Love U Quilt

Let’s be honest…Stacy is usually the one making all the blog posts, so I thought I’d add something of my own for a change! Hot off the feed dogs of my sewing machine–a new baby quilt in flannel made from Deb Strain’s Love U panel. It was simple to put together–I stitched it together in under two days–and that includes the time I spent ferrying the hockey boys around and doing laundry. OK, I’ll admit it, dinner was a crock pot occasion.

The picture is from my ipad, but at least you get the idea. I wrote the pattern this morning, so after a round or two of proofing it should be ready as a new kit in the store. The finished size is about 48″ x 60″…I thought that was just about right for a cuddly toddler quilt. The panel comes in three colorways: pink, green and blue, so I’m sure we’ll kit this up in all of them. I’ll be back in Boise next Saturday–stop in and say “hello”!  karen

Color Challenge: Pink + Green

It’s time for another Pinterest Color Challenge. If you haven’t jumped on board with this trending site, go there now! It’s full of all kinds of inspiration — for whatever you’re into. Quilts, home decor, crafts/diy, wedding ideas, fashion…you name it. We’ve been hosting color challenges on our profile to drum up inspiration from all of you on our favorite color combos. For a complete rundown, check out our last Color Challenge post.

This month we’re diving into Pink & Green. We’re seeing a lot of fabric collections in these colors and we can see why they’re popular! The precious combo works great for baby quilts, teen girl quilts, or even to add to your home. We’d love to see “pins” of quilts you like in Pink & Green, fabrics from our website that would build your perfect quilt, or even just beautiful photos in pink & green that inspire you.

To get started, all you have to do is sign up with Pinterest. Then, “follow” us to see what ideas we’ve got stored on our boards already. To participate in our color challenges, you will need to send me an email (stacy.henzler@gmail.com) so I can add you as a collaborator to our color boards. Then you can pin away!

Take a look at our Pink & Green board to see what ideas there are already!

– Posted by Stacy

Debate: Pre-Wash or Not

When it comes down to it, the choice to pre-wash your fabrics or not is purely a personal preference. There is no right or wrong answer – some of us don’t like to do it, and some of us swear by it. However, when I did a bit of internet research to see what kind of discussion existed out there on the topic, it seemed the overwhelming opinion was to absolutely prewash. When surveying the ladies here at the shop, however, I found a distinctly opposite response. You may already have a “side” in this debate, but here’s our argument to save yourself the effort.

I’m lazy. Pre-washing fabric is a lot of work. It’s suggested that you wash and dry each fabric several times before finally ironing it out and adding it to your stash. Call me impatient, but once I get my fabric home, I’m ready to dive into my projects and I will avoid the washing and waiting at all costs. Not to mention easing up on the washing machine is definitely more eco-friendly.

No more bleeding. If color bleeding is what you’re avoiding, here’s some advice: If you’re making a quilt with a lot of light-colored fabric (white, cream, etc), chances are throwing a tomato red fabric in the mix is gonna turn your whole project a fun shade of pink. In these cases, pre-washing your fabric isn’t the worst idea, but still isn’t absolutely necessary. If you haven’t discovered color catchers yet, get on board! Shout makes a color catcher that you should be able to find in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store. According to the manufacturer, the Shout® Color Catcher is specially designed to work like a sponge. It absorbs and traps loose dyes in the wash, safely locking them away so they can’t redeposit on other clothes, so you can mix colors in the same load; translation, “same quilt!”

Throwing several Color Catchers into the washer with your finished project will keep your whites safe. We’ve tried it and it works. If your quilt doesn’t have a lot of light-colored fabrics, pass on the pre-wash. Your quilt will survive the laundry!

What shrinkage? Some swear that pre-washing will prevent your quilt from shrinking unevenly. However, all fabrics (including batting) shrink at different rates and last I heard, no one was pre-washing their batting! No matter if you pre-wash or don’t, your quilt is going to change size in some ways. Why waste the effort? Once your quilt is quilted, the top-stitches will keep your piecing in place and there’s just no way your quilt will shrink up to a wonky rectangle. Your fabric is just going to shrink up to look how a quilt should — a little bit puckered!

