Thursday, September 30, 2021

Pieced backings - Using strips tutorial

 I love the pieced backing on the new Pinwheel Pivot quilt. It was super easy to do and I'm going to show you how I made it.


Pieced Backing tutorial


Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Affiliate Links. When purchases are made through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchases help support my small business and keep my husband's head from exploding every time a new quilting notion arrives in our mailbox. Thank you for that. Find out more about Affiliate Links Here.


I used part of a fat eighth bundle of All Hallows Eve fabric for the front of Pinwheel Pivot.


Pinwheel Pivot



As a quilter that doesn't like to have a lot of fabric sitting that meant finding something to use the rest of the fat eighths for.


Pieced backing



Since every quilt needs a back, that was my answer. However I didn't want to sew squares together, I wanted something with a little more oomph.



Pieced Backing Tutorial



What that meant was cutting each fat eighth into strips.


Pieced Backing Tutorial



I folded the fat eighth the long way, trimmed the top just a bit to make it straight and then gave myself another straight edge to work with by trimming off just a smidge from the side. For the least amount of waste I cut my strips 1 7/8" wide.

Pieced Backing Tutorial



Once all the fat eighths were cut down to strips I began sewing them end to end. I didn't go in any particular order, just grabbed one from a stack and another from a different stack and stitched.


Pieced Backing Tutorail



I continued to grab strips and sew them until they were all sewn into pairs. Then I pressed, it doesn't matter which way you press.


Pieced backing tutorial
That's me, waaaay at the end.


Once pressed I continued to sew strips together end to end.


Pieced backing tutorial



I made the 42" square of Pinwheel Pivot so I needed 50" wide backing. Once I had stitched all of the strips together I began to sub-cut them into 50" strips. I did it this way so that I wouldn't have to worry about the seams lining up.


Pieced backing tutorial




You don't have to worry if you get a piece that is really small as you sub-cut because these will be trimmed off when you square up to put the binding on. Note the little pink sticky. I put that there so that I could measure the strips quickly.


Pieced Backing Tutorial



*Tip* When pressing the length of the strips, finger press the seams before using the iron to help keep them from getting stretched out.



Once I had sewn all of the strips I had together I knew I wouldn't have enough for the length of the quilt. I added yardage to top and bottom because strips can get warped and pulled and this gave me a strong base for the top edges. Notice I wasn't too worried about the strips ending perfectly together because this is made larger than needed and would be trimmed down.


Pieced Backing Tutorial



For this quilt I ended up spray basting instead of pinning, but to line up the strips and to top it doesn't matter which you do.


Pieced Backing Tutorial



Once I had the backing and batting basted together I laid out the top. I simply lined up the seam of the pieced rows with a seam of the pieced back, and counted to make sure both sides followed the same number of rows. Easy peasy. If you wanted to make sure your quilt didn't shift you could put a pin in at the end of each row to make sure it stays with the back seam it is supposed to be aligned with.



Pieced Backing Tutorial



Strip pieced backing done, minimal left over fabric. One happy quilter.


Make something Extraordinary!

Jen

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Join the Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook page.

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Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Introducing Pinwheel Pivot!

 What's this? A new pattern?!


Pinwheel Pivot


It's true, there's a new pattern from PBJ! The first one since March.


Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Affiliate Links. When purchases are made through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchases help support my small business and keep my husband's head from exploding every time a new quilting notion arrives in our mailbox. Thank you for that. Find out more about Affiliate Links Here.


Pinwheel Pivot 2


You may recognize this pattern from earlier this year in All People Quilt magazine. Now reimagined with more sizes and choices!


Pinwheel Pivot 2


This big block quilt is great for the new quilter and beyond. It's fat quarter friendly and makes a great holiday (any holiday) quilt.


Pinwheel Pivot Quilt



This quilt is beautiful as a two color quilt, but I LOVE it using the All Hallows Eve fabric from Fig Tree and Co. I used a fat eighth bundle, using two fabrics for each block, and it's love.


Pinwheel Pivot Quilt


Did I say love? I think it may be adoration.


Pinwheel Pivot Quilt


As a quilter who doesn't like to have a lot of fabric laying around unused, I decided to use the rest of the All Hallows Eve fat eighth bundle to make a pieced backing. Check back tomorrow for the how to!


Pieced Backing Pinwheel Pivot Quilt


Find the fabric used for the Halloween version at The Fat Quarter Shop.


Lets see what the testers did with this pattern!



We will start with Melva's table topper. A striking piece to set in the center of any table.




 Beverly liked the look of the table topper so much she made two! It really is a quick sew and statement piece. I'm going to be making one for my daughter for her new place. As soon as marching band season is done. 😉


Fawn tested the table runner and I love how it shows that larger prints work well in this pattern as well.




Sherry also made the table runner and if you like batiks, this pattern works well with those, too!




How fun is this little quilt that Amber made? She wishes the grey was darker so it stood out more, but I think it's the perfect softness for that fun background print.




Sheila's gold quilt is the perfect accent quilt for this room! I love that gold.




Janice chose to swap light and dark and what a difference that makes in the quilt.

Find Pinwheel Pivot here, on sale for one week:

Etsy PDF

Etsy Printed (preorder now)

Payhip PDF


The pattern is available for wholesale orders. Email wholesale(at)patternsbyjen(dot)com

Or ask your distributor to carry Pattern By Jen patterns!

