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As you know, there are many methods of binding your quilt. My preference is to stitch it on (single fold if its a wall hanging), turn it to the back and hand stitch in place. This is the neatest in my opinion. But today I'm going to show you a machine binding with mitered corners. This binding is done completely by machine. In fact, I'll show you two methods and you can decide which one you like best. They both have a slightly different finish.

First you need to square off your quilt and trim away any excess batting and backing fabric. Then we need to measure around the outer edge of the quilt to ensure we make enough binding. To do this, measure the length and width of your quilt (for our sampler that is 46" in length and 34" in width). Add the two numbers (80"), double it (160" since there are two ends and two sides) and then add another 10" or so, to allow for the joins and miters. That gives us a total of 170". Now since the width of our fabric is say, 40" wide, we need to divide this number into our measurement to find out how many strips to cut. That would be just over 4 strips (4 x 40 = 160), thus we would need 5 strips of binding.

To make a 1/4" double binding we should cut the strips 2 1/2" wide. Go ahead and cut FIVE strips 2 1/2" wide.

All strips need to be joined in a continuous strip. To do this you should make bias joins. Place the two strips perpendicular (right sides together) and sew across the diagonal.

Trim leaving 1/4" seam allowance and press seam open.

Join all the strips.

Cut through the diagonal on one end making a 45 degree cut which is on the bias. Fold under 1/4" on this cut edge. Now fold the binding in half lengthwise ready. Your binding is now prepared and ready to sew onto your quilt.

For this first method, attach binding on the front of the quilt, starting several inches away from the folded end. Make a 1/4" seam and sew toward the corner stopping 1/4" before the edge.

Put your needle down in the fabric, lift the foot and pivot, then reverse off the edge.

The quilt can be removed from the machine if desire, or just pulled out from under the foot.

Make a 45 degree fold in the binding so the binding goes upward. (see photo below)

Make a second fold leaving a small pleat and lay binding down along next side to be sewn.

Sew this next side starting at the pleat and continuing down to the next corner where you will stop 1/4" before the edge. Repeat this same procedure for all corners.

Once you are on the last side, stop several inches before the starting end of the binding. Lay the binding in position and trim off excess length making sure binding goes at least 1/2" beyond the folded edge of the start.

Open up the beginning binding and tuck in the end neatly so end is folded within the beginning section. Finish off stitching the binding in place.

Press binding over seam. This is important and makes for a neater finish.

Fold the binding over to the back, folding in mitered corners. Pin in place, pinning perpendicular to the seam line.

Notice the binding on the back will extend beyond the stitching line.

Once binding in pinned in place, ditch stitch around the edge of the quilt from the right side. The stitches will disappear into the seam and appear like quilting if seen. Since the folded edge of binding is well beyond the seam, you will catch this down with your stitches.

Miters may be stitched in place by hand or left as is. Your binding is complete.

Method Two:

This method is exactly the same as method one with the exception that the binding is sewn onto the wrong side of the quilt. It is then folded over to cover the stitching on the right side. After the binding is attached and pressed over to the front, the folded edge is top stitch in place.

Tuesday Tutor - binding

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:24:56 -0400

This is our last week for the sampler quilt, but instead of me giving you instructions for how to add binding to your quilt, I would like to hear which binding style you'd like to learn or which is your favorite binding.

Is it mitered binding?

Is it square binding?

Is it double or single binding?

Hand or machine binding?

There are many different options so leave me a comment at the end of this message and let me know which binding you'd like me to give instructions for. I use several different style depending on the project.

I look forward to hearing your comments...

Tuesday Tutor - free motion quilting

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:32:35 -0400

How about learning a little bit of free-motion quilting to finish off our sampler. You could of course just use straight stitch, but why not practice free-motion instead. This is a great opportunity to try it. To make it easier, I'm going to include a video so you can actually see it in action.

Free-motion quilting is my favorite quilting technique, mainly because you can do so much with it. There are thousands of designs you can try or you can simply use it to meander or stipple in the background. Today we will look at some warm up skills to get you started. You can then go on and fill in some areas of your quilt.

