Make a patchwork quilt in a weekend

Having woken from a creative slumber I decided to take on a personal challenge to create a patchwork quilt, in what turned out to be one weekend.

The quilt was a gift for Mr C's new niece, Alice, and I was keen to make a her a pretty patchwork quilt for her nursery. I completed a quilt last year and loved it so much that I thought I'd use the same way to make the quilt but add new fabrics to the design. I knew all the steps of how to make a patchwork quilt  so I thought that with this in mind I could get it made over two weekends of sewing.

Everything to make the quilt was planned and ready to go, I'd been thinking about it and looking at options for fabrics for a few weeks, bought a few in preparation and washed and pressed them ready to use. But things didn't quite turn out as I had hoped! I had planned two weekends to create the quilt, however I ended up feeling really unwell one weekend and spent the time in bed. With one weekend to go I set myself a challenge to get the quilt made in one weekend. We were meeting Alice for the first time at Sunday lunch and I really wanted to have it ready for then.

During the week I started to cut up 4.5 inch squares of fabric in preparation for assembling the quilt over the weekend. I wanted to create a quilt nine by nine squares, so a total of 81 squares were needed. It was a lot of cutting to be done!

On Saturday morning I got up early, put the kettle on and started to arrange the fabric squares cutting the final few, then arranged them from this....

and stitched them together to make this quilt top...

I wanted to make this quilt using all the colours of the rainbow. Each row should (almost) have each colour of the rainbow included making a fun bright quilt.

I sewed each square to the next creating nine rows in total. After all nine rows were complete I sewed each row to the next to make the top of the patchwork quilt. I then sewed a strip of white alphabet fabric to each side of the quilt top to frame the quilt. I created a quilt sandwich using pink spotty fabric and then quilted the patchwork top so it looked like this.

I love this effect of sewing across the squares. I used a pale pink cotton thread to blend in with the fabrics.

On Sunday morning I woke early to hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt. I used a different method of sewing the binding to the quilt which worked so well and was so neat.

And here is the completed rainbow patchwork quilt...

I love the back of the quilt almost as much as the front, the pink fabric with white spots on is so pretty and delicate.

Sunday lunch arrived and we met Alice, here she is at two weeks old enjoying the first time on her rainbow patchwork quilt...

I loved making this quilt. From the time spent choosing the new fabrics, through to hand sewing the binding, I felt a real sense of achievement and the chance to get creative once more. It was a huge challenge to get this sewn together and completed in one weekend but I put the hours in, drank lots of tea and managed to keep motivated at every stage as I knew how useful the quilt will be and how much fun Alice will have playing on it while she grows up.

How to make a patchwork quilt

A few months ago I made a quilt as a gift for special friends who were having a baby (see my post from July, Handmade and stitched with love - My first quilt). I set myself a challenge to learn new sewing skills and to make my first quilt. It would be the largest sewing project I had made to date (approximately 41in by 41in) and would be one of the most enjoyable projects I had ever undertaken! I was delighted with the finished quilt and I wanted to share with you how I created the patchwork quilt from start to finish. I hope that you will get an insight into how to make a quilt in the steps below and maybe have the confidence to make one yourself! I'll show you a few helpful tips on getting straight lines when you quilt, a great tip when securing binding and also how to make a lovely personalised label for your quilt too.

I am a beginner quilt maker so I have done my best to summarise how to make a patchwork quilt using what I learnt during this project. I used The Quilter's Bible by Linda Clements and videos on YouTube created by the Missouri Star Quilt Company to give me confidence to start.

Here are my step by step instructions on how to make a patchwork quilt:

Step 1 - Select a variety of cotton fabrics that you love

I spent a few weeks looking for fabrics that I thought would match baby Olivia’s nursery and would be colourful and interesting for her as she grows up. My favourite fabrics for this quilt were the Love U green owls by Moda, Love U Tortoise and Snail by Moda, Bugs Scatter by Makower and the Hungry Catterpillar Multicoloured polka spot. Shopping for fabric was so much fun, I could have kept on going and buying so many more fabrics but I was only just starting my fabric collection and it was proving to be quite expensive! In time I have discovered even more beautiful patterned fabrics for children that I hope to add to my collection when I make another quilt for a child.

