Quilt Qua
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Cutting Your Fabric Stips Straight
Sun 21 Sep 2008
Questions from Quilters Dear Girls, Well I think you are young anyway, I have a recurring problem in that I never seem to cut my fabric straight no matter that I have the right equipment and so when I sew I always have something out of alignment. Please help me its driving me crazy. Thanks sew much. Marie Burton from the land down under and you have my permission to print about me. Answers for Quilters To ensure that your quilt will be the shape you want it to be, your first cut must be straight on the ... Read More...
Quick Tips for Cutting Fabric with a Rotary Cutter
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Keep your cuts straight by squaring up your fabric before you make the first cut, and checking periodically to be sure the cuts are still straight Remember to cut the selvedges off the ends of your fabric at some point, so they don’t end up in your quilt. I usually do that after I have cut the strips from the larger piece. For speed, you can cut through up to 4 layers of light to medium weight fabric at the same time. Check periodically to be sure that the bottom layers are accurately cut. Sometimes they slide around and end ... Read More...
Using Your Rotary Mat and Ruler to Cut 45 degree Angles
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Pleae note - these pictures were created by a left-handed person (me!). If you are right-handed, you may need to reverse them. Line up your fabric between two yellow grid lines on the cutting mat. Your cutting mat may have a yellow grid line that marks a 45° angle. If it does, line up your fabric with the 45° angle marker as well. You will notice in the picture to the left that the fabric strip is between two yellow grid lines as well as the 45° angle marker. Notice, too, that the ruler has a 45° angle marker. ... Read More...
Tips for Making Rag Quilts
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Rag quilts are fun and easy to make. They are very forgiving in many ways, and sewing them together is somewhat easier than piecing a patchwork quilt. Here are a few tips that might make the construction of your rag quilt even easier: Fabric 100% cotton homespun plaids or flannels work really well, because they fray a lot! You could use a 100% cotton with a loose weave – the drawback is that the quilt itself may not wear well. See if you can find fabric that has color on the back. Since both sides of the fabric will show ... Read More...
Quilts Made From Old Clothes
Fri 12 Sep 2008
A Quilter Asked: Dear Penny I'm so happy that I can e-mail questions to you. I've wanted to ask somebody but never knew who. I 've never made a quilt before. Well I kind of did, but never finished it and through the constant moving around stages of my life I lost the only one I did start. I always think about it and wonder what the heck ever happened to it. Anyway, my sister passed away 2 yrs now. And I asked my niece (her daughter) if I could have her (my sisters clothes) when she was ready to let ... Read More...
Tips for Paper Piecing
Fri 12 Sep 2008
The Pattern You will notice that the pattern faces right side up. That seems like an obvious statement, and may have no meaning. I’m about to give it some (meaning, that is). It would be really nice if the pattern were on the back of the paper, then you could sew on the lines on the paper. The way it is set up, you will place your fabric on the front of the paper, which is blank. Most quilters sew on the back following the lines printed on the paper. Remember, if you use the printed lines as sewing guides ... Read More...
Mitering the Corners of Binding on a Quilt
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Q: I am having trouble with the binding. I follow the instructions that I got off "How to Quilt", but my corners are really hard to miter and they want to curl. What am I doing wrong? I hope you can help me. A: Without seeing it, it's difficult for me to say exactly what the problem is, and what will help. But, I'll give it a try. Sometimes it depends on the width of your binding. I have found that narrow binding (less than 1" wide) tends to be not as crisp at the corners. Partly, I think, because ... Read More...
Ready-made versus Do-it-Yourself Quilt Binding
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Binding is usually the finishing touch to your quilt. It’s the fabric that wraps from the quilt top around to the backing, covering the edges of your quilt and keeping everything (including the batting) conveniently tucked inside. You can also think if the binding as the final frame around your quilt. As with so many other aspects of quilting, there are several decisions to make. Fabric stores sell ready-made bias quilt binding. This may be a good solution for a beginning quilter. Many of my early quilts used ready-made binding. By the time I got the quilt finished and ready ... Read More...
Self-Binding Using Backing Fabric - With Mitered Corners
Fri 12 Sep 2008
You can use the backing of the quilt and roll it over the edges to make a binding that attaches to the quilt top. Or, you can use the quilt top and roll it over the edges to make a binding that attaches to the back. The time for that decision is before you cut your backing or your last border, because you want to be sure to have enough fabric to roll around the edges and include a seam allowance to tuck in your raw edge. The advantage of self-binding is that you already have the fabric attached to ... Read More...
Photo Quilts
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Q: Hello, I am a casual quilter or have been and plan to do more now that my grandkids have moved away and my husband has Alzheimers....in other words staying close to home.... I want to make my grandkids a quilt using pictures from their life as they were growing up....where can I find the info to do this? A: Thank you for contacting me. I'm sorry to hear about your husband. Making quilts definately will help keep you relaxed as you help him. Probably the easiest thing to do is to transfer the photos onto fabric. If you have ... Read More...
