Christa’s Quilt Along 4.7 – Machine Quilting Sea of Squares

February 7, 2013July 7, 20198 Comments

For today’s post I will be showing how to quilt this quilt with a walking foot and straight lines. This is enough quilting to hold the quilt together and give it some definition. It took me a total of 5.5 hours to quilt this part of the quilt

I will be adding more quilting to my quilts because one of my quilting mottos is, “Quilt the heck out of it!” I will show that optional extra quilting next week.

Thread Choice

For this quilt, I would like my quilt to have some definition but I don’t want the stitches to stand out too much. I selected a little bit heavier weight thread – a 40 weight polyester with larger quilting needle (size 90) to go with it.

I wound my bobbins with the same color but in a lightweight 60 weight polyester. I chose a cream thread because there is so much white in the quilt. The cream will blend into the white but It’s not quite as “stark” as white so it won’t be too bright against the blue fabrics.

Step 1 – Warm Up Session (15 minutes)

It’s a good idea to practice on a scrap quilt sandwich first, even when quilting straight lines.

This way you can check tension, stitch length, and thread color before you begin.

Step 2 – Anchor Quilting (1 Hour, 15 Minutes)

Before you get into any fancy-shmancy quilting, it’s a good idea to “anchor” your quilt first by quilting a few of the major seam lines. This will help stabilize your quilt. While doing this anchor quilting, you want to stabilize your quilt in all four directions. Think of this as a large grid across the top of your quilt. I can quickly and easily pull out the pinmoors as I quilt.

With the quilt laid out horizontally, I started quilting on one edge of the quilt. Using my walking foot as a guide, I stitched about 1/4 inch away from the ditch. I used a slightly longer stitch length and quilted continuously in one long row from the top of the quilt to the bottom. Because the lines go all the way across the quilt and the edges will be covered by the binding, I did not need to lock my stitches or tie them off.

When I got the the end of this first line of quilting, I “scooted” over a whole block width to the right (leaving less bulk under the machine). I quilted 2 more rows in the same manner.
Don’t quilt the very edges of the quilt yet; you can do that at the end.

Next, it was time to rotate the quilt 180 degrees and quilt some anchor lines on the other half of the quilt. Again, I quilted them about 1 block width apart. Now the quilt has been quilted in 2 directions. By the way, I love the Machingers quilting gloves because they provide a good grip on the quilt while moving and squishing it under the machine.

It’s time to rotate the quilt 90 degrees and quilt all of the vertical anchor lines now. Again, start in the middle and quilt about 3 rows, one block width apart. Then rotate the quilt completely and finish off the other side.

The quilting is now ready to be finished.

Step 2 – Stitching all the Vertical Lines (1 Hour, 45 Minutes)

I like the “stitch near the ditch” pattern so much that I am outlining every seam about 1/4″ away from the center. I’m not too worried about whether my lines are perfectly straight so I didn’t worry about marking. My other quilt motto is, “Finished is better than perfect!”

Now I can start in the middle of the quilt and quilt all of the vertical lines halfway across the quilt edge of the quilt. When there is too much bulk under the machine, I rotate and finish the other side of the quilt.

Step 3 – Quilting all the Horizontal Lines (2 Hours, 15 Minutes)

This section took a little longer because there were more rows to stitch. Again, I quilted half of the lines going one way, then rotated the quilt to stitch the other half.

On the very last row which was near the edge of my quilt, I actually quilted 1/2″ away from the seam line rather than 1/4″. This is to take into account the seam allowance which will be covered by the binding.

This is now enough quilting for this quilt, but as I said at the beginning, I will add more. Join me next week to see how I finish the rest of the quilting.

If you’d like to try something a little jazzier than just straight lines, why not play around with the decorative stitches on your machine?

The picture above shows me quilting my Jolly Jelly Roll Quilt which was my first DIY Quilt Along. I used a wavy serpentine stitch which would also work well for Sea of Squares!

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Quilt Kits are available from my shop for a limited time in these two colorways:

Apple Jacks

Sea of Squares

Christa’s Quilt Along 4.6 – Basting Sea of Squares

January 30, 2013July 7, 20197 Comments

I finished my pieced backing from last week and now it’s time to baste Sea of Squares!

