I am still so happy with the way this one turned out. As I mentioned before, this quilt was inspired by this one I saw on pinterest. I read over the directions a couple times then just went on my own without referencing anymore.
Here is how I put my quilt together. I started with a plan and a sketch. I knew I wanted the finished size to be 30"x30" and I debated between 5" and 6" blocks. I settled on 6" and gathered up all the fabric I would need.
For the finished size of each square to be 6" I cut them out at 6.5 x 6.5 accounting for the 1/4" seam allowance. I cut out 25 linen squares and randomly stacked the purple fabrics I decided to use. When it came to attaching the patterned fabric to the corners I used two different methods. The first method is good for when you are trying to get a particular part of the fabric to be the corner. For instance, on this one I wanted the tree and a couple of chicks.
I folded the corner back and made sure that I had enough fabric to cover the entire corner. I pressed with my finger to make a light crease in the fabric so I would know where to sew. Some of the fabrics had a print that was really busy or it was a lightweight fabric and a finger crease wouldn't show up. On these pieces I used a fabric marking pencil to draw the line. I did each of these at different angles, fiddling around until I had the section of the fabric that I wanted to feature. Once you make a crease with your finger flip the fabric back open (right side to right side) and sew along the crease you made (or the pencil line).
Repeat the process to the opposite corner with another piece of fabric. Fold the corners back and press.
Flip the corners back towards the linen square and trim 1/4" from your stitched line. You will be trimming both the patterned fabric and the linen. Next flip the corners back open, lay it face down and use a ruler to trim the edges of your corner piece so they line up with your main square.
I ironed my seams toward the darker fabric (which were the corners). Flip your square over and admire your work. Now make 24 more!
Now, another way to make the corner pieces if you aren't trying to get a specific bit of the fabric to show. This method also works if you aren't using scraps. You can cut your corner fabrics into strips and attach them in this same way (see pinterest link for more details on using yardage cut into strips). I used this method on the fabrics that had an overall pattern and not something specific I wanted to feature.
I laid the strip of fabric at the angle I wanted the triangle to be right side down. I made sure that once it was flipped over it would cover the entire corner. Next you will sew 1/4 from the edge of your strip.
Trim the square fabric along the edge of the strip. Then flip the corner over and trim to match the edges of the square.
Once I had all 25 squares made up I started laying them out to see how I wanted them to look. I messed around with a completely different idea (the one of the left) for fun and I actually kinda like it. However, I think it would need another row to look balanced.
Once I had a layout that I liked I took photos with my iPhone to use as reference as I sewed the rows together. I am not a perfectionist, so I didn't even pin them together. I used a 1/4" foot on my sewing machine and chain stitched my pieces together.
Once I had the front of the quilt together I gathered up the larger pieces from the purlSOHO scrap bags and arranged them to form the back of the quilt.
For quilting and binding tips I always reference Elizabeth Hartman's book The Practical Guide to Patchwork. She has some really great tips and tricks on making the quilt sandwich, making and attaching the binding as well as some really fun patterns.
For the quilting I contemplated between diagonal lines that cut through the center of the linen block, straight lines on each side of the seams, I even temporarily toyed around with the idea of hand quilting. However, in the end I decided to stitch around the center of each linen block 1/4" from the edges. This posed a bit of a problem with the raw edge pieces of the quilt because I had no guideline. I measured 1/2 from the raw edges and made a chalk line. If you stitch on the chalk line and your binding is 1/4 your quilting lines will match up. (mine don't because I didn't quilt ON the chalk line, due to some miscalculations).
I liked the shapes that this quilting made on both the front and the back of the quilt. Once I had the piece quilted I cut and sewed a solid dark purple for the binding using Hartman's instructions. I made the quilt front and back in one day. The next day I did the quilting. And on the third day I made and attached the binding.
I am so pumped about the way this turned out. It is for a baby, but it is in NO WAY baby-ish. I love that! I'll be putting it in the mail tomorrow and I can't wait to hear how my friend likes it. It's his first baby!!
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