About Claire
Claire is a modern quilt designer and teacher, based in Stratford Upon Avon in the UK.
Claire has always had a love for sewing which was reignited when her children were born and needed a creative outlet for herself. It wasn’t long before quilts were the only thing she wanted to sew.
In 2020, during the pandemic, when Claire was stuck between never ending on-line lessons with her kids home-schooling, she designed her first quilt pattern, the Retro Metro Quilt. It was a way she could still channel her creativity when life wouldn’t allow much time behind the sewing machine. Since then, Claire has immersed herself into the quilt designing world and has had her work featured in Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine and justhands-on.tv videos.
Claire’s designs are Inspired by modern geometric designs and repeated patterns – – wherever she finds them – – including toilet tiles and the front covers of books. Claire is the designer behind Made Just Sew. Click her to see her bright, colourful designs.
Though not formally educated in art or teaching, Claire has excelled as a quilting teacher – – winning the Big Janome Skill Share in 2021. What makes her unique is her passion for quilting and a passion for sharing what she has learned.
Click here to watch Claire share her Walking Foot Quilting techniques in an episode of The Makers Studio.
Keep up to date and follow Claire’s quilt journey over on Instagram @madejustsew
Signature Technique
Quilting with a Walking Foot
Top Tips
- Pick your backing fabric first, then match your front colours to your backing. This works really well for those of us who love colourful printed fabrics for our backing.
- If you’ve struggled with quilting, use the walking foot. It makes quilting so much easier.
- Don’t be afraid to quilt straight lines across your patchwork. It gives your project enhanced depth and texture.
- Marking quilting lines with a hera marker provides a useful guide for your straight line quilting.
- Don’t worry about mistakes. We all do it! Remember, you can always unpick stitches and come at it fresh tomorrow.
- Use quilting gloves to help you guide your quilt under the walking foot. The sticky tips of the glove give you a little extra grip.
- If you want your quilting to stand out, choose good quality colour thread to contrast the top. Colour thread can look dominating when on the spool, less so when on your quilt.
Videos
Posts
40 minute quilt – a variation
Gayle contacted us as she wanted to make the 40 minute quilt but was a little unsure about winging it and asked Valerie for a little help as she had cut her strips to 4" As Gayle's strips were wider, Valerie said that this just means that the quilt will get made faster! (Valerie's original quilt was made from 2.5"strips).
Manchester Quilting Bee
#manchesterquiltingbee have been collecting fabric squares from generous quilters, crafters and first timers around the world in order to make up quilts for those affected by the tragic attacks in Manchester this May and they've had an amazing response so far. They are collecting five inch hexagons appliqued onto 6.5 inch cotton squares. They are being made into quilts for the families affected by the Manchester terrorist attacks.
Lady Sew and Sew retreat – the fruits of your labour
A few of you have been in touch to show us your work wih Valerie from our Lady Sew and Sew retreat back in April 2017. Jennie contacted us to say she had a really good time at the retreat and learnt SO much! Here's a photo of the piece she made. Her youngest daughter fell in love with it so she has nearly finished it for her.