Step 2 - Wash and press the fabric

The next stage is to wash all your fabric, dry and press. You will probably need to trim off loose ends in preparation of cutting the fabric. I liked washing the fabric, I was brave and washed it all together, in the hope that none of the fabric dye would run. It's a great way to freshen your fabric, get rid of any dust on the fabric and to allow the fabric to shrink before I pieced it together.

Step 3 – Cut out the patchwork squares

For this quilt I cut out 81 squares, measuring 4.5in by 4.5in (when sewn together in the patchwork quilt top they measure 4in by 4in), this includes the 1/2in seam allowance that you need. I used a rotary cutter, a non-slip ruler and my cutting mat placed on top of a table to cut the patchwork squares. The cutting stage takes patience and real accuracy, if you measure the squares incorrectly it will mean that when you piece it together the squares may not line up accurately. You want to leave plenty of time and concentration to get this stage accurate, I ended up doing this spread over a few days so that I didn't rush.

Step 4 – Plan your patchwork fabric arrangement

I may have worked a bit backwards for this stage of the quilt making process! Many quilters appear to plan their quilts properly before they begin. I wanted to have a randomly arranged patchwork quilt design with no specific pattern so I didn't know what I wanted the quilt to look like. I spent quite a bit of time arranging the patchwork squares on the floor until I was happy with the arrangement of the squares. It wasn't a quick process but was really good fun seeing what I could create and the different looks I could create with each arrangement. I took photos as I went so that I could review the different fabric arrangements I had made and decide on my favourite.

Step 5 – Prepare the patchwork squares

Once you have created an arrangement of fabric that you like you need to collate the fabric together ready to sew. I  decided to be as logical as possible by labelling each of the 9 rows and placing the fabrics on top of each other in the same way per row. I picked up the fabrics from left to right putting the next square underneath the last. This would ensure that the arrangement wouldn't change when I came to sew them together. I labelled each row with a sticky note and row number. I then gently pressed them flat again to ensure that they were accurate to sew. I securing the patchwork squares together with a safety pin and the label to keep the patchwork squares together an in the order that I wanted. 

Step 6 - Sew the patchwork squares together row by row

I took each pile of patchwork squares in turn, sewing the patchwork squares together using a 1/4in seam to create a row of patchwork squares. I kept the row label on the first square of each row so I knew which order the rows should be assembled in. After each row was sewn I ironed the seams in one direction to set the stitches and in preparation for sewing all the rows together. Each row completed had seams pressed in the opposite direction, a technique which really helps when joining two rows together.

I pinned together each row to the next in lining up the seams as much as possible to ensure the patchwork square corners lined up neatly. Using a 1/4in seam I joined each row together keeping an ey on the seams and making sure that they stayed flat and in the direction that I had pressed them in. When the entire quilt top was sewn together I pressed the patchwork quilt top carefully to ensure that all seams were neat. I was delighted with the result and almost all my corners lined up! 

Step 7 – Add a border around the patchwork squares

I chose to use white fabric as a border to frame the patchwork quilt. I found an adorable white fabric with small white letters printed on it, I thought it would add a tiny detail to the nursery quilt and give some interest to the border. I cut the white fabric into strips measuring 2.5in by 41in so that the the patchwork would be fully surrounded by the white border. I sewed the border onto the four edges of the patchwork with a 1/4 in seam. 

Step 8 - Attach the binding (part one)

This stage is sometimes completed after quilting takes place, but I wanted to try a different method. I cut four strips of green polka dot fabric, called Pam Kitty Ping Pong (what a great name!), measuring approximately 2.5in x 41.5in for the binding, this would be the same material as the backing fabric for the quilt. I decided to attach the binding to the front of the quilt using a 1/4in seam just like joining another border. I would then complete the binding after I had finished the quilting and finishing off.

