Create a Keepsake Quilt: Transform Treasured Fabrics

What you'll learn

Create a beautiful keepsake quilt from treasured fabrics with our quilting & textiles short courses in Sydney!

We all have garments and textiles that hold special memories — baby clothes packed away in a cupboard, a favourite shirt that can no longer be worn, vintage fabrics collected over the years, or clothing connected to important people, places, and milestones. Rather than leaving these cherished items tucked away, why not transform them into something beautiful that can be enjoyed every day?

In this hands-on quilting course, you'll learn how to turn meaningful garments and fabrics into a beautiful keepsake quilt while developing practical quilting and sewing skills in a supportive, creative environment. Working with your own treasured textiles, you'll learn how to plan a quilt layout, prepare fabrics, cut and assemble patchwork pieces, and construct a quilt that tells your own unique story.

As you progress, you'll explore how colour, pattern, texture, and fabric placement can create a meaningful design while building confidence with beginner-friendly quilting techniques. By the end of the course, you'll have completed a small cot-sized or lap quilt (approximately 60 × 80 cm) and developed the skills to continue creating keepsake quilts for family and friends at home.

Whether you're preserving baby clothes, family garments, travel souvenirs, vintage fabrics, or textiles connected to life's special moments, this course offers a rewarding introduction to quilting, creative upcycling, and memory-making through cloth.

Below is an example of a quilt created by our tutor, Mora, to illustrate the techniques used in this course. Please note that this image does not represent the size of the quilt made in class.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this Keepsake Quilt Course, you will have explored concepts and techniques such as:

• Selecting and preparing garments and textiles for use in a keepsake quilt
• Planning a quilt layout that reflects personal stories and meaningful fabrics
• Understanding colour, pattern, texture, and fabric placement in quilt design
• Cutting fabric accurately and safely for patchwork construction
• Using a sewing machine to construct a quilt top
• Layering and preparing a quilt for quilting and finishing
• Applying beginner-friendly quilting and finishing techniques
• Developing the confidence to create future keepsake quilting projects independently

Course content

What will be covered in this Keepsake Quilt Course?

During the course, participants will work with techniques and ideas such as:

• Selecting and preparing garments, clothing, and treasured textiles for quilting
• Assessing fabrics and stabilising delicate or stretchy materials
• Planning a quilt layout using colour, pattern, texture, and personal storytelling
• Cutting and organising patchwork pieces
• Constructing a quilt top using a sewing machine
• Preparing quilt layers, including quilt top, batting, and backing
• Learning simple quilting and finishing techniques suitable for beginners
• Troubleshooting common quilting challenges
• Exploring ideas for enlarging, customising, and creating future keepsake quilts

Content may vary slightly depending on class pace, participant interests, and instructor approach.

Intended audience

Who is this Keepsake Quilt Course for?

This course is ideal for anyone with treasured clothing, baby garments, family textiles, vintage fabrics, or other meaningful materials they would like to preserve in a practical and beautiful way.

Suitable for complete beginners as well as confident sewists, this course is perfect for anyone interested in quilting, creative upcycling, sustainable sewing, or creating a lasting family keepsake.

No previous quilting experience is required.

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon St & Victoria Rd on the grounds of St. Joseph's Church)

Accessibility: This class takes place in an upper-level room accessible by stairs only. The lift is currently out of service. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Course materials

What to bring to class:

Participants are asked to bring:

• Treasured garments or fabrics for the quilt top (for example baby clothes, adult clothing, uniforms, or other meaningful textiles)
• Enough fabric to cut approximately twenty 15 × 15 cm squares
• Backing fabric (new or repurposed, such as a cotton sheet)

The tutor will provide:

• Quilt batting (wadding)
• Fusible interfacing
• Quilting spray adhesive
• All sewing machines and basic sewing equipment are provided.

Further guidance on suitable materials will be provided before the course begins.