Oh, Fransson!

Lots of little squares

I finished cutting all my "lines" and "stops" squares for my new Tokyo Subway Map quilt.

I didn't have a white that matched the Echino print, so I ordered some Bella Feather, which will hopefully be the right color for the background. We'll see!

 

Tokyo Subway Map Quilt is finished!

My Tokyo Subway Map quilt is finished!  There really wasn't enough light today to photograph it well, but I just couldn't wait to show it off.

Here's the back.

Here's some more detail.

And here it is on my quilt rack (aka IKEA towel stand).

Just because I've finished my quilt doesn't mean that it's too late to start the quilt along.  All the how-to posts are right here.

Thank you so much to Ayumi for her help translating the letters for the back, and thank you to everyone who has been playing along in the Flickr Pool.

And a HUGE thank you to Hiromi, who suggested making a quilt inspired by the Tokyo Subway Map in the first place! 

Last time I asked, I got so many wonderful suggestions, so I think I'm going to ask again.  What would YOU like to see for the next quilt-along?  Are you inspired by a particular idea or theme?  Do you love a certain color scheme?  Are you dreaming of working with a certain shape?  I'll be putting together another original quilt-along pattern shortly and would love to hear from you. 

Still working on my Tokyo Subway Map

I'm not sure why this is taking me so long, but I thought I would work on it for a little while today.

I love the blocky robot quilting, but it is definitely time-consuming.

Tokyo Subway Map: Sandwiching and Quilting

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.

Now it's time to make the quilt sandwich! 

Depending on the width of your solid fabric, you may find your quilt back is several inches taller than it needs to be.  To preserve the proper alignment, match the bottoms of your quilt top and back, as shown above.  (In the photo, the left side is the top and the right side is the bottom.)  This will help to ensure that the pieced strip with the letters sits slightly lower on the quilt back.

As you smooth the layers of your sandwich, make sure the seams on your quilt back are parallel to the seams on your quilt top.  The will help to ensure that the row of letters on the back of your quilt ends up being staight.

The number of pins you use for basting is really up to you.  You want to have enough pins to keep your sandwich secure, but remember that you're going to have to stop and remove every pin you put in.  If you're going to be free-motion quilting with a darning foot, I think that placing pins about 3 squares apart (so 3 squares between each pin, which ends up being about 6" apart) is plenty.

As always, I recommend placing your pins in some kind of regular grid arrangement, so you know when to expect to encounter them during quilting.

I would like to challenge all of you who are making this quilt to finish it with a new-to-you quilting design.  My recommendation is a boxy meandering stitch that mimics the shape of the subway "lines" on the quilt top.

Start by practicing drawing the pattern on paper.  This design is conceptually similar to a standard meandering stitch but, instead of making a continuous curving/squiggly line, you'll be making a continuous boxy line. 

I recommend practicing on a scrap sandwich before moving on to your actual quilt.  Start in the same place you would normally start for free-motion meandering (for me, that's in a corner) but, rather than moving your sandwich in a smooth curving motion, move it back and forth and from side to side to make boxy shapes.  You may find that some of your quilted "boxes" are a bit rounded on the edges, which is totally fine. 

You'll probably notice that, much like with curved meandering, making quick jerking motions can result in too-long stitches, but failing to move can result in a pile of too-tiny ones.  Practice until you find a rhythm that works for you.  I find that the motions I make while doing this stitch are kind of robotic (up and down and back and forth, etc.).  In fact, it may help to think about this as the quilting version of doing the robot, or even to listen to dance music while you're quilting.

Here's what the back of my quilt looks like so far.  I'll post photos as soon as I finish quilting the whole thing!

Tokyo Subway Map: Making the Quilt Top and Back

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 appliqued 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.

Check back Tuesday, November 30, for my post about quilting and binding your Tokyo Subway Map Quilt!

Tokyo Subway Map: Finishing Supplies

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.

Please note: The above is not perfectly to scale.

I had planned to make a very simple back for this quilt but, with help from the fabulous Ayumi, I have a new plan!  I'll post instructions for both a version with applique letters that say Tokyo Subway Map in Japanese, and a plain version.

Because of the upcoming Fall Quilt Market, we're going to take a break from the quilt-along posts until November 16.  Hopefully this will give everyone a chance to catch up!  In the meantime, you'll have some time to think about which quilt back you'd like to make, and to gather your supplies.

Note: The below requirements contemplate fabric at least 42" wide.

For a plain back, you'll need 4 yards of the fabric of your choice (or 2 yards each of 2 different fabrics). 

For the applique back, you'll need:

• 4 yards white or other neutral solid fabric
• 1/2 yard contrasting solid fabric, such as black, for applique letters
• Thread to match contrasting solid fabric
• 1 yard or 1 small package lightweight fusible web, such as Heat'n'Bond Lite
• 84 squares 2" x 2" in assorted prints and solids to match the squares used on your quilt front.

Regardless of which back you choose, you'll need about 64" x 64" of low-loft batting and 1/2 yard of fabric for binding.  (I recommend solid black or dark gray.)   

I'll post about other things before then, but I'll be back with more about this project on November 16!

Tokyo Subway Map: Blocks 24 and 25 of 25

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.  Piecing instructions were included in this earlier post.

Last two blocks!

Here's Block 24.

And, here's Block 25.

Download Tokyo Subway Map - Blocks 24 & 25

And here are all 25 blocks together! 

Check back on October 20 for details on finishing the quilt top and back, including relevant yardage information.

Tokyo Subway Map: Blocks 22 and 23 of 25

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.  Piecing instructions were included in this earlier post.

Just a few more to go!

Here's Block 22.

And here's Block 23.

Download Tokyo Subway Map - Blocks 22 & 23

Look for the last two blocks on Friday.

Tokyo Subway Map: Blocks 20 and 21 of 25

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.  Piecing instructions were included in this earlier post.

Here's Block 20!

And the diagram for Block 20.

There's a lot of white space going on in Block 21.

Download Tokyo Subway Map - Blocks 20 & 21

And just in case there was any question about my being completely crazy, I went through this weekend and replaced several of the prints that I wasn't loving with more fussy-cut animals.  I realize that the actual Tokyo Subway System is full of people, but I do enjoy fussy cutting (and animals) and like the way it looks.

Just two more block posts after this.  I'm planning to post them on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

Tokyo Subway Map: Blocks 18 and 19 of 25

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.  Piecing instructions were included in this earlier post.

We're moving right along!  Here's my Block 18.

Here's the diagram for Block 18.

And on to Block 19.

Here's the diagram for Block 19.

Download Tokyo Subway Map - Blocks 18 & 19

The next two blocks will be up on Friday!