Classes & Events

Learn to Quilt and Sew in Our Louisville Studio

Quilted Joy teaches quilting, sewing, longarm quilting and fiber arts in a dedicated classroom studio on Shelbyville Road in Louisville, Kentucky. Classes run days, evenings and Saturdays, and they range from a single afternoon to a five week course.

What We Teach

Your first quilt. My First Quilt is a five week course that takes you from the first cut to a finished quilt top, covering tools, fabric choice, accurate rotary cutting, block assembly and borders. My Next Quilt picks up from there with the units that intimidate people, like half square triangles and flying geese.

Your machine. Pixie Playdates are machine specific sessions for Baby Lock, Juki and Pfaff owners, covering the features people never get around to learning. There are separate sessions for sergers and for embroidery machines.

Longarm quilting. This is our specialty! Class series like Ruler Magic and Design Building Blocks work through ruler work, freemotion and design planning on the frame.

Technique. Tucker University runs Deb Tucker's Studio 180 tools as a proper curriculum, one tool at a time, so the rulers stop being a mystery. Alongside those sit shorter classes on binding, appliqué, paper piecing and specific projects.

Fiber arts and everything else. Needle felting, denim upcycling, garment sewing and seasonal project classes come and go through the year.

Classes, Events and Open Sews Are Three Different Things

A class has an instructor, a plan and something you learn. You leave with a skill and usually a project.

An open sew is not a class. UFO SOS is the clearest example: you bring an unfinished project and all its supplies, you work on it, and a Quilt Fairy is on hand when you get stuck. There is no curriculum. There is a room full of people making progress on things that have been in a closet for two years.

An event is a guild meeting, a trunk show, a visiting teacher or a day like Teach the World to Sew. Some are free and some are ticketed.

If You Bought Your Machine From Us

Machine owners who purchased from Quilted Joy are covered by our Quilt Fairy Godmother Program, which makes the Pixie Playdate for that machine free, and you can retake it as many times as you like.

That is deliberate. Nobody absorbs every feature of a computerized machine in one afternoon, and the second and third time through is when it sticks. If you are still choosing, our sewing machines are on the floor to try.

Visiting the Studio

Quilted Joy is a destination quilt shop and skill-building studio in Louisville, Kentucky, serving quilters in our shop and across the country.

We are at 12316 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville, KY 40243, open Tuesday through Saturday and late on Thursdays. The shop number is (502) 718-7148.

Supply lists for every class live in one shared document linked from each class listing, so you can see what a class needs before you book it. For most beginner classes the answer is very little, and for the first session of My First Quilt it is nothing at all.

Ready to browse? Start with My First Quilt and My Next Quilt, our longarm quilting classes, Pixie Playdates for your machine, sewing and piecing classes, or clubs, events and open sews. For quilters ages 9 and up, see the Young Makers Academy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Classes at Quilted Joy

Do I need to bring my own sewing machine?

You certainly can but if you'd rather rent one for a small fee, we can accomadate that request. 

Do I need to know how to sew already?

My First Quilt class, Learn Your Sewing Machine class and My First Stitch class assume nothing at all.

My First Quilt does ask for basic sewing knowledge, meaning you can sew a straight seam and are not meeting a machine for the first time. If you are not sure which end of that you are on, call the shop and describe what you have done before.

What is a Pixie Playdate?

A machine specific class for people who own, or are about to own, a particular machine. There are separate sessions for Baby Lock, Juki and Pfaff, and for sergers and embroidery machines, because the features and the menus are entirely different.

If you bought the machine from Quilted Joy, the Pixie Playdate for it is free through our Quilt Fairy Godmother Program and you may take it as often as you like.

What is the difference between a class and an open sew?

A class has an instructor teaching a planned skill. An open sew is time, space, machines and help, with no curriculum.

Open sews like UFO SOS are for projects you already own and are stuck on. You bring the project and its supplies, and a Quilt Fairy helps when you need it.

How long is My First Quilt and what do I leave with?

Five sessions, and you finish with a complete quilt top that you made. There is sewing homework between sessions, which is what makes five weeks enough.

You do not bring anything to the first session. That one covers choosing tools and fabric, and you buy the fabric for your quilt at the end of it.

Do you teach longarm quilting?

Yes, and it is the thing we are best known for. Our longarm classes run as series rather than single sessions, covering ruler work, freemotion designs, echoing and design planning on the frame.

If you just want to know whether a longarm is for you, call and ask!

Are there classes for children?

Yes. The Young Makers Academy teaches sewing to children ages 9 and up, starting with a required introductory workshop and continuing into six week sessions.

What supplies do I need to bring?

It varies by class, and every class listing links to the same shared supply document so you can check before booking. Machines are always provided.

Several classes need a specific ruler or a kit, and those are named on the listing. If a listing is not clear, call rather than guess.

Where is Quilted Joy?

12316 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville, KY 40243. We are open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9:30am to 5pm, Thursday 9:30am to 7pm, and Saturday 9:30am to 4pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

Can I take a class if I bought my machine somewhere else?

Yes, all of our classes are open to everyone. The only difference is that Pixie Playdates are free for machines purchased here and carry their listed price otherwise.

How do I know which class is right for me?

Call the shop at (502) 718-7148 and describe what you want to make and what you have made before. The Quilt Fairies teach these classes and know exactly which one starts where you are.