This post is part of my Quilt-A-Long / Learn to Quilt With Me Series (if you’re on social media, remember to hashtag it: #QuiltingAlongWithTamara). See the first post in the series for the overview and links to the rest of the posts in the series.
After ordering fabric, I went on to order all of the quilting supplies I needed. . .
What I didn’t fully think about when ordering fabric was that I would need all of those quilting supplies too. Well, my mistake — hopfully you can learn from that and think more ahead than I did! It would have been great to get them all from fabric.com since I had that free shipping, but alas, I had to do a separate order. As it turns out, Fabric.com is great for fabric, and Craftsy (now Bluprint) or JoAnns or Amazon are better for ordering supplies anyways.
The following are some basic quilting supplies that are recommended, which can all be purchased from Amazon.com, Jo-Ann Fabrics or Craftsy (now Bluprint).
SEWING MACHINE
Of course you’ll need a sewing machine too, but I guess I kind of assumed that if you were learning to sew you already had a sewing machine. There are tons of other blogs that have posted suggestions for what sewing machines are good to purchase and which ones aren’t — especially for beginners. I suggest you start there. Since I already have a sewing machine, I didn’t have to purchase one to start quilting.
ROTARY CUTTER
You’ll need a rotary cutter to cut the fabric. I would recommend a 45mm — not that I really know yet, but from my research and reading that seems to be the one to get. You can get one of these from any one of the following places. I am totally a comparison shopper because I always want to try and get the best deal, so compare away!
- Rotary Cutters on Craftsy (now Bluprint) — here or here or here
- Rotary Cutters on Amazon — here or here or here
- Rotary Cutters on Fabric.com
- JoAnn Fabrics — here or here or here
You may also want to purchase some rotary blade refills while you’re there.
- Craftsy (now Bluprint) has some by Olfa
- So does Amazon.com
- And JoAnn Fabrics
SEWING SCISSORS
I already had these since I had sewn before, but if you don’t have these below are a few possibilities. Keep in mind, for basic quilting, you just need basic scissors, not pinking shears.
- Sewing scissors available on Craftsy (now Bluprint)
- Sewing scissors available at JoAnn Fabrics
- Sewing scissors available on Amazon
SELF-HEALING CUTTING MAT
I got an 18in x 24in cutting mat.
- Self-healing cutting mats on Craftsy (now Bluprint) by Olfa
- Self-healing cutting mats on JoAnn Fabrics — here or here or here or here
- Self-healing cutting mats on Amazon
QUILTING RULER
I got a 6in x 24in ruler
- Quilting rulers on Craftsy (now Bluprint) — here or here
- Quilting rulers on JoAnn Fabrics here or here or here or here
- Quilting rulers on Amazon
While you’re buying a ruler, you might also want to get “ruler grippy” things (not sure what else to call them) . . . you stick them on the back of your ruler so that the ruler doesn’t slip around. See below for a few options.
- Quilting ruler “grippys” on Amazon — here or here
- Quilting ruler “grippys” on JoAnn Fabrics
SEAM RIPPER
- Seam rippers on Craftsy (now Blueprint) — here or here or here or here
- Seam rippers on Amazon
- Seam rippers from JoAnn Fabrics
STRAIGHT PINS
From reading it seams somewhere around size 30 and the glass head ones with the little round ball at the top are really nice.
- Straight Pins on Craftsy
- Straight Pins from JoAnn Fabrics
- Straight Pins on Amazon
THREAD
- Thread on Craftsy
- Thread from JoAnn Fabrics
BASTING PINS
Basting Pins are curved safety pins.

- Craftsy sells these — Collins Nickel Brass Curved Safety Pin, 1 1/16 Inch, Size 1, 100ct
- Basting / curved safety pins on Amazon — here (60 Count Quilt Pro Curved Safety Pins in Small Flower Case, Nickel Plated Steel) or here (Dritz Quilting Curved Basting Pins, Size 1, 50 Count, Steel)
- Basting / curved safety pins on JoAnn Fabrics — here (60 Count Quilt Pro Curved Safety Pins in Small Flower Case, Nickel Plated Steel) or here (Dritz Steel Curved Basting Pins 50pcs, Size 1)
SOME SORT OF CHALK MARKER
- Amazon has the Clover Hera Marker
- JoAnn Fabrics also has the Clover Hera Marker
- Here it is on Craftsy too
If you want to make it a little bit easier on yourself, you can get a starter kit.
- Craftsy has a starter kit
- JoAnn Fabrics has a couple of starter kits — here and here
- Amazon has a starter kits here
That’s it! Once you’ve made all of your purchases, you just have to wait for all of it to arrive and you’re ready to get started quilting. 🙂
Stay tuned for Part 5 once all of my fabrics and supplies arrive!
Leave a comment below or if you’re making a quilt, remember tag me on Instagram (@YarnAndChocolate) or Facebook Facebook.com/YarnAndChocolate and to use the hashtag #QuiltingAlongWithTamara.
Cheers,
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