Good Morning, Quilters!
Let’s get right into it….
What’s YOUR opinion on quilt kits?
I’m of two minds…
Sometimes I think– Why re-invent the wheel? When you’re drawn to a quilt because it is perfect…why not just buy the kit?
On the other hand, if someone has already made the perfect quilt (and created the pattern) —why copy?–why not try to be original?
I have made several “kit quilts”. Here are my criteria:
- I will buy a kit when I am learning a new technique (like the Baltimore Album quilt-Friends of Baltimore project I am working on). For this quilt, I wanted to focus on learning complex appliqué and not on choosing fabrics, etc.
- I will buy a kit if it requires a lot of fabric that I don’t normally keep in my stash. (Wool or 30’s for example.)
- I will buy a kit when it’s on sale–even if I am not sure if I will make it. (Impulse buy–not smart–don’t do this!)
- I will buy a kit when I don’t want to think too much but I want to be assured of good results…perhaps for a quilt retreat weekend.
OPEN LINE FRIDAY
What about YOU? Do you ever buy quilt kits? Do you prefer kits? How do you decide?
Do you have any links to fun kits? (I’m an enabler…–so much for The Big Three!)
We’d LOVE to hear!
Happy Stitches!
Lori
PS…This entire post is a grand justification for me just purchasing The Gravity Kit here…Anyone want to play along??? (Guilt loves company!)-
–My sister made me do it (Criteria Excuse #5)
PPS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
150 comments
elizajane120
I like kits because sometimes I don’t want to think about colors and fabric choices. It’s a time saver for me. Oh, I am lusting after the gravity kit! I’m anxious to hear about that one.
Terry Chase
Thats the idea a friend and I are working on.
Lori Kennedy
Cute Halloween kit!
Mary
Many reasons for buying a kit- learning a new technique is high on the list. When you live in an area that does not have quilt shops/fabric stores with a large selection of quality quilting fabrics and your quilt requires say 8 or 10 coordinating fabrics, a kit is a quick solution to getting started.
Lee Franklin
I buy kits mostly when there are lots of small pieces, like Toni Whitney patterns. For larger quilts I like to pick my own fabrics.
Kathy Dittmaier
Auditioning fabrics for a quilt is my favorite part of quilting, however if there is a kit out there that speaks to me, I’ll take it home. It has to have all the colors that are me and will fill my creative side.
Cmkamon@gmail.com
I like to make my own choices & decisions. I like the ‘what if’ factor of creating. I don’t like duplicating.
LymaLu
I love kits. But, like fabric, it’s easy to acquire too many.
WordPress.com Support
Agreed!
Dorian
I will only buy a kit if I like every single print in it. I figure, why buy fabric if I don’t really like it? Besides, I love choosing fabrics for a project 🙂
L2V
I tend to buy quilt kits when I don’t want to think about it too much, or if there is just the perfect quilt that I need in those exact colours. I’m also not that confident when it comes to pulling fabrics for quilts- I’ve done some “off” quilts and a kit assures me of the end product. I do both, but when there’s a sale on…….
Mary Beanland
I don’t buy kits as I love the creative part of designing too much to just copy……however, I am very fond of ‘charm packs’ and fabric line packs when I want to get an easy/affordable and varied palette to use….I sometimes feel like this is ‘cheating’ as it is a (wonderful!) short cut to getting great results (I mix it up so it is NOT too ‘coordinated). But I am addicted! Plus, it is a far healthier addiction than alternatives 🙂
Susan
I don’t buy lots of kits . I have bought several and been happy with each. The kits were very generous with their fabric. I like to choose my own fabrics- I hate to see a beautiful quilt in a show that is an unending dsplay of a single designers quilt. There is not much individual about some of these quilts, same colors and design over and over. It is so much more ingesting to see the same quilt done with lots of different fabric choices. I love the unveiling of our guild mystery quilts each heat. Different fabric choices, same pattern!
Snorre Fulson
I always wash my fabric first. If the kit is very carefully cut in order to avoid any waste at all, that’s going to be a problem.
And I’ve never yet seen a quilt that use precisely the colors I would have chosen. The only possible reason I’d think about a quilt is for a very small piece of a fabric in a color that’s not in my stash. But I’ve been quilting almost 30 years, so I almost always have what’s needed.