The first thing you need is a darning foot. These vary somewhat but are usually circular or oval in shape. You also need to lower your feed dogs or cover them. You will be the one moving the fabric, not the machine.

When starting, bring the bobbin thread up to the top of the quilt by dropping the needle down and back up to pull it through. Once the bobbin thread is at the top, you can lower the needle back down in the same hole ready to start.

Run your machine reasonably quickly and move the fabric underneath the needle. Find a comfortable speed to wrok at, remembering if the machine is running fast and your hands are moving slow, you will have very short stitches. On the other hand, if the machine is running slow and your hands are moving fast, you'll have very long stitches. Find a happy medium. A little smaller is better than too big and easier to make nice curves.

Practice stitching curves, squares, lines and even write your name if you like. You can see me write mine in the video. Let's get started.

Free-motion video link

If you want to learn more about free-motion quilting join my online class at the Academy of Quilting.

machine quilting class online

Tuesday Tutor - machine quilting your quilt

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:42:36 -0400

Now that we have the quilt layered and pinned securely, it is time to begin quilting. The first quilting I like to do, when possible, is one or two securing rows through the quilt, just to help prevent the layers from moving. We will start by stitching two lines through the center of the quilt. I will use Stitching in the ditch (also known as Ditch Stitch quilting) so let's see how that is done first.

Remember, we pressed the seams to one side. Not only does this help us butt the seams together when we are joining the sections but it also helps us with Ditch Stitch quilting. With Ditch Stitch you always quilt on the lower side of the seam. That is, the side that does not have the seam allowance under it. If you run your fingers across the seam, you will feel a bump where the seam allowance is. It is slightly higher than the other side.

When you stitch on the low side the stitches disappear into the quilt. If you stitch on the high side, a small ridge appears along the edge of the seam. That type of stitch is more like a topstitching technique and not one we want at the moment.

Let's put that into practice. Ditch Stitch along one of the two most central horizontal seams using your walking foot. You won't stitch into the border, just through the main section of the quilt.

Now Ditch Stitch along the other central horizontal seam.

First horizontal stitching lines - securing the layers

Looking at the vertical seams, you can see we do not want to go all the way through to the border this time. We can Ditch Stitch as far as the Flying Geese block and then go around the Flying Geese triangles without stopping.

Vertical stitching lines - securing the layers vertically

That should do it for the securing so let's move on to a little more Ditch Stitching. You can now Ditch Stitch around both sides of the central octagon.

Ditch Stitching around the central octagon

..... and all the stars.

Ditch Stitching around the stars in the Friendship Star Blocks

Finally Ditch Stich around the border. You may include the outer edge of the Log Cabin block that is the same fabric as the border as well.

Ditch Stitching around the border including part of the Log Cabin blocks

That is all the Ditch Stitching we will be doing this week. Next week we will look at some other forms of quilting. How are you coming along so far? I'd like to hear about it.

Tuesday Tutor - how to layer your quilt ready for quilting

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:31:23 -0400

Probably the biggest question about quilting your quilt is how to quilt it. There are so many designs and quilting techniques that sometimes it is really hard to decide on what would look best for your particular quilt.

Before we can layer your quilt ready for quilting, you need to decide on the quilting style or technique you wish to use. This is because any design must be drawn onto the quilt top before the layering is done. Some quilting techniques do not require any drawing at all. For example, there is no need to draw cross-hatching quilting lines or free-motion stipple lines.

Free-motion Stipple quilting

Cross-Hatch quilting

So first decide what you want to quilt. I think I will keep mine simple with no fancy designs that need to be drawn. You might like to add some so go ahead and draw them on. Use a quilter's pen or pencil to do this, not an ordinary lead pencil as this will be hard to wash out later. My favorite is the silver quilting pencil.

Silver Quilting pencil

Now it is time to layer your quilt ready for quilting. Did you know that 90% of successful machine quilting is in the pinning and layering of your quilt? It is important to get this right for sure.