The backing took me 2 hours to cut, piece and starch. The basting also took 2 hours, so it was a very pleasant way to spend my day today. 🙂

Sea of Squares Pieced Backing

I follow these four steps whenever I baste a quilt:

(1) Completely secure the backing to a large flat surface. I use two heavy duty utility tables that I got from an office supply store. They are 8′ long and I keep them up all the time. It’s my work surface and my cutting area, plus the kids use them for art projects and homework. So they get a lot of use!

You can also use just one table if space is limited and move your quilt around as needed. I use office binder clips to secure the two edges of my backing to the edge of the table.
Then I use a generous amount of tape to secure the other edges. You want to make sure that your backing extends past your batting and quilt top by at least a couple of inches.

(2) Next, layer your batting on top of your backing and smooth it out nicely.

I am using 1 layer of cotton batting with 1/2 layer of wool – yes, it actually pulls apart. (For my previous quilt, Charming Chevrons, I used a layer of cotton and a full layer of wool. I loved the “heft” of it but it was a bit thick to quilt through. I’ll let you know I like it.)

Notice that there is no need to secure the batting layer.

(3) Grab a helper to gently lay your quilt top onto the center of your batting/backing layer.

If you are doing this solo, you can quarter your quilt instead and unfold it one quarter of a time. But I prefer a helper if I can manage it! If either your top or backing are directional, don’t forget to check to make sure your quilt is oriented correctly before you begin.

(4) Finally, let the basting begin! I prefer to use flat flower pins and pinmoors to baste. I insert the pins in the quilt first, one section at a time. Then I cap them all with pinmoors.

With my table, I can reach all the way to the center of the quilt, so I can baste half of the quilt from one side; then I finish up on the other side.

A note about Pinmoors…

Pinmoors are a bit pricey but are well worth the investment. If you’d like to try them, I suggest buying one package and baste as much area as you can. Then, baste the rest of the quilt with regular safety pins.

When you are done quilting, take note of how much quicker and easier the pins and pinmoors were to remove versus regular safety pins!

One note of caution – if you move and scrunch your quilt under your machine like I do, watch for any pinmoors that accidentally fall off so you don’t get poked! Be sure to push the pins in far enough so that they are secure.

Now the quilt is ready for quilting next week. Be sure to post pictures of your quilt top, pieced backing or quilting on my flickr group: Christa’s Quilt Along.

You can also share pictures of any of my previous quilt-alongs that you are working on!

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Quilt Kits are available for a limited time in these two colorways:

Apple Jacks

Sea of Squares

Christa’s Quilt Along 4.5 – Sea of Squares Pieced Backing

January 23, 2013August 17, 201918 Comments

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Today I will show you two different ways to make a pieced quilt backing: (1) All from one fabric, or (2) from scraps and chunks. I have a little “cheater” disclaimer here. Since I am on vacation this week, I haven’t actually had time to sew my back together. Most of my tutorial pictures were designed in EQ7, but I’ll whip up my own back in no time when I return!

Step 1 – Measure Your Quilt Top

A good rule of thumb is to measure your quilt top and then add 4 inches around the perimeter on all four sides. This means you will take your quilt dimensions and add a total of 8 inches to each number. Let me demonstrate:

My quilt top measures 51″ x 62″ from raw edge to raw edge. I will add 8″ total giving me a needed back dimension of 59″ x 70″.

Step 2 – Calculate the Yardage Needed For One Fabric

The backing width I need is 59 inches as stated above. Rounding that up to the nearest 1/4 yard increment gives me 1.75 yards of fabric (or 63 inches). However, that will give me a length of just 44 inches from selvedge to selvedge (which I round down to 40 inches to account for seam allowances and trimmed edges). But I need a total length of 70″.

Pieced Back 63″ x 80″

To solve this problem, I will need to double the amount of fabric purchased to 3.5 yards. This will allow me to use two 1.75 yard pieces and seam them together to get a total measurement of 63″ wide x 80″ long.

Step 3 – Calculate Pieced Sizes for a Scrappy Backing

If you like an artistic backing like I do, take your diagram above and subdivide it into smaller chunks and random pieces. Use your creativity and fabrics from your stash as a guide. Here’s one hint – if you have a lot of white in your quilt top like mine, try to use lighter fabrics on the back so they don’t show through to the front.

