1. Sewing machine. You'll need a sewing machine for most projects, or they'll soon become very time-consuming! ...

2. Threads.

3. Wadding or batting.

4. Steam iron.

5. Rotary cutter.

6. Cutting mat.

Patchwork typically involves four simple steps, and once you've got them, you are sorted.

1. Cutting. Before you start sewing pieces of fabric together, you've got to cut them up!

2. Piecing. Once your pieces are all cut out, it's time to piece (that's quilting talk for "sew") them together.

3. Pressing.

4. Square it up.

Today people generally make quilts for artistic, educational and social reasons like celebrating or commemorating an event. ... Over the last 300 years quilting and patchwork have moved in and out of fashion but in fact, during that time many wealthy people bought or made patchwork quilts themselves.

Patchwork is the art of sewing together pieces of fabric to form a pattern or block. When enough blocks have been made, they can be sewn together to form a quilt top. Quilting is the sewing together of the three layers that make up a quilt - the top, the central wadding, and the backing.

Patchwork is most often used to make quilts, but it can also be used to make bags, wall-hangings, warm jackets, cushion covers, skirts, waistcoats and other items of clothing. Some textile artists work with patchwork, often combining it with embroidery and other forms of stitchery.

Sewing Skills and Techniques to Master

• Know how to press (and do it often) Although both involve an iron, pressing is different from ironing.

• Staystitching. Staystitching prevents distortion to curves.

• Clipping corners and curves.

• Seam finishes.

• Hems.

• Using a rotary cutter.

• Fussy cutting.

• Bar tacks.

Sewing requires creativity, which improves the brain's ability to grow new brain cells. As mental deterioration is a result of lost connection between neurons, sewing promotes mental growth.

Sewing gives you power over a limited decorating budget. It opens creativity when you sew a simple garment. Over time, sewing can save you money by providing a means for making gifts. And, it ensures unlimited possibilities for repurposing almost anything made from fabric.

Hand stitches have many uses. Before the sewing machine, garment-making was done exclusively by hand. ... Depending on the stitch and its use, some techniques require double thread (sewing on a button, or securing hooks/eyes and snaps), but most are worked with single thread.