Easier to work with. Della had a lot of good “personal preference” reasons for why she doesn’t pre-wash. Generally, she felt the fabric is a lot easier to work with when it isn’t washed. One reason is because the fabric ravels less when it hasn’t taken a spin in the dryer! The sizing added to the fabric (which washes out) also makes cutting and sewing go more smoothly. Less fuss!

Chemicals. The only pre-wash pro I can’t argue with is washing out the chemicals they add to fabric to make them wrinkle less/repel bugs. For some people, these chemicals are bothersome, so pre-washing is a logical choice. I have never noticed a problem, and I work with fabric all day, but all people are different.

Why don’t you pre-wash? Or why do you? Let us know in a comment.

– Posted by Stacy

Quick & Easy Gift Ideas

Who’s done with their Christmas projects? This year we were thinking of all you procrastinators (or overachievers?) when we planned our Quick & Easy Gift Ideas seminar in the shop. Della spent every minute of November planning and creating samples for our free first-Saturday-of-the-month class (sorry if you missed it), but we’ve got the full list for you here. Take a look at what she came up with — there’s still time to make everything on the list for all your friends and family! If you’re in the Boise area, stop by the shop to see all the samples on display in the front of the store.

Little Kid Pajamas – Pick out some adorable flannel, and whip these pantalones together fast. Kwik Sew Patterns has PJ pants/tops patterns for kids, ‘tweens and adults. Favorite Things Patterns is also a good option — try their “Sleep Well” and “Little Sleep Well” patterns. Use a fun print to fuse a tie appliqué on  to an inexpensive t-shirt—super cute!

Placemats – Make a batch for your Christmas table, or whip up a set to give away. For something special, we used the Served with a Twist pattern by Kariepatch Designs. Each mat has a built in tie for your napkin.

Wine Bag – There are many free patterns for a wine bag on the net, or you can get fancy and try out Terry Atkinson’s pattern, Wine & Dine.

Christmas Stockings – We found the cutest appliqué patterns at market from Under the Garden Moon. We used flannel for the main body of the stocking, and wool for the appliqué. They should come with a warning: Caution! Wool appliqué is addictive!

Framed Picture – This idea is right out of the Urban Country Quilts book by Jeannie Large & Shelley Wicks. We got our frame from a dollar store and adjusted the size to fit for a pretty gift on the cheap. No time to appliqué a block? Frame an orphan block (we’re betting you have at least one) and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how a frame gives it character and style.

Note Cards – You can make your own with some imagination, cardstock, a gluestick, and fabric scraps. But in case you are truly pressed for time, we have multiple packs of these for sale in the shop (each one handmade).  Charm your friends and family with a handwritten note, or wrap up a pack with a ribbon and give them as a gift.

Laminate Makeup Bag & Brush Roll – We made up the Perfect Pouches pattern by Lazy Girl Designs using laminate fabric. The Brush Roll pattern is a freebie here. Add a few make-up brushes or lipsticks and you’ve got a great gift for the glamour girl.

Yoga Mat Case – This is an easy free pattern from Amy Butler. I like the extra-wide strap and the pockets to dump my stuff in while I’m stretching my way to inner tranquility.

Bucket of Stuff – The ultimate way to display a jar of goodies. Whip up one of these bags, grab a pasta sauce jar, and stuff with candies, makeup gear, tea, or your layer up hot cocoa mix. We loved the suggestions we got on this one, for example , use gardening fabric and fill it with garden tools, seed packs and gloves. You get the idea.

Apron – It’s not hard to love this simple, reversible pattern. We made our sample with retro fabric from the Decadence collection by Samantha Walker for Riley Blake.

Ruffled Towel – Spruce up your kitchen decor this season with some trendy ruffles. Here’s a free pattern online by Sweetwater.

Chenille Potholders –What a great idea—use some scraps and make something that everyone needs. We added Insul-Bright in the middle for a heat barrier. Click here for a free pattern.

