Showing posts with label broken panes quilt along. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broken panes quilt along. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Broken Panes Quilt Along - Finishing Touches

It's time to fully finish our quilt!




I'm going over how to hand stitch binding onto your quilt. However, I'm really, *really* bad at machine binding, so Anja was kind enough to write up a how to post for you. Find it HERE.


PS: This is a photo heavy blog post.

Binding





To bind my quilt I am using the stripe included in the Big Bang fabric line from Northcott Fabric.



Everyone has their favorite width to cut their binding strips. I cut mine at 2" while many do anything from 2 1/4" to 3."  It's up to you to find the one that works for you.




Trim off the selvages then get ready to sew your binding together.  I usually just take the strips to my machine, but it was hard to see how the strips line up. Place fabric right sides together with 1/4" over lap for both ends.




Sew from one corner to the other.




Once sewn you will need to trim the excess. I like to use my scissors, but you can use your rotary cutter and ruler as well.




Trim off the large triangles, then trim off the little doggy ears. This helps to reduce bulk when you are stitching your strips to the quilt.




Press the seam to the side.




Next, fold your binding strip in half and press.




I catch my binding in a basket to keep the fabric off the floor and to keep it in a tidy bundle.




I take one more minute to wind my binding up to keep it from tangling while stitching.




When stitching the binding on I move my needle to the right.




I use a walking foot and wear my quilting gloves to help keep the heavy quilt moving, and binding to be stitched on evenly.




Leave enough fabric loose at the beginning to make finishing the binding easier. I usually leave 5 to 10 inches.  Once you round the final corner sew until you have about 5 to 10 inches until you reach the start of the binidng. Place the end of your binding over the beginning and measure 1/4" more than the width of your binding strips. In this case, I cut my strips at 2" to start with, so I'm going to cut at the 2 1/4" mark.




Sew diagonally. This part is a bit tricky and I highly recommend watching the videos shared in the post below.




Since I'm using my walking foot I turn my stitch length down when sewing this diagonal. Normally it's at 2.5.

Find the Binding How To Videos as well as how to figure out how many binding strips to cut in THIS POST.


Labels

Once your binding is done  you have one more step. Adding the label. There are many ways to add a label, and many ways to make them. It's a final, important step, though. How many lost quilts do you see without any information on them. Sad! Lets make sure yours gets back to it's rightful place if something should happen to it.




First I cut a piece of iron on stabilizer, this happens to be HeatnBond Lite. Then I cut the fabric for the label 1/2" longer and wider than the stabilizer. I use a Pigma Micron marker to write with. This one is 01, but I would recommend going a little thicker.


Following the instructions press the stabilizer to the wrong side of your label fabric, leaving the 1/4" of fabric all the way around.




Next I grab a piece of lined paper and make the lines darker with a fine point sharpie. This is because I can't write in  a straight line to save my life. All of my sentences slant.  Once the stabilizer/fabric has cooled, place your label, wrong side to lined paper, and write your label. The stabilizer not only keeps the fabric on place once on the quilt, it makes it much easier to write on the fabric. Many people embroider or printer their labels instead of write on them. They are all great ways to mark the making and/or giving of the quilt.



Once your label is written, press it to the back side of your quilt. I like mine on the bottom right hand side (when looking at the back of the quilt).  Supplies for stitching your label down include thread to match your label fabric, sharp needle, thimble and scissors.




Start by knotting your thread, I use a single thread, I don't double up. Stitch so the knot is hidden under the label and you come out just catching the edge of the label. I start a little bit from the corner so that I can stitch around that last corner and knot my thread in a flat area and not bulk up the corner area.




Stitch the label the same way the binding was stitched, using 1/4" long stitches.




When you come to a corner make sure the extra folded fabric is caught in your stitching.




I like to double stitch my corners.  When you come to the end, knot off the thread and bury it.




Label is done and that means....




your quilt is done! Congratulations!

Please ask any question you may have, and I really encourage you to check out the Beginners Unite post listed above for more information and how to videos.




I'm so grateful to you for joining me on the Broken Panes Quilt Along. I hope you enjoyed the process, and maybe even learned something new. I can't wait to see your quilt!

 I hope to share all of the Broken Panes tops, finished or otherwise on August 13th. That's two weeks from now. If you would like to have your top/block added to the final post please email me by August 12th at patternsbyjen(at)gmail(dot)com with the picture and "Broken Panes Quilt Along" in the subject area.

Still need the pattern?

Etsy Printed

Etsy Digital

Payhip Digital

Schedule and supply list

Share in Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook Group

Use #brokenpanesquiltalong on social media.



Happy Stitching!
Jen




New to Patterns By Jen?


Find paper and digital patterns in my Etsy shop.

Find fun PBJ merchandise at Teespring



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Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Broken Panes Quilt Along - Quilting Prep

It's quilting prep time!




I'm going to show how I get my quilt top ready for quilting on my domestic machine. I use my hardwood floor, you could also use a table.