I will “draw” a pieced backing measuring 60″ x 70″ (for easy math) and fill it in like a puzzle, adding random chunks wherever I choose. My diagram looks nice and straight but you can certainly use improve techniques with more wonky lines to achieve a similar effect.

Just remember that the outer 4-5 inches will be cut off so do not place any smaller chunks near the edges. For my diagram above, I have selected 10 chunks of fabric. Let’s look and see how they would be sewn together:

Add chunks 1, 2 and 3 together, then chunk 4
Sew 5 & 6 together, then add to piece 1-4
Next, sew 7-8 into one unit and 9-10 into another unit
Piece both of these sections together
Then add the top piece (1-6) to the bottom piece (7-10)

I will press seam allowances open and use a liberal amount of starch to keep everything tidy.

If you would like to follow my diagram exactly, here is how large you would cut each piece:

8.5″ x 32.5″
12.5″ x 32.5″
20.5″ x 10.5″
20.5″ x 42.5″
20.5″ x 10.5″
20.5″ x 32.5″
14.5″ x 28.5″
18.5″ x 28.5″
28.5″ x 14.5″
28.5″ x 14.5″

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Sharing is Caring

Please share your work in progress in my facebook group: Quilt With Christa . 🙂

Christa’s Quilt Along 4.4 – Sea of Squares Quilt Top

January 17, 2013August 15, 201310 Comments

This week it’s time to finish sewing the Sea of Squares quilt top. If you are just joining me, please scroll down to the end for links to each step of this do-it-yourself quilt tutorial. It took me a total of 2.5 hours to complete the steps shown below.

Step 1 – Quilt Layout (30 minutes)

Lay out all 42 of your blocks on a design wall or other large flat surface, or even the floor. Play around with your block arrangement until you find a pleasing composition. Take pictures of any arrangements you like as you “play.”

Arrange your blocks in a 6 x 7 grid – 7 rows of 6 blocks each. Be sure to alternate between your X and O blocks and distribute your values and colors evenly.

Step 2 – Sewing the Rows (1 Hour)

For this quilt layout, it’s easiest to sew the top together in rows. I numbered them 1 through 7. You can press all of the odd blocks in one direction, and all of the even rows in the opposite direction so that seams will nestle together when sewing.

If the darker fabric shows through the white, you may choose to press your seams open.

For a speedy sewing tip, I stacked up all of my blocks into pairs of two next to my sewing machine. I added a pin to the right had side to indicate this is the side I will be sewing.

Before sewing, I took a photo of my layout with camera’s phone. I referred to the layout as I sewed the rows together and was able to keep the blocks lined up in order. I continued joining the blocks together in order until I had 7 rows of sewn blocks.

Since my design wall was too small for all of the rows, I used part of the floor, too!

Step 3 – Completing the Quilt Top (1 Hour)

First, sew the top two rows together.

Pin at all of the intersections (I like using flat-head flower pins).

Be sure to remove your pins just before you get to them so you don’t accidentally break a needle. (Ask me how I know?!)

Next, sew together rows 3-4 and 5-6 together in the same manner.

Row 7 will be on it’s own. Next, you can join each of these segments into larger “chunks”.

Join rows 1-4 and rows 5-7.

Add these two “chunks” together to complete the quilt top.

Give your top a final pressing and set aside. Or do what I do: leave it up on your design wall for awhile to admire it until it’s time to baste and quilt!

I have decided to split apart the backing and basting into two separate tutorials so I can go more in-depth with each. Next week I will show how to sew a pieced quilt backing, either all from the same fabric, or from bits and pieces from your stash (my favorite). You need a total of 3 1/2 yards for the backing (perhaps a little more if piecing lots of chunks together).

Due to the popularity of this quilt kit, I have put together a limited number of kits in an alternate colorway. This one is called Apple Jacks and would be perfect for a little boy!

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Be sure to post pictures of your progress on my flickr group: Christa’s Quilt Along.

Quilt Kits are available for a limited time.

Christa’s Quilt Along 4.3 – Sea of Squares Blocks

January 9, 2013September 26, 201916 Comments

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Today it’s time to sew all of the cut pieces and charms together to make our Sea of Squares blocks. We will sew a total of 21 “X” blocks and 21 “O” blocks. It took me 4.5 hours total.