Step 9 - Make a quilt sandwich

I chose to use a green polka dot backing fabric as well as the binding as I thought that the colour went well with the other fabrics I used, plus it would be quite practical at hiding marks, for example if the quilt was used outside on grass. I cut the backing material larger than the final size of the quilt, pressed it and taped the backing fabric right side down to the floor using masking tape. I then placed bamboo batting (wadding) cut larger than the quilt on top of the backing fabric then added the quilt top, right side up. Using curved safety pins I started pinning from the middle of the quilt smoothing out the fabric to secure the layers together as neatly and flatly as possible. It takes a few goes to ensure that all layers are as flat as possible. The piecing together of the three layers, backing fabric, batting and quilt top is called a quilt sandwich.

Step 10 - Mark the quilt with masking tape guidelines to help your quilting

Once pinned together I realised I now had to quilt! It is a really daunting task! Having seen so many designs in books where people have used elaborate repeating patterns and vermicelli quilting (so beautiful!) to provide stability for their quilt I started to feel really unsure about what I could do without destroying the quilt and all my hard work! I chose to quilt simple straight lines that were sewn on the diagonals of each square. I used masking tape to mark out the lines I needed to sew so that I had a guideline that they would help me machine sew as straight as possible without making any marks on the quilt.

Step 11 - Go for it and quilt!

I adjusted the tension on my sewing machine and quilted following the guidelines I created using masking tape. I created a practice piece before hand so I could be confident quilting on the actual quilt. In the photos below you can see the finished quilting! I chose to use a very light yellow thread for the quilting and I think it worked nicely with the pastel shades that dominated the quilt.

Step 12 – Stitch in the ditch

After completing the quilting over the patchwork squares I thought it would be best to stitch in the ditch between the patchwork squares and the white border to ensure that the quilt had even more stability. You can see that I used white cotton thread to stitch in the ditch.

Step 13 - Trim the quilt

When you have finished quilting you need to trim any excess backing fabric and batting so that you are ready to finish off the quilt. I used my rotary cutter and cutting board to try and make the trimming as neat as possible.

Step 14 - Attach the binding (part two)

I used the same backing fabric and binding as I loved the green spotty fabric so much! I had already added the binding to the front of the quilt with a 1/4in seam as if I was adding another border (see step 8). I pressed the binding fabric edge over to almost touch the quilt edge.

I then folded this folded fabric over again to create a neat edge to stitch to the back of the quilt. I secured it in place with hair grips as I couldn't find anything else that did the job as well!

I hand stitched the binding to the rest of the quilt using slip stitch. It didn't take as long as I thought it would do perhaps because I knew I had nearly finished the quilt and was so motivated to see the quilt complete!

Step 15 - Create a bespoke label for your quilt

I decided to create my own label for the patchwork quilt. I looked online at different options that you can buy and nothing fitted with what I was hoping to do, so I decided to make my own. I chose some pretty fabrics that I thought went well with the backing fabric. Using a plain pink fabric I used pencil to mark out a message, hand stitched the message using backstitch and green embroidery thread. 

Next I needed to fix the label to the quilt, to do this I chose to use fusible webbing as I didn't want to try and stitch the label on to the finished quilt. I added the fusible webbing to the back of the plain pink fabric to stiffen it, leaving on the backing paper. I cut the message out of the plain pink fabric using pinking shears to make the edge pretty. The plain pink fabric with the stitched message measured 3in by 3in.

I then cut another piece of fabric to compliment the fabric with the message. I chose a pink spotty fabric that I had used in the quilt and added fusible webbing to the back of this fabric too. The pink spotty fabric square measured 4in by 4in.

Now it was time to stick all the fabric squares together to secure the label onto the patchwork quilt. I peeled off the layer of paper on the back of the plain pink fabric and ironed this with a hot iron onto the pink spotted fabric. I then peeled off the backing paper on the pink spotty fabric and positioned the label on the bottom right hand corner of the back of the quilt. I pressed this in place with a hot iron so that it was stuck  in place. I used quite thick fusible webbing that made the label quite stiff but I wanted to ensure that it wouldn't come off!

Step 16 - Time to wrap up the quilt

I used simple brown paper and pretty ribbon to wrap up the quilt that I was giving as a present. I didn't feel the need to buy patterned paper as the surprise inside was colourful and exciting enough!

Step 17 - Give your patchwork quilt away as a gift and make someone very happy!

Here is beautiful Olivia enjoying her first quilt! I created some instructions in a little card for Olivia (and for Mum and Dad!) about how to care for the quilt and how she could use her quilt as she grows up, firstly as a play mat then as a quilt for her bed to snuggle under.

