Mystery Quilt Club 2027
If you’ve been looking for a monthly patchwork session where you can build and refine your skills, become part of a community and enjoy some time sewing with others then look no further. Our Mystery Quilt Club for 2027 is designed to do all of this.
Each month we will work on different elements for our mystery quilt. We will construct a variety of different blocks, some being used more than once. The quilt can be undertaken by anyone with some basic patchwork skills and those more advanced. We wouldn’t recommend this as your first ever patchwork course as we will assume some base level knowledge as would be covered in our beginners patchwork sampler course. If you are at all unsure please message us to check (sarah@madeandmaking.co.uk).
Here is what some of the 2024 group had to say about their experience.
“I loved the Mystery Quilt. I wish I had tried something like this sooner. Making a quilt without knowing what it was going to look like was very liberating. It made choices so much easier.”
“The Mystery Quilt has been the highlight of my sewing year. It’s been great to have something new to look forward to each month. I’ve learned how to do new blocks I would never have tried if I hadn’t been making the Mystery Quilt.”
“It’s been a great opportunity to experiment and I feel far more confident about putting different colours and patterns together now.”
“Taking part in the Mystery Quilt course is a bit like the Great British Sewing Bee. The participants arrive on the appointed day, choose their workstation and chat while unpacking their bags. When everyone is assembled, the group gathers around Sarah, who distributes the printed instructions for the block of the day. Then in true Blue Peter fashion, shows one she has made earlier. The reaction to the block of the day can vary from delight to horror. Choosing the correct fabric (light, medium, dark, patterned or plain) for the block causes much head scratching, but eventually cutting and sewing begin. One think is for sure, every participant’s blocks and quilts will be completely different from each other. During the subsequent months, some blocks will be a challenge while others will use well-loved techniques. Oh, and don’t forget your homework. You have made one block in class, now you need to go home and make another 3, 5 or how many!!!!! The course was great fun and I learned a lot.”
If you wish to take part remotely there is an online version
The finished quilt size is approx 69″ square.
(Please do not book if you took part on the 2024 group).
What will we cover?
We will cover a variety of patchwork skills;
Machine piecing
Foundation paper piecing
Sewing with curves
How will I be taught?
You will be taught in our light and airy Studio but if you are unable to visit you can join in the fun by joining the online version.
Do I need any previous experience or skills?
We will assume some basic patchwork knowledge and that you can safely use a rotary cutter and ruler.
Are materials provided? Is there anything I need to source myself?
If you have never done a mystery quilt before welcome to your first. They are a great chance to work on a project with a very free mind as you can’t curate your quilt in quite the same way as you might when you know the whole design up front. For that reason this one will make a great stash buster (I am a total colour lover) but will also work well with a chosen pallette of colours. The most important thing is to have a selection of shades as well as colours. So we want to thing about categorising our fabrics into light, medium and dark.
The quilt blocks have been curated so that designs will appear against a lighter background, although you could of course turn that on its head and have a dark background.
As it is hard for you to envisage how you might use your fabric until each months mystery is released it can be a good idea to ensure that if you are working from a very specific range of fabrics that they may still be available towards the end of the year should you need to buy more. (Thus it is best to purchase from a current range where stocks should be around for longer).
We recommend that you have to a selection of fat quarters/scraps that comprise the following;
4 metres total of fabric in total across a range of colours and shades in the MEDIUM/DARK category. These can be any kind of pattern and colour way depending on how busy you like you quilts to look.
4 metres of LIGHT fabrics if you are going to enjoy choosing from a range. If you envisage keeping it simpler with your lights then you could work with maybe only 1, and have less fabric, say 2.5m again… ensure that you will be able to buy more by buying from a well stocked range.
What will I take home with me?
Each month you will take home your completed elements and a detailed handout.
Refreshments
Drinks and biscuits will be available
Photography
During all of our workshops photographs are taken for promotional purposes only. Please make us aware at the time of booking if you would prefer not to be included.
Tutor
Owner of Made and Making, Sarah has been sewing all her life. Her passion is helping others to gain the same level of enjoyment from mastering these creative skills. She's known for her infectious enthusiasm, her endless knowledge and for her knack for explaining things clearly, leading to lots of 'aha!' moments. You may have seen her share some of those on the TV channel Sewing Street. In a previous life, Sarah was a branch manager in an insurance firm. Taking redundancy in 2012 allowed her to follow her dream of creating a hub for sewing and craft. At Made and Making Sarah teaches sewing, crochet, needle felting and other craft courses. She's also one of the tutors for the children's workshops. When family life allows, Sarah loves nothing more than immersing herself in her own projects.