Step 1 – Sewing the X blocks (2.5 Hours)

I like to chain piece as much as possible. This means sewing the pieces together in an assembly-line fashion without cutting your threads in between pieces until you are done.

Chain Piecing

Start with the middle section of the X block which is composed of one dark 5 inch charm and two white (light) 2.5 x 5 inch rectangles. Use 1/4 inch seam allowances at all times.

To chain piece this section, sew 21 white rectangles to one side of all 21 dark charms. Then go back and add 21 white rectangles to the other side of all 21 charms.

Sew white rectangles to either side of charm square.

Sew white rectangles to either side of each charm square.

You should have a total of 21 completed “middle” sections. Finger press your seam allowances open or to the darker fabric. I like to use a wooden seam roller for this.

I prefer to use a seam roller whenever I can, especially when working with white fabric. I use the iron as little as possible to reduce the chances of scorching or distorting my fabrics. If you press nice and firmly with the seam roller, the seams will lie down nicely. Then I give the blocks a final pressing with an iron at the end.

Seam roll the back.

Seam roll the front.

After the middles are complete, sew all of the tops and bottoms. I like to sort all 4 of each smaller dark square together so it’s easier to stay organized and sew each as needed.

Sew a small dark 2.5 inch square to either side of a light 2.5 x 5 inch rectangle. Repeat this for a total of 42 units (21 for the top and 21 for the bottom). Press toward the dark fabric.

X Block Units

Pinning at intersections, join the top part of your block to all of the middles. Be sure to take out your pins as you go so you don’t sew over them.

Add the bottoms to all of your blocks in the same manner and press seams open.

Step 2 – Sewing the O Blocks (2 Hours)

The O blocks are sewn together in the same manner but with reversed fabric placement. It took me a little less time to sew them because I was in my groove!

Again, starting with the middles, add the same dark rectangle to either side of a white (light) charm. Repeat this for 21 middles.

Moving on to the tops and bottoms of the O block, add one white square to the end of 42 dark rectangles. Then repeat for the other end of the rectangle until you have 42 sewn units.

Add a top and bottom unit to each side of your middle. Again, pin and chain piece all of the top units; then go back and chain piece all of the bottom units.

Press all of the final seams open so that you can eliminate the shadowing of the darker fabric through the white background. Do this with an iron, but be careful not to scorch the fabric.

You should have a total of 42 blocks, half X’s, and half O’s. They should all measure 9 inches from raw edge to raw edge. The finished size of these blocks will be 8.5 inches. If your blocks are larger or smaller, it’s ok. As long as they are all the same size the design will work.

That’s it for this lesson! Next week we will put them up on a design wall and “play” to find a pleasing arrangement.

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Please email me pictures of your progress on this quilt or any of my previous tutorials! You can reach me at christa@christaquilts.com.

Quilt Kits for Sea of Squares and all of my other blog tutorials are available in my shop for a limited time.

Christa’s Quilt Along 4.2 – Sea of Squares Cutting

January 2, 2013August 15, 201314 Comments

This week we will start our Sea of Squares quilt by cutting all the pieces from charm packs: 2 light and 2 dark. I used 2 packs of Seascapes and 2 packs of White Bella Solids. As long as you have great contrast between your light and dark charms, this quilt will turn out great!

It took me just under an hour to complete this week’s homework.

Step 1 – Sorting the Squares (10 Minutes)

This seems like a very basic step, but it is important to sort all of the squares so that you cut them correctly. Of course you can make your quilt as scrappy as you like, and then you don’t need to worry as much about fabric placement.

Each block is made from 4 charm squares – 2 of the same dark plus 2 of the same light.
Let’s call them X blocks and O blocks.

The X blocks have a dark charm in the middle with matching smaller squares in the corners. The O blocks have a light charm in the middle with matching light squares in the corners. You will be sewing a total of 21 X blocks and 21 O blocks.

Sort your 84 dark charms into 2 piles – 42 charms for the X blocks (2 identical charms per X), and 42 charms for the for the O blocks (2 identical charms per O).

Moda charm packs are wonderful because each comes with exactly 42 squares with the same number of duplicates per pack. (Print placement may vary depending on how it’s cut).

Sort your 84 light charm packs into 3 piles:

Pile 1 = 21 white charms (whole) for the block centers.
Pile 2 = 21 white charms (to cut) for the little squares.
Pile 3 = 42 white charms (to cut) for the rectangles.