I hope that you found these instructions about how to make a patchwork quilt useful. I loved making my first quilt and I'm sure that I will make more quilts in the future.

There is something really special about making your first quilt. I was drenched in a huge sense of satisfaction and emotion that the many months of making had culminated in creating a unique handmade present. I hope that Olivia enjoys using her pretty patchwork quilt and that it will be used and loved for many years to come. I've been really lucky to give away the first patchwork quilt I made to Olivia, as it is her first quilt too! It may even inspire Olivia to create her own one day or pass it on for someone else to enjoy!

Handmade and stitched with love - My first quilt

You may have wondered where I’ve been for a few weeks! Well, life took over a little...as did finishing my top secret project! I’m delighted to let you know that today I can do the big reveal…

Since April I’ve been working hard to create my first quilt! Inspired by the taster day I did at the start of the year, and making the quilted sewing machine cover for my Mum, I fancied making a quilt on a bigger scale. It was a huge challenge for me and I had to do quite a bit of research before I got stuck in. Making a quilt has quite a few stages, all of which I didn’t know about until I started. Thanks to a few great books and blogs I discovered recently I managed to work my way through the complicated parts! Plus some great videos by The Missouri Star Quilt Company gave me the confidence to dive in and have a go.

Before I started this big project I had in mind what I wanted to make. I wanted to create something useful that could be a gift and something quite special all in one go. My friends Charlie and Vic had their first baby, Olivia, in April. In the months running up to Olivia being born I started buying fat quarters of fabrics I thought would work with the nursery colour scheme. Choosing the fabrics was such an exciting, and addictive, part of the project. 


...After many months of sewing I can reveal my first quilt! Ta-dah!!!

Here you can see the quilted squares and a few of the fabrics close up...

and a hand stitched label for the quilt on the back...

and you can just see the alphabet fabric I used to create the white border next to the binding...

I decided to hand deliver the quilt last weekend as I couldn’t bear the thought of it going missing in the post. I was so thrilled to watch them both open the quilt that I had carefully wrapped with brown paper and green ribbon. Seeing their eyes light up when they opened it was magical, and when they realised that it was handmade by me, it really was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever experienced when giving a gift. Watching them looking at the colours, spotting all the details I’d thought of and included made me very happy.

I’d spent time choosing fabrics that would work with the colours of the nursery, adding a few ‘educational’ things like animals, different colours, patterns and shapes and the alphabet as choices for the squares. Watching their faces so happy (and slightly shocked!), I knew at that moment that every hour spent doing research, thinking, planning, shopping, cutting, patching, quilting and hand sewing was really worth it. The reaction from my friends brought a lump to my throat and when they told me it was one of the most beautiful gifts they have been given, it made me realise how very special handmade gifts are.  

Olivia’s quilt was stitched with so much love. I cant count the number of hours that I’ve put into thinking and making it, however I know now that every hour was worth it. I hope that Olivia uses her first quilt for lots of thing as she grows up, firstly as a play mat, a blanket to sit on for trips to the park in the sunshine…later as a snuggly cover for trips in the car, or even as a quilt for her bed.

If you do one thing this year make something as a gift for someone special. I can assure you that you will feel a real sense of achievement when you learn something new and see the joy in people’s faces when they open something handmade and stitched with love.

...In the next few days I’ll update you on how I made the quilt in a bit more detail.

Quilted Sewing Machine Cover

On Friday I managed to get stuck in and complete a quilting project that I had started at the beginning of March. The project I had in mind was small to help me gain a bit of confidence and try out some basic quilting techniques. Since buying my own sewing machine I knew that it wasn't long before I needed to pass my Mum’s Frister Rossmann sewing machine back to her. With my parents visiting over Easter I had a deadline to meet. I knew I wanted to get the machine serviced before giving it back but also I wanted to make a special thank you present using my new machine. I decided to make a new sewing machine cover as the current soft cover for the sewing machine was starting to fall to bits.

