As you know from the Sampler Quilt class tutorials, I am very fond of people learning all the quiltmaking techniques. It is a way to be free from the tyranny of always having to use a pattern.
NOTE: I am not against quilt patterns and I feel we should all support quilt designers.
Y Seams demo sample
However, at some point quiltmakers will want to make a quilt design they have thought up themselves. To do this, we need to know all the techniques. Thus, I couldn’t say no when SueS asked me to do a Y Seams demo for the guild. As usual, I had to overachieve. I posted a handout to the guild members only site*. Most of the information is in the Y Seams tutorial.
I made a whole bunch of step outs and notes to tell people. I won’t be actually sewing. That didn’t work out well when I tried to show a demo of leaders and enders, thus the step outs.
*N.B. If you are in the Bay Area and want to join, click the join button on the guild site. We also have a Zoom option, though the demos and Bag Club are not always available via Zoom.
I finally found the Handbag Sampler blocks!!! They were in a bin at the top of my fabric closet
I need at least a few more blocks, which means I have to find the fabrics I used. I have the focus fabric, the handbag fabric, but the others weren’t with it. I haven’t looked for them, but I am confident that they are together and I didn’t use them for something else.
This sampler start has a really different look than the Aqua-Red Sampler and the Original Sampler, though many of the blocks are the same or similar.
I updated my Sampler Quilt Class page so that the blocks are also listed in the order I teach them. It’s a good time to revisit your skills or learn something new.
Last time I taught, I used the quilt below as an example. If you want me to teach you and your friends via Zoom, get in touch.
I am using a different quilt for this tutorial, but I have faith that that won’t make a difference to all of you intelligent readers and students who have been following along with my various sampler class tutorials.
Supply List:
blocks
fabric for sashing
fabric cornerstones (I used scraps, but my cornerstones were only 1.5 inches square)
Please note that we are only talking about sashing in this tutorial. We are not talking about borders. I will do a separate tutorial for borders in the future.
Red Strip Donation Blocks
I started out with the above group of donation blocks. I have been setting these with plain blocks of the same size. I decided that I wanted to do something different with these blocks. Sashing is the answer. Having something between these blocks prevents the seams from getting too thick and hard to sew. Also, it allows each block to shine a little bit rather than being part of a mass. Adding sashing or plain borders or nothing is a design choice. For any quilt, it is important to decide on the look and feel you want.
Even if you put the same sized plain blocks between these blocks, the method I will show you works the same way.
Blocks with Sashing & Cornerstones
The first step is to cut sashing and cornerstones. The photo above shows all the sashing and cornerstones cut and laid out on my design wall.
If you don’t want cornerstones, cut your top sashing the same size as your block + side sashing – 1/2 inch seam allowance (1/4 inch + 1/4 inch = half inch). The formula is:
Block size + vertical sashing – 1/2 inch seam allowance = finished size of top sashing without cornerstones
I can’t tell you the exact size, because I don’t have your blocks in front of me. Use a calculator. I do.
Also, notice that my top and side rows are different. I plan to put a straight strip of fabric across the top and sides as a border, which means I don’t need sashing for the top or sides.
Once you have all of your sashing and cornerstones cut, it is time to sew. I like to start in the bottom left hand corner. I start there because it is closer to my sewing machine when all the blocks are on my design wall. As I sew, the blocks shrink (because of the taken up seam allowance) and get closer to where I am sitting.
Sew vertical sashing to right side of block
First, sew one vertical sashing piece to the right side of your block.
Press to the red.
Sew top sashing to cornerstone
Next, sew one piece of the top sashing to a cornerstone. In the above photo the sashing is white and the cornerstone is a red flower fabric.
Take your new little sashing + cornerstone piece to the ironing board and press to the red.
Now, nest the seams and pin the top sashing/cornerstone piece to the block with vertical sashing.
The top sashing should be on the top of the block as it moves through the sewing machine. Sew the top sashing to the block.
Top sashing sewn to block with vertical sashing
Sew the side sashing and the top sashing/cornerstone to all the blocks as described above.
IMPORTANT: The top row, as mentioned above, in my quilt, is different, so just sew the vertical sashing to the blocks in the top row and the top sashing to the blocks on the right edge.
All of the blocks have sashing/cornerstones sewn to their correct side
Once you have sewn all the sashing on to the blocks, you will begin to sew the blocks together. This is chunking. I have talked about it before. I ‘chunk’ because 1) I don’t like sewing long rows together and 2) it keeps my piecing more precise.
