One of our awesome Facebook Fans, Sandie, shared some pictures of her quilts on our Facebook Page.
I immediately could tell that she was quilting her quilts differently and wanted to find out more!
I could tell her version would be so much easier for many of us that suffer from arthritis and/or other nasty things that try to keep us from quilting the quilts we love to do.
I asked her to write up a tutorial and thankfully... SHE SAID YES!!
So here is another method of Quilting your Quilt that you may want to check out :)
Thank you Sandie for all your hard work and sharing this wonderful tutorial with us!!
I have to say that I saw a version of this method on the “Fons and Porter”TV program on PBS, but didn’t like the way they covered the seams. I figured out a way I liked better to cover the seams and have been using this method ever since.
1) Prepare your block the way you normally would. Keep in mind that in addition to your normal ¼” seam, you will lose about 1” all around the square, so if you have a pattern that comes right up to the edge of your block it will be covered. I have gotten around this by adding a small framing strip around my square so as not to lose any of the block design. I personally like to work with blocks that are 12-15”, but mostly because that is the size of my square-ups.
2) Cut backing pieces and batting pieces the same size as your square.
3) Layer your backing, batting, and top square like you would for your finished quilt. (figure 1)
4) Pin securely and quilt your square as desired. Do this for all of your squares.
5) With backs right sides together, sew blocks together in rows with a ¼” seam, making sure you are lining up all of your layers. (Figure 2) I usually make my rows with the longer number of squares in the quilt. So if your quilt is 6 x 5, I would make the rows six blocks each. This is especially important for larger quilts such as king or queen sized. I like to pin a small piece of paper with the number of the row at the top of each one, so that when I am ready to join the rows, I know which order they go in.
6) Press open your seams (Figure 3)
7) Cut 3” strips to cover your seams. The way I figure out how many strips I will need is to take the size of the square. In this case it was 12”. Multiply that times the number of seams you have in each row. This was a 6 x 5 quilt, so I had five seams in five rows, which meant it would be 12” x 25= 300”. Then I measure the length of each row, in this case 69.5 (I round it up to 70). There will be four seams to join the rows so I multiply 70” x 4= 280”. Now add the two numbers and divide by the width of your fabric to figure out how many strips to cut. In this case it was 580”/42”= 13.81, so I know to cut 14 strips 3” strips the width of the fabric.
8) Sew the strips end to end to make one long strip. (Figure 4)
9) Sew long strip wrong sides together with a ¼” seam. Press the seam open centering the seam in the middle of the strip. (Figure 5)
10) Center the strip over the seam and sew close to each edge to cover seam. As I cover the seams in my rows, I roll the row up to fit into the machine. (Figure 6)
11) Pin row 1 and 2 together with backs right side together. Stitch with a ¼” seam, making sure you are aligning all the layers together. Only add one row at a time before moving on. (Figure 7) Press the seam open.
12) Cover the seam the same way you did before. Work with one row at a time with the bulk of your fabric always to the left of your machine. (Figure 8)
13) Continue this way until all of your rows are added to your quilt. Then bind your quilt like you normally would.
This is what I call a couch quilt. (Approx. 58” x70”)
Back of quilt
Other quilts using this method:
King sized quilt
I framed the squares on this one so I didn’t lose any of my design
Tutorial Prepared for 1 Choice 4 Quilting by Sandie Oravec
I immediately could tell that she was quilting her quilts differently and wanted to find out more!
I could tell her version would be so much easier for many of us that suffer from arthritis and/or other nasty things that try to keep us from quilting the quilts we love to do.
I asked her to write up a tutorial and thankfully... SHE SAID YES!!
So here is another method of Quilting your Quilt that you may want to check out :)
Thank you Sandie for all your hard work and sharing this wonderful tutorial with us!!
The Seaming Method of Quilting
I have to say that I saw a version of this method on the “Fons and Porter”TV program on PBS, but didn’t like the way they covered the seams. I figured out a way I liked better to cover the seams and have been using this method ever since.
1) Prepare your block the way you normally would. Keep in mind that in addition to your normal ¼” seam, you will lose about 1” all around the square, so if you have a pattern that comes right up to the edge of your block it will be covered. I have gotten around this by adding a small framing strip around my square so as not to lose any of the block design. I personally like to work with blocks that are 12-15”, but mostly because that is the size of my square-ups.
2) Cut backing pieces and batting pieces the same size as your square.
3) Layer your backing, batting, and top square like you would for your finished quilt. (figure 1)
Figure 1
4) Pin securely and quilt your square as desired. Do this for all of your squares.
5) With backs right sides together, sew blocks together in rows with a ¼” seam, making sure you are lining up all of your layers. (Figure 2) I usually make my rows with the longer number of squares in the quilt. So if your quilt is 6 x 5, I would make the rows six blocks each. This is especially important for larger quilts such as king or queen sized. I like to pin a small piece of paper with the number of the row at the top of each one, so that when I am ready to join the rows, I know which order they go in.
Figure 2
6) Press open your seams (Figure 3)
7) Cut 3” strips to cover your seams. The way I figure out how many strips I will need is to take the size of the square. In this case it was 12”. Multiply that times the number of seams you have in each row. This was a 6 x 5 quilt, so I had five seams in five rows, which meant it would be 12” x 25= 300”. Then I measure the length of each row, in this case 69.5 (I round it up to 70). There will be four seams to join the rows so I multiply 70” x 4= 280”. Now add the two numbers and divide by the width of your fabric to figure out how many strips to cut. In this case it was 580”/42”= 13.81, so I know to cut 14 strips 3” strips the width of the fabric.
8) Sew the strips end to end to make one long strip. (Figure 4)
Figure 4
9) Sew long strip wrong sides together with a ¼” seam. Press the seam open centering the seam in the middle of the strip. (Figure 5)
Figure 5
10) Center the strip over the seam and sew close to each edge to cover seam. As I cover the seams in my rows, I roll the row up to fit into the machine. (Figure 6)
Figure 6
11) Pin row 1 and 2 together with backs right side together. Stitch with a ¼” seam, making sure you are aligning all the layers together. Only add one row at a time before moving on. (Figure 7) Press the seam open.
Figure 7
12) Cover the seam the same way you did before. Work with one row at a time with the bulk of your fabric always to the left of your machine. (Figure 8)
Figure 8
13) Continue this way until all of your rows are added to your quilt. Then bind your quilt like you normally would.
This is what I call a couch quilt. (Approx. 58” x70”)
Back of quilt
Other quilts using this method:
King sized quilt
I framed the squares on this one so I didn’t lose any of my design
Tutorial Prepared for 1 Choice 4 Quilting by Sandie Oravec
Thanks Sandie! I think I'll try this sometime and practice FMQ on one block at a time.
What a clever way to put together a quilt!
MGM
this looks very interesting , and easier for those of us who do not do the actual quilting , free motion or straight line , very good ! thanks ! a new twist on quilt as you go ! thanks so much !
Very cool! Thanks so much for sharing! I will need to try this :)
Thanks for sharing this method. I've been interested in trying the "quilt as you go" method but found other tutorials confusing. Yours looks very easy and I really like the way the strips frame the blocks. I'll be trying it soon.
very nice! and your tutorial is great, thank you for sharing.
This looks easier to handle a block at a time! It gives another option to the finishing of the quilt!!
What a great idea! I have neck and back problems and this would make it much easier for me. I like how the strips that cover the seams look like sashing. I find it hard to get my sashing to line up properly.
Thanks for sharing this! My daughter is just getting started in quilting and this [I think] will be so much easier for her.
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