Sentimental Stitching: Keepsake Quilt Course

What you'll learn

Create a beautiful keepsake quilt from treasured fabrics with our textiles & fashion 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, or fabrics connected to important moments, people, and places.

In this hands-on Sentimental Stitching: Keepsake Quilt Course, you'll learn how to transform those treasured materials into a meaningful quilt that can be used, displayed, and cherished for years to come.

Designed especially for beginners, this course introduces simple quilting techniques in a supportive and creative environment. Working with your own garments and fabrics, you'll learn how to plan a quilt layout, prepare materials, cut and assemble patchwork pieces, and construct a small keepsake quilt while developing confidence with each step.

Along the way, you'll explore how colour, pattern, texture, and fabric selection can help tell a personal story through cloth. Whether you're creating a quilt from baby clothes, family garments, vintage fabrics, or other meaningful textiles, you'll discover ways to honour memories while giving beloved materials a new purpose.

By the end of the course, you'll have completed a small cot-sized or lap quilt (approximately 60 × 80 cm), gained practical quilting skills, and developed the confidence to continue creating keepsake quilts at home.

This course offers a rewarding introduction to quilting, memory-making, and creative upcycling — transforming treasured fabrics into something both beautiful and deeply personal.

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, memories, and meaningful fabrics
• Understanding colour, pattern, and fabric placement in quilt design
• Cutting fabric accurately and safely
• Using a sewing machine to construct a quilt top
• Layering and preparing a quilt for quilting and finishing
• Understanding simple quilting techniques suitable for beginners
• Developing the confidence to complete or expand future keepsake quilt projects at home

Course content

What will be covered in this Keepsake Quilt Course?

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

• Choosing and preparing garments and upcycled fabrics
• Identifying suitable fabrics for quilting projects
• Planning a quilt design and layout
• Working with colour, pattern, texture, and visual balance
• Cutting and organising patchwork pieces
• Constructing a quilt top using a sewing machine
• Preparing quilt layers (top, batting, and backing)
• Basic quilting and finishing techniques
• Troubleshooting common quilting challenges
• Tips for continuing, enlarging, or customising your quilt at home

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 who has treasured clothing, baby garments, family textiles, or special fabrics they would like to preserve in a practical and meaningful way.

It is suitable for complete beginners as well as sewists looking to explore memory quilting, keepsake projects, and creative upcycling.

No prior 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:

• Upcycled 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 sheet)

The tutor will provide:

• Quilt batting / wadding
• Fusible interfacing
• Quilting spray adhesive

All sewing machines and basic sewing tools are provided.

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