Oh, Fransson!

Birthday Cake Quilt and Fabric Giveaway

 
The blocks in this quilt are inspired by slices of birthday cake. 

 
Each rectangular block is made from a brown or aqua print "cake" fabric cut into two layers and sewn together with a thin layer of chocolate or vanilla "frosting" in between. 

The 48" x 48" size is perfect for covering a small table. 

Download the free pattern here:

Download Birthday Cake Quilt

 
 
The 10 print and 2 solid fabrics that I used for this quilt top can be purchased as a fat quarter bundle from Fabricworm.  Fabricworm will be giving away one of these fat quarter bundles.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post before tomorrow evening. 

This bundle of 12 fat quarters would also be perfect for a Mixtape, New Wave, or Rec Center quilt! 

 
I used Taupe Quilter's Linen for binding and a solid aqua, similar to Kona Aqua for the backing.

 
If you make a Birthday Cake Quilt, please show it off in my Flickr Pool!

Tip of the Day: Glue Your Fabric Together

Do you notice anything unusual about this block?

What about now?  Do you see it?

 
Surprise!  One of those orange strips was pieced together from scraps. 

I always seem to be just short of enough fabric to piece a particular block, and I often do this kind of thing.  However, I recently worked out a much easier method and thought I would share.

 
   
Let's say I need a 12 1/2" strip of this big floral print, but I only have 11 3/4.

Fortunately, I have another small piece of the same print. 

I first need to check to make sure that I'll be able to match up the repeat in the fabric.  This method will only work if you can match the repeat and will usually work best when you sew two pieces together to make a larger piece that you then cut down to the size you need.

I start by pressing the edge of the piece I'm adding under by about 1/4" - 1/2".  The size of the fold isn't as important as the fact that it should be as straight as possible.

 
I then lay the folded piece of fabric on top of the larger piece, lining up the repeat in the print. 

Notice that this won't necessarily be right at the edge of the fabric.  (How far from the edge you'll need to go will depend on the size of the print.) 

Now that I know where I'm going to put it, I remove the folded piece and use a water-soluble glue stick to lightly brush the folded edge with glue.

 
Here I've returned the folded piece to the same location and press into place with my fingers.

Note: I determined location, removed the folded piece and only then put on the glue to prevent the glue from drying and/or getting smeared all over the fabric while ideal placement was being determined.  If you have a hard time remembering where you had lined up the prints, don't hesitate to mark your fabric with disappearing ink before removing the folded piece.

 
I carefully moved the glued fabric to my pressing area and pressed the fold with a hot iron to really secure the glue.  After I did this, I was able to open up the folded fabric (as shown above) without it coming loose from the other piece.

I then sewed the two pieces together, keeping my stitches right on the crease created by the fold.

 
Now that the pieces are sewn together, I opened up my (formerly glued-together) seam allowance and pressed it open.  Because of the glue residue, I covered the seam with some scrap fabric before pressing.

 

I trimmed away the excess seam allowance, making it the same on both sides of the seam. 

 
And here's the finished piece.  As you can see, it isn't 100% perfect, but it's certainly usable -- kind of like those emergency substitutions in old-school cookbooks.

 
Once I cut it down to size, the piecing is even less noticeable.

Here's an example of the same thing done with a more subtle print.

 

And, if you want to get really crazy, you can use this method to splice together different colorways of the same print.

Machine Quilting Loopy Flowers

 
This is a quick tutorial on how to free motion quilt in the loopy flower motif that I used on this quilt.  This technique is not difficult, but it's trickier than some, so I recommend it for quilters who are already confident free motion quilting with a meandering stitch.

For the loopy flower quilting, set your machine up the same way you would for any other kind of free motion quilting (lowering or covering feed dogs, setting stitch length to zero, etc.).  For an explanation of basic free motion quilting, please reference this post.

If your machine has an automatic needle down function, engage it.  If your machine doesn't have this function, be sure to manually lower your needle every time you stop quilting.

 
Start where you want the center of your the flower.  Pull the bobbin thread to the top.

 
Hold thread tails and begin quilting.  Sew several stitches in place to secure threads and then move clockwise, in a circle, about an inch in diameter.  Once you've reached the opposite side of the circle, stop and trim loose threads.