Supplies needed

Top
Backing
Batting
Masking/Painters tape
Curved safety pins
Kwik Clip tool

Backing prep

If you are having your quilt quilted by a long arm quilter you will want to make sure you have 4" of extra fabric and batting all around the top. Stephanie has blog post on prepping your quilt for the long arm quilter. Read it HERE. When I'm quilting on my domestic I find that 2" of extra fabric and batting is enough.




I fold my backing in half the long way, end to end, not selvage to selvage.




Then cut on the fold.




For this quilt I needed a little extra length. This is a great way to use up any extra fabric you may have from piecing your quilt tops. To start I give myself a straight edge on one end of my backing fabric.




For this quilt I cut a 10" strip. Repeat for the other half of your backing. You can choose to do the exact same width on both pieces, or make them different widths.




I didn't need a lot of extra length for my backing pieces, so I just cut two 3 1/2" strips. You can cut them as wide as you want, you can mix it up and cut them at different widths, whatever you choose.




Then I sewed the strips to my backing pieces, sewed the 10" strip to those and pressed.




Then sew the middle seam 1/4" from the selvage.  Trim off the selvage and press to the side. Do NOT press this seam open as it will start to pull open when you pull the backing taught. If I have a wider backing than needed I will plan for the seam on the back to be off centered and trim off the extra from one side.




This way I don't have to worry about trying to line up the middle backing seam with the middle of the quilt top.


Basting

To keep the back from getting tucks or wrinkles in it during quilting the back needs to be pulled taut.




Lay it out on the floor or table, right side down. Tape the top middle to the floor. Go the the opposite side and tape the bottom middle to the floor. Next place a piece of tape on both sides of the center bottom, repeat on the top, making sure to keep the fabric smooth and taught. Repeat on the sides.
The tape is numbered in the order I like to do it.




I'm using a washable wool from Hobbs Batting.  I usually quilt lap sized quilts and smaller on my domestic and buy my batting in "King" size.




Lay the batting on the backing. I choose a corner and work out so that the extra batting spills over two sides. I trim one long piece first.




Then trim the top. This usually leaves me with enough batting for 3 more tops, dependent upon the size of the tops. Smooth out your batting and tape like you did the backing.




Now lay your quilt top on the batting, right side up. Starting in the middle smooth it out, but make sure to keep extra backing and batting all around the outside.




Starting in the middle, and working your way out, start pinning. I love the Kwik Clip tool for closing my pins, it saves my fingers and nails.  Keep the pins no further than 4" a part. This will also help keep the backing from getting tucks and wrinkles in it from quilting. I use my hand as a guide to know if I need more pins.

Once the pins are in place and closed carefully remove all of the tape. Your quilt is now ready for quilting! I will be using my walking foot, but you can use a regular foot or quilting foot. What you will really need to relax and take your time, but we'll get to that next week. We are almost done!

Still need the pattern?

Etsy Printed

Etsy Digital

Payhip Digital


Sign up for email reminders

Schedule and supply list

Share in Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook Group

Use #brokenpanesquiltalong on social media.


Happy Stitching!
Jen




New to Patterns By Jen?


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. 

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Broken Panes Quilt Along - Assembling the top

The top is getting pieced together next.




You should have your sashing strips cut and ready to go. If you haven't yet, then go back to the Cutting post for a quick look at how to cut them correctly.




We want our sashing and block ends to match up when sewn, because we won't be trimming these. Pin your sashing to your blocks to make sure they are sewn evenly. Sew with the sashing on top. Follow the pressing arrows in the instruction.




When adding the next block, lay out your blocks to make sure they are all going the right direction.




When adding the sashing rows with posts, pin the sashing and post seams first, then pin the blocks.




Ready for borders!

Adding Borders




First we need add the side borders. Measure your top from top to bottom down the middle, and on the left and right. Take the average of those measurements, and that is the length you are going to cut your border strips.




Measuring your top before cutting your borders helps to keep your borders from getting wavy. We ALL hate wavy borders! As you can see above, instead of needing 1/2" for my border, I needed to adjust down to 1/4" for my cuts. Had I just cut was in the instructions I would have had an extra 1/4" inch of fabric in my border pieces. Measuring after your top is pieced means you can make up for any discrepancies that happen during piecing.




I also recommend sewing with the border on top. The feed dogs pull the bottom fabric through a little more than the presser foot on top, so it will also help to eat up any extra fabric you may have in your border.

If you are adding your borders by yourself, take a look at THIS POST on how to get the border strips added by yourself. Sew the borders on, press.




Now measure horizontally, middle and both sides and take the average. Cut your borders and add them to the top and bottom.




Your top is done! Next we're prepping for quilting!

Still need the pattern?

Etsy Printed

Etsy Digital

Payhip Digital


Sign up for email reminders

Schedule and supply list

Share in Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook Group

Use #brokenpanesquiltalong on social media.

Next week we will go over strip piecing, sub-cutting, and how to plan for directional fabrics.

Happy Stitching!
Jen



New to Patterns By Jen?


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.