Fruit & Veggies Potholder & Kitchen Towel – Stick a spoon in it, and you’re done! This is another fun way to give a useful gift. These are easy to make — stick some batting and Insul-Bright between two 9” squares (or 9” circles) and topstitch them together to make the potholders. For the towel — stitch down a 4 ½” strip of fabric to the edge of a store-bought towel.

Hand Towels – Cute, and so easy! Topstitch a 2 ½” strip of fabric to a store-bought towel. We made three towels and rolled them up in a basket filled with soaps and other fragrant bathroom goodies for the perfect gift.

Gift Card Holder – Another easy one! Sew around the edges of two 6 ½” squares of fabric (right sides together), leaving an opening for turning. Turn inside out and topstitch around edge. Fold three corners to the center and press. Topstitch in place. Tack in the center, fold top down to bottom edge and sew on a snap.

Journal Cover – Della and Karen came up with this one after a stint at market and we do have a pattern available for purchase. They needed a place for receipts, notes, ID and credit cards and didn’t want to lug a purse. It has a zippered-pouch on the outside cover, an elastic strap to keep the journal closed, and a spot that fits credit cards, etc, on the inside.

Well, there you have it. These mini-projects should keep you busy until Christmas! Leave a comment with a new quick and easy gift idea to share!

– Posted by Stacy

Dresden Tutorial

It was no surprise to me when Kat came to me a few weeks ago and threw an idea at me — to do a Dresden tutorial on the blog. For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing Kat, she’s a Dresden expert and has designed many popular Dresden patterns. Take a look here – her designer name is Cottage Creek Designs.  I’m always looking for good blog post ideas, and as I’ve been feeling up to a challenge, here we are.

The “Dresden Plate” is a traditional American quilt block that is made using a combination of patchwork and applique. It has a versatile design and looks great in both traditional and modern colorways. Although the curves may look intimidating, it is a fairly easy technique to pick up – especially with the right tools!

So, off we go. The first step to making a dresden block is to get your hands on an EZ Quilting “Easy Dresden” ruler. We sell them in our shop and online store. These rulers include really great step-by-step instructions to help you through the process as well.

Next, pick out some fabrics that tickle your fancy. You can really shape the overall dynamic of your block with your choice of fabrics. You can go high-contrast, tonal, scrappy — you name it. You’ll need a total of 20 “blades” to make one Dresden circle (10 for a half-circle, 5 for one “fan”). If you want a scrappy look, you can pick 20 different fabrics, or choose just a few fabrics and make several blades of each color.

Now pick a size that works for whatever project you’re working on. I decided to keep it simple and make a pillow, so I did a 4 ½” blade. The instructions booklet in the Easy Dresden ruler has a handy chart that tells you how big your finished Dresden Plate will be for each blade size. For example, it says a 4 ½” blade will make an 11 ½” finished plate.

Next, cut your fabrics into strips the same width as your blade size. Then, using your rotary cutter and Easy Dresden ruler, cut all the “blades” of the dresden, alternating the direction of the ruler each cut.

Time to sew. For this first part only, shorten your stitch length to get your stitches tighter than normal. Grab one blade and fold in half lengthwise, right-sides together. Sew a ¼” seam on the “top” end of the blade (the longer side), being sure to sew from the raw-edges to the fold. Chain-piece all your blades.

Snip your blades apart. Next, finger press the center crease, or use your iron if you want a really defined line.

Then, put your pointer finger “inside” the blade, thumb on the top and pinch your fingers together, flattening the seam open.

Then, turn the blade right-side out and use the tip of your Dresden ruler to push out the point.

Before you press flat, match the center of the open seam to the center crease to make a perfectly proportionate blade.

Next, lay out your finished blades into a circle, distributing your fabric colors/patterns as desired.

I panicked a little when I got to this point. I wasn't expecting the center "hole" to be so HUGE! Thinking the same thing? Don't fret. The hole shrinks down as you sew your seams. ALSO: Notice anything missing? How about that pretty white meander fabric I had picked out? Once I pressed my white blades out, I realized you can see right through the fabric and can see all the folds on the backside. That won't work! I had to make one more of each of my other colors to compensate for the loss. Oh well!

