This is a post about the Tokyo Subway Map Quilt-Along, which you can join at any time. You don't have to sign up anywhere but, if you like, you can join our Flickr Group. The fabric requirements for finishing the quilt were included in this post.
Now that you've finished all 25 blocks, sew the blocks into 5 rows, then sew the 5 rows together to make a quilt top approximately 60.5" x 60.5".
Making the quilt back with applique letters:
Cutting Directions
- Cut your 4-yard piece of neutral solid fabric into 2 equal pieces, each 2 yards (72") long.
- Trim away the selvage from one of the 72" pieces. This is your Large Quilt Back Panel.
- Cut the second 72" piece in half along the fold, creating 2 equal pieces, each about 21" x 72". One of these is your Small Quilt Back Panel.
- From the second 21" x 72" piece, cut 10 squares 7.5" x 7.5" and 4 strips 2" x 4".
Making Appliques
Start by downloading the templates, which spell out Tokyo Subway Map in Japanese. (Thank you again to Ayumi for translating!) Note that the templates are mirror images of the actual letters, which is what we want. The process I'm about to describe will result in the finished appliques being correctly positioned.
Download Tokyo Subway Map Applique Letters
If you want to make raw-edge appliques, like mine, trace the templates onto the paper-backed lightweight fusible web, like Heat'n'Bond Lite using a pencil.
Trim the fusible web around each traced letter to within about a half inch of your pencil lines. Follow manufacturer directions to iron the letters onto the wrong side of your dark solid fabric. (If you can't tell the difference between the right and wrong sides of your solid fabric, don't worry. Just pick one side and iron all of your letters to it.)
Using sharp, paper-friendly scissors, cut letters out along pencil lines. Peel away paper backing, revealing the "glue" part of the fusible web. Place each of the 8 letters glue-side-down in the center of one of the 7.5" x 7.5" neutral solid squares and follow manufacturer directions to fuse them in place.
Depending on your machine's settings and your personal preference, use a zigzag, buttonhole, or satin stitch to stitch around the raw edges of each letter. A more detailed tutorial on raw-edge machine applique can be found here.
Piecing Directions
Note: All piecing directions assume a .25" seam allowance.
Once you're finished making the appliqued letter squares, sew them together in order, adding one each of the 2 remaining 7.5" x 7.5" squares to the beginning and end of the row.
Divide your 84 multicolored print and solid squares into 2 groups of 42 squares each. Sew each set of squares randomly, or in the order or your choice, into a long pieced row. Sew one 2" x 4" piece of your neutral solid to the beginning and end of each row.
Sew one row of multicolored squares to the top and one to the bottom of the row of appliqued letters.
Sew the Large Quilt Back Panel to the top and the Small Quilt Back Panel to the bottom, as shown in the above diagram, trimming away any excess fabric to even up the sides.
You'll notice that, on the finished quilt back, your rows of multicolored squares do not extend all the way to the edges. Don't worry. When you trim the edges of your quilt after quilting, that excess white on the edges will be cut away and the pieced rows will extend all the way to the edges.
Making a Plain Quilt Back
Cutting Directions
- Cut your 4-yard piece of fabric into 2 equal pieces, each 2 yards (72") long.
- Trim away the selvage from one of the 72" pieces. This is your Large Quilt Back Panel.
- Trim the second piece to 30" x 72". This is your Small Quilt Back Panel.
Piecing Directions
Sew the Large and Small Quilt Back Panels together, matching 72" sides, and inserting a scrap-pieced row between the two panels, if desired.
