Have you seen the fabric that is printed to look like a quilt top? Many quilters refer to it as “cheater fabric,” but it can actually be a handy tool of sorts for the beginning quilter.
Preprinted quilt tops are generally found with baby quilt prints, but if you look, you can find fabric that can be used as a full quilt top or large throw. Either size can give the beginning quilter some needed practice.
If you cannot find cheater fabrics in your local craft store, you can find them at various sites online. As with any fabric, if buying from an online auction, ask to determine how old the fabric is and what conditions in which it has been stored.
Before anyone gasps about a quilting teacher leading a beginner to cheater fabric, think about the practicality of it. If you invest time and money in piecing a quilt top, but do not have any experience quilting, wouldn’t you like to practice before you start on your own project?
Using cheater fabric allows the new quilter to practice all the skills that quilting a pieced work would. For instance, the cheater fabric still allows practice for quilting in the ditch. Simply use the edges of the print design as your “seam.” You can also practice quilting as an outline around the design.
Quilting on cheater fabric is also good experience for hand quilters who are practicing stitch consistency. In addition to getting in some sewing practice, the new quilter still produces a totally usable quilt.
Machine quilters can really feel free to experiment on cheater fabric. These panels are a great place to practice various techniques specific to machine quilting. Trace a template design onto the cheater fabric and practice free arm quilting. What a great place to practice your stippling technique, too.
If you have traditionally been a hand quilter and want to give machine quilting a try, cheater fabric quilts are wonderful practice. Using the cheater fabric as your quilt top, you will still sandwich it with batting and backing. If you have never had to work a quilt sandwich through your sewing machine before, this is a great way to learn. If you make a mistake, you can always remove the stitches. If the mistake isn’t one seen until the entire quilt is finished, you can still use it and learn from the experience without feeling like you have wasted a ton of time and money.
Perhaps you are an experience quilter who wants to learn a new technique. Why not try it out on cheater fabric? Maybe you have become interested in thread painting or other forms of quilt embellishing. If you have always quilted with neutral threads and want to Practice on cheater panels just makes sense. Trapunto is another technique an experienced quilter might like to practice on a cheater panel.
If you are a great quilt piecer and quilter, but have trouble adding binding, cheater fabric is a great way to practice that skill, too. Get your cheater fabric, put the quilt together, then practice your binding technique. Experiment with folding the back toward the front to make a self binding quilt. Also, practice adding bought or made binding to the edges. The cheater fabric is also a great way to practice adding fringes or other trims to the edge.
Cheater fabric can also be used for more than practice. Maybe you need a quick quilt gift. Or, maybe the cheater fabric is a perfect match for a friend’s nursery. Cheater fabric definitely has its place in the world of quilting.
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This turned out to be one of quilting daughter Stephanie's favorite quilts. It was made using the pre-printed fabric for the front and then a fluffy fabric on the back - no batting included. The backing was rolled onto the front and then machine stitched in place. The only quilting was done on the machine between each of the "blocks." She loved the quilt, and I didn't mind that she took it on camping trips and dragged it around - it didn't take long to make and didn't represent a masterpiece. |
Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
Master Quilter