Before sewing this next part, remember to put your machine back to your regular stitch length. Take two adjacent blades, put them right-sides together and match the top corner points together. Bottom-edges won’t show, so it’s not as important that they match up.

Starting a ¼” down, backstich to the top, then sew down to the bottom using a ¼” seam. This hides your threads and secures the top of the stitch. Be careful which blade sides you sew together! After laying my whole dresden out just how I wanted it, I started sewing the wrong sides of the blades together and ended up with something totally different from my original plan. Oops!

Join the rest of the blades, making a full circle. Then, press your seams in one direction to get your dresden to lay flat.

TAKE THAT, DRESDEN! VICTORY!

Woo! Almost done. Pick a center fabric and decide how big you’d like to make your inner circle. A small circle will give you a flower-y look and big will make your dresden blades look more like a decorative border around the center. Making your center circle can be done using any applique method that you prefer.

If you are working with transparent fabric, like white, here’s what to do. Draw a perfect circle onto the wrong-side of two pieces of your center fabric. Fancy-schmany Perfect Circles by Karen Kay Buckley will give you a wide variety of sizes to choose from, or a bowl or mug borrowed from your kitchen work just fine, too.

Cut out your circles. Place them right-sides together and sew about a ¼” seam all the way around. Clip the seams. Cut a 2” slice into one of the circle-fabric pieces. It helps to pinch both sides and pull apart as you are cutting. Turn your circle out through the hole and press flat. Kat warned me that this method will make your circle look more like a dodecahedron. She was right.

If your fabric isn’t transparent, Kat suggests cutting a perfect circle out of your fabric, applying a few layers of freezer paper, then use starch around the edges to turn under your edges. You’ll get more rounded edges this way, although it seems like it takes some practice to make it perfect!

It’s applique time! Position your dresden where you want it. There are about a million ways to applique these babies down, so do whatever you prefer. We like to dab a bit of Quilter’s Choice Basting Glue at the end of each blade to temporarily attach it before we applique. Then, machine or hand-applique everything down. Pick your favorite stitch — blanket, zig-zag, satin or just straight.

Hmm..I think I should change up the center color. Maybe black?

Now that you know how to do a dresden, get sewing! There are a gazillion cute projects out there. We created a Pinterest board full of Dresden projects to pick from. Dresden Rose & Dresden Fans are some favorites of Kat’s designs. Check ‘em out! The Easy Dresden ruler comes with a free pattern, too. Need a smaller project to get you started? Try a placement, table runner, pillow, pouch or just frame one block for some sewing-room art.

 

Dresden Fans

Pincushion

 

 

 

Dresden Pouch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Posted by Stacy

What’s It Like at Market, Anyway?

We talk about it all the time – Quilt Market.  You might be wondering what is it and what all the buzz is about.  In the most basic of terms, Quilt Market is a retail trade show.  It’s where quilt shop owners go to find the latest products, trends and inspiration for quilting. We really get rejuvenated at market.  We find out what we have been doing right and what we can do better. In order to attend Quilt Market, you must have a retail business, or in my case, are affiliated with a shop. It happens twice a year; the fall show is always in Houston, TX, and the spring show locations change.  Karen and I just got back from fall market; take a look at what it was like this year.

Day One – Market always kicks off with an all-day event called School House.  School House is made up of mini classes that last about 30 minutes.  You hear about new books, patterns, techniques, and fabrics in a lecture setting lead by well-known designers, authors, and businesses. We learn from all of them.  Overall, School House is a bit like high school – Karen even got in trouble for talking, which I’m sure that happened a few times for her in her teens!

Day Two – The trade show opens and the fun begins!  We try to scope out the hundreds of vendors on the first day. If you’ve been to a quilt show with vendors, it looks very similar to that setup except on a huge scale.  This year I took notes on my new iPad about what vendors we wanted to revisit.  It’s kind of like buying a new pair of shoes – you don’t want to buy the first pair you like just in case you find something better at the next store you visit.  After the show closes at 6:00 p.m., the work begins. No, not at the bar! We headed back to our hotel and sorted through all our notes and photos and discussed what vendors we wanted to revisit and what to order.