Jean
Sheila
I will purchase a kit if it’s “special”: a reminder of a trip taken, one that says a friend would love it, Mostly, I like to create one-of-a-kind quilts with fabric chosen specifically for that project and individual.
Susan
I have purchased a few small kits, but not large ones. Cost is a big factor for me. Also, when thinking about buying a kit, especially popular ones, I think about how many quilts are going to look alike; plus, I don’t always like the fabrics chosen for a kit.
I am a beginner quilter and I haven’t seen many kits that give the skill level required. Also, I think about the fact that most kits don’t have a lot of extra fabric for fixing mistakes and extra material usually isn’t available.
quiltbabe
I like them for gift quilts when the recipient and I don’t have the same style choices – no ending up with extra fabric that isn’t my taste.
I’ve also been known to buy a kit just for the fabric, especially if the kit is on sale. There’s no rule saying you *have* to make *that* quilt with the fabric, right? LOL.
Susan
Sometimes after an intense spell of original design, I just want to read the directions, cut and sew.
WordPress.com Support
Well said!
Terry Chase
Susan, that’s what we are working on. Make it in a day.
Pbee
#2 I love 30s prints, but had none, so I had to buy a kit to do the Farm Girl Vintage Quilt along. Once I went to 11 quilt shops to get the perfect fabrics for a small wall hanging and still wasn’t satisfied, so now I’m more apt to buy a kit and substitute for a fabric that I’m not nuts about and make it my own. Kits on sale are hard to resist. I can so see why you couldn’t resist the Gravity kit!! Keep up the great tutorials! Thank you.
Pat in WNY
Have never bought a kit, but have won a couple. First one requires fairly intricate paper piecing so I’ll most likely just use the fabric in other projects. The second one I’m about to turn the fabrics into a different quilt, I liked the pattern that came with the kit but not the fact that half the jelly roll would go unused. Guess I just like to do it my way, lol!
Anne Tinkel
I prefer not to buy kits. Many times, there are some fabrics I don’t care for, and I prefer to use fabrics from my stash. However, the Gravity quilt is absolutely awesome, and I could not replicate that with my stash fabrics!
Anne
Leah
I stopped buying kits after getting shorted on fabric 3 different times. Also discovered best to buy pattern & extra yardage in case I make a bobo!!
Hazel Spindler
I have purchased a quilt kit for any one of those reasons listed, in the past 20+ years, but now just purchase a pattern and pick out my own colors. I still have an unmade kit that I found I didn’t like after bringing it home and that’s when I decided not to do that anymore. An exception would be a small wool kit.
YANICKA
Never, I hate following someone else pattern…this is how I became a reluctant designer lol
terry
I’m a number 4. All the way.
Rosemaryflower
I have never bought a quilt kit in my whole life!!!!! and further more……. !
I see so many I would love to buy and make.
Well, I do print out patterns on my superb printer, almost daily, and if not daily, I make up for it the next day by printing out double.
So. I would like to try to make a quilt from a kit.
The Fat Quarter shop has some cuties
I put a couple of links and photos on my Amazon wish list…..
This stepping stones quilt looks super cute.
Our Fabric store quilt club had to break up because the fabric store (G Street Fabrics, based in the socialist republic of Maryland) closed it’s two branches in Virginia. I used to go to the quilt club at Centerville. This was a huge disappointment, but quite honestly they were not ordering and receiving the new good stuff regularly. So that was frustrating. G Street made this financial move because of the new healthcare law, obviously. Meh, I never liked them much because of their meager quilting fabric inventory.
So now we moved our group meetings to a new store The Quilters Studio in Fairfax
That place is Heaven on Earth. They have everything you could possibly imagine.Good thing they are a 35 minute drive in suburb traffic that requires a short excursion all the way to the Washington Beltway….
Oh and then we have WebFabrics in Purcellville, they are 20 minutes from my house…. They sell kits too.
Happy Friday.
Lori Kennedy
So many quilts…so little time!
Dee
I am a sucker for BOM kits love them all… Only need to think about them once a month and it seems affordable only once a month …haha!!! Yup I am in denial!!!
