Make Your Own Medallion: Mix + Match Blocks and Borders to Build Your Quilt from the Center Out

Quilting, despite its decoupaged look, is a very precise craft. You have to measure each fabric piece carefully and consistently, cut them carefully, and sew them together with innumerable seams that have to be kept even and consistent. It also involves more tools than you might expect, including several kinds of ruler, fabric pencils, rotary cutters, and an array of different fabrics. You also need a large, flat working space, and (worst of all, if you’re me) you have to do a fair amount of math. So I appreciate that in Make Your Own Medallion author Erin Burke Harris spends time carefully explaining these elements of quilt-making so the reader has a clear sense of all that’s involved before they try to dive in. The quilt-square patterns Burke Harris includes range from simple to impossibly intricate, but her instructions are clear and concise, and there are helpful illustrations throughout.

Overall, though this guide is well done, I’d still recommend having some basic knowledge of quilting before giving it a try. For the slightly advanced beginner, this book should be easy to read and understand; for the more advanced quilter, the book includes enough diverse patterns to be worth your time.