Day Three – Mixed in with vendor revisits we had appointments with fabric reps.  The fabric we buy at market arrives anytime between one week and eight months later. Some of the fabric we picked out this time around is for Halloween and Christmas fabric for 2012. Wow!

Day Four – The last day of market usually closes early so the pressure is on to get our last few appointments wrapped up and do a final lap around to make sure we didn’t miss anything.  Usually we find things on the last day that we hadn’t noticed before and this year was no different.  We stopped to look at fabric from some new designers called “dear Stella.” Their booth was fresh and modern.  Check out the nautical prints in the top photo – it will be coming soon in our shop.

We also checked out Blend – a new collective of designers under Anna Griffin.  Babysaurus is a fun collection in both the pastel and primary colors that we ordered.

Since we got back to Boise, a lot of people have been asking me what the latest trends are that we found at market. I would say gray is still dominating the color field.  For little girls we saw lots of ruffles.  Dinosaurs and cars were also a popular favorite for boys.  Now that we’re home, the big question is where we going to put all that new fabric when it finally arrives! I know it’s only been a few days since we left Houston, but I’m already looking forward to next year’s market – I’m ready to go again.

– Posted by Della

Color Challenge

One of the best parts of quilting is playing with color. Color is intoxicating — it’s hard to not be happy when I show up to work every day surrounded by a vibrant rainbow. And one of the most challenging, but rewarding, hurdles to quilting is mastering your eye for color. Some of us are naturals (like Karen!) and some of us need a little coaching. A good place to start is Jean Wells’ Intuitive Color & Design. It gives you an in-depth guide for selecting fabric combinations that will really make your quilts unique and pleasing to the eye.

We’ve decided to share the fun of creating great color/fabric combinations by doing a few color story challenges. Which takes us to our introduction of our newest toy – Pinterest. Pinterest is like an online inspiration board — a place for you to collect photos of things that you love, organized by categories. We’ve been hard at work (aka having a lot of fun!) creating “boards” of our best stuff. Take a look…

On top of being a fun thing to do, Pinterest is a great way for us to connect with you and see all your fantastic ideas. So we’re creating a little challenge to get you in on the fun. We’ve created a Color Challenge: Chartreuse + Grey + White board with an initial inspiration photo to get you started. The idea is to find fabrics and other photos that tell that same color story. If you were ambitious, you could ultimately make a quilt that captures the same feeling. We will be doing more color story challenges in the future, so stay tuned for other great color combinations.

All you need to do to get started is go to www.pinterest.com and Request an Invite. It’s free! It’ll take about a day to get your invitation to join and create an account.  Then, send us an email (quiltexp@cableone.net) to add you to our color challenges, and we’ll make you a collaborator on all our color story boards so you can pin your ideas!

Happy Pinning!
– Stacy

Gone Fishin’

It’s been a year. Can you believe it? I’ve been working at the quilt shop and learning this quilting stuff for a full year. It’s gone by too fast. I would have expected to consider myself beyond a beginner level after a year, but somehow I’d say I’m still pretty new to the actual nuts and bolts of sewing. I haven’t even gone beyond making squares. But, hey, let’s give me a break. With work, a dog, planning a wedding and buying a house this summer, I’ve been pretty busy. But I’m back in the game as I finally unpacked my sewing room last weekend. Granted, it’s still painted two-toned magenta shades courtesy of the six-year-old girl that occupied the room before me, but at least I’ve got all the required stations in place. Give me another three months (that’s about the speed I’m workin’ at these days) and I’ll get around to making it feel like my own space.

In the past year, I’ve worked on a few quilts: my first quilt from a layer cake (that now migrates between my couch and bed at home), two shop samples that are hung very, very high on the wall to hide the shameful sewing I did, and a few unfinished projects that bounce back and forth between active on my sewing machine and being “on deck.” I can thank my poor attention span for all the back-and-forth!