Step 2 – Cutting the Dark (Print) Charms (25 minutes)

From your “X” pile, pull out 1 of each charm for a total of 21 intact squares.

From the remaining 21 squares, cut them into 4 – 2.5 x 2.5 inch squares each. You should then have a total of 84 smaller squares that match the prints of the larger squares.

From your “O” pile, cut all of the squares in half yielding 2 rectangles each. You should have a total of 84 dark rectangles measuring 2.5 x 5 inches each.

Step 3 – Cutting the Light (White) Charms (15 minutes)

Set aside pile 1 which is composed of 21 light squares (5 inches square).

From pile 2, cut the 21 light squares into 4 equal smaller squares each. You should have a total of 84 small light squares, measuring 2.5 x 2.5 inches each.

From pile 3, cut all 42 light squares in half yielding 2 rectangles each. You should have a total of 84 half square rectangles, measuring 2.5 x 5 inches each.

Light Charms: Cut Piles 1, 2 and 3

Now that your pieces are all cut out, you are ready to begin sewing the top together next week. Wasn’t that fun?

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Week 1 – Supply List
Week 2 – Sorting and Cutting the Charms (today’s post above)
Week 3 – Sewing the Blocks
Week 4 – Completing the Quilt Top
Week 5 – Piecing the Backing
Week 6 – Basting
Week 7 – Machine Quilting
Week 8 – Optional Extra Quilting
Week 9 – Machine Binding to Finish

You can email me pictures of your progress at christa@christaquilts.com. I can’t wait to see all the variety and possibilities with this quilt!

Christa’s Quilt Along 4.1 – Sea of Squares Supply List

December 27, 2012May 10, 201810 Comments

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Sea of Squares

Sea of Squares is the 4th in my series of do-it-yourself quilts where I will take you through all of the steps of making a quilt from fabric selection to cutting, piecing, basting, machine quilting and binding. If you follow along with me you will have a completed quilt in no time!

About This Quilt – Finished Size Approximately 51.5″ x 60″

I designed this quilt in EQ7 and downloaded fabric images from Moda to color it.

I named it “Sea of Squares” because I wanted to make a simple quilt pattern from nothing but charm squares. I used Deb Strain’s Seascapes in calming shades of blue from teal to navy to aqua, with Bella Solids in white for the background. This monochromatic color-scheme calls to mind the tranquility of the sea with the occasional whitecap of a breaking wave.

Supply List

Important! If you’d like to pick your own charms, make sure that each pack contains at least 42 – 5 inch squares. Not all manufacturers are consistent with their charms.

Each block consists of 4 charms (2 light/2 dark) so cut or purchase additional charms as needed for a bigger size. You may also use layer cakes if you want to super-size it!

Fabric

2 of the same charm packs in darks or prints – 84 charms total (seascape blues)
2 of the same charm packs in lights or solids – 84 charms total (solid white)
1/2 yard for the binding (one of the blues in the picture above)
3.5 yards for backing split into 2 equal pieces if using all the same fabric. If you prefer a scrappy backing like I do, collect assorted chunks and scraps to total this amount.
Batting piece measuring at least 60″ x 70″

Supplies

Basic sewing equipment in good working order
Rotary cutter with a fresh blade, ruler and mat
Brand new sewing machine needles
Neutral cotton thread for piecing
Decorative thread to match fabrics for quilting
Walking foot for straight line quilting
Optional – pinmoors and pins for easy basting
Optional – machingers gloves for smooth quilting

Quilt-Along Schedule – Links are Active at the Completion of Each Step:

Week 1 – Supply List (today’s blog post above)
Week 2 – Sorting and Cutting the Charms
Week 3 – Sewing the Blocks
Week 4 – Completing the Quilt Top
Week 5 – Piecing the Backing
Week 6 – Basting
Week 7 – Machine Quilting
Week 8 – Optional Extra Quilting
Week 9 – Machine Binding to Finish

I plan on posting each week on Wednesday or Thursday depending on how my “homework” goes that week. Even though I will be sticking to the above schedule, feel free to work at your own pace.

By the way, this quilt uses the exact same fabric requirements as my previous Charming Chevrons quilt – so you can do either one, or both, depending on your mood!