MaryP
I buy kits for the same reasons (2&3) you do. Sometimes I buy a kit because it is the combo of colors/prints that really makes me love it. BUT, on the other hand I have been quilting for 25 years and I don’t really like the idea of having the same quilt as 200 other quilters out there. Sometimes buying a kit is just too easy and maybe if I had to think too hard about it….choosing fabrics, etc. then maybe I didn’t really want to make that pattern after all. I have plenty of kits I have bought over the years that are still sitting on shelves. Arghh! So Kits….love or leave ’em….such a dilemma! Lol.
Beth
That’s one drop dead gorgeous quilt! You are tempting me… Another reason I would buy a kit like that, is that when it comes to so many colors with subtle gradations–I don’t really have access to shops that carry every single color of Kona or the like, so I would end up assembling the fabrics with online shopping–why not let someone else do the work!
Rose Landon
I almost never buy kits. I have to wash all my fabrics because I have sensitive skin and something in the prewashed fabric makes my skin crack and peel. Small price to pay to be able to make quilts. I also love to pick the fabrics out and play with color and doing my own thing no one else has done. I have to say I do love kits and think they would be great for someone with limited time and beginners.
Nik
Hi Lori, I’m with you on all of your 4 reasons. I just need several lifetimes to be able to complete all those that fall into the number 3 category 🙂
Lori Kennedy
Maybe we should do an exchange/trade/sale…?
Debora
I am not a big fan of kits, but that is primarily because choosing fabric is part of the fun for me. I know that is the worst part of the process for some quilters so purchasing a kit allows them to get right to the part they enjoy. I can see myself buying a kit if I really loved the project and then changing out just one or two small parts to make it my own. And I have been admiring the Gravity Quilt Kit too. I don’t have a sister to influence my quilt kit buying behavior, so we’ll see if I reach the tipping point on that kit. I’m not sure whether to thank you for the influence or not!
Vivian
I do like kits (including BOMs) for all the reasons you stated (#2 was how I got to work with Japanese Taupes). I also like kits for the fact that they are usually generous with the fabric required so if you don’t have a major cutting or piecing accident, you usually have enough left over to use as starter for another project or to add to your general stash. Even with a kit, there’s always room to change up something or have fun with how you quilt or embellish it to make a patterned quilt your own. So there’s still a lot of room for creativity even if you work from someone else’s base design
Terry Chase
Lori,
We are a brand new team designing make-In-a-day kits. http://AmazingAppliques.com. Both my design-partner and I have been frustrated by other kits leaving out essential parts. Our kits are complete down to batting, backing, and even the sleeve. Our idea is that when you open our kit package you don’t suddenly have to run out to the LQS because, for example, you don’t have enough batting or a suitable color for backing. Just started the idea. Fingers crossed. Appreciate your asking about this.
Lori Kennedy
I definitely think you are on to something. It’s nice to start and finish a project in one day–no UFOs!
Trish
I love to buy quilt kits, but I realize that I have many that are sitting around in their packaging, unmade. They tend to fall to the bottom of my to do list. Maybe I don’t like them as much as I think I do!
Carol
I have an art degree and could be quite the snob about kits… but I am not! There is ample opportunity to make the kit your own– swap out colors, add embroidery, quilting is usually left entirely up to you anyway. I enjoy them as much as I do creating my own pieces. Judy Niemeyer’s stars and Lori Holt’s Farm Girl Vintage are on my bucket list!
Lori Kennedy
I agree–there are plenty of ways to “make it your own.”
Ness
These really got me when I first started quilting a few years ago! I am with you on the sale impulse kit that is now in the shuffled around what was I thinking pile! I do not even look at them now but….I also am working on a quilt in a book for Christmas out of the exact fabric…first time ever and it has been fun, fast and I love everything about it so…no brainer is fun too! I bought the yardage though and am not stressed about messing up and not being able to find the fabric.
Lori Kennedy
I have a room full of “what was I thinking?”–I think we should do an Open Line Friday on that topic!
Mary
I shy away sometimes because have not had enough fabric in kit. Sometimes it takes me awhile to do the project.