Take two blocks with sashing & sew them togetherPin blocks together, matching seams and sew
First take the two blocks in the bottom left hand corner, pin them with matched points and nested seams. You will pin them together so that the top white sashing is sewn to the red cornerstone. The white vertical sashing will be sewn to the red block.
Sew them together. I pin in the seam allowance so that i have a better chance at the seams matching up. When I take the pins out as I am sewing, chances increase that the seams won’t match. In general, to increase my chances of perfectly matching seams, I try to sew towards the seam allowance, but that didn’t work on this quilt, because I pressed towards the red. Use a stiletto to keep the seams in place for as long as possible.
Two blocks with sashing sewn together
Now you have a block with sashing on two sides.
Once you have sewn all of the sashing and cornerstones to the blocks, you will have completed the first step in putting your quilt top together.
Sew sashing to top of blocks on the right edge only
On the right edge of the quilt, you will only sew the top sashing to the blocks. As mentioned before, there will be a border without cornerstones in my quilt, so I don’t need vertical sashing or cornerstones on the edges. If you want cornerstones in your border, follow the directions above for all blocks.
One long seam left
After you have sewn the various blocks together, you will have one long seam left.
Finished Center with sashing
Once you sew that seam, the center of your quilt top is done.
I know that the common way of sewing a quilt together is sewing it together in rows then sewing all the rows together. Using the row method is easier to explain than ‘chunking’, but, as I said above, my method is more precise.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I always wonder if I should put these types of posts under the general #TBT (Throwback Thursday) posts. I suppose it would sync with other sites, but somehow I feel like my own system works, too.
Fort Mason Sampler
Over the weekend, I did some chores that had been languishing, including scanning a bunch of photos I found while clearing out boxes and drawers during Lent. Some of the photos were of quilts I just hadn’t seen in awhile. Others I didn’t have digital photos of for this site. One was a sampler I did when I took a drafting class at Fort Mason just after I got married.
I made the top and gave it to my mom who quilted it. Many of the fabrics I used were from my first Sampler quilt, which, at the time, was still unquilted – well, the quilting was in progress. I knew, even then, that quilting was less appealing than piecing and my mom liked the quilt.
The point of the class was quiltmaking, but more specifically drafting blocks. I talked about this topic a little in my review of The Quilters’ Album of Patchwork Patterns. I am much more familiar with how blocks are structured, but at the time, this was a challenging part of the class. I haven’t seen the quilt in a long time and in looking at the blocks, I am much less confused by how to draft them. I am not sure I could do it the way the teacher taught me at the time, but I could do it, I think.
Fort Mason Sampler Wreath
My favorite block was the wreath type block. I really tried hard to make it look woven. I see some of the fabrics in that block are from one of the the Pointillist Palette quilts, so I must have already been working on those at the time.
Shortly after I finished the binding on Metroscape, I started and finished the binding on this sampler. I am pleased to have another finish! With this finish, I am crossing something off the list that has been on it for a long time. That feels great.
I showed it at BAM last Saturday and I was gratified at the response. I don’t think this sampler looks fuddy-duddyish, but I wasn’t sure how that more modern audience would take it. They liked it and it makes me want to pull out the Handbag Sampler and get back to it. I do think I would like to make some smaller blocks to go in a new sampler I might start, like the Star Sampler.
I worked hard last week on the Aqua-Red Sampler and got the top and back finished. WHEW! I didn’t fight with it as much as I had over the past month, but it wasn’t all peaches and roses either.
I probably would have made the white border thinner, if I had it to do other again, but I am not ripping it out. I think it works.
I ended up choosing the solid border, mostly because I didn’t have enough of the daisy fabric and I didn’t want to fiddle and fight to make it fit. I am pleased with it.
I worked hard on the Aqua-Red Sampler quilt over the weekend. It was great to have a nice long weekend. I made a lot of progress and will be glad to get this quilt out of my hair.
You will notice that I rearranged the blocks since my last layout. I also did not include the Cathedral Window block. It was just too thick. I have another test block from this quilt and I think I will make a pillow from the two of them.
I made a new block and needed to rearrange the blocks because of the colors. I didn’t want all the big red dots and daisy fabrics lumped together in one area. This quilt has been one problem after another and I hope that the borders will cut me some slack.