I have already written a tutorial on layering so instead of repeating it all here I'm going to direct you to my pdf file. Be sure you have Adobe Reader to open it. You can download it free from their website.

You can find my pdf file on how to layer your quilt here >>

If you have any questions please leave me a comment.

Or perhaps you have an idea of how you want to quilt your sample, how about sharing it with us all?

Or maybe you'd like to see a particular style of quilting - let me know and I'll demonstrate it for you.

And remember, leave us an update as to how you are coming along with this project. I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Quilting!

Tuesday Tutor - borders

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:12:36 -0400

Welcome back to our quilt making lesson. So what comes next? Yes you guessed it, it's time to add a border. On my quilt, I'm going to add one dark border. You may want to add more to make it bigger.

When cutting borders, it is known that if you cut the strips from the length of the fabric it will stretch less than if you cut the strips from the width of the fabric. Cutting from the length of the fabric naturally takes more fabric so I often cut from the width. I have ways to prevent stretching from happening.

With our sample quilt being 42 1/2" long at this stage, we should be able to cut our strips from the width of the fabric (as long as your fabric is 43" wide - be sure to measure it first).

Before we get started, we really should check that measurement though. Measure it through the center of the quilt lengthwise. Is it 42 1/2" long? Is it shorter? Is it longer? You can adjust your seams if you like to make the correct size or use your new size to cut the border strips.

Why do we measure through the center of the quilt? We do this so that we get an average measurement between the two sides. The correct way is to measure the length along each side too. Add the three measurements together and then divide that by three to get a true average length. When you cut the side border strips this length, it will keep the quilt square and in shape. One of the most important things to remember when adding borders is to always cut the border strips to the correct length.

So now that you have your measurement, cut two strips this length by 3" wide. This will make a 2 1/2" finished border. If you have extra fabric, you might want to make it a little wider.

Find the middle of each border strip and match them to the middle of each side of the quilt. Be sure to have raw edges even and right sides together. Match ends of strips to ends of quilt too. Add as many pins as you need, positioning pins perpendicular to the seam.

Sew your border strip on. If the strip seems a little loose or longer than the quilt, sew it with the quilt on top. The machine will naturally pull the quilt to fit without making pleats or gathers.

When you have both strips sewn in place, press the seams toward the border. I hope you haven't forgotten how to press accurately. You can always check back to our pressing instructions in lesson two >>

Now that you have the sides added, we need to add the top and bottom. You will measure through the width of the quilt this time. Measurement needs to include the border strips too. Cut two more strips 3" by the measurement.

Do the same thing by matching centers, pinning and sewing in place. Now wasn't that easy?

2 1/2" borders have been added

Would you like to learn how to quilt this now? I know some of you would. Others will prefer to send their quilts to a longarm quilter to have it done, but really, they are missing the best part of quilting in my opinion <grin> So why don't you have a go. Let's meet back here next week and learn the next step to finishing your quilt.

See you then!

Tuesday Tutor - Joining the blocks

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:08:29 -0500

We now have all the blocks made for your sample quilt. You should have a total of 35 blocks made up of 7 different blocks.

7 different blocks - 35 in all

Lay them out on your design wall (or floor or table) in the order they should be in, making sure each block is facing the correct way. Did you want to change the layout? Go ahead, remember this is your quilt and you can make it the way you wish. Following is my layout:

This is my layout, you might choose a different one

Before we continue, you need to be sure you are happy with all your blocks. If you are not, you need to remake any that you're not happy with now so we can join them all together.

You will be joining the blocks into rows. There are 7 rows in total. Rows 1, 2 & 3 are identical to rows 7, 6 & 5 which are flipped unside down.

Join the blocks into rows - chain stitch to speed this up.

To speed up this process, you can chain stitch the blocks together. What does chain stitching mean? Chain stitching is when you work on the same section of each row until that section is completed for all rows, then you move onto the next section. Think of it as a car assembly line where all pieces are produced in one area, then they move onto the next area ready for the next section.

