A Complete Guide to Contemporary Quilting

No prior quilting experience is required — every technique is demonstrated step by step, from cutting templates and pressing fabric to threading a needle and stitching. Julius encourages beginners to practise on smaller quilts first, showing miniature versions of each process so you can build confidence before starting a large project. Anyone with basic sewing curiosity and a needle, thread and some fabric remnants can follow along.

Basting is the process of temporarily securing the three layers of your quilt — backing, wadding and quilt top — so they behave as one piece of fabric while you quilt. In this course Julius demonstrates both thread basting, using large herringbone-style stitches in a contrasting thread, and pin basting with curved quilting safety pins, including how far apart to space them. He also shares practical tips for handling large quilts, such as taping backing fabric to the floor or rolling layers onto cardboard tubes.

You'll create an improvised patchwork quilt — the demonstration quilt is 60 by 80 centimetres and built from three rearrangeable panels — plus a bold 50 by 50 centimetre applique cushion with an envelope back. Both projects use the same core skills of patchwork, applique, quilting and binding, so the cushion works almost like a mini-quilt. Every outcome is different, and you're encouraged to scale up or personalise the designs for your own home or as gifts.

Rather than following rigid traditional patterns, Julius Arthur teaches improvised, contemporary quilting focused on shape, line, colour and texture, so you develop your own personal style. A dedicated lesson on finding inspiration shows you how to draw on objects, memory, heritage, landscape, collage and creative word prompts to make work that's genuinely meaningful to you. It's a relaxed, freehand approach where organic lines and imperfect shapes are celebrated as character rather than mistakes.

All of our courses are online, meaning that you are able to watch them whenever and wherever suits you best. There is no beginning or finish date and they’re completely self-paced so that you can stop, start and pause each lesson to fit around your own schedule. You can begin watching a course as soon as you purchase it – simply login to your Create Academy account whenever you have a quiet moment to yourself.

Yes! You can rewatch each lesson as many times as you’d like. If you have purchased an individual course, you will have lifetime access to it, so you’ll be able to rewatch and dip in and out of each lesson forever - perfect if you have a busy schedule! If you purchased an annual subscription, you can enjoy full access to all of our lessons until you choose to cancel.

If you have purchased an individual course, you will have life time access.

An annual subscription gives you access to all courses for 12 months from the date of purchase, including those released during that period. Our subscriptions are set to automatically renew after 12 months so you have the benefit of uninterrupted access! If you choose to cancel, you will no longer have access to the platform.

Below each video lesson you’ll find the link to download the corresponding workbook pages. If you’d like to download the whole workbook at once, simply navigate to the very first lesson in the course and click 'Download Workbook'.

We’re on a mission to help you build your creative confidence and live a more creatively fulfilled life. Through beautifully curated video courses, we give you unprecedented access to the expertise of today’s best designers, makers, gardeners and chefs - allowing you to unlock your creativity whenever and wherever you want.

Yes – all our courses are available internationally. Please note, all our courses are taught in English.