 
Continue stitching around circle two or three times.  As much as possible, your stitches should be very close to, but not directly on top of, one another.  (The goal is to replicate the look of someone quickly drawing the shape on paper.)

 
Moving out from the center, still in a clockwise motion, stitch a rounded petal, as shown above.

 
Continue around the center circle, stitching as many petals as you like and ending at the point on the center circle where you started.

Having tried several variations, I find that I prefer the look of flowers with six petals.

 
Stitch around the flower, echoing the shape of the petals, as shown above.  Note how the stitches echoing the tips of the petals are further away than the stitches between the petals, which are right on top of one another. 

 
Stitch around the petals a third and final time, continuing to stitch over the same area in the spaces between the petals.  Note the placement of the needle in the above photo.  While I continued to dip in toward the center and stitch over the same area, I did not go all the way to the center each time.

Once you're finished, make several stitches in place to secure threads and trim.  (Each flower is a complete and separate unit.)

 
Inspect the back of your quilting to make sure your stitches look good on the back too.  I found that, to get a good stitch, I had to set my tension thread slightly higher than normal for this technique. 

Your flowers will vary in size depending on the size of your echoed petals.  I found that most of mine were between 7" and 8" across.

 
When working on a quilt, I suggest starting at or near the center.  Remove enough pins to quilt an entire flower without stopping to remove any.

 
When quilting over a regular patchwork pattern like this one, I prefer to offset the flowers, rather than centering them over certain parts of the piecing.  I just think it give a more interesting, less fussy look. 

My flowers were placed semi-randomly, as I worked.  However, whenever I started a new flower, I imagined an equilateral triangle placed over every three adjacent flowers.  My goal was to place the flowers so that the points of this imaginary triangle would align with the centers of the three flowers.

 
Along the sides of my quilt, I stitched additional petals to give the appearance of flowers that continued off the edges of the quilt.

 
I love the summery look of the finished quilting!  (This is one of the additional layouts for the updated Simple Modern Baby Quilts Pattern.  I'll show you more photos once the pattern is ready.)

 

When you're finished, examine your quilt back for any missed threads.  Because of all the starting and stopping, you'll likely have to do a little cleanup, but the finished quilt back should have a nice, wavy texture, like the quilt top shown above.  

Quilted Potholder Tutorial

A while ago, I posted about these potholders that I made for a PMQG swap.  I had a number of requests for a tutorial, and am just now getting around to writing it up.

This is a pretty basic square potholder measuring 9 1/2" x 9 1/2".  The back has a pocket for your hand.

 

To make this potholder, you will need:

• 1 patchwork block 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" for potholder front
• 1 strip neutral solid sashing fabric 2 1/2" x width of fabric for potholder front
• 1 piece print fabric 10" x 10" for potholder back
• 2 pieces contrasting solid fabric 12" x 12" for potholder lining
• 3 pieces low-loft batting 11" x 11"
• 2 pieces twill, canvas, denim or other sturdy fabric 11" x 11"
• 1 piece bias-cut fabric 2 1/2" x 12" for binding
• 1 piece fabric 2 1/2" x width of fabric for binding
• 1 scrap contrasting fabric 2 1/2" x desired length for binding (optional)

Notes about materials:

Fabric requirements assume fabric is at least 42" wide.

I'm not a fan of the crinkly heat-resistant products, which is why I used low-loft batting and canvas.  If you want to use Insulbrite or something similar, you may want to play with the number of layers.

The canvas, twill or denim interlining is designed both as insulation and to make the potholder sturdy.  The stiffer the fabric you use, the stiffer your potholder will be.  If you want a softer potholder, skip the fabric interlining. 

 
Start by using the 2 1/2" neutral solid strip to sew sashing on all four sides of the patchwork block.
 
Make a quilt sandwich of the following pieces (from top to bottom):

• Sashed Patchwork Block
• 2 Batting Squares
• 1 Canvas Square
• 1 Lining Square

 
Make a second quilt sandwich of the following pieces (from top to bottom):

• Potholder Back
• 1 Batting Square
• 1 Canvas Square
• 1 Lining Square

 
Machine quilt both sandwiches as desired.

 
Trim potholder back to 9 1/2" x 9 1/2".