I found a bright white (Pure Elements Snow, which is different from Kona Snow) that picked up and highlighted the other bright whites in the blocks. I tried not to include too much cream where possible. I’m not sure about the width of that white border (2.5 inches). I may rip it off and make it smaller. That is not my first choice.
I thought the daisy fabric would be exciting, but I would have to struggle with making sure I used every scrap if I can’t find the rest of the stash of it that I know I have somewhere. The solid turquoise would be a solid choice. By that I mean that it would work, it would probably hold in all that is going on in the quilt.
I decided to make this block after finding I needed one more block to complete my Aqua-Red Sampler. I have never made one of these, so I thought “what the heck?”. I had seen some directions for it and it caught my attention. As mentioned, I had to cobble together instructions from at least three different tutorials to be able to make the block. Below is my version. The tutorials I referenced are noted below.
Finished Block Size: 12 inches (12.5 unfinished)
Supplies
Fabric
In this tutorial, the background is turquoise and the foreground is red.
Thread – you might want to use your regular piecing thread for the first part of the directions, then switch to a thread that matches the background fabric for sewing the curves shut
A pen or pencil you can use to draw on fabric (I like Sewline pencils)
Stiletto or dental pick type instrument (something thin and pointy)
hand sewing needle
Instructions for making a 12″ (finished) Cathedral Windows block
1. Cut 4 squares of background fabric 12.5 inches by 12.5 inches
4- 4 x 4 inch foreground squares
2. Cut 4 squares for inset pieces 4 inches by 4 inches.
Fold 12.5×12.5 inch squares in half
3. Fold each of the 4 background squares in half. This will make your 12.5 x 12.5 inch squares into rectangles (e.g. do not fold NOT along the diagonal).
Hint: I sew all four one after another, but you can sew one at a time, if you prefer.
3A. Sew along the short side, backstitching at the beginning and the end.
Open up rectangles & match edges
4. Open your rectangles and match up the raw edges.
Match edges and nest seams
Hint: I nest the center seams and pin, starting in the middle
Leave openingPin edges closed, leaving an opening for turning
Hint: leave an opening 2-3 fingers wide for later turning. I mark this with two pins right next to each other.
Sew seam shut
5. Sew your pinned seam shut except for the opening you have left.
Backstitch at beginning and endBackstitch at beginning and end
Hint: I backstitch at the beginning and end of the seams including next to the opening. Yes, it is a hassle to start and stop, but I don’t want the edges of the seams to come apart when I turn.
Smooth out blocks
6. Place recently sewn squares on the ironing board and smooth out wrong side out (above). They should make nice squares.
7. Press nested seams in opposite directions from the center out.
Press seam open to minimize bulk
8. Press long seams in one direction, being careful to line up edge of opening as best you can. You can press this seam open if you want.
You should now have 4 nice flat squares with wrong sides out.
9. Turn squares right sides out.
10 Poke out corners carefully. I use a knitting needle whose mate broke.
Your squares are now on the bias, so be careful when you handle them.
Press right side
10A. Press
Press
Corners folded in
11. Fold corners into the center. Do this with all four corners and make a new square. The square should be 6 inches.
4 blocks laid out in a 2×2 grid
12. Lay out the blocks in a 2 x 2 grid, so you can see what you have
Pin triangles together
13. Pin the center triangles of the two top triangles together. Do the same for the bottom triangles. Now your 2×2 grid will be pinned together in two rectangular sections
Draw a line in the crease
14. Using a ruler (I use a 3.5 x 12.5 Creative Grids), and your marking implement (I like Sewline pencils), draw a line in the crease under the triangles you are about to pin
Line up squares
15. Line up squares with backs together and triangles pointing to the right.
16. Put your applique’ foot on your sewing machine.
17. Sew along the crease on both sets.
18. Lay out the 2×2 grid again. Now you will have two ‘rows’. You are going to sew the rows together.
Pin them together
19. Fold up the top triangles from the bottom row and the bottom triangle from the top row.
Draw another line between the two ‘rows’ in the crease
20. Draw a line along the crease at the bottom of the two triangles.
21. Sew along the line. After, you will have your 2×2 grid of squares sewn together and the triangles will be flapping around.
