Plus Quilt (Tutorial)

There are always things to try out in quilting.  I was able to combine two of these things in one project!
I've been admiring many "Pluses" or "Plus sign" quilt projects.  Heather brought hers to a Saskatoon Modern Quilt Guild meeting and that tipped me over the edge from admiration to "wanting to make one myself".

Another thing I wanted to try out was a product called "Quilter's Grid Fusible Interfacing"  It is an iron-on interfacing that is marked with grid lines.  Sometimes the grid is marked into one inch squares, and sometimes two-inch squares.  We had some in the shop that was a two inch grid.

I thought that the pluses quilt would be a perfect project to use the fusible grid for because it's all sewn from the same size of squares.
The idea of it is that you place your squares on the grid, and then iron them on so that they stick to the fusible side so that you are able to handle it as one piece instead of sewing all the little seams individually.

I took photos of the process in case you want to try it too!
  First spread out the fusible grid.  you have to make sure that the bumpy side is facing up, because they are what will melt to stick to the fabric.  I found that I had to put some light colored fabric underneath it in order to see the grid lines

 I decided to cut my squares at 3 inches.  That way they finish at 2-1/2" which is a scale that I thought would be nice.  I used the scraps of "Curious Nature" and "Seven Wonders" fabric by Parson Gray (David Butler).

 I just started at one corner to place the squares on the grid.  Each plus sign needs 5 squares, so I precut several sets of them.

 It was a little tricky to figure out how to make the design.  This surprised me, because I thought it was pretty simple looking.  Who knew.

 Because the fabric squares (3 inch) are not the same size as the grid (2 inch), they take up one and a half squares on the grid.  This is pretty easy to figure out. 

 After a while I filled in the edges of the pattern with partial plus signs.
Next, I dragged it all over to where the iron was, and tacked them down, being careful to avoid getting the iron on to the extra edge of fusible around the edges.
Then I cut away the extra fusible all around the edges and pressed it really well so that the fabric was well fixed onto the fusible. They will still pull off, so you have to handle it a bit carefully.
Now, to sew the squares together, you can just fold over one column of squares at a time, and sew a quarter inch seam.

 Sew all the columns.( I also stay- stitched the edges.)

 To sew the columns into rows, you want to be able to alternate the direction of the seams to reduce bulk.  To do this, you just clip the little quarter inch place between each of the blocks.  Its okay if you cut through the sewn threads.  Then you press the seams in each row back and forth

 then you are able to nestle the intersections when you sew the seams,  Trust me, this all makes sense when you are doing it.

 After you've sewn all the rows, press the seams all to one side,

 The interfacing adds a bit of body to the piece,

 I think that I'll make this piece into a cushion cover, as it will finish at 17-1/2" x 35".

If you wanted to make a large piece using this method, I would do it in smaller chunks to keep it manageable.

P.S. Remember that there's a giveaway you can enter up until the end of February, for store entries, see here, for blog entries, see here,
thanks for all the entries so far, Good luck!

 

Geometry and the unexpected

Recently I did a post called "Turn that Quilt on it's Side"( on March 23).  This is a way of sewing blocks together in a straight grid setting and then cutting and resewing the top so that it turns into an "on-point" or diagonal setting.  I like this technique because it is faster to sew, in my opinion.  A couple of years ago, I did a pattern using this technique called "Charmed: A Ninepatch quilt".  When developing that pattern, and then later in another pattern using this technique with rail-fence blocks, I discovered some things that I did not expect!!!
Namely, that it is not always as predictable as you might expect when it comes to the relationship between the grid size that you start out with and the shape that you get when you do this diagonal cutting technique.
So, I have decided that I should share with you the arcane and intricate details of what happens!! (in case you decide to do this and alter the sizes!!!)

First, my scientific method was as follows:
1. I drew a simple quilt on my EQ6 program.
2. I printed it out with different grid proportions, for example, 4 x 6 blocks, 5 x 5 blocks, 6 x 6 blocks, etc.
3. I then cut the paper quilt apart, as I would do the quilt top, and then taped them together again to see what shape it became. ---this is the Unpredictable part!
4.  Later on, I also tried out the same method, but using alternating blocks, like a checkerboard, to see which grids would "work" -- that is, which would retain the checkerboard pattern and which ones would Not Work.

Are you still with me?

Good, then it is time for the pictures!

In this first example, the grid was 4 x 6 blocks.  After cutting and resewing, this is what it'll look like: (the drawings show the proportions, but not the exact measurements.)  nb. this is the same proportion as a 2 x 3 grid, or a 6x 9 grid, or a 8 x 12 grid, etc.

It looks pretty good!

But if you start with a 5 x 6 grid, it looks good with the straight grid, but not so good when you turn it on the diagonal-- it looks too tall and skinny:

when you start with a 4 x 8 grid (or a 2 x 4, or a 3 x 6, or a 6 x 12 grid, etc ), it looks tall and skinny to start with, but it turns into a square quilt!!!

If you start with a 5 x 7 grid the proportions look good,  and it is fine to use with certain blocks.


But! be careful if you are using an alternate squares setting:

If you look carefully, you can see that the checkerboard pattern has been disrupted.



So, what I would recommend is that if you plan to turn a quilt on it's size, it is a good idea to draw out a sketch on paper, then physically cut it apart and tape it together to see what it will look like down the road...

I hope this has been useful! michelle

Turn that quilt on it's side

I sewed up the rest of my four-patches this morning into a quilt top.  Hurray!, -- this is what I did:  (you might have seen me do this to other quilt tops in the past)
This is the basic block, it is 7-1/2" finished:

There were enough 4-patches to make exactly! 54 blocks, so I was able to make a setting that is 6 blocks wide, and 9 blocks high:  (I sewed them into 6 groups of nine, then sewed those together)

 I wanted to have the strips of little squares running up and down vertically, rather than diagonally, so I had to turn the quilt on it's side. 
So, I cut a diagonal line from the bottom left hand corner, at a 45degree angle, have you ever done that?

then, move the bottom triangle to the top edge and sew it on,

then, turn that quilt so that the diagonal makes the sides,, ...

and then, cut another line horizontally across the quilt from your new side....

 and move that bottom triangle to the top,.. and then sew that seam,

 and then, stay-stitch all around the edges, because they're cut on the bias.. and voi-la, you now have a whole new look!!!!!

 easy peasy, time to go make an espresso.