Sharing is Caring

Please share your work in progress in my facebook group: Quilt With Christa . 🙂

Christa’s Quilt Along 3.9 – Finishing Charming Chevrons

December 13, 2012August 13, 201513 Comments

Free Quilt Pattern

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I’ve come to the end of my Charming Chevrons tutorial and it’s kind of sad. I really loved every minute of making this quilt! Today I will demo binding. Scroll to the end for links to the previous steps plus my announcement for my next DIY quilt-along starting next week!

Christa’s Charming Chevrons

If you like this quilt and want to make one just like it, Charming Chevrons quilt kits are available from my shop for a limited time.

Step 1 – Trimming The Edges (10 Minutes)

When the quilting has been completed and all of your basting pins removed, it’s time to trim the extra backing and batting and square up your quilt.

Use a large square ruler for the corners and a long 6 to 8 inch wide ruler for the sides. The markings on the ruler help keep things nice and even. I use the long lines to make sure I am cutting straight.

If the quilt seems a little wavy, I will block it at the end after binding by soaking it in the washing machine, and laying it out flat on a table to dry. (I do this only if I know for sure the fabrics won’t bleed when wet – I’ve had way too many “accidents.”)

Step 2 – Making the Binding Strips (15 Minutes)

I sew continuous double fold straight grain binding strips that I make myself.

Cut enough 2 1/4″ wide strips to go around the perimeter plus about 10 extra inches.

For this quilt I cut a total of 7 strips that measured 2 1/4″ by the width of the fabric (40″-42″).

Join the strips together on a mitered (45 degree) angle to smooth out the seam formed by sewing the strips.

Join all the strips together so that you have one continuous piece with the joined seams all going the same direction.

At the beginning of the binding, cut off one end at a 45 degree angle. Then press the binding in half lengthwise (press seam allowances open).

Step 3 – Attaching the Binding to the Quilt by Machine (35 Minutes)

Leave a few inches of a “tail” unsewn when you begin.

Do not start at a corner, and quickly measure your binding around the perimeter of the quilt to ensure it is long enough.

Try not to end up where you have any of your seams in the corners. Adjust your start if needed.

Use a matching cotton thread in the top and bobbin and use the same thread to finish your binding (whether by hand or machine).

Using a walking foot, sew with 1/4″ seam allowances and stop when you reach exactly 1/4″ inch from the end of your first corner. Take the quilt off the machine and fold the corner like the pictures below. This will create nice crisp mitered corners when you fold them over.

Click on the pictures below to see a larger version for more detailed closeups.

Repeat for all corners of the quilt and leave a few inches of “tail” when you near the end.

Open up both folded ends and with a pen, mark where the beginning meets the end.

Cut off the excess 1/2″ away from the marked line (for seam allowances) and join the two ends together.

You can see I cut off a full extra strip’s length of binding but just barely!

It’s better to have too much length than not enough!

Once your ends are joined, finish sewing down the binding completely to the front of the quilt.

Step 4 – Hold the Binding in Place With Pins or Glue (30 Minutes)

To baste the binding in place on back, I usually use pins and Pinmoors. However, for this quilt, I wanted to try a glue pen to temporarily adhere the binding to the back of the quilt. It worked like a charm and I got to see what the quilt looked like before it was done. I was even able to glue the corners in place to form a pretty miter. That will be much easier to sew!

Step 4 – Finish by Hand or Machine (Hand Sewing 5 Hours)

Whether I finish my binding by hand or machine, the above steps are still the same. Because I finished this quilt for QuiltCon (and possibly other quilt shows), I chose to sew by hand. So I got nice and comfy on the couch and watched a couple movies while I stitched away.

For more info on both types of finishes, you can read my post about hand-binding and my machine binding tutorial.

Charming Chevrons Tutorials. Click the links below to go to that post.