Trim potholder front to 9 1/2" x 9 1/2"  (You can do this by measuring out 1 3/4" from the seams where the sashing meets the patchwork block in the center.)

 
You should now have two quilted squares like this.  It's time to sew them together!

 

Use a compass or a plate to trace a quarter circle with about a 4 1/2" radius.  Trim potholder back along marked line, creating an opening for the pocket.
 
If you want to add a little contrasting piece of fabric to your binding, sew it on now.  Fold and press both bias and straight-grain binding in half, as for double-fold binding.

 

Pin bias binding to the curved opening in potholder back, as shown above. The raw edges of the binding should face out, just as they would if you were binding the edges of a quilt.  Sewing in place, using a 1/4" seam allowance.

 
Turn binding to the back and hand finish. 

 
Place potholder back and potholder front together, matching linings.  Because of the number of layers, I used binding clips to hold them together.

 
Sew the front and back together, keeping your stitches near the edge (within the 1/4" seam allowance you'll use to sew the binding.

 
Pin and sew binding to potholder, just as you would for a quilt.  If you've added a contrasting piece to your binding, start pinning that end of the binding first, so you can determine its placement.

Instructions for sewing double-fold binding can be found here.  Given the number of layers, you may need a walking foot to complete this step.

 
Fold binding to the back of the potholder and hand finish, as you would if binding a quilt.

 

That's it!  It's really just like making a little tiny quilt.

As always, if you make one of these, I'd love to see it in the Flickr Pool.

Fabrics used include Kokka giant strawberry print, Alexander Henry Fashion Dot, Kona Ivory and Kona Basil, Joel Dewberry Aviary faux bois, and Lecien Color Basics gingham.

12 + 2 = Q Quilt Pattern (and Fat Quarter Giveaway!)

 
I decided to try a little experiment with the IKEA sheets I keep hearing so much about.  I love a challenge, so I thought I would try to figure out a simple way to combine a small number of fat quarters with flat sheets to make a bed-sized quilt.  I basically approached this as a quick, low-risk project, but with a big payoff in terms of the resulting useful object.

The result is the 12+2=Q Quilt.  It measures approximately 90" x 96" and uses 12 fat quarters and 2 bed sheets.  (And wouldn't it also be fun made up with vintage sheet fat quarters and a large vintage print sheet on the back?!)

Download 12 Plus 2 Equals Q Quilt

Please play nice!  Free pattern guidelines are available in the right sidebar.

 
IKEA's standard sheet sizes are pretty large, so I was able to use a Twin (66" x 102") sheet for the front.  I've noticed that other stores' standard sizes for Twin sheets tend to be a little shorter so, if you're shopping elsewhere, you may need to upgrade to a Full to get the extra length you need for the quilt front strips.  The quilt back is made with a King flat sheet. 

Note: Use a King sheet (rather than a Queen sheet) for the back, because the extra size makes it much, much easier to sandwich such a large quilt!

 
For the pieced rows, I put together this fat quarter bundle.  I was really drawn to some of the new Alexander Henry Fashionista prints and combined them with some of the beautiful prints and solids from Michelle Engel Bencsko's new Beyond the Sea collection, a few of the monochromatic prints from MoMo's Freebird collection, and the large chocolate dots from Caleb Gray's Groove collection.  The bundle includes plenty of chocolate, teal, acid green, violet, aqua and white.  A great jumping-off place for a modern quilt!

For a chance to win one of these bundles, courtesy of Fabricworm, please leave a comment to this post.  I'll choose a winner on Sunday, May 16.  Thanks, Fabricworm!

 
I obviously love the fat quarters, but what's the verdict on these IKEA sheets? 

Here's what I liked about them:

The selection of colors at IKEA was limited, but the colors were attractive and modern.  The sheets were very lightweight, which made moving a 90" x 96" quilt around during machine quilting a breeze.  The weight/weave worked well with the quilting cottons I used and I didn't have to make any adjustments to my needle or stitch, when piecing or quilting, to make it work.  The sheets also had very small hems on all four sides, which meant that almost the entire area of the sheet was "usable."  They were also very inexpensive.  (At the Portland store, Twin sheets were $4.50, Kings were $13.00 -- ridiculously inexpensive for all of the solid fabric needed to make a bed-sized quilt.) 