Start laying out your foreground squaresForeground squares laid out
22. Take your foreground triangles and lay them on top of your background
Tuck flaps over foreground
23. Tuck the flaps in towards the center and pin in place. Watch out that the edges of your foreground squares don’t show. Make the edges curve slightly
Note: this was confusing to figure out and it turned out that I did not have all the sewn triangles in the right place. After you sew the triangles together, make sure you flatten them back in their original places, e.g. one layer of background on top
You may need to use a stiletto
Note: I had to use a thin sharp tool, like a stiletto or dental instrument to tuck in some of the foreground edges. I sometimes use a seam ripper, which is a very bad habit, because if you aren’t careful, you can rip your fabric. You can definitely trim the foreground fabric, but trim a little at a time very, very carefully
Pinned and ready for sewing
24. Pin each edge in three places with the heads of the pins facing the center of the foreground fabric. This is not micro management; this technique will allow you to sew as long as possible with the pins in place
Sew close to the edge of the background fabric
25. Sew very close to the edge of the background. I sewed slowly and carefully. I used the above mentioned sharp tools when I needed a little help. Leave LONG tails so you can knot off and hide the threads
26. Handstitch the other triangle flaps closed with a few stitches. The other tutorials said to use the machine, but 2 stitches is a pain and an irritant on the machine, so I hand sewed the flaps closed when I was sinking threads.
Cathedral Window Block in process
I never thought of making it before, but this block did kind of take my fancy. This is kind of a strange block, partially because of all of the layers. It is lumpier than I expected. Warn your longarmer about it.
Resources:
Fons & Porter Cathedral Window block– I originally found the instructions in one of their magazines as part of their ‘learning to quilt* series’. I had to go looking for other instructions when I found the directions had no sizes or actual cutting instructions. Directions are brief.
Lovely Little Handmades Cathedral Window block – uses a printed background, so you can see how that works. Most people use white, so it was a little confusing for me when I wanted to use the blue.
Sometimes Crafter Cathedral Window block – some missing detail, but has the instructions for cutting the right sized patches. I also don’t like it that the viewer cannot enlarge the photos to see the details.
*Nota bene: not sure if this is the correct name, but it describes the basic idea of the series.
In going through old photos, I found photos of the Handbag Sampler I have been talking about recently.
I haven’t actually found the blocks, but, at least, I have a photo and sort of know what I have.
Handbag Sampler Nosegay
I found a photo of a Nosegay block that I made (or am in the process of making as well. The 9th block is good, because that means, if I find the blocks, I can just put the quilt together. I don’t have to search out fabric, which is all very distinctive. Of course,in terms of learning, it isn’t quite as comprehensive a Sampler as the Aqua-Red Sampler. There is no applique completed.
I have to find the blocks before I decide what other blocks to make.
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I have the Aqua-Red Sampler on my design wall and I am trying to figure out what block to make as my last block.
Tea Basket block
I was thinking of the Nosegay. I have a great version for the Handbag Sampler, so it isn’t pressing that I make another one. Still, it’s a good block. Then I remembered the Tea Basket block. It isn’t very popular. In fact I don’t know if I have ever seen a quilt that included that block. It is in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, so I was able to find it. I also found it in BlockBase and made some adjustments so the BlockBase version looked more like Jinny Beyer’s version. I also added some color to get an idea of how it would look. Looking at it now, I think it is more of a contender than I thought.
We are making the Flower Wreath block. To find out how to make templates, including the ring, see Part 1 for making templates and Part 2 for making the ring and positioning the ring on the background.
Flower Wreath
Now we are going to stitch the ring. If you haven’t started, check the Supply List in part 1 and grab your 3″x5″ tearaway backed fabric. Your ring should be applied to the background and ready to stitch. If your ring is not fused and ready to stitch, go back to part 1.
I stitch in layers, so that the stitching is easier, there are fewer starts and stops and the piece looks more finished. Now that you are ready to stitch, it is time to choose your thread.
Choose thread
Whenever you choose thread, you must consider the stitch. If the stitch will be dense like a satin stitch, you should choose the color by looking at the thread wrapped around the whole spool. That will give you a better sense of the color the satin stitch will end up.
It you will be using a straight stitch, you should unreel a bit of the thread and look at one strand on your fabric. You may need to pool a little of the thread together – less dense than the whole spool and more dense than one strand.
