If you’ve never made a quilt before you may be wondering what fabric to use. You can actually use different types of fabric to make quilts. And this post is about choosing the best fabric for quilting.
One of my favorite parts of making a quilt is picking out the quilt fabric. I love going to the fabric stores and looking at all the fabrics in all the colors whether I have a project in mind or not.

Quilting has been around for centuries it’s said to go back to ancient Egypt and medieval times. I don’t about that, but I do know that the art of quilt making has been around for a long time and it’s still popular today.
And there are all kinds of different quilt patterns. You can find any style of quilt you want to make like, a vintage quilt pattern or more modern quilt patterns. Pinterest has tons of quilt patterns and tutorials to choose from.
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Where is the best place to buy fabric?
I love going to my local fabric store to buy my fabric, buy I also like buying my fabric online. The two places I get just about all of my fabric from are, Hobby Lobby and Etsy.
Hobby Lobby is one of my favorite places because their fabric is on sale every other week. So, if you’re on a budget that’s a great place to buy fabric.
Etsy has tons of quilting fabric in every color and print that you can imagine. You can look at the fabric on Etsy for weeks and still not see it all. And I also get a lot of my other crafting supplies on Etsy too.
Below is a list of some of the best quilting fabrics.
Quilting Cotton
Quilting cottons or quilter’s weight cotton is the type of fabric that is the most popular choice for quilting. This cotton fabric is what you see at the fabric or quilt store that usually lines the walls and is what fabric stores usually have the most of.
And fabric stores also have fat quarters of quilting cotton available. Fat quarters are a piece of fabric that measures 18″ x 22″.

Quilting cotton is also the easiest fabric to sew with, which makes it a good choice for other beginner sewing project besides quilting projects. Using quilter’s cotton for your first quilt is a great idea, because cotton is a very forgiving fabric and easy to sew.
Quilter’s cotton also comes in many different colors and shades along with many different prints. I also like to use quilting cotton for different projects besides quilts.
This fabric is also strong and makes beautiful quilts. Quilting cotton is what is in those fabric bundles, like charm packs, fat quarter bundles, layer cakes and jelly rolls. Two of my favorite brands of quilting cotton is Moda fabrics and Riley Blake fabrics.
Flannel
Flannel is another great choice for quilting. Because flannel fabric is soft and cuddly and makes beautiful quilts. Flannel quilts are great for winter and a lot of quilters like to use flannel for the quilt backing.
Flannel is a thicker fabric, so it’s great if you want a warmer quilt. If you want to use flannel, for the best results you’ll need a slightly larger seam allowances than if you use regular quilting cotton. And if you’re not for sure if you want to use flannel, you could always make a small baby quilt to see what you think.
Like all other fabrics and crafting material, it’s a good idea to use high quality flannel. Because no matter what fabric you choose, using high quality fabric can make for a easier sewing experience.
Linen
Linen is also another excellent choice of quilting fabric. Linen is a lightweight fabric that is similar to cotton fabric.
Lightweight fabrics are great for summer quilts. And linen is sometimes used with cotton fabric to make the quilt.

Linen fabric will make a beautiful quilt top. Linen fabrics has a loose weave, so it does fray easier than cotton. But, linen is great if you want a more natural looking quilt.
Other Fabrics
You can use almost any kind of fabric to make a quilt. You can even use old clothes and sheets to make a quilt. Some of the other fabric are silk, batik fabric, minky, fleece, denim and more.
There are no right or wrong in quilting, just preference. You can use lace and buttons to decorate your quilt if you want. Everybody has different ideas on what is the right fabric or the right way to make a quilt. But, the best choice of fabric for you, maybe different than somebody else’s.
But, there is no rule that said that once you pick a fabric, that’s the fabric you’ll have to use for all your quilts. You can always use different fabrics.
And no matter what fabric you choose remember to get a good quality fabric. A couple of the best quilting fabric brands are Moda, Riley Blake and Robert Kaufman.
If you’re wanting to start your first quilt, it’s a good idea to start with a smaller quilt. Baby quilts and lap quilts are great sizes to start with.
Thank you for reading this post about the best fabric for quilting. I hope that this post has helped you learn a little more about the fabric used in quilting.
Check out some of my other quilting posts
- What are The Best Scissors for Quilting Fabric?
- 25 Adorable and Free Baby Quilt Patterns to Sew.
- All You Need to Know About Fat Quarters for Quilting.
- Beautiful Ideas for Making Unique Quilt Borders.
- Quilting Terms You Need to Learn: WOF and More.