Here's what I didn't like about them:

In looking closely at the weave of the sheets, particularly after washing, it's clear that they will not wear as well or as long as better quilting fabrics would.  They're just not as nice looking as fabric.

My Verdict!

I think using the sheets is a great way to show off a few favorite fat quarters without the cost that usually accompanies buying enough fabric for an entire bed quilt.  For a project like this, I think the comparatively minor investment in both time and fabric makes the sheets a great alternative to yardage.  After all, the goal here is a quick and simple bed makeover, not to create an heirloom. 

That said, I would avoid using IKEA sheets (or other lower-end sheets) in more labor-intensive projects where you're investing a great deal of time, energy, and quality fabric.  

 

So why wouldn't you just use higher-end sheets?

Higher-end sheets are generally of a much finer weave than quilting cottons.  This makes them incredibly soft, but it also makes them look different than quilting cottons.  They often have either a glossy sheen or a peachy sueded texture.  If the look doesn't bother you, go for it.  I just find the look of these higher-thread-count sheets pieced with quilting cottons to be problematic.

If you do go with more finely woven sheets you may need to work harder to get a good stitch, as the needles that glide right through your quilting cottons may be more disruptive to the finer weave of the sheets.  In particular, the holes where your needle punches through the quilt back during machine quilting may end up looking very pronounced -- as though they had been punched through paper.  I find that using Microtex/Sharp needles can be helpful.

As with anything, it's always a good idea to make a small sample to test your materials before moving on to your "real" project. 

 

Why didn't you just tear the sashing strips for the quilt front?

It was actually my intention to do this, but I found that the tearing was causing way too much damage to the sheets I was using.  (An inch or two on either side of the tear was rendered completely useless by pulled and warped threads.)  You should definitely feel free to try tearing instead of cutting, but be careful and definitely test out an unused area of your sheet before you move on to the sashing strips. 

What about washing?

Above is a detail of the quilt back after washing.  I did not prewash my sheets or my fabric (mainly because I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't).  I found that, when using cotton batting, the sheets crinkled in much the same way that fabric would have.

It's fine if you don't want to prewash but, if you don't, it's important to acknowledge that you're taking a calculated risk.  What works in my machine, with my water supply and detergent, may not work in yours. 

 
As always, if you make one of these, feel free to show it off in my Flickr Pool!

Charm Squares 101

I'm leading the activity (a Charm Square Swap and associated fun) at the May meeting of the Portland Modern Quilt Guildand have written this post mainly for the PMQG peeps who wanted additional information on cutting charm squares.  It's general information though, so hopefully others will also find it useful!

 
So, what's a charm square anyway?

In the parlance of our times, a charm square is a 5" x 5" square of fabric.  Today, packages including one or more squares of each fabric in a collection are available from many fabric companies.  Packages like these can be a good way to get a little piece of all of the fabrics in a collection at a reasonable price.  Today's quilters also cut their own charm squares from yardage, fat quarters, and scraps. 

The concept of a Charm Quilt has been around for years.  Traditionally, the Charm Quilt concept involved making an entire quilt using a different fabric for every single piece.  Because this necessarily involved more different fabrics than most quilters had on hand, swapping charm squares became common.  One popular trend was for a quilter to cut two squares, one for her own quilt and one to swap with a friend.

Following are some basic instructions/calculations for cutting your own charm squares. 

Note: Before cutting charm squares, make sure your fabric is freshly pressed.

 
Cutting Charm Squares from Yardage:

Start by laying your folded fabric on your cutting mat.  Square up your fabric and cut a straight edge along one side, as shown above.

Measuring from your straight edge, cut a 5" x width of fabric strip. 

Note: in the above photo, I've moved around to the other side of my cutting table to make the second cut.  For maximum accuracy, I recommend cutting on a table where you can do this.  If walking around your table isn't possible, carefully turn your cutting mat around, so as not to disturb your fabric.

 
Squaring your ruler up with both sides of the 5" strip, cut away the selvage edges of the fabric.  (Your fabric should still be folded in half, so you'll be making one cut through both layers.)

Measuring from the former selvage edge, cut four 5" x 5" squares, as shown above. 