Now set up your machine for zig zag stitching. You will need to choose a stitch density. I like a semi-open zig zag that is not too wide. Dense satin stitching, however, can really highlight and outline each piece. I use the following settings on my machine:
Ring: width: 3.0, density: 0.45
Flowers: width: 3.0, density: 0.45
Leaves: width: 2.0, density: 0.5
Flower centers: width: 2.0, density: 0.5
YMMV: Your machine will vary so use the test piece and try out your settings.
Even if I haven’t chosen all the fabric, I like to get the ring stitched down first, so I can audition the other fabric without worrying about the ring. Yes, it is fused and shouldn’t go anywhere, but I still like it to be stitched down.
In order to choose the stitch density, you will need to test. Get the tearaway backed sample piece you have prepared and start testing with the width and densities I have provided above. Stitch lines of zig zag stitching 2-3″ long using a contrasting thread similar to the thread you will be using to stitch the ring. Adjust the width and density on your machine until you are pleased with the look.
Stitch ring
Put the ring on the machine and start stitching. I always leave a long tail that I can pull to the back and tie shut later. My zig zag does not automatically tie the ends. If your machine is more advanced you may not have to tie a knot on the back. I don’t want my zig zag to come out if it gets snagged while the quilt is being used, which is why I tie the ends.
I use my applique’ foot, which has a red arrow in the center to stitch out the zig zag. I place the tip of the red arrow on the raw edge of the ring and follow it around. You want a smooth curve, so you should stitch with needle down or use the hand wheel to put the needle down when you stop. If the center point on your foot gets off the raw edge of your ring, stop and readjust. Stop with the needle down on the outside of the ring’s curve whenever you need to readjust the needle to accommodate the curve. Turn the fabric to the left to get the center point of the foot back on the raw edge of your ring. The stitching will be slightly closer together on the inside of the shape, when the needle punches the fabric to the left, and more open on the outside of the shape or when the needle hits the background.
Tail of thread
When you have done about half – 3/4s of the stitching on the ring, stop and pull the beginning thread to the back and tie it off.
I tie the beginning off before I get to the end, because the beginning and ending threads can get tangled up and make it impossible to make small, neat knots. I have tied all four ends together in a pinch, but prefer to make the knots as small as possible.
Fold work back to tie
I also use this technique also if I have to stop and pull the work out of the machine because of thread breakage or necessary bobbin refill.
I fold the work back (I only used my pincushion so I could photograph what I was doing. Normally, I just hold it with my wrist as pull the front through to the back and tie the ends together.) I don’t take the work out of the machine unless there is a good reason – like a big knot, or thread breakage, etc.
Completely stitched ring
Once your knot is tied, continue stitching to where you started. I don’t overlap much once I get to the beginning, perhaps only a stitch or two, because I don’t want the look of the stitching to be too different.
I pull the work out of the machine and tie off the ending threads. Again, you may not need to do this if your machine does it for you.
Now follow the same steps, but on the inside, to finish stitching down the ring. Once you have stitched both the inside and outside of the rings, your ring will be complete and you will be ready to place the leaves and flowers on the ring.
Choose fabrics by putting scraps on background
If you have not already done so, choose the rest of your fabrics. You will need fabric for the flowers (1-4 fabrics) and leaves (1-20 fabrics). If you have not cut out and fused the wreath to the background, please go back to part 2. The leaves can be the traditional green or you can use something else. If you use one color, you might want to mix up prints to increase interest. You can also use different colors. Make the block your own.
Make visual decisions visually
I thought about making the leaves green to make them more realistic, but decided I still wanted to use a variety of turquoises and aquas and to stay with my quilt’s color scheme. I found more fabrics to use in my scrap basket.
It is important, with my limited color scheme, to make sure the viewer can see the individual leaves. For that, I need to have enough contrast between the various aquas and turquoises. Remember, when choosing your fabrics, to make visual decisions visually. Put your potential fabrics on the background and step back to look at them. From my test piece (right) you can see that there are a variety of tones of aqua and turquoise. Some of them blend a bit into the background. I want movement and interest.
Cover fusible with fabric
Once you have chosen all of your fabrics press the fabric. Add fusible to the wrong sides.
Use the pressing cloth or applique’ pressing sheet to keep the fusible from sticking to your iron.
Follow the directions on your fusible’s packaging.