In our quilt sample, you can sew the first two blocks together in the first row and without cutting the thread, sew the first two blocks of the second row together. Again, don't cut the thread, sew the first two blocks of row three, row four, five, six and seven. Each set of blocks will be linked together with a thread. These can be cut when the line is complete and put back in their respective rows. Now you move onto the next two blocks and do the same thing.

You can choose to press the seams after all the sewing is complete or after each line of sewing is complete. I prefer the latter as it makes pressing easier to manage and I always have my iron right close to me so its no big deal to grab. Be sure to press the seams in opposite directions so they butt together when joining.

red arrows show pressing direction in row 1
blue arrows show pressing direction in row 2

Now that your blocks are all joined together in rows, it's time to join the rows together. Remember to keep them in the right order. This time it doesn't matter which way the seams are pressed because there is no matching to be done.

Join the rows together and press seams

Congratulations on piecing the blocks together. There is one more thing we will do this week and that is to remove any paper from the Flying Geese blocks if you foundation pieced them. This is easy to do, just fold along the seam lines and tear it out. Do so gently so as not to stretch the stitches out of shape.

Next we will be adding the borders, but that's a job for next week. See you then!

Did you miss any of the lessons? You can find them here...

Lesson 1: Requirements

Lesson 2: Rail Fence

Lesson 3: 9-patch

Lesson 4: Corner Flip

Lesson 5: Friendship Star

Lesson 6: Log Cabin

Lesson 7: Flying Geese

Lesson 8: Double Monkey Wrench

Tuesday Tutor - Double Monkey Wrench

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:53:56 -0500

This is our last block for this quilt. How have you been doing? We'd really like to hear your comments. This week's block is Double Monkey Wrench. It is made up of several units we have used before. Half square triangles and strip blocks.

So what fabrics do we need? Here is our requirements list >>

For this block you will need fabrics 1, 3, 4 & 5.

Cut the following:

TWO 3" squares from fabric 1

TWO 3" squares from fabric 4

ONE 1 1/2" strip x 1/2 WOF (width of fabric) from fabric 3

ONE 1 1/2" strip x 1/2 WOF (width of fabric) from fabric 5

ONE 2 1/2" square fabric 5

Let's start with the half square triangles. You already know how to make these. Use the TWO 3" squares from fabric 1 and fabric 4. You might like to refer to the Friendship Star Block if you need to >>

half square triangle

This will make FOUR half square triangles.

Next join the TWO 1 1/2" strips together. Press the seam toward the darker fabric.

strip block - press toward darkest fabric

Now you are ready to cut this block into 2 1/2" sections.

strip block cut into 2 1/2" sections (make 4)

Once your strips have been cut up, you are ready to lay out all the pieces ready to build rows of the block.

Join the sections of each row.

row 1 - press toward strip block in center

row 2 - press away from center square

row 3 - press toward strip block in center

The final step is to join the three rows together. Go ahead, you can do that now.

Double Monkey Wrench

Wow you have now completed 7 different blocks. That must be a good feeling. Next week we will be joining them all together so why not audition them to see how they look using our first lesson quilt picture as a guide. Now is a good time to decide if one of the blocks doesn't work for you. If you have a block like this, you'll have time to make a new one so you are ready for next week.

If you missed any of our lessons you can find them here:

Lesson 1: Requirements

Lesson 2: Rail Fence

Lesson 3: 9-patch

Lesson 4: Corner Flip

Lesson 5: Friendship Star

Lesson 6: Log Cabin

Lesson 7: Flying Geese

Tuesday Tutor - flying geese

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:16:29 -0500

This week is we are taking a look at the flying geese block. This is another block that can be made a number of ways. You can use the half square triangle method used for our Friendship Star block (by making two squares and joining them together) or you can use the Flip Corner method or you can use foundation piecing method. Since we have already learned the first two methods, let's take a look at foundation piecing. You can use either of the other methods if you choose or try this instead.

You will need:

Fabric 1: TWO 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles
Fabric 4: ONE 3 1/2" strip
Fabric 9: TWO 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles
TWO printed foundation templates (click the link to print them off)

The TWO rectangles (Fabric 1 and 9) form the 'geese' of the block.

