’t fret, take a piece of cloth and stitch over it. This could turn out to be better than you had initially planned. While you can change colors if you are not entirely happy, it wouldn’t be very nice to have to rework entirely.