In a post I wrote in March, Quilting and patchwork update, you may have spotted that I had started to put together some 9 square patches using blue fabrics, these were going to be the basis of the cover and I had ambitions of elaborately quilting it! Well time got the better of me and I managed to add a few more patchwork pieces to the collection so I had enough to complete the cover. On Friday I pieced the patchwork squares together with a blue border, or sashing using the technical term! I tried to square off the sections of fabric as I went to make sure all the edges were neat. I added in the blue backing (the same as the sashing) and cut a piece of wadding to to fit.

In the end as I didn't have lots of time to practice some different quilting techniques so I just did a simple 'quilt in the ditch' of the four rectangular sections. I was quite shocked at what I had managed to achieve for my first attempt! Here it is laid out in full, I just used a rectangle shape that would match the height (to cover both sides of the sewing machine) and length of the sewing machine.

You can see a bit of the 'in the ditch' quilting I did and see the pink piggy in the fabric I used. Plus some lovely blue ribbon to secure the cover onto the sewing machine.

Here is the front of the cover....when you put the wrong sides together and tie the bows it almost looks like a cushion cover...

Here is the cover on the machine from the front.

and a side view too...can you see the pink piggy?

To make it a bit of a surprise I packaged up the cover in brown paper and ribbon and gave it to my Mum.

A simple parcel that contained my first quilting project!

I pleased to say that my Mum was overjoyed at the surprise present and impressed with my first attempt at quilting.

I was really proud of what I had managed in a short time frame and I enjoyed seeing the project come together. With a bit of careful planning, and a lot more practice, I hope that I can one day make a larger scale quilt project. But for now maybe I'll try the basics and make sampler quilt pieces so I can practice different quilting styles.

Quilting and patchwork update

I’m excited to tell you that I did indeed get the quilting bug after the day I spent in January (see The glorious world of fabrics and quilt making for details) learning some quilting basics. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the things I could make, from quilted cushions, to a kindle holder, to gifts for friends expecting arrivals of little people this year.

The one thing holding me back initially was the lack of equipment to make it work. After a long stretch of thinking and researching I decided to take the plunge and invest in some new things to help me. I bought a new sewing machine and went for a Janome DXL 603 with a free quilting kit. It was a sad moment when I decided that I really needed a new machine to replace the Frister Rossman Beaver 4 sewing machine. It is my Mum’s sewing machine and I learnt to sew on it during school so it’s the only machine I know. It’s a lovely machine but at 35 years old it doesn’t have the accessories that I need to quilt. Plus I should really return it to my Mum as I’ve had it on a long term long for quite some time!

Investing in a new machine was something that I had been thinking about for a while. This was always going to be a very big purchase, but luckily I found a great machine with a quilting set (an extension table and various feet to help me do free machine embroidery) which had all the features I wanted.

So since I bought the machine I’ve been collecting fabrics…These are from an Aladdin’s cave material shop in Bath called Country Threads that a fellow blogger, Jenny, featured on her blog The Button Jar, when she went on an embroidery class there. I wouldn’t have known that it existed as it is tucked away down a cobbled street in Bath. So I picked up some material…

Bought a big cutting mat, cutting ruler and rotary cutter from Creative Grids in a starter kit...

 

Spent time reading some books so I knew what to do to accurately cut up fabrics…

and put together some squares to start a project…

I haven’t decided what I’m doing yet with the squares that I’ve made. What I do know is that I had a great afternoon of selecting the fabrics to work together, playing on my new sewing machine and practising cutting the material. As easy as cutting sounds it was a challenge to ensure that I accurately measured the right size for the strips ready for the squares I created. I’ll keep you posted on my progress over the next few weeks. I think I'm hooked on quilting already!

The joy of new books

I have a big thing for books, especially hardback books full of beautifully styled photos and fit to be shown off on a coffee table! At the moment I seem to be collecting cookbooks, books about interiors and styling, and sewing/craft books full of projects to try out. Despite our bookshelves being packed full, somehow there is always a book out there that I like the sound of!

In my post New Year, New Projects I mentioned I had some new sewing books given to me for Christmas, they were The Sewing Book by Alison Smith and Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. Since then I’ve added to my book collection with two new books about making quilts, The Quilters Bible by Linda Clements and The Essential Sampler Quilt Book by Lynne Edwards.