I can't wait to see what you make!

Make something Extraordinary!

Jen


New to Patterns By Jen?

Don't forget to sign up for the Bites of PBJ newsletter while you are here!




Find paper and digital patterns in my Etsy shop.

Find fun PBJ merchandise at Teespring

Join the Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook page.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily sneak peeks and updates.

Friday, September 24, 2021

September 2021 Monthly Color Link Up

 Red Rover, Red Rover send your blocks on over! It's link up time!



What did you think of this block? It was a little more fussy, but I really like the look of it.



You can follow #2021monthlycolorchallenge and #monthlycolorchallenge on Instagram to see the blocks as well.

Quarter 3 Sponsors





Bea Quilter - PDF pattern

Faith and Fabric - $25 Gift Certificate to Faith and Fabric


Carole Lyle Shaw - $50 gift certificate to your choice of shop

Cherrywood Fabrics - Mini Monty (fabric bundle)*

Benartex - Fat Quarter Bundle*

Quilters Dream Batting - 60" square Dream Cotton*

The Warm Co - 90 x 60 Soft and Bright Needled Polyester*

Appliques Quilts and More - $10 Gift certificate

Said with Love - PDF pattern

Daybrook Designs - 2 winners, PDF pattern to each

Patterns By Jen - PDF pattern


Those marked with * are for US residents only. Prize laws vary throughout different countries.





The Link Up is open through September 30. If you have a problem linking up, please use the "question mark" button next to the log out button. If you are trying from your phone, try it from a laptop/tablet if you have one.





This is the last link up for Quarter 3! Look for winners in the following days.




Good luck and thank you for stitching along with me!

Missed the block? Find it here!


Make something Extraordinary!

Jen


New to Patterns By Jen?

Don't forget to sign up for the Bites of PBJ newsletter while you are here!




Find paper and digital patterns in my Etsy shop.

Find fun PBJ merchandise at Teespring

Join the Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook page.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily sneak peeks and updates.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

September 2021 Monthly Color Challenge

School days are here, but so is a new block!



I'm not sure how I feel about September. It falls between the hottest month and one of my most favorite months. I appreciate the transition time from hot to cool, but transitions are hard. 🤣



Maybe that is why I chose the pineapple to be our inspiration. It's bright and fruity and that might be just what I need for this "in between" month.



This block has a little bit more to it than last month's block, but in the end comes together pretty quickly.


**There is a How-to Video for this block in the instructions.**


September Bloggers

Kathy - Kathy's Kwilts and More

Frances - Frances Quilts

Lisa - Love to Color My World

Raylee - Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting

Andi - True Blue Quilts

Crystal - Daybrook Quilts

Ashli - Quilt 2 End Alz



This year two block sizes are offered, you can choose to make the 12" finished blocks or the 6" finished blocks, or both!

Quarter 3 Sponsors

There's a new group of sponsors! The Monthly Color Challenge has a great group of sponsors who have given generously to make this year an amazing year for you. Winners are chosen quarterly; April 1, July 1 (Please note that winners will be chosen July 12 when I return from the lake), Oct 1 and Jan 1, 2022. To enter you simply add your block to the Link Up at the end of each month. One entry per quilter and it needs to be the block from the current month. Finish each month and you will have 3 entries each quarter!




Bea Quilter - PDF pattern

Faith and Fabric - $25 Gift Certificate to Faith and Fabric


Carole Lyle Shaw - $50 gift certificate to your choice of shop

Cherrywood Fabrics - Mini Monty (fabric bundle)*

Benartex - Fat Quarter Bundle*

Quilters Dream Batting - 60" square Dream Cotton*

The Warm Co - 90 x 60 Soft and Bright Needled Polyester*

Appliques Quilts and More - $10 Gift certificate

Said with Love - PDF pattern

Daybrook Designs - 2 winners, PDF pattern to each

Patterns By Jen - PDF pattern


Those marked with * are for US residents only. Prize laws vary throughout different countries.





Tips

Here are a few tips for piecing accuracy.




When marking the diagonal for the HST place your ruler to the side a bit, not directly point to point.



 
When you do that then your line marks are right on the point.




Chain piece whenever possible.




When sewing the strips sew with the same color strip on top.




I said this wrong in the how to video, when you are sewing the second set of strips together, you will want to sew with the same color strip on top again.




When sub-cutting your strip sets, line up the lines on the ruler with the sewn seams, not the outside top and bottom edges.




Pin seams left to right crossing under the seam that is intersecting.




Sew until you see the needle pass over the seam that you've pinned, then remove the needle.




Once past, remove the pin. You shouldn't go over the pin at all when sewing.



That's it! August is done! 

Ready to get the pattern? Go to Payhip and download it now! The block is free for the month of September!

To have the block sent directly to your email sign up HERE.

It's too late to have the January through September blocks emailed to you but you can download them from Payhip and get ready to have the rest of the year arrive in your email inbox.

Make something Extraordinary!

Jen

New to Patterns By Jen?

Don't forget to sign up for the Bites of PBJ newsletter while you are here for early releases and sales just for subscribers!




Find paper and digital patterns in my Etsy shop.

Find fun PBJ merchandise at Teespring

Join the Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook page.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily sneak peeks and updates.