Week 1 – Supply List and Introduction
Week 2 – Marking and Sewing the Charms
Week 3 – Cutting and Trimming the Triangle Squares
Week 4 – Sewing the Chevron Blocks
Week 5 – Assembling the Quilt Top
Week 6 – Marking and Basting
Week 7 – Machine Quilting Straight Lines
Week 8 – Free Motion Pebble Quilting
Week 9 – Binding and Finishing Your Quilt (today’s post above)

Here are Charming Chevron’s Vital Statistics

Original design, pieced and quilted by Christa Watson
Finished size 46″ x 54″, completed November 2012
Finished block size 8″, 42 blocks total
Made from 4 packs of Kona Cotton charm squares (2 New Classic colors, 2 Ash grey)
Pieced backing, shades of grey with pops of color
Double batting (Warm-N-Natural and Legacy Wool)
Superior Highlights trilobal polyester in top and bobbin for pebbles (18 colors)
Isacord Sterling polyester in top and bobbin for chevron outlines
Total piecing time: 9.5 hours
Marking and basting: 2.5 hours
Total quilting time: 28 hours
Total binding time: 6.75 hours

Sharing is Caring

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Christa’s Quilt Along 3.8 – Quilting Chevrons Part 2

December 5, 2012August 15, 201312 Comments

I love quilting pebbles! I have stippled my quilts like crazy for the last 10 years, but just recently got the hang of pebbling. Jut in time, too, as I was on stipple burnout!!

Pebble Quilting

The time it took to finish the pebbling on my Charming Chevrons quilt was a little ridiculous though – it took 23 hours!! Yes, that’s right. The pebbling took more time to do than every other part of the quilt combined. It gives new meaning to the term Quilt-in-a -Day, LOL!!

Since I don’t really expect everyone to spend that much time quilting this quilt, I will first talk about pebbling in more detail, but then give you an alternative so that you can actually finish this quilt. (But by all means do the pebbling if your heart desires – mine did!)

Step 1 – Doodle on Paper First

Just like you had to learn your alphabet before you could write, so it is with quilting any FMQ (free-motion quilting) design. When I was in kindergarten my penmanship was terrible! (And it hasn’t really improved much since!) You need to practice your quilting “penmanship”, too!

Paper Practice

If you doodle on scraps of paper every day before you begin quilting, it will help you develop muscle memory between what you are drawing with your hands and what you are stitching out on the quilt. This will form a mind body connection so that eventually you will be able quilt without thinking. Think of FMQ as drawing with your sewing needle.

Step 2 – Practice on Scraps Next

I took a few FMQ classes at Road to California 2 years ago. For most of the class, we just made practice samples. If you really want the feeling of completing FMQ on a quilt, practice on charity quilts. You will get great practice and the recipients will love your efforts!

When I began free-motion quilting, my first efforts looked pretty bad. It took a while for me to put together different combinations of fabric, thread, batting, needles and tension settings. A few quick things I learned while practicing FMQ on my Bernina:

Select a needle with a large hole so that the thread doesn’t shred, like Superior Topstich needles. The size depends on the thickness of your thread (size 90 for the heavier polyster thread). Change every 8-12 hours of quilting. I used 3 of them on this quilt.
Loosen the bobbin tension slightly.
Use the same thread in top and bobbin for most quilts – it hides mistakes and makes for more even tension. I used Superior Highlights polyester in a rainbow of colors.
Break your quilting up into sections and don’t rush the process. Although it took a long time to quilt my pebbles, it really worked out to about 33 minutes per chevron block. Quilting one block a day is not a bad goal.
Use a free motion slider, quilting gloves, and bobbin washers for the best quilting combo.
It’s Ok to “travel stitch” over your previous lines to get into all the nooks and crannies.

Step 3 – Apply your practice to your actual quilt

For this quilt I changed threads with every fabric color. I never could find a neutral that blended in with everything so I used a total of 18 different colors.

When I didn’t have an exact match, I used something close. It gave the quilt some interest without being overpowering.

I quilted the pebbles in sections first.

I quilted a batch of greens, then oranges, then reds, then blues, etc. This helped me from getting too bored. Usually I like to off each my stitches between thread changes. However, because I stitched over many of my quilting lines to form the pebbles, it hid most of my stops and starts. Therefore, I cheated a little and used really small “anchor” stitches at the beginning and end of each color change to avoid tying off.

Step 4 – Alternative Quilting Motif – Loops

If you are not crazy like me and don’t want to spend this much time quilting your chevrons, try a simple meandering loop instead.

This is my other “go-to” design and it covers your area pretty quickly. In fact, this motif would look great quilted all over the surface if you want to skip the straight line background quilting.

Here’s a little background quilting I did using loops on an earlier quilt. Click to enlarge.