Rowena
I feel that if you like the pattern and want to make it yourself, then the simplest is to buy the kit, (might be cheaper anyway – less waste). You can always make it your’s by either modifying the layout to some extent or with the quilting.
Brenda Powers
Kits are my favorite! I have trouble settling on a particular pattern, and then once decided, auditioning fabric overwhelms me. I don’t like looking for the perfect fabric, and why should I when it’s already there in a kit? BOM are my favorite!
Kitty
I am hesitant about buying kits because I have run into problems in the past. For example, I bought a kit that had a fabric with small squares that needed to be straightened out before cutting the piece. By straightening the fabric out there wasn’t’ t enough fabric to cut the needed piece. Fortunately, the quilt shop made it right and mailed me another piece. I also worry if I make a mistake in cutting that I won’t be able to get additional fabric.
June Neigum
I have bought one kit at a quilt show and it still is on the shelf. I like the process of choosing my own fabrics and it gives me another excuse to go fabric shopping to choose the right piece for my “one of a kind” quilt. I always seem to change a pattern up some how so it is my own.
Jacqui VMS
Lol Lori! I totally share your sentiments, but do occasionally buy a kit, but almost always add something or change it (or leave the kit in the UFO drawer for years and years!). I do buy a kit sometimes when it’s on a really good sale, put the pattern in my files and put the fabric into my stash (often with Kona solids or batiks). Great way to build up a stash. I’m also a sucker for scrap bags and I need scraps like I need a hole in the head. Is there any cure to this? 🙂
Lori Kennedy
Yes…buy more!
Jacqui VMS
Ha ha…that’s what I usually do 🙂
Barb Sutton
I’ve just over come my quilt-kit phobia. My first will be a Quilt of Valor, designer was Aunt to one of my brave warriors that deployed 3 times.
Mary C
I am similar in thought to you. I do buy kits if I really, really like the pattern and color scheme. Sometimes, I can grab a kit from my stash and start/complete something rather quick so I get my mojo going again. It all depends on my mood.
Moki
I do both. If a quilt kit speaks to me, which they often do, I buy it!
Jean Olsen
I prefer to buy fabric on my own rather than in a kit. That way I can personalize my choices.
June Neigum
Oh, forgot to add that I can’t wait to see what you do with the quilting aspect of this quilt. It is beautiful and bright.
Brenda
Lori, I’ve only been quilting for about 10 yrs. and still consider myself a new quilter despite the fact that I’ve been actively sewing in all forms for 53 yrs! I am confident in choosing my own fabrics and have never purchased a kit. I’ll admit to having to replace an occasional original choice of fabric, but usually my original choices stand. This is just a personal choice and would never judge anyone who does purchase a kit. I always look at the kits but have yet to find one that strikes my fancy.
Mary Hoffman
Thanks for the morning laugh, Lori.
I buy kits for two reasons: 1. I need a quick quilt to give as a gift. Don’t have time to do my usual mulling over perfect fabric combinations. Just need to get ‘er done! 2. BOM wool kits, like Timeless Treasures ‘In the Garden’. The monthly kit is easy and small enough for me to take along when I travel. I have the pieces cut and ready in a small pouch tucked into my carry on. I find hand applique with wool very relaxing on long flights. I’ve just finished the 2nd BOM, and excited to start a 3rd right after Christmas.
Lori
I’m starting the ‘Vintage Farm Girl’ BOM this month. When are you starting ‘Gravity’? I may join you!?!? I just live across the creek from you. “E” is open!!! YAY!!!!
Leanne Spicer
I bought them early on. That’s how I learned to quilt. Then as I became more confident, I started picking out my own colors and patterns. But I still see some beautiful kits out there!
Eze
Yea for kits! I’ve only been sewing and quilting for three years so I’m still building my stash. Kits are a great way to get started. Most of the projects I do now are from my stash. Mostly. I still buy kits if the fabrics blow me away or to learn something new.
katyquilts
I’ve purchased two quilt kits. The first one I got bored with and changed the pattern. The other I bought for the fabric and never considered completing it as intended. Having said that, I think they can be great for a beginner. For what it’s worth, I’ve never bought a pattern either and prefer books with pictures over patterns any day. I enjoy the puzzle of figuring things out on my own.
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