Give a Teacher an Apple that They Can Keep for a Lifetime
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Tradition has it that students should bring an apple to a teacher to win her (or his) favor. Why not give your child's teacher an apple that they can keep forever, and possibly pass onto their future generation? This quilt with an apple is simple to make, and involves every child in the class. Although I don't remember how large this quilt was, I do remember that my son wanted it to be BIG! And, in all fairness, there were 30 students in his 5th grade class, and I wanted every one to sign their name. We made this quilt ... Read More...
How Can I Make a Quilt Using Different Sized Blocks
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Quilters are frequently in search of new and interesting ways of combining blocks into a quilt. Often the blocks are different sizes, and so the question is asked: "How Can I Combine Different Sized Blocks in my Quilt?" Following is just one real-life example of how I combined sever different sized blocks and patches to make an interesting fishbowl quilt for my son - when he was 6. My son combined his love of fish and my love of quilting when he found this quilt pattern in a magazine. When I first looked at the picture of the quilt, I ... Read More...
Crazy Quilts
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Q: From one soon-to-be-quilter, I want to make a "Crazy Quilt," and don't understand the need to stitch the pieces to a backing pieces as I go along. Thanks, Paula A: Crazy quilts got their name because each block is made from pieces of fabric that are all different sizes and shapes as well as types of fabric. For example, one block in a crazy quilt could include a scrap of velvet, wool, cotton, cordouroy, and cotton. The shapes of the fabric pieces are also very different. Not even as simple as a triangle, a square, a rectangle, and a circle, ... Read More...
Make an Irish Chain Quilt
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Q: I recently downloaded the free pattern for the Irish Chain quilt. However, I didn't get any instructions, I need to know how much fabric to buy for a full / queen size quilt, how to put the blocks together, etc. Thank you for your help. I am a fairly new quilter and having a great time learning!!! Sheila Kiker A: Thanks for your question. The Irish Chain quilt is a perfect project for a beginner quilter, since it is made with just squares, and can be made using only two or three fabrics. The quilt is made of just ... Read More...
Using Embroidered Blocks in Your Quilt
Fri 12 Sep 2008
Q: I have embroidered some blocks for my grandson, and would like to make a quilt with them. I will be using a 61/2" x10 1/2" block if you could figure the quilt The batting is 96"x108." Sorry is that the size I make the quilt?? How many blocks plus sashing around each block in fabric do I need? I will be using a different color for the sashing. Thanks for the information this morning for the borders. Hope this is not too much to ask Carol A: Using your 6" by 10" blocks, I have designed a quilt ... Read More...
5 Quilt Blocks Made from Simple Strips
Fri 12 Sep 2008
It's great fun to make quilt blocks using strips of fabric. One of the things that makes it fun is that it is easy. Below are 5 different block designs using simply strips of fabric. Each block is simple to make. Just sew strips together, cut them off to the correct length, and then sew them together as patches to make the block. Each block is defined as a four-patch, five-patch, or nine-patch, and the widths of the strips to sew and square patches to cut are written below the block. This Country Charm quilt block is a ... Read More...
The Things Cats Love
Fri 12 Sep 2008
With the theme of the block patterns for August 2007 being geese and birds, I’ve included an example of a border using a variation of Flying Geese. This quilt is made from small batik squares that many quilt shops sell in a pack. These were all cat squares. Each kitty square is 4 inches, and I surrounded it with squares and half-square triangles forming a type of Pinwheel Block. Then, using the colors that were in the background of the kitty squares, I made a series of half-square triangle patches. Initially I was going to simply surround ... Read More...
A Quilt Idea-Log Cabin Heart Wall Hanging
Fri 12 Sep 2008
With Valentine’s Day not far off, this month’s quilt idea is a relatively simple log cabin. The key to the design in a log cabin quilt or wall hanging is to determine how you will lay out the logs in each block, and then how to place the blocks in your quilt. The logs in this quilt are a small ½ inch wide, and each block is 3 ½ inches square. This quilt was my first attempt at a Log Cabin quilt. It looked so easy, and the pattern said to cut 1 inch strips and then add them ... Read More...
Adjusting The Tension for Beautiful Macine Quilting
Thu 11 Sep 2008
Proper tension in your sewing machine is the one thing that can set your quilt apart - making it look like a professional did it versus an amateur did it. The goal is to have your threads meet in the middle inside the batting. If your bobbin thread is showing on the top of your quilt, you need to loosen your tension which means a lower number. And if your top thread is showing through on the backside of your quilt that means that you need to tighten the tension. That's going to bring the threads up and that means ... Read More...
Adding Interesting Borders to Your Quilt
Thu 11 Sep 2008
Making a quilt is very much like creating a painting; and generally will benefit from having a frame, or border, or two. As with the quilt itself, your fabric selections will determine the look of your quilt, and are limited only by your imagination. The easiest borders are simple strips added to the sides of your quilt. Many quilters use the same fabrics that are in their quilt blocks. Other quilters use completely different fabrics.; This adds a design dimension or introduces a new and interesting color. A simple way to add interest to your border is to add cornerstones. ... Read More...