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



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. 

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Broken Panes Quilt Along - Needles and Rotary Cutter

Prep week 2!




Last week we talked about fabric prep, today we're talking about needles and rotary cutters.

Needles

Quick question: When was the last time you changed your needle? If you can't remember then it's time to change it. I have found that a sharp needle can make all the difference in the accuracy of your stitching, but what size?




I use Organ needles size 70/10 (no affiliation).In the past I have used Schmetz quilting needles 80/20 or universal. I like the 70/10 size for piecing, especially batiks, as well as quilting.

I like to change my needle after a large quilt, two lap sized quilts, a few smaller quilts/projects or after quilting. As with all things quilting, everyone has their own personal preference and way of doing things. Choose what works for you.




For my needle storage I found this container (no affiliation). The spaces are adjustable and makes it easier to see the needles and if I'm running low. It also keeps my rotary blades handy.

Rotary Cutter

Can you guess what my next question is going to be?

When was the last time you changed your rotary cutter blade? If your cuts are sticking to each other a bit, change that blade. It can get frustrating trying to pick up your cut strips and having them stick and pull. A fresh blade makes the quilting experience so much more enjoyable.




I purchased these blades in October and so far I have had a great experience with them. (No affiliation.)




My go-to rotary cutter is from Olfa. I use the yellow for cutting fabric and use the pink for cutting paper. When the blades on the yellow one get dull I put them in the pink one. I requested the Martelli Rotary Cutter at Christmas, because my wrist is hurting when I do a lot of cutting. They have one for leftys, too! I still haven't had the courage to open it and try it.

Old blades get stored in a case marked old and needles (old and broken) get put in an empty prescription bottle. These go into a Sharps container when full.

To join the quilt along you just need to pick up a pattern and your fabrics, then come back to the blog for weekly updates!

Find the pattern





Helpful Links


Email Reminders

Next week we will be prepping our thread and bobbins.

Grab a button to let others know you will be "Quilting with Jen!"


grab button for Patterns By Jen
<div class="patterns-by-jen-button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> <img src="https://i.ibb.co/YPBJxTt/Grab-button.jpg" alt="Patterns By Jen" width="150" height="150" /> </a> </div>



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. 






Saturday, May 4, 2019

Announcing the Broken Panes Quilt Along

Who is ready for a new quilt along?





I ran a poll in my Facebook group, Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen, asking for the month they preferred for a quilt along. There were two that were almost tied, June and October. We're going to jump right into June, but I'm planning a quilt along in October as well, so if June doesn't work for you, follow along virtually and then stitch along in October!




For June's quilt along we are using the pattern Broken Panes.

Oh I love this quilt. It's soooo quick and easy. This pattern is super beginner friendly, so if you have been wanting to learn or want to improve your piecing skills, this is the quilt along for you.

BONUS! Grab this coloring sheet to plan your colors!




I am using the Big Bang fabric line from Northcott for my version, but you can use any fabric you like.




I am always impressed with the fabric quality from Northcott Fabrics, so it's one of my go to fabric companies.



If you really like the fabric on the front cover, I used Christa Watson's first fabric line Modern Marks. I checked and she still has some listed in her shop! Find it HERE!


See it in Marshall, MN at Fabrics Plus

Broken Panes is perfect for showing off your favorite fabric, or the larger print fabrics in your stash. During the quilt along I will show you how to change the pattern from strip piecing so you can keep directional fabric accurately...directional. It was perfect for the Minnesota fabric from last year.


Helpful links

There will be helpful links throughout the quilt along, but a good beginning would be to take a look at the Beginners Unite Series.


Supplies

The pattern: Broken Panes

Printed

Digital

You can also find it at Payhip.


Fabric (requirements shown below)

Cutting mat

Rotary cutter

Rulers:

24" long ruler for cutting strips

12 1/2" ruler for sub-cutting our strips (but not required)

I have had quilters cut with scissors and stitch by hand, so if that is your preferred method go for it!


Fabric Requirements

I'm making the 57" square. I am using the navy as my "red" and the yellow as my "blue"



Schedule

Here is the plan for the quilt along. I've added a couple of weeks of sewing and then quilting at the end. I hope we can share our tops, quilted or not, August 13th!

May 14th - Fabric Prep
May 21st - Needles and Rotary Cutters
May 28th - Bobbins and Thread
June 4th - Cutting
June 11 - Sewing strips and sub - cutting
June 18 - Sewing week
June 25 - Sewing blocks together
July 2nd - Piecing top
July 9 - Quilting prep
July 16 - Sewing/basting week
July 23 - Quilting
July 30 - Finishing touches
August 13 - Some sort of quilt link up or something to show the finished tops (either fully pieced or fully quilted)


Joining in?

If you are stitching along with us I hope you share your progress! Use #brokenpanesquiltalong when you share on social media so I can see your work.

You are also invited to share in the Quilt and Learn with Patterns By Jen Facebook Page. We love to ooo and ahhh over your pretty work.

Feel free to grab a button to show you are Quilting with Jen!



grab button for Patterns By Jen
<div class="patterns-by-jen-button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> <img src="https://i.ibb.co/YPBJxTt/Grab-button.jpg" alt="Patterns By Jen" width="150" height="150" /> </a> </div>





Email

You can sign up to have email reminders sent directly to you for each new quilt along moment.

Email Sign Up

Are you stitching along with me? What are you hoping to learn, or get, from this quilt along? Let me know in the comments! We've got a month to plan!

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.