Print the Flying Geese template and cut around the outer line.

You can use the Fabric 4 strip as is or you may cut this strip up into 5 1/2" rectangles to make construction easier. Note: if you do cut them into 5 1/2" rectangles you will need to cut ONE more as you need EIGHT in total.

Step 1: Place Fabric 1 rectangle onto back of paper (unprinted side) with wrong side of fabric facing paper. Add a dab of glue, if you wish, to hold it in place.

Place Flying Goose rectangle, wrong sides facing, onto paper

Step 2: On printed side of paper, fold along seam line between sections one and two. Trim fabric parallel to paper, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance from paper fold.

Trim fabric leaving 1/4" seam allowance

Fold paper back into place.

Step 3: Match Fabric 4 strip to Fabric 1 along trimmed edge, having raw edges even and right sides of fabric together.

Add background strip with right sides together and raw edges even

Turn over to paper side and stitch carefully along seam line. Be careful not to stitch past end of line.

Sections one and two stitched and pressed in place

Turn to right side and fold Fabric 4 section over seam and press into place.

Press Fabric 4 section in place

If using Fabric 4 as a strip, trim off end of strip, making sure fabric still extends at least 1/4" past the seam lines .

Trim if using strips

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add background section to other side of rectangle, using the angle cut on strip to the best advantage to save on fabric.

Fold paper and trim first

Align strip with right sides together

Stitch and press in place, trim end of strip

Fold paper along top of 'goose' and trim, leaving 1/4" seam allowance.

Fold along top of 'goose' and trim, leaving 1/4" seam allowance.

Trim block ready for next rectangle. Sew Fabric 9 rectangle in place by matching edge just trimmed.

Add Fabric 9 rectangle, right sides together

Second goose is sewn in place

Repeat the steps above for adding the remaining two sections of background to the second 'goose'.

Block finished but not trimmed

When complete, trim whole block leaving 1/4" seam allowance from solid line. Trim from the paper side using the lines as guidance.

Do not remove paper just yet. This will be done after blocks are sewn together.

Block finished trimmed

Now make a second one just the same.

Were you pleased with how easily you kept all your sharp points? Leave us a comment and let us know.

If you missed any of our lessons you can find them here:

Lesson 1: Requirements

Lesson 2: Rail Fence

Lesson 3: 9-patch

Lesson 4: Corner Flip

Lesson 5: Friendship Star

Lesson 6: Log Cabin

Tuesday Tutor - Log Cabin Instructions

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:50:07 -0500

This week's block is the very popular log cabin block. This is often the first block new quilters make. Log cabin can be made in several ways. I'm going to show you strip piecing for this block. Others may prefer foundation piecing.

For this block you will need the following fabrics from our requirements list.

Fabric 1: cut TWO 1 1/2" strips
Fabric 2: cut ONE 1 1/2" strip (you may need a 2nd strip for this)
Fabric 3: cut ONE 1 1/2" strip
Fabric 4: cut ONE 1 1/2" strip
Fabric 5: cut FOUR 2 1/2" squares

Step 1: Stitch fabric 4 strip to 2 1/2" center square.

Press seam toward strip.

Using rotary cutter and ruler trim strip to size.

Block measures: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Step 2: Turn block one turn clockwise, so piece just sewn on, is at the bottom of block.

Using same strip as in step 1 (fabric 4), add another piece to the right of block. Press seam toward newly added strip and trim to size as above.

Block measures: 3 1/2" square.

Step 3: Turn block one turn clockwise, so new piece just added is on bottom.

Using fabric 3 add strip to right of block, press and trim.

Block measures: 3 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Step 4: Turn block one turn clockwise, so new piece is on bottom. Using same strip as in step 3 (fabric 3), add strip to right of block, press and trim.

You have now completed the first round. Repeat process using fabric 2 first and then fabric 1 to finish off the block.

Sampler Log Cabin Block
measures 6 1/2" sq

Make 4 altogether for our sample quilt. Blocks will measure 6 1/2" square.