Trace leaves & Flowers
Mark all of your leaves and flowers. Flip the fusible so that paper side is up. You will be able to see your different fabrics through the paper. Place a template face DOWN on the appropriate fabric and trace with a writing implement. I use a Sewline pencil, but you can also use a pen, regular pencil or anything. I wouldn’t use a Sharpie even though I don’t think the paper will allow the marking to bleed through to the fabric.
Once you have traced all pieces**, cut them out right inside the drawn line. You should have 20 leaves, 4 flowers and 4 flower centers.
Take all of your pieces and arrange them the pleasing way. Arrange them into the final position. You are using this try-out to look at the overall effect of the whole block. Once you are pleased with the arrangement, take a photo or sketch out placement.
Fuse & Stitch Flowers
You will need to stitch the flowers first, then the leaves and finally the flower centers. The flowers and leaves are on the same layer, so you can stitch them in any order. Anything that will be covered by another piece will need to be stitched before you fuse the covering piece.
Place the flowers on the ring using the press marks you used to place the ring on the background (or fold the background in quarters and finger press again). Place them symmetrically along the ring, or in a pleasing way to your eye.
Fuse them into place and get ready to stitch. You can also reference the machine applique’ tutorial for more information. Again, pay attention to where the layers of the design are placed. If there are leaves that you want to place under the wreath, you will need to satin stitch them before you fuse the wreath down entirely. For the flowers, you will need to satin stitch down any parts of the design that will be covered by another piece of fused fabric, such as the centers. The design will look better if you satin stitch a layer and then fuse the next piece down.
Place the interfacing under the background. You could use a machine basting stitch to stitch the interfacing (Pellon Stitch & Tear or similar) temporarily to the background, but pinning works fine, too. You will need to zig zag with the interfacing under the background.
Stitching flowers
Satin stitch all the other pieces down using the thread you chose. When you stitch, the middle of the stitch will cover the outside raw edge of each piece. I line up the red arrow on my foot (see photo) with the sharp edge of that raw edge. The pieces you will satin stitch have curves, thus you will need to manipulate the stitch so it is smooth. Stitch with needle down.
Stop stitching to create smooth curves
Stop with the needle down on the outside of the curve for the leaves and flower petals. For the inside point between the flower petals stop above that point on the inside. If you do not have a machine that automatically stops with the needle down, again, you can use the hand wheel to move the needle into the downward position when you stop. Do thisMove the handwheel carefully without moving the fabric. Once the needle is down you will need to assess the way to turn the fabric. Always turn the fabric very slightly to ensure a smooth curve. You may only need to take one stitch before adjusting the fabric again in order to get around the curve smoothly. For the outside curves, generally, you need to turn the fabric to the left to make a smooth curve. (Updated 10/30/2012: My engineer SIL says: You turn it clockwise for outside curves and counter clockwise for inside curves. YMMV) The stitching will be closer together on the inside of the shape and more open on the outside of the shape when you move in this direction. For the inside point of the flower, between the petals, you will need to take a slight adjustment of the background to the right. For the pointy ends of the leaves, stop the needle on the outside of the leaf near the point and adjust the fabric to the right very, very slightly. Take one stitch, stop on the outside of the point again. Adjust very slightly to the right. Your goal should be to get the needle into the same hole on the inside of the leaf until the arrow or line on your machine’s foot is in line with the raw edge of the other side of the leaf. When you move the fabric always keep the needle down. Before starting, take a few of the templates, e.g. a leaf and a flower, make some test pieces and do a test with junk fabric so you get the feel of the procedure. This is not skill you should work on when you are pressed for time.
Arrange leaves
Once you are finished with the flowers, change your thread and adjust the width and density of your stitch, if desired.
Arrange the leaves in a pleasing manner. I placed 5 at a time on the background and stitched them down.
Stitch leaves
Arrange and stitch all of the leaves. My photo shows only 10 sewn leaves, but I did eventually stitch all of them.
Place the centers on the flowers and stitch them down. Follow all the directions above for tying off and moving the needle to create a smooth curve.
Back of block
Once you have stitched all the pieces, rip off the tearaway. I use a seam ripper to get the ripping started on pieces that are surrounded by stitching. Try not to distort the block while you are tearing out the stabilizer.
Once you are finished with the entire stitching and ripping out the tearaway, trim the background down to 12.5″
Fusible Machine Applique’ Block
Finished block! Hooray! You did it!
**Nota bene: These pieces have no right direction. You can trace them any way and apply them anyway and they will look fine. Pay attention if you are cutting out letters or another motif that has a special direction. Put the right side down on the paper backed fusible and trace the motif backwards.