I’m very happy with my new books as they have given me so much information and answered questions I had. Having the chance to dive into a chapter each night or over the weekend gives me a feeling of achievement as I move my way through the book thinking about the projects to make or techniques to try.

There’s something special about having a ‘how-to book’. It will be used for years as a reference guide, hopefully handed down to others and shows the fashions and trends of the time. I enjoy seeing the step-by-step images of how to do things and moving through a book with well thought out chapters. It’s almost like being on a course with the help and advice, but with all the tips and information available whenever you want. I use the internet as well to view how-to videos, shop for supplies, and read blogs for inspiration, but sometimes only a book will do!

Over the past month or so I’ve been dipping in and out of my new books and they’ve been helping me get my head around what I can do, but perhaps they are giving me too much choice of what I should try out! I’ve been thinking about a few basic projects, but I like to think beyond that and get creative. I think about trying to make things more my own, whether it’s using different types and patterns of fabric, adding buttons, embroidery or ribbon to the finished piece. Watch this space!

Have you seen any books recently that you are lusting after? Invest in a good book, sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and learn something new this week. Let me know how you get on!

The glorious world of fabrics and quilt making

I have always loved looking at fabrics and patterns. I regularly pop into White Stuff and lust after the pretty printed tops (and buy them too!), I ooh and ahh over Laura Ashley bed covers, and I can never walk past a Cath Kidston shop without going in and checking out the fabrics and lovely patterned accessories and bags.

I’ve recently discovered the huge range of patterned fabrics in craft shops and from online suppliers. How I didn’t know about these lovely fabrics, I just don’t know! Going into fabric shops when I was younger consisted of buying cheap poly cotton in bright colours for a school cushion project, and white cotton to tie-dye and to try out batik and sewing samples. It never occurred to me that there is such a huge range of lovely fabrics available to buy in so many different styles. I’m really loving the fabrics from Liberty, and some designs by Amy Butler and Tanya Whelan.  I haven’t even touched the surface of all the ranges out there…

Working in the city of Bath, I am very lucky to be near some wonderful shops, and even more lucky to be a quick 5 minute walk to a fantastic little craft shop called The Makery. The second that you walk in to this quaint little shop you are surrounded by beautifully laid out craft supplies, a great range of bespoke buttons, ribbons and fabrics…it's my idea of heaven! I am really hoping to go to one of the courses that they hold in the shop at some point in the future…

…I headed to The Makery on my lunch break last Thursday to buy some fat quarters…what is a fat quarter I hear you ask?…well after checking it out, it's fabric cut to about 20” x 22”!...I was on a mission to find some patterned fabric that I needed for a crafty day with one of my friends, Emelie. We both needed to get some fabrics together as we were kindly being given a day of teaching on the basics of quilting with Emelie's mother-in-law to-be, Andrea. So here are the fabrics that I chose to add to my fabric stash. All are sold at The Makery and some can be found on their website...

I love the red and blue piggy fabric with the odd pink pink in the pattern...and don't you just want to eat the apples!

Last Saturday, with my sewing machine and my fabric stash in hand, I headed to Emelie's house to start the day. Andrea, our teacher for the day, has had many years of experience as a quilter and has created the most astounding quilts for her home and given many as special gifts. Andrea’s style of teaching and passion for quilting instantly made me want to get stuck in and try everything! So after a cup of tea and a talk through the culture of quilts and seeing some of Andrea’s amazing designs, Emelie and I embarked on a day of learning! We were shown some of the basics of quilt making, how to cut our fabrics to the right size and how to piece together a basic log cabin square design.

Andrea helped me look through all of my fabrics to help me select the right fabrics for each stage of the design to make it work with the pattern we were trying to produce. I took the photo below while we had a tea break and we tucked into the homemade scones topped with clotted cream and jam. I was so pleased with the results of my log cabin square, I ended up making three by the end of the day!

I had such a great day, so thank you Andrea! The day opened my eyes to the variety of different techniques and styles in quilting, and the effect of how certain fabrics can look next to others to create an overall pattern. We haven’t quite got onto the quilting bit yet, but I’m loving it! I can already see that collecting fabrics and mastering different quilting techniques will be one of my new craft addictions!