Easy peasy, now while you are waiting for next weeks block, why not make a heap of these log cabin blocks and join them together in a quilt. Check for a couple of ideas you might like to try below.

Happy Quilting!

Check out how Jennifer's blocks are coming along >>

If you missed any of our lessons you can find them here:

Lesson 1: Requirements

Lesson 2: Rail Fence

Lesson 3: 9-patch

Lesson 4: Corner Flip

Lesson 5: Friendship Star

Log Cabin Quilt

Log Cabin Quilt - uses 48 blocks

Log Cabin and 9-patch Quilt

Log Cabin & 9-patch Quilt
uses
32 Log Cabin blocks & 16 9-patch blocks

Tuesday Tutor - Friendship Star

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:01:30 -0500

For this block you will be making half square triangles. What are half square triangles? A half square triangle is a square that is made up of two triangles of different fabrics. It has a seam diagonally throught the middle. You can see FOUR in our Friendship Star block.

There are various ways of making half square triangles (HST). A lot of quilters like using thangles. These a paper strips you purchase in packs. They give you sewing lines to sew on and cutting instructions. The best thing about Thangles is you don't have to cut numerous amounts of squares, you only cut strips. Each pack comes in a different size. You can find more information about these here >>

I'm going to show you a different method of making half square triangles. You can make them in any size you like but for our sample block we need 2" finished half square triangles. There is a simple formula I like to use when making them and that is Finished size + 1". Therefore, for our blocks which will finish at 2" square, we will need to cut 3" squares. If you were to make a 5 1/2" finished block, then you would cut 6 1/2" squares. It couldn't be much easier than that!

Read out blog post "Half Square Triangles" for instructions how to make these if you are not familiar with the technique.

For our Friendship Star Block you will need fabrics 7 & 8.

For full requirements see our list and sample quilt here >>

We need to make SIX of these blocks for our sampler.

From fabric 7 cut:

TWELVE (12) 3" squares (HST)
TWENTY-FOUR (24) 2 1/2" squares

From fabric 8 cut:

TWELVE (12) 3" squares (HST)
SIX (6) 2 1/2" squares

Make TWENTY-FOUR half square triangles following the instructions on our blog post or using thangles.

Position your 2 1/2" squares and half square triangles in rows as follows:

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Stitch together in rows making sure the HST are facing the correct way. Press towards the plain squares.

Now join the rows together to make your Friendship Star.

How did you get on? We'd like to hear from you.

Below are some other ideas you might like to try with this block.

Check out how Jennifer's blocks are coming along >>

If you missed any of our lessons you can find them here:

Lesson 1: Requirements

Lesson 2: Rail Fence

Lesson 3: 9-patch

Lesson 4: Corner Flip

Star Table Runner
uses 5 Friendship Star blocks

Friendship Star and Rail Fence quilt

Uses 18 Friendship Star blocks and 17 Rail Fence blocks.

Happy Quilting!

Tuesday Tutor - Block Three

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:07:50 -0500

This week’s block isn't a standard block, but one made to fit our design. It’s a technique you will be learning which can be used in many common blocks. I refer to it as the flip-block.

This technique is an easy method of making an accurate block and can be used in blocks such as the very popular Snowball Block.

Snowball Block

This method shows you how to make triangles using squares of fabric, so no triangles are actually cut. You can use any sized square (or rectangle for that matter) as the background section and add corners which can also be any size.

The idea of this technique is so you do not have to cut and sew stretchy bias seams as you would with cutting a triangle. A square is much easier to sew and keep in shape whereas a triangle (because one side is cut on the bias) can easily be pushed out of shape as it is sewn.

triangles have a bias cut

For our sample we are going to make a double triangle block, but only on one corner.

Flip Block for quilt sample

Fabrics used in this block are: 2, 4 & 9. See all requirements here >>

You need to make FOUR of these blocks.

