Welcome back to the Royal Baby Sew Along! Now that you've got all 16 blocks that you'll
need to make the quilt, we'll show you how to assemble the quilt top and add
the bias tape details.
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| Block Orientation |
You're going to first want to lay out your blocks like they
will be in the quilt top. Make sure you
have plenty of space!
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| Stripe Orientation |
Once you have the blocks laid out in their correct positions,
you're going to want to ensure that the stripes within each block are oriented
correctly. Use the following to diagram
to help you. If you're blocks are laid
out correctly, there should be a continuous line around the outside of the
quilt and the stripes should point inward.
Also, each Block C's stripes should be visually continued by Block D's
stripes in the middle of the quilt.
If you are concerned about the appearance of the shot cottons
all being the same, pay extra attention to the way that you have each Block A
laid out. Since the warp and the weft of
the shot cottons are different colors, the way that you orient the block will
show off one color more than another.
With the other blocks, you don't really have a choice about how it's
laid out (matching up the stripes forces each block into position), but with
Block A you can rotate it 90 degrees and the stripes will all still match
up. If, like me, you aren't too
concerned about them matching, you can always wing it and leave it to chance.
Have you got it all laid out to your liking? Good!
Let's get sewing!
As you sew, be sure to
line up the seams and take extra care to keep the seams together so that the
stripes don't jog from one block to the next.
Pin them if needed while you sew.
If they're not exactly right, we have a fix to hide most of them so they
aren't noticeable!
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| Step 1 |
Step 1: We're going to start by sewing the blocks from Columns 1 and
2 together by rows. So, grab Block A and Block C from Row 1 and sew them
together. Make sure that as you grab
blocks to sew together that you keep them oriented correctly so that the
stripes line up like they are supposed to!
Continue by sewing Block B and Block D from Row 2 together, Block C and
Block D together from Row 3 and Block A and Block B together from Row 4.
You can either press the seams open or to one side. Personally, I like to press them to the side
and alternate between rows so that Row 1 is pressed to the left, Row 2 is
pressed to the right, and so on. I find
this helpful when it's time to sew the rows together because I can lock those
seams together by fitting one seam right next to the other and it helps them
not move as much when I'm sewing, which keeps the seams lined up.
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| Step 2 |
Step 2: Next, we'll sew the blocks from Column 3 onto their appropriate
rows. Again, be sure to keep the blocks
oriented the right way as you grab them to sew them onto the rows you've
already completed! This is the spot in
the quilt top that the seams between blocks won't be hidden, so take extra care
to line them up and pin if needed. Sew
Block B from Row 1 to the other side of Block C from row 1. Continue by sewing Block D and from Row 2 to
the other side of Block D from Row 2, Block D from row 3 to the other side of
Block D from Row 3, and Block C from Row 4 to the other side of Block B from
row 4. Press the seams however you
like.
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| Step 3 |
Step 3: Now we'll need to sew the blocks from column 4 onto their
appropriate rows. So, grab Block A from
row 1 and sew it to the other side of Block B from row 1. Then continue in this fashion by sewing Block
C from row 2 to the other side of block D from row 2, sew Block B from row 3 to
the other side of Block D from row 3, and finally sew Block A from row 4 to the
other side of Block C from row 4.
Let's just take a moment and appreciate that the rows are
done! Hurray!
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| Step 4 |
Step 4: All that's left is to sew the rows
together, taking extra care to make sure that the seams line up. Sew Row 1 to Row 2.
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| Step 5 |
Step 5: Then Sew Row 3 to the other side of Row 2, taking extra care
to make sure that the seams line up since this is one of the seams that is not
hidden by our bias tape cheat.
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| Step 6 |
Step 6: Then sew Row 4 to the other side of Row 3.
La Voila!