Because those cuts were made through two layers of fabric, this will result in a total of 8 charm squares. 

So, as we just learned, a 5" x width of fabric* strip will produce 8 charm squares.  If you're buying yardage to cut multiple charm squares for a swap, you can use the following as a guide:

• 1/4 yard = 1 strip 5" x WOF (8 charm squares)
• 3/8 yard = 2 strips 5" x WOF (16 charm squares)
• 1/2 yard = 3 strips 5" x WOF (24 charm squares)
• 5/8 yard = 4 strips 5" x WOF (32 charm squares)
• 3/4 yard = 5 strips 5" x WOF (40 charm squares)
• 7/8 yard = 6 strips 5" x WOF (48 charm squares)
• 1 yard = 7 strips 5" x WOF (56 charm squares)

*These calculations are based on standard cotton print fabric that is about 42" wide.  If you're using more narrow fabric, you may end up with fewer squares.  Wider fabric will obviously produce more squares.

Cutting Charm Squares from Fat Quarters:

A standard (approximately 18" x 21") fat quarter will produce 12 charm squares.

Lay your fat quarter on your cutting mat, as shown above.  Square up your ruler along one on the long (non-selvage) edges and cut a straight edge.

Trim away the selvage edge, squaring up your ruler with the straight edge you just cut.

Measuring from the straight edge along the long side (the first cut you made) and squaring up your ruler with the former selvage edge, cut three strips 5" x approximately 21".

Measuring from the squared-up (former selvage edge) of each strip, cut 4 squares, 5" x 5", for a total of 12 charm squares.

Cutting from Scraps and Fussy Cutting:

If you're cutting charm squares from scraps or odd cuts, a 5" x 5" ruler can be an invaluable aid.  Since the ruler is exactly the size of the square you want to cut, you can lay it on top of your fabric scraps and immediately now whether they're large enough.

If you're cutting charm squares from larger prints, it can be fun to "fussy cut" the print.  Fussy cutting is when you cut out a particular part of a print -- usually to center a particular image.  If you have a 5" x 5" ruler, you can simply move it around on top of your fabric until the part of the print you want to cut is framed beneath it.  Cut around all four sides of the ruler to produce your fussy-cut square.

 

Fussy cutting is obviously not the most conservative approach to using fabric, but the effect of fussy-cut squares in a quilt can be striking. 

If you don't have a 5" x 5" ruler, you can make your own guide by cutting a 5" x 5" square from translucent template plastic.  If you do this, I recommend drawing diagonal lines from corner to corner, as shown above.  This will allow you to easily pinpoint the center of your squares.

Once your template is in place, you can either trace around it with a fabric marking tool and cut it out with scissors or lay a quilting ruler on top of the template, carefully rotating the ruler to cut each side of the charm square.

Fussy-cut charm squares can make a great start to an "I-Spy" quilt for a child.  They also look great as the center square in a log cabin or square-in-square block.

I look forward to seeing everyone's squares at the PMQG meeting.  Even if you're not in Portland and/or coming to the meeting, I hope you've found something useful here!

Wonky Cross Block-Along

Today is the fourth and final installment of my block-along series for Sew, Mama, Sew's Quilting Month II.

 
Today I'm making a very basic, wonky cross block. 

And here's a shot of all four of them together!  To recap, here are links to all four tutorials:

Half-Square Triangle Blocks

Foundation-Pieced Spiderweb Blocks

Dresden Plate Block

Wonky Cross Blocks

Thank you to everyone who quilted along with me! 

Dresden Plate Block-Along

 

Check out Sew, Mama, Sew today for the third week of the Quilting Month II Block-Along.

 
This week we're making a Dresden Plate block.  It may look complex, but each step is actually very achievable!

Spiderweb Block-Along

 
Check out Sew, Mama, Sew today for the second week of the Quilt Month II Block-Along!

 

And have you seen Jacquie's awesome tutorial for making Spiderweb Blocks with selvage?  Check it out on her blog.

SMS Quilt Month II: Block-Along!

Check out the Sew, Mama, Sew! Blog this month for a weekly block-along from me.

 

You can enter to win fabulous prizes, including this fat quarter pack.

 
This week's block is a Simple Half-Square Triangle.  Check it out!