Cut FOUR 6 1/2" squares from fabric 2

Cut FOUR 4 1/2" squares from fabric 9

Cut FOUR 2 1/2" squares from fabric 4

Draw a diagonal line, from corner to corner on the WRONG side of all 4 1/2" and 2 1/2" squares.

Draw diagonal lines through 4 1/2" & 2 1/2" squares

Position ONE 4 1/2" square, with raw edges even, in corner of ONE 6 1/2" square so drawn line is positioned across the corner, right sides together.

Stitch across the drawn line. Tip: By stitching ONE thread toward the corner from the drawn line will give you a neater triangle as you are allowing room for the fold.

Stitch along line and press

Press inside corner of 4 1/2" square over seam and there you have it, a neatly formed triangle.

Measure the block to ensure it remains 6 1/2" square. Trim is necessary.

Fold back the top section again and trim the TWO under sections back leaving a 1/4" seam allowance from stitching.

Trim two lower layers

Press triangle back in place.

First triangle in place

For our double effect, you need to add the 2 1/2" square in the same way, on the same corner. Remember to have raw edges even and sew the diagonal line across the corner.

Add 2nd square

Once pressed in place, lift the top section and trim away the TWO under sections to reduce bulk.

That's all there is to it. Now make the other THREE blocks the same so you have a TOTAL of FOUR blocks.

At the bottom of this post are additional quilts you might like to try.

If you missed our earlier lessons you can find them here:

Lesson 1: Requirements

Lesson 2: Rail Fence

Lesson 3: 9-patch

Check out Jen's block for this week. Jen's Corner Flip block >>

Here are some further ideas for using this technique

Quilt uses Flip Block with all corners completed - opposite corners different

Flip Block used in quilt above

Flip Block and 9-patch Block sample

Flip Block used in quilt above - all corners the same

Tuesday Tutor - Block Two - Nine-patch

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:47:42 -0500

Welcome back to our third lesson for Tuesday Tutor. Did you find the previous lessons?

Lesson One: Requirements >>

Lesson Two: Rail Fence Block >>

Jen is working along with us so be sure to see how she is coming along. This weeks block can be seen here >>

This weeks lesson is 9-patch.

9-patch blocks can be made a number of ways depending on the look you want. you can divide the squares into a certain color combination using light and dark or using various color combinations or you can create a scrappy block that is just a jumble of color.

If you are creating a basic two fabric 9-patch, it is very easy because you work in sets of strips. We all like easy right? The first set would be a-b-a and the second set would be b-a-b or using dark/light combination as dark-light-dark and light-dark-light. This is explained better by looking at the pictures below.

The sets are cut up to form the rows, then rows are joined. Blocks go together very easy and quickly.

We are going to do a similar thing for our block however we will be using three sets of fabrics instead of two. For our quilt we are going to require FOUR 9-patch blocks in total. Each row will be different but all blocks will be the same.

Cut the following 2 1/2" strips from your fabrics

ONE full width strip of fabrics 1, 4, 8 - cut in half to make TWO 1/2 width strips

ONE 1/2 width strip of fabrics 2, 6, 9

Join the strips in sets as shown:

1-2-1 Set 1: Sew fabric 2 strip between the TWO fabric 1 strips. Press the seams toward fabric 2

8-9-8 Set 2: Sew fabric 9 strip between the TWO fabric 8 strips. Press the seams toward fabric 8

4-6-4 Set 3: Sew fabric 6 strip between the TWO fabric 4 strips. Press the seams toward fabric 6

Why do we press the seams like this? You will see when we come to join the sections how the seams butt together when the seams are pressed in opposite directions. This makes the seams lock together and reduces the need for pins which in turn, speeds up the process.

Once your seams are pressed correctly, we are going to cut them all up. What? cut them up after we have already sewn them? Yes! This method speeds up our constructions. Often we can cut strips, join them, re-cut them to make up a design. This eliminates the need to sew small seams and tends to make the process more accurate. You can end up with various shaped pieces without having to cut them using templates. Okay, I admit, if I can avoid templates I do. <grin> It just makes piecing a whole lot easier and remember, piecing is not really my favorite part so I will always look for ways to hurry it along while keeping it accurate.