Okay, so we've mentioned a detail in our quilt top that hides
the seams in case yours don't come to perfect 90 degree angles and your stripes
don't match up exactly from one block to the next. Of course, even if your blocks match up
perfectly (like Gus's quilt!), you may want to include the bias detailing since
it really enhances the tartan plaid effect of the quilt top and helps to tie
all the blocks together visually.
In your quilt kit, (or on its way to you since we had you cut
it to complete the stripes for Block C), you'll find a piece of Kaffe Fassett's
Caterpillar Stripe fabric in Earth (the same one you used for the stripes from
Block C), that measures 6” by the width of the fabric. If you didn't buy a kit from us, you'll need
1/4 yard of fabric to make the bias strips for the quilt top. You'll need 4 strips of 1/4” bias tape that
are 40” long. We didn't fuss with making
them 40” long; we just made them the width of the fabric, sewed them on and
then chopped off the extra. It's up to
you!
There are two ways to make bias tape: the traditional way and
the gadgety way. We'll walk you through
both methods. Either way you choose,
you'll need to start by cutting your fabric into strips that are 1/2” wide by
the length of the fabric (about 42”).
You'll need 4 of them.
Note that we are using the term 'bias tape' loosely. For this project, the strips don't need to be
cut on the bias; cutting them with the grain of the fabric will do just
fine.
For the traditional method, you'll start with one of your
strips with the wrong side facing you (and the right side down on your
workspace). Fold each of the sides of
the fabric.
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| Bias Fold |
Iron it so that it stays that way and that's it! You'll need to make 4 of these bias tape
strips. The next step is to place it on
the quilt and sew it in place, which we'll show you after we go through the
gadgety way to make bias tape.
Since it can be really hard to fold consistently down a strip
that long (not to mention getting the strip to stay perfectly in place while
you sew), there is also a way to make fusible bias tape that is a consistent
size and has the added benefit of being able to fuse it lightly to your quilt
top so that it stays where you want it while you sew. If you use this method, be sure that you fuse
it where you want it since it can't be pretty tough to remove once you've fused
it.
For this method, you'll need a 1/4” fusible bias tape maker
(we use the one from Clover) and some fusible web made for that bias tape
maker. There are instructions that come
with the fusible bias tape maker, but we'll repeat them here so that you have
them all in one place. You just insert
the fusible web into the upper groove of the bias tape maker with the adhesive
side down. Insert your bias strip fabric
into the lower groove and pull the bias strip fabric and the fusible web
through the maker. You can use an awl to
get it started so that you can pull it through.
While you pull it through the bias tape maker, it fold your ends over
for you and attach the adhesive fusible web.
Once the fabric has passed through the bias tape maker, iron the webbing
in place. Once you've made the whole
strip, you just peel off the backer of the fusible web and stick it where you
want it. Then all that's left is to sew
it into place!
Fusible maker link: http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/knitting/yarn/Clover/FusibleBiasTapeMaker.asp?showLarge=true&specPCVID=48027
Fusible web link:
We attached our bias tape along the seam between Column 1 and
2, and another piece between Column 3
and 4. That way, it hides a lot of our
seams so you can't see if they don't match.
Top stitch them into place, using a thread that complements the overall
look of the quilt.
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| Bias Columns |
Once those are in place, attach bias tape between Rows 1 and
2 and another strip between Rows 3 and 4.
Again, top stitch them into place.
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| Bias Rows |
Now, just sit back and admire your beautiful quilt top!
Your homework for next week is to acquire the batting of your
choice. You'll need a piece that is at
least 2-4 inches larger than your quilt top on each side. So, if your quilt top measures 40” by 40”
right now, you'll need a piece of batting that is 44-48” square. Check out our selection of Warm & Natural
precut batting if you're at a loss for what to use.
Warm and Natural link:
Next week we'll show you how to make the crown applique
detail and give you some ideas for quilting.
We hope to see you then!
Happy Sewing!
Gus and Jenn
Thank you for the content. www.sidingcoquitlambc.com
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