Choose your fabrics. You will need fabric for the flowers (1-4 fabrics), leaves (1-20 fabrics) and the wreath (1 fabric). The leaves can be the traditional green or you can use something else. If you use one color, you might want to mix up the prints to increase interest. You can also use different colors. Make the block your own.
I used a variety of turquoises and aquas to keep my color scheme in the aqua/turquoise with red range. I have a few of the leaf fabrics picked out from my scrap basket, but need to find more. It is important, with my limited color scheme, to make sure the viewer can see the individual leaves.
Cut piece large enough for ring
The ring is the biggest pain to deal with so I worked on it first before I even really began thinking much about fabrics for the other parts. I decided to use one of the Pat Bravo Pure Elements solids in the turquoise range, but more on the green side. I haven’t used it in this quilt before, but it will complement the other colors. I picked it to highlight the leaves a little more.
Cover fabric with fusible
Now you need to make sure that your fusible will cover your fabric.
I used a package of Steam-a-Seam 2 Lite, but there are many fusibles that will work just fine for this project. As I have said before, my new favorite is Soft Fuse. Use a product with which you are familiar or know how to use. Using what you have on hand is also a good idea.
Tear the paper carefully off of one side of the Steam-a-Seam 2 Lite (or follow directions for your fusible) and stick it to the fabric, smoothing it carefully so there are no puckers or bubbles. The fusible is sticky so you can stick to the fabric and re-position it until you are happy before you fuse it to the fabric.
Back of fusible backed fabric
Since the fusible pieces I had were 8.5″x11″, I needed to cover an extra piece (bottom of the photo above) that was wider than the 8.5″ width of the fusible. I cut a piece from the fusible (white part in photo above) and re-positioned it to cover the part of the fabric I need for the size of the template.
Once you are happy, fuse the 2 sided fusible (should have the paper left on one side) to your ring fabric. Follow the directions on the package or website. You may want to cover your ironing board and the piece with an applique’ pressing sheet to keep your iron and ironing surface clean.
Turn your fusible backed fabric so that the paper left on the fabric is face up, as in the photo above. Place your ring template face down on the paper and trace around it with a pencil.
Ring cut out
Cut out the ring carefully on the line. I used an X-acto knife to start the center. I did use a pair of fabric scissors, but not my Gingher scissors. It is kind of hard to know what to do, because you are cutting both fabric and paper and you need a nice sharp edge. I use a pair of my mid-range scissors and hoped for the best. They still seem sharp even after this type of cutting.
Fold the ring into quarters and finger press lightly. Again you will be lining up the folds to center the ring.
Retrieve your background. Fold the background into quarters and finger press, so you can see the folds.
Line up ring on background
Remove the fusible paper from the ring.
Line up the folds of the ring with the folds of the background. If they are all in alignment, there should be a ring fold snuggled with a background fold evenly. If you want to check, measure from the edge to the ring. You do need an absolutely square block for this to work.
Press the ring with your iron, according to the fusible directions, onto the background so it sticks.
Carefully bring background with the ring stuck to it to the iron. Check to see that your ring is still in place. According to your fusible directions, press the ring into place.
Your ring should now be firmly ironed on to the center of the background.
Leave this piece on the ironing board temporarily.
Retreive the tearaway stabilizer and cut two pieces of tearaway stabilizer a little bit larger than your background fabric. Place your background on top of both pieces of tearaway and pin the background to the tearaway. This will provide stability and prevent the piece from puckering when you zig zag stitch the pieces.
You are now ready to machine applique’ your first part of the block. See part 3 for machine stitching the block.
The next class is about fusible machine applique’. You had a lesson on the basics a few days ago. There are about 3 more tutorials I created to enable you to learn this technique well.
Flower Wreath
Supply List:
Notebook for notes
Pen to take notes 😉
Mechanical Pencil
Fabric (at least 4 different, preferably more greens to create variety in the leaves; scraps work well)
Fabric Scissors
Paper scissors
Small ruler
Glue stick
Template plastic
Dinner plate or compass
Fusible web, such as Misty Fuse or Steam-a-Seam 2 or Steam-a-Seam Lite. My favorite is Soft Fuse.