Here's all my "on deck" projects....will they ever get finished?!

Look familiar? Yup...those are some blocks from City Quilts "City Lot." After sewing my sashing with WAY, WAY TOO BIG seams, every block has been an angry battle to complete. I'm just aiming for "finished" sooner or later. It will be goofy. It will be donated. And that's just fine by me.

If you can remember, I made quite a fuss about one of the store samples I made needing to be perfect, but in retrospect, the pressure of making a store sample does not compare to my current projects — quilts as gifts. I know that one of the joys of quiltmaking is planning a project with a very special person in mind. However, TALK ABOUT PRESSURE!

The first gift quilt I planned was for one of my nieces. She is turning three this Halloween. So, really, she doesn’t care what the quilt looks like, but I DO. It had to be perfect. After a few days of restlessly cruising our patterns, I decided to give up. It was useless. No matter what I chose, I would never feel it was perfect. So I just went home, chopped up a few fat quarters and sewed them together. It’s basic, but it’s done! One of our mottoes around here is “better done than perfect” and I think I learned my lesson. I am just finishing up that quilt for her birthday present this year. Look familiar? I used it for our Binding Blog photos.

It was a good thing I learned my lesson on stress-free gift giving, because there’s no way I could have said no when my very own dad asked me to make him a quilt. Being my dad (and a guy), I can’t say I expect him to be disappointed when my corners don’t match. Heck, he probably won’t even be able to tell (as long as he doesn’t show it to my mom, who is a quilter!)

Wonder where I get my love for animals from? My dad raised these chickens from when they were chicks. They loved him!

Even with the pressure off on the actual sewing, I still felt the fabric and pattern needed to be tops. My dad is retired and is lucky to live in a beautiful lakeside cabin in Northern Wisconsin. He spends his afternoons in his rusty old rowboat, fishing on the lake. My mom has the house fully decorated with all kinds of Northwoods details — bear figurines, “gone fishin’” signs, and even a wooden raccoon hanging off the side of the house. They’re cabin people. I knew my dad’s quilt would need to fit my mom’s decorating as well as my dad’s interests. BINGO! We have trout fabric.

I’m mid-project and am excited about how it’s turning out. I’m using one of our free patterns meant for a layer cake. It goes together pretty quick and really features the fish fabric. When I get around to finishing the top, I’ve got plans for some fish-quilting and cozy minky on the back. Northern Wisconsin gets wicked cold in the winter and I’m sure there’ll be nothing better than warming up by a fire under this quilt with my dad.

Phase 1. I cut all my fabric and matched my "centers" with my "borders." It's kind of hard to believe this small stack of fabric will eventually spread out to make a whole quilt top!

Phase 2. Half of my "borders" sewn to my "centers." My fiance was at a hockey game, so there was NOTHING to distract me from making serious progress on this project. Onwards!

Phase 3. PEOPLE! I am not a fast sewer, but I think I had Della's wind beneath my wings as I was sewing these blocks. I cut all my fabric and sewed ALL my blocks in the same night. It's kind of a record for me. I think I'll go ahead and give myself a little pat on my back. The hardest part, as always, was strategically arranging all my blocks while deterring my curious dog from laying right on top of everything.

Fin!

P.S. I was foolish to think this would be my last gift-quilt for a while. I recently got the news that BOTH of my older brothers’ wives are pregnant. And here’s the kicker — one of them is having TWINS. Looks like I’ve got three sets of baby quilts and baby gear to whip up before next summer. Any suggestions to get me started?

What are some perfect quilts you’ve made for your special people?

– Posted by Stacy

Binding Tutorial

Binding is one of our most popular topics for our in-store free seminars. It can be a daunting last hurdle to finishing your quilts, but we promise it gets better with practice. There are many ways to do binding and our favorite method is simple and easy. This post will show our method step-by-step so you’re binding like a pro.

We don’t require any special tools except maybe a calculator. Now, don’t get frightened, but we are going to do a little math! For those of you that just had a panicked flashback of pop quizzes in high school math class — don’t worry. We’ll make it easy! Promise.

Before doing any