Right Sides Together launched two years ago this May, and one of our very first posts was a roundup of quilting apps for smartphones. It’s remained one of our most popular posts ever.
That said, two years is FOREVAH in the tech world (and kind of a long time in the creative world too). So I’ve decided to gather a fresh slate of apps for your perusal and enjoyment! To my pleasant surprise, there are a lot of new ones with some great features to make designing, sewing, and finishing quilts a bit easier. Here are my top five.
FCC disclosure: I use affiliate links, where I receive a small amount of each sale from each app sold (not counting free apps, obviously). Thanks for your support!
Quilting Tutorials by MSQC
Straight from the Missouri Star Quilt Company, this free quilting app provides hundreds of tutorials from Jenny Doan. The vast majority are quilt blocks with Jenny’s tips, and each tutorial links directly to the MSQC so you can buy requisite supplies, but not in an annoying way. I really like the clean look of this quilting app, as well as the assortment of blocks that are “traditional” but not too boring or easy. Plus there are a few bonus tutorials like a sewing machine pad, a purse, and some pillows. Available for iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Grid #
I love apps that aren’t necessarily designed for quilting. Grid # imports a photo and then lays a grid over it. You know what Grid # is perfect for? Auditioning FMQ quilting designs! Simply export a photo with the grid size of your choice, then import it into a drawing app or print it out to practice your quilting motifs. Available for iPhone and iPad.
Paper
Sometimes quilt design creates a lot of debris. There are swatches, scratch pads with calculations and rough drawings, notes to self, possible quilting ideas. Paper is cool because it combines all the “brainstorming” elements of quilting into one app, kind of like a big digital bulletin board. Sketch, make diagrams, jot down notes, add color swatches, and play around, all within one app. Plus it’s totally free. Available for iPhone and iPad.
ColorSchemer
ColorSchemer is a (free!) Apple Staff favorite, and one of the most highly rated color palette apps on the internet. Create your own palette or browse over 1,000,000 (ONE MILLION) palettes shared by the COLOURlovers community. Plus you can enter in words and search by topic or mood (like “ocean”). That’s a lot of design options right in your pocket.
Quiltography
Okay, so you might balk at the price of this app: $14.99 (for iPad only). But it really is like three or four apps in one, and it’s very well designed and implemented. Quiltography allows you to customize more than 180 quilt blocks, design your own quilt from those blocks, import a photo to create your own pixel quilt pattern, import photos of fabric and track your stash (and use those images in your designs), and calculate yardage requirements. I like to think of it as “EQ Lite,” and $14.99 isn’t a bad price to pay for that.
What are some fun apps that you use for quilting?
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Tammy
April 8, 2016 at 3:48 pm (3 years ago)I love these; thank you!
Donna Eustice
April 15, 2016 at 6:42 pm (3 years ago)For Android there is the Quilting Calculator by Richard Kaufman that tells you how much fabric you need to buy for a quilt. Craftsy also has an app where you can easily access any of the classes you’ve gotten through them, and get more. One app that I had on my iPhone that I REALLY miss on my Android is the quilt shop locator. It will give you the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any shop within the radius you choose. It’s great to have when you’re shopping away from home, such as when you’re on vacation!
Kathy Caudill
April 20, 2016 at 6:05 pm (3 years ago)can’t wait for Right sides together
Kareno
April 21, 2016 at 12:13 am (3 years ago)I bought quiltography and use it occasionally.
It wasn’t terribly intuitive for me, and I’m still not using it like I think it could be used.
However, I did study all the available tutes etc. but still had basic questions.
That’s where I am not satisfied. I tried contacting them via every interface I could find, but never got a response from any member of the team.
Keep that in mind when you consider buying.
Cindi
April 21, 2016 at 5:49 am (3 years ago)Ready for Right Sides Together