So, remember how we straighten up one end of our strip block? We are going to do that again and then cut our blocks. Cut FOUR 2 1/2" strips from each strip block. Then join the strips together with set 2 in the center.

This time press the seam between sets 1 & 2 towards set 1 and the seam between sets 2 & 3 towards set 2. We are aligning the seams up with next weeks blocks so you'll see how they butt together then.

That completes our nine-patch block and another weeks tutorial.

See you next week!

Here are some simple quilts using this weeks block.

Basic 9-patch quilt with blocks on point

9-patch & Rail Fence Block quilt sample

Click here for Rail Fence instructions >>

Tuesday Tutor - Block One - lesson 2

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 05:14:39 -0500

Lesson One: Rail Fence

Block One is call Rail Fence. You will need the fabrics 3, 5 & 6 from our requirements list.

Rail Fence Block

Before you start, if you are not familiar with a rotary cutter, then I suggest you read my free lesson on rotary cutting (click the link to open the lesson in a new window)

Cut THREE 2 1/2" strips by width of fabric from each of the above THREE fabrics. Note: you will only need a little of the third block so you might want to cut one strip of each fabric in half before sewing together. Put the other half away for use later on.

Cut Three of each fabric

Using a 1/4" seam, sew the strips together lengthwise. Don't know how to sew an accurate 1/4" seam? You can get our free lesson for sewing accurate 1/4" seams here >>

You'll make THREE of these strip blocks pressing each seam as you sew it.

How do you press correctly?


Press seam flat as sewn	Press from right side of block	Press top section over seam

Pressing Instructions

Now you have your strip blocks pressed nicely, you need to cut them up.

Strip Block

Carefully place the ruler on one end of the strip block so the seams are even with the lines on the ruler and trim this end even. I used my 8" square to do this.

Trim end of strip block

Turn the strip block around so you are cutting from the square end of the block and cut the whole strip block into 6 1/2" blocks.

Cut up into 6 1/2" blocks

This is your first completed block. That's all there is to it. Easy huh? Each block will measure 6 1/2" square and you will need 14 of them altogether for our sample quilt.

Good job! Take a photo and send it to me, I'd love to see it.

Jen is blogging about making this quilt, follow her as well.
Here's her Rail Fence block >>

We'll see you next Tuesday for the next lesson.

You can use this block to make a whole quilt. Here are a couple of samples. Both quilts use 63 blocks.

Sample 1 uses 63 Rail Fence blocks.
First border 1" finish. Second border 6" finish. Total size: 58" x 70".

Sample 2 uses 63 Rail Fence blocks in total. 31 red/blue blocks and 32 blue blocks. First border 1" finish. Second border 6" finish. Total size: 58" x 70".

Tuesday Tutor - free quilt pattern

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:30:42 -0500

Tuesday Tutor is the beginning of a series of blogs posted every Tuesday. We hope you'll join us for the next 8 weeks as we give you instructions on how to make this unique quilt sampler. This is great if you have never done quilting before or if you're a beginner, or just want to make the quilt for fun. Join us as we work along.

To start, here is a photo of the sampler quilt you will be making. We have options along the way where you can make this sampler into a scrappy quilt if you want to use up some scraps of fabric. This quilt is 34" x 46".

Sampler Quilt (34" x 46")

There are SEVEN blocks in this quilt. These are:

Here are a list of fabrics you'll need. You don't have to use the same colors as I have, but try to keep to dark fabrics where I use dark, and light where I use light so you get a good balance in the quilt and see the design.

Sampler quilt requirements

Other Requirements:

You will also need the following equipment:

Sewing Machine
Rotary Cutter, Ruler and Cutting Mat
Thread
Iron and Board
Scissors, needles, pins and other sewing supplies

Jennifer is working along with me each week and posting her results so follow here along too. You can see her choice of fabrics in her first post. Jennifer's fabrics.

Next Lesson:

Rail Fence is our first block. Please gather your fabrics and equipment before next week ready to start.

Rail Fence Block

See you next week!