Applique’ pressing sheet
Tear away stabilizer (the size of your background)
Iron
Ironing surface
3″x5″ piece of fabric backed with 2 layers of tearaway stabilizer
Cut a piece of fabric for the background .5″ to 1″ bigger than the finished size of the block. If you have a regular background fabric, use that, if not use a coordinating fabric. I took a look at my current blocks to help me decide what background I wanted to choose. This is a coordinated scrappy quilt, but I also wanted to find a background that would work well with the applique pieces that I was planning to put on top of it.
After cutting out a background, put it aside for the time being. You will need it after you make the templates and the ring.
Rough cut pattern out for templates
Rough cut out all the templates from the paperpattern. Feel free to adjust the design of the flowers or leaves, if you want the shapes to be a little different. It is good to make the pattern your own.
All patterns rough cut
In the photo above, you can see all of them templates rough cut out, except the circles. The circles print from EQ7 on two sheets of paper. You will need to rough cut the two pieces for each circle and then tape them together. In order to tape the pieces together, hold each piece for one circle in a hand up to the light and match them up you. Before you hold them up, have have a small piece of tape ready to tack the pieces together. You can use a light box for this procedure also.
Fold circles in quarters
Fold circles in quarters to make a line down the centers. This will help you line them up to make the ring for the wreath.
I never did this before and had to figure it out, but it works pretty well.
Layer Circles
Using the folds, layer the circles together so you can see the black line of the upper circle. Draw a line around the smaller circle, using the smaller circle as a template. You will be drawing on the larger circle. Use a soft implement (pencil or roller ball pen) that doesn’t skip to draw the circle. Once you have drawn the circle, you can put the smaller circle away with your other templates. I use a zipper bag for all of the pieces and parts.
Check width
Fold up the larger circle. Check the width of the ring of the wreath using a small ruler to make sure it is even. Once you are happy with the line. Cut along the line without opening the circle.
Complete Ring Pattern
Once you have cut out the ring, open up the ring.
Now you are ready to make the templates. Grab all of your patterns, your template plastic and your glue stick.
Glue the paper templates to the template plastic.
No template plastic on folds
The only tricky part is for the ring. I avoid the folds in the pattern and only put the template plastic on the parts of the ring where the fold isn’t. Why? Because I want to be able to fold this piece and put it in a zipper bag later. Also, by adding the template plastic in quarters you save template plastic and you can use smaller pieces. Finally, you don’t end up with a circle of leftover template plastic.
Trim the templates to the line on the pattern.
Front & back of templates
Depending on the kind of template plastic you have, your templates will look something like the photo above.
Part 2 will talk about choosing fabrics etc.
You can find more detail about machine appliqueing directional motifs, such as letters in a separate tutorial.
This is part of the quilt class, but I will use some different patterns and fabrics to demonstrate.
When I started working on the Tarts Come to Tea after a long break I really could not remember how to machine applique’. It was the strangest feeling. I knew the general principles (trace pattern, iron it on fabric, satin stitch around the shapes), but all the details were hiding in some dark corner of my mind. I felt like I had to start over.
Being a good librarian I looked at some books, but could only find references to needle-turn and raw-edged applique’. I developed the following process. This is an overview. A future tutorial will provide more detail.
Supplies:
pencil
large sketch pad
favorite fusible (I like Soft Fuse)
black marker
paper scissors
fabric
thread
sewing machine
applique’ foot
Cake block pattern
First, I draw the pattern out life size on a white sheet of sketch paper. (I know this doesn’t look like white paper, but see the Weekend Work post for an explanation). I usually draw in pencil to start. When I draw the shapes in pencil I can make small changes until I am satisfied with the shapes.
Machine Applique’ Pattern
Next I trace the patterns on individual smaller sheets of paper. If there are parts that need to be in different colors or need to be separated for some reason, then I make separate patterns for them. For example, I made a separate pattern each for the main part of the cup, the coffee, the handle and the inside-back of the cup, above.
Tracing Machine Applique’ Pattern
I put the Soft Fuse, or other fusible of your choice, over the pattern and trace the pattern onto Soft Fuse.
Traced Pattern on Fabric
After that is done, I trim the fabric to the approximate size, then press the Soft Fuse (or other appropriate fusible) on to the wrong side of that piece of fabric.
Repeat for all of the parts of your pattern.
Cake block detail
Finally, remove the paper and stick the pieces to the background.
Press the fusible on to the background, according to the directions and satin stitch around the edges.