Because I used so many threads, my quilt back turned out just as colorful as the front!

Other Resources

Please visit Leah Day at the Free Motion Quilting Project. Her blog has so many in-depth tutorials on stitching particular FMQ designs. She has a video tutorial showing how to do pebble quilting and loops.

Yes, it was a little crazy to quilt that much, but honestly, I loved every minute of it! Next week it will be time to finish the binding and then I’ll start on another brand new tutorial. Isn’t this fun?? Be sure to check out my other two quilt-alongs here and here.

And, please continue to email me pictures of your Charming Chevrons quilt. I love to see how you are doing, no matter how you quilt it!

Quilt Along Schedule (Links are active once each step has been completed.)

Week 1 – Supply List and Introduction
Week 2 – Marking and Sewing the Charms
Week 3 – Cutting and Trimming the Triangle Squares
Week 4 – Sewing the Chevron Blocks
Week 5 – Assembling the Quilt Top
Week 6 – Marking and Basting
Week 7 – Machine Quilting Straight Lines
Week 8 – Free Motion Pebble Quilting (today’s post above)
Week 9 – Binding and Finishing Your Quilt

Christa’s Quilt Along 3.7 – Quilting Chevrons Part 1

November 29, 2012August 15, 20136 Comments

As I quilted my Charming Chevrons quilt this week I realized it would be way too much “homework” to try to get it all into one post. Therefore, I’ve broken down the steps into two parts. I’ll cover the straight line quilting this week, and then the free-motion quilting (FMQ) in next week’s post.

I had so much fun quilting this quilt! Machine quilting is my absolute favorite part of making any project. I often spend much more time on the quilting than I do in piecing the top.

It took me a total of 5 Hours to quilt the straight lines.

Step 1 – Stitch in the Ditch

Probably one of the most important (and often overlooked) parts of quilting any quilt successfully is to first outline all of them major seams by stitching in the ditch. This may be the most boring step because you can’t really see your stitches. However, it can really make your quilt “pop”, no matter what additional quilting you add to it.

Be sure to start with a brand new needle when quilting. I used a Size 90 Topstitch needle for all of my machine quilting. The longer shaft and larger eye eliminated stress on the thread passing through the needle. My quilting was smooth and trouble free!

Though I list step 1 and 2 separately, you can combine them if you wish, and do all of the quilting at the same time.

Step 2 – Quilt The Chevron Echoes

If you have marked straight lines onto your background, you can stitch them with a walking foot. I like to match my thread as closely as I can do my background so that you notice the quilting first, not the thread. I used Isacord polyester in the Sterling silver color for all of my straight line quilting. It was weighty enough to show the quilting and there were no issues with thread breaks.

Starting on one edge of the quilt, stitch one straight line at a time all the way over to the other edge of the quilt. This means no tying off or needing to bury threads. I simply started a few stitches off the quilt on either side to anchor my threads.

I started quilting in the center row of my quilt and worked my way across half of the quilt. When I got to the end I rotated the quilt and finished the other side.

I did have to pivot each time the lines zigged and zagged so I got really good at pushing and scrunching the bulk of the quilt out of my way. The Machingers gloves helped me keep a good grip on the quilt. (They also helped keep the quilt clean from any chocolate residue left on my fingers during snack break time!!)

I removed the Pinmoors, one a time as they got in my way while quilting. Once the straight quilting was finished, I removed the rest of the pins.

Step 3 – Removing the Blue Lines

Because I like to see my work as soon as possible, I like to remove the lines immediately once I am done quilting them. One word of caution here, be sure to test your fabrics to make sure they are color fast before you spray water all over your quilt. If there are any worries about color bleeding, you can remove the lines with an aqua eraser pen or a wet toothbrush instead so you can more easily guide where the water goes.

If the blue lines resurface later, I simply wet them again, or soak the whole quilt when finished (if I know I’m not going to have any issues with fabric bleeding).

Doesn’t the back of the quilt look scrumptious, too?

Additional Ideas

If you don’t want to hassle with marking or quilting straight lines, you can quilt a wavy decorative stitch instead. It goes a little faster and you don’t have to be so precise. I used this type of quilting on my first tutorial – The Jolly Jelly Roll Quilt.

I feel very accomplished this week – how about you?

Quilt Along Schedule (Links are active once each step has been completed.)