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
Shar
Hi, Lori and followers,
An interesting topic for sure! My problem with quilt kits is that I always find something I want to change around. I want to put the blue fabric in the squares, not the triangles or I think another block is better in this place, etc. I did see a quilt kit in the 90s that I almost bought by Judy Hooworth (Australian), but I did not have the money at the time and I must have been better disciplined then(?). I did buy a little penny rug kit a year or so ago and cut it all out but have not started on it – and now I think I’m going to change it all around. That’s why I have not bought a quilt kit! That being said, I think quilt designers are brilliant and have the idea down pat!
Diane
Before buying a kit, I do the math…..
Maisie
I was looking at that kit last night, too! And I agree with the alert below who said, So many weeks, so little time.
Maisie
Rrrrr – auto correct messed up that post.
Carole M
I say yay. But much the same reaosns- it’s on sale, learning something new, and frankly sometimes I just need something easily put in front of me to keep the quilting going. I also don’t have fabric shops any where near me so knowing stuff is going to go well together is better.
Martha Henrichs
I have bought a few kits when I absolutely love the pattern and fabric combination and it uses types of fabric I don’t normally buy. However, I find that once the quilt is done, I lose interest. Those are the quilts that are easiest to give away and I find that that I have to explain that I can’t really take credit for them.
Kathy
Why, oh, WHY did I go see what that quilt looks like?
Just when I committed to finishing some of the many tops I have completed.
Those colors are just luscious and what you will do with them boggles the mind.
Oh, you seem to have covered most of my reasons for kit purchase.
Such temptations.
Peggy Geraghty
I like the option of being able to buy a quilt kit and get started right away! I also like the idea of developing an idea for a quilt, auditioning different fabrics, and creating something from scratch. So I vote for both ways of making a quilt.
Marcia
I vote both ways as I usually don’t have the time to explore choosing fabrics or they are not available locally. Usually choose fabrics for quilts seen in the wonderful quilt books.
carolynblock
Great topic!! I have such mixed emotions on kits. My favorite ones have been the block of the month 12×12 that are a monthly/holiday theme, where I display a different theme each month. But I have had kits that did not provide all of the necessary ingredients and had to purchase fabric. Generally I stay away from kits for one reasons-I am prone to cutting mistakes and there is little room for error in kits:(
eveline st denis
I buy kits when they are on sale or if they are a really good price. I always check how much fabric vs. price. often I will buy it and never make it as intended. but like someone else said like fabric its easy to have lots….lol
Joyce Bardeen
I rarely buy kits, but I have several waiting for me right now. I bought Row by Row experience kits…..my how they stacked up, and how much fusible appliqué is involved! I wonder when the enthusiasm for them will return.
Ann
I have only recently purchased a kit that came with the pattern and a starter kit which I love. It is a kaffe fassett appliquéd quilt and I am now able to add more fabric to the project either from my stash and/or new purchases. Either way it will be my own unique quilt because of my placement of all the little appliqué pieces.
Kim
I use to leave in a fly in community that had normal quilt store. The lady who ran it would put together just the right amount of fabric needed to complete the project. It was great because I never had left overs. When I did leave the community and hit up a real quilt store, I find that I still get the kits. Safes me time and effort to try and figure out what fabric goes together. I have purchased material just cause it is pretty, but I am not that great at using it, since I have a hard time matching……
Michele
The only “kits” I have done have been taking classes. So I guess I like learning techniques, and making my own choices. Now if we start talking about books….
Carmen
Hi Lori
I’ve never bought a kit, not even pre-cuts although I have received a couple of jelly rolls as gifts. The main reason I don’t buy kits is:1-the cost and 2-every one of those finished quilts from a kit will all look the exact same, the only thing different will be the skill of the quilter. Why go to all that bother, just go to the store and buy a quilt. I want the quilt to be in colors I want, in blocks I want, etc., not one that someone else decided for me. As for pre-cuts, you pay a lot of money for those also and quite often they don’t check to see if they’re cutting true to the grain line, and for jelly rolls they don’t re-straighten the grain line, so you’ve got “elbows” and such. One of the jelly rolls I received as a gift, had so many elbows, I ended up having to re-cut them down to 2″. Why pay all that money for something like that? I’ll just cut my own but each to their own, I say.
Susan T
I have never bought a kit for a project. I love looking at the design of the quilt, but I enjoy the challenge of “making it my own”, and I’m often surprised by the changes that occur, just by changing the fabric colour, scale or tone!
Kat
I don’t buy quilt kits for the same reason I don’t buy art at the furniture store. I want to see the hand of the artist in the work. I want my own choices of fabric and technique to show on the quilt. My choices may not be better than the ones in a kit, but they are personal .
Barbara
I rarely buy kits, as I like to be more original, once in a blue moon, it’s okay to take the easy way out. I almost wish that I didn’t look at that beautiful kit, that you’re getting at Craftsy.
Rhonda
I can’t make anything without somehow changing it! I start with the basic pattern or kit and I change it. Makes kits too much of a headache! I do buy them sometimes just for the fabric if they are a great deal.
Patricia
I just cleaned out/re-arranged my sewing room and guess what I found? Kits that I had forgotten I bought. I have purchased kits because I want to learn a technique, because of a good sale price, and on impulse. The only kit I regret buying was a block of the month that I bought online. I thought I would do hand appliqué, but the pattern was designed for fusible. I did one block and decided I won’t be doing that pattern, but I do have the fabrics to re-purpse, so not a total loss, but an expensive mistake!
Susan A
I agree with lots of the comments…I usually buy a kit for new techniques or quick small project. I really enjoy the challenge of developing my own fabric choices..that said I can’t resist a new pattern with a new way of looking at piecing.and inspiration….so I guess we all have those things..books patterns fabric that call out to us to ‘you have to take me home’….makes lots of ufo fun
The kit you like is beautiful…with lots of quilting spaces…good luck!!
lndgroom
I agree with all the reasons you stated. I haven’t bought a kit yet but I probably will someday when I finish all of my projects I have already started. For relaxation and
learning.
Renee
I am exactly like that
If I want to practice a technique I find that kits are great. But if I want to make something really special for a special someone I put more of myself by choosing colors and fabric myself.
doni boyd
Hmmm, kits! It has to be spectacular for me to buy it! And then I always change it around. But there is a whole ‘nother category. Those kits I bought and then they sit in the closet for YEARS!!!
At every “gotta to get rid of some of this” reorganization, I still want to do them, so I keep them and put them back on the shelve! I feel like I need to join a support group!
doni @ Oregon coast
Lorraine Doyno Evans
I’ve only bought one quilt kit ever this past year. I liked the quilt, it looked easy and was on sale. I wanted something quick and easy for me to work on when I went to visit my mom in Florida. It worked out great as I didn’t have to fuss with shopping for fabric and didn’t have to cut all the strips, they were a tonga treats pack and I just had to cut the strips down to their lengths per instructions.
obed101
I will buy a kit if the quilt wows me. I know I couldn’t pick the fabrics that made it go wow to me, so I will get the kit.
that said, most of my work is from my stash and most of my stash is from fabric sales!
Ann
I do like quilt kits for a couple of reasons. One reason is that I am terrible at choosing colors and fabric types to go together (truly awful at it), with a kit the choosing is done for me. My second reason is that I am trying to cut down on my stash and I don’t want to add any “leftover fabrics”. Now, I have to talk myself out of buying the kit you just bought. It is gorgeous.
Carol
Love kits for all the reasons you listed, but my big one is …..if I am planning a quilt and purchase some of the fabric THEN when I need the rest…..well you know. It is GONE. Never to be seen again on the store shelf or net again. At least with a kit, I am assured to have all of what was planned in one package.
Evie H
I have bought a couple of kits. One I intend to make because I really like that “perfect” quilt. The other I bought just for the fabrics; the kit was on sale and the price of the fabric was right for my pocketbook.
lswanekamp
As a rule, I never buy kits. Sometimes when they are on sale, I buy them for the fabric- like from Craftsy or Connecting threads, and make my own not using the pattern. I almost never like the fabric and the pattern together that I see. I made one exception last year when I saw a made kit pattern that was from a local designer made in all neutrals that was complicated, unique, and I could never assemble those fabrics myself.
PJ
I have never bought a kit. I have a hard time parting with the cost even though buying the fabric separatly may be the same amount of money. Just the odd way I have of seeing things. Also often have something out of my stash to use. I rarely even make a quilt following a pattern to the letter and most of what I make comes from a drawing on graph paper. (I may be a bit of a rebel?) I have a friend who only works from complete kits as she has some color blindness, and she does beautiful work. I’m just glad we all have a choice for what works best for each of us.
Nena
Everyone is at a different place in their learning and creative curve. Kits sometimes are the help over the bump to get going or going again. Many lament that they feel the need to change something. Nothing wrong with that. One or two pointed out, do the math. That’s fine except you have to realize that if it is pre-cut you are saving money on time cutting out. Many have family and work time hogs that make doing anything creative a challenge. Kits can be the answer. And to the ones saying that they have to explain when they give the finished quilt away… stop and get over your ego insecurity of not being able to brag it’s original. Unless you create in a total void, EVERYTHING you create is the sum total of all your experiences, visual, auditory and sensory. That means you have taken bits and pieces from all that you have learned to create something you say is original. I say if a kit works for you, use it. If not spend money elsewhere. Me, I tend to buy a pre-cut kit and then use it for something totally different than the intended design because I tend to buy based on color. Doing that I have found tends to keep me from falling in a color rut. I am more likely to try on new to me colors because I have not spent my time cutting out the pieces. I then find myself buying more fabric in new to me colors. Uhmm, that may mean that kits are not a good idea for my pocketbook. Oh well!
Jacqui VMS
LOL Nena…I can so relate to that!!
Terry Chase
I love your thinking and logic. I never tried paper piecing until I signed up for a BOM by Carol Doak and learned the sink-or-swim method. I was very disappointed with the level of materials and instructions in the recent Row by Row season, so a friend and I decided to make kits with everything included including the sleeve. Wish us luck.
Lori
I am new to the world of quilting. My first quilt was from a kit and I am so glad it was. I tried free motion quilting on it but froze every time I tried to stich. My second quilt I bought a pattern but changed the quilt up a bit. Cutting out all my own fabric was a learning experience. I was not very good at it in the beginning. I did free motion quilt on it and by the end of the quilt I would not say I was good at free motion quilting but I was comfortable. I am now on my third quilt and I draw all over it and free motion quilt on it. I did not buy a pattern but am making it up as I go along. This in my opinion will be my best quilt because I did it all. I am not sure I would do another kit unless it was what I was looking for and I would more than likely change it up a bit.
Linda J.
I’ve been on a mission to make throw quilts for all my children and grandchildren. About half of them are kits from Craftsy that were on sale, all batiks. I love the free patterns that come with Timeless Treasures fabric packs. I usually add extra borders or swap out a fabric or two. The rest are fabrics I I love made with patterns that don’t require a lot of different colors. For gift quilts, I like fast and easy piecing. I have several beautiful kits for me that are still waiting to be made. If a pattern has a lot of different fabrics, a kit or precut is usually cheaper. I’m also 1 1/2 hours from the nearest quilt shop, too far to go if I need a fat quarter of something. Luckily my sewing room looks like a small quilt shop. It sure helps to have an extensive stash sorted by by fabric type, color, and style. I stocked it while I was still working and had the money. For seasonal wall hangings and tablerunners, I just use my stash. For a Toni Whitney or other complicated appliqué, I prefer to buy a kit.
Kathryn
I won my first quilt kit at a guild raffle and made it at a mini-group retreat. It turned out so well and the process was so relaxing that I plan to use a kit at the next retreat. I will ask some questions before I purchase and check out all the parts before leaving because I I’ve heard of some issues with missing or short cuts with some kits.
Sharon
I have bought kits and it is usually because I have liked them and they have been on sale…who can resist a bargain. I have bought two of the same kit to make a larger quilt and I’ve also bought kits just to use the fabric in different projects. So if anyone has kits laying around that they think they won’t use; open them up and use the fabric for something else.
Birgit
Yes I agree with all of the above. I like kits for the fabric collections and instructions. Love to substitute my own stash into the kits to make the quilt my own creation…
Tweela Houtekamer
I loved quilt kits when I first started quilting. The process of picking fabrics was a total mystery to me, one I believed I would never personally solve. I did not have a large stash of fabric at the time either so having just the right amount of such a variety of fabrics was very convenient. Now I seldom use kits (except for reasons already shared above) but would probably not have become the quilting addict I am without them.
suzanprincess
A few years ago, before I even started quilting, I bought a trio of paper-pieced hummingbird kits because I loved the pattern, and the fabrics, and they were on closeout. I have not–yet!–made them, but don’t regret the purchase. But I usually succumb to fabric lust and pattern-ideas collecting as separate items.
norna v
i use my unused kits for decoration 🙂
Peggy B
I really like quilt kits EXCEPT when they “substitute” fabrics without telling/asking me first. That is a serious pet peeve of mine (grrrr). The only other drawback is if you make an OOPS and then don’t have the correct amount of fabric (not that I ever make mistakes – ahem). But if I see it and love it exactly the way it is….I’m in!!
Jannette B
I don’t buy kits – I can’t usually afford them, and I’m sure to have enough fabric in my stash to make something that’s close enough to the original pattern. Sometimes, I love the pattern, but not the fabric that’s in the kit, so I buy just the pattern (if that’s an option). I also love having fabric “leftovers” – and that usually doesn’t happen with kits…
Laurie B
I was tempted by the gravity kit, too. I have only purchased one kit, and that’s because I wanted to make a specific quilt (hello kitty) for someone. This was an easy panel with a border. I ended up finding 2 borders and backing at a quilt show, so I didn’t use what came with the kit for the border. I’m not into precuts.
I also tend to change things in a pattern.
Lori I loved your Craftsy class!
Beverly
Lori, Great discussion! I will buy kits for the exact reasons that you listed. On those quilts I’ll try to create a back that makes it special and uniquely my design. But once I’ve learned that technique, or given that one away, I’m ready to stretch myself again.
Beverly
tehachap
My quilting friend and I discussed this recently–neither one of us likes kits; we’re more into choosing our own fabrics. That’s half the fun of creating a quilt — selecting the right fabrics to put into the quilt.
Valerie
I have bought a few kits. I am working on one now I bought at Sisters in 2012! I buy them when I love the quilt as is and it would require quite a bit of time to collect all the right fabrics. Sometimes I look at a pattern and think I would like it better in another color way, then I skip it. Sometimes a pattern requires specific fabric that is available this season and might not be during the next thing. If I LOVE it, I buy the kit and can then wait till I am ready to make it.
Helen Sini
I bought a pre-cut (“die cut”) kit once, which made sense because the shapes were curved and cutting out all those pieces would have been a bear. But the kit made a rather SMALL quilt and if you wanted to add more squares OR if you might be tempted to do that pattern again, there weren’t any patterns or indications about how to cut out the shapes (DUH, they were already cut out!). So I traced the shapes before sewing them together, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy that sort of kit again. And yes, it was on sale….. 🙂
Lisa A
I don’t like kits because there always seems to be something wrong with them. Maybe it’s just my bad luck! My experience has been poorly written patterns/directions or not enough fabric. Also, unless I absolutely love the fabric, I like something different, whether it’s just fabric choices, or changing something about the pattern.
denisezapf
I think kits are fine. I have done BOMs which is just a kit delivered over time. I have also done on-line quilt-alongs where I selected my own fabric. I have also found patterns in books and magazines, and finally I have found some block templates and developed the rest of the quilt around the template. The hardest part of all of these for me is the feeling like I didn’t do it all. But where do you draw the line? If I learn a quilting technique on this blog, and put it in my quilt, am I being creative? For over 50 years I thought I had no talent or creativity. Now I’m learning to appreciate my own talents and allow myself to combine them with the talents of others. So if I quilt a panel, then that is creativity!
MargeP
I just finished a 15 month BOM from the shop in Sisters, OR that I started in 1999!!!!!
It was great, had sufficient fabric and it was called Star Galaxy. Being as it was not a pre-cut, I was able to prewash the fabric and it worked fine and I do have lots of scraps of every shade of blue imaginable for use making scrappy quilts..
I would not buy a kit that was pre-cut as I would fear that it could not be pre-washed and that is something I just need to do. At my age, I guess I am just “old school”.
I have a difficult time picking out colors for a quilt and therefore, a kit would make my life easier.. The worst thing about a kit is if the fabric is not sufficient, you are up a creek.
Knucks_Bows
If I like the quilt as is I will definitely stick to a quilt kit. But if there are 2-4 prints/colors I don’t like I’ll look around for fabric substitutions, but that tends to go awry for me in regards to color placement and contrast. I don’t have many opportunities to play around with fabrics and patterns to help develop better color placement.
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