The Best Kept Quilting Secret: Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8)

You might have seen my previous tutorial highlighting various ways you can create a quilt mockup to help with selecting fabrics for your next quilt project. I’m taking it one step further to walk you through a software option that you might really like!
Let me introduce you to EQ8 from The Electric Quilt Company. This is a powerhouse quilt design software that is loved by both hobby quilters and pattern designers!
With Electric Quilt 8, also called EQ8, you can create quilt designs and mockups very efficiently - and you’ll find it’s really fun too!
Get those creative juices flowing and enjoy this deep dive into EQ8. Hopefully this tutorial helps you find out if EQ8 is the right quilt design software program for you! I know I've been blown away by how incredible it is!
Check out EQ8 through my affiliate link: shrsl.com/46a4z
Purchase before 8/31/23 using code "EMILYJANE" for 25% off!
Download the EQ8 Quick Start Guide and Reference Manual PDFs: support.electricquilt.com/art...
Electric Quilt Support: support.electricquilt.com
Chapters:
00:00 - EQ8 from the Electric Quilt Company
01:09 - Intimidated by quilting software
03:13 - Why Use Electric Quilt 8?
05:20 - How to learn EQ8?
07:45 - Where to get help with Electric Quilt software?
08:22 - Look how easy it is to get started with EQ8
14:12 - My 3 favorite shortcuts for creating Quilt Mockups in EQ8
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[@CyndiBowman-Raber]

Fantastic overview and tips. Thank you so much! I gave you a big thumbs up!

[@FabricsArts]

Thank you so much for this Emily, very useful.

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TiffMar328]

Thank you for creating this video. As a hobby quilter I have been very curious about EQ8 and if it is something I should invest in. I would love it if you made a video on how to start a quilt pattern company!

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Quilt pattern design is something I’m so passionate about! What a great idea for a tutorial to share my process ❤️ thank you! In the meantime, I know there are a few very comprehensive courses out there to help people become pattern designers that share the design process as well as the business side of things too!

[@CP-gq5fw]

Thanks for the tips and recommendation. After you design a quilt pattern, do you have to write the quilting instructions yourself or does this software provide help? Also, can you import images of fabric when picking fabric options?

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

The software does have tons of other features to help you actually make the quilt such as templates and fabric requirements! You can import fabric swatches or even photos of your fabric if you cant find the digital swatch from the manufacturer (most are available online to download!) ❤️

[@barbarasmith9325]

More EQ8!

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Hopefully soon!!! What topics specifically would be most helpful for you?

[@marlainebrowning6883]

I’m a hobby quilter looking for a way to import my favorite patterns and play with color. Can EQ8 upload the “coloring sheet” from a pattern I purchase and allow me to play with fabrics? Or do I need to try to redesign the original pattern in this program?

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

From my experience so far I believe you’ll need to rebuild the quilt in the software itself but I can say it’s fairly quick to do once you get the hang of it! I’ve gone through and created the files for nearly all of my existing quilt patterns already and it was a lot easier than expected!!

[@trishagoodwin4069]

I wonder if this is going to be what I want. I see you can "design" quilts, using pre drawn blocks, but I want to design the actual blocks myself from scratch, can you do that in the software?

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Yes you can!! There’s an incredible drawing tool for you to create blocks and then you can use those blocks in your quilt design

[@trishagoodwin4069]

Thanks so much; been looking for the answer for a while!

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Happy to help! Let me know if any other questions come up. And if you don’t already have the software, it’s 25% off for their Black Friday sale! Use code “NOVEMBER” shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1872213&u=2030726&m=117007&urllink=&afftrack=

[@sewhappy2]

I have the EQ7. Still haven't figured it out 😅

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Hopefully this video gives you some motivation to learn! I found it very user-friendly once getting started ❤️👏🏼

[@lindamcfarland437]

I Upgrade to the eight and it is so much easier to use. I had to seven and upgraded and now I love it.

[@jackiefritsch3690]

This was interesting but you never said what to do from the computer to the fabric. Does it print the block? Does it tell you how much fabric to purchase? Does it give the size that you need to cut? What happens after creating it on the computer??

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

Great questions!! So far I’ve mostly just used the program for mock-ups, but I do know it has so much more functionality! I believe it can provide fabric requirements and printouts for the blocks (which is essential for some techniques like Foundation Paper Piecing) Should I do a follow-up video for some of these other features of EQ8?!

[@kayla_quilts]

​@HomemadeEmilyJane I would love an in-depth video, I am considering buying EQ8. I am designing my own pattern, but the fabric requirements are kind of a pain in the butt for different sizes. I asked to join a FB page, but they wouldn't let me since I have never produced a pattern. It is so hard to learn quilt pattern designing for some reason.

[@HomemadeEmilyJane]

I think EQ8 gives estimates for fabric requirements but you’d definitely want to calculate it yourself to verify too before releasing a pattern. Have you tried starting with the cutting instructions first and then working backwards to add up the fabric needed? Just do one size at a time to keep it simple

[@kayla_quilts]

@HomemadeEmilyJane yeah, that's kind of how I'm designing a quilt right now. I have the cutting instructions done and have the fabric requirements for the queen size but not any other size quilt. I feel like I'm fairly good at math, but I'm struggling with this one 😅