Hi , 

Check out this awesome practice quilting sandwich you can make for under $20 at Walmart! I found precut 1, 2, 3, and 4 yard cuts of cotton fabric which are easy to load on any quilting frame to practice longarm quilting!

How It Works

I admit - I don't like to waste fabric, and certainly not expensive fabric I buy specifically for new quilt projects. With these precut yardage packs from Walmart, the purpose is to practice quilting - that's it! The best thing is I don't have to piece or fuss with the fabrics. Here's how I prep up my practice quilting sandwich: 

• 1 yard solid precut fabric pack is the quilt top - just give this a starch and press to remove wrinkles. If you want to simulate a quilt, use a ruler to mark blocks, sashing, borders, and different shapes as desired. 
• 2 yard solid precut fabric pack is the quilt backing - On a hoop frame, I'll load this with the narrow side parallel to the rails. On a rolling rail frame, I typically load the long side parallel to the rails so I have more space to play. 

You will have extra fabric, which you can rip off and use for another practice quilting sandwich.

Batting that Won't Break the Bank

Brushed or Anti-Pill Fleece is the practice quilt batting - These are precut packs with 1.5 yards of fleece and they work GREAT! Again, you'll need to trim a bit off to fit, and make sure to load the stretchier side of the fleece parallel to the rails of the frame. 

Why? Because if you load it the other way, the fleece will get overly stretched by the tension on the quilting frame and when you take the quilt off, it will shrivel up like a raisin. (Ask me how I figured this out... yes, the hard way). 

While I was demonstrating this practice quilting sandwich on quilting frames, please know that you can use this for ANY style of quilting on any type of quilting setup. Having solid, darker fabric for practice quilting is a key to mastering free motion quilting, ruler quilting, computer quilting and more.

Why darker, solid fabric? You can see what you're doing on this fabric and where you need improvement. I recommend quilting with white thread so you can see your stitches and again, improve with each design you stitch. 

Click here to find a huge library of quilting designs to play with. 

Beginners Guide to Longarm Quilting

Are you curious about longarm quilting and wondering what's involved, how it works, and how to get started? Click Here to find my Beginner Longarm Quilting Guide.
 

In this beginner's guide, I share three free videos, plus lots of things to think about if you are new to longarm quilting. From setting up your machine to choosing the right thread and tension, all the essentials are covered to ensure your first stitches are perfect. 

Click Here to read this beginner longarm quilting post.

Get the BEST deal on QCT 6 in November

Quilter's Creative Touch is on sale for 30% off the regular price through November. Just in case you're waiting for Black Friday to Cyber Monday - this deal won't suddenly get better the day after Thanksgiving. You have the whole month to take advantage of this discount on computerized quilting.

Get started with the basics - QCT 6 edge-to-edge quilting for just $2099.30 This simplest version of QCT can quilt edge-to-edge pantographs only. It's designed to help you cover your quilt with a single design very quickly stitched from left to right across your quilt.

Choose from over 100 built-in designs, set your safe area, then place the design on your quilt. New alignment guides in QCT 6 make it easier to quilt pantographs on a hoop frame - even when shifting the quilt side to side.

Click Here to learn more about Quilter's Creative Touch 6

So Much Accessories for Free

For the rest of the year, Grace Company is including a free accessory kit with all Qnique Longarms and Little Rebel Sewing Machine that includes over $1300 of quilting tools and accessories:

Accessories include:

• Luminess Light Bar (small for Hoop Frames, Large (10-foot) size for rolling rail frames)
• 2 packs of 2-inch Mini Quilt Clips
• Ultimate Cutting Collection - this kit includes a 45mm Comfort Cutter, 5-pack of 45mm Blades, 24 x 36” Cutting Mat, 24 x 36” Non-Slip Pad, 360 Circle Cutter, Equilateral Triangle Ruler, Right Angle Triangle Ruler, Kite Triangle Ruler, 3 x 18” Ruler, 6½ x 24½” Ruler, 6½ x 12½” Ruler, 6½” Square Ruler, 9½” Square Ruler, 12½” Square Ruler, TrueGrips x5
• 2 packs of Circle Cutter Blades
• TrueSharp 2 Power Blade Sharpener
• Linear Blade Sharpener
• 4 additional packs of TrueGrips

With this kit of quilting gear, you'll have the light to see AND be able to cut and piece fantastic new quilts in 2025. Click Here to shop for quilting machines.

I hope you'll hit your local Walmart and pick up the supplies needed for a practice quilt sandwich. Practicing quilting is a great way to build new skills and gain confidence in quilting your quilts yourself. 

Be looking forward to my upcoming video as I share 9 Beginner Quilting Designs that will be a great first choice for quilting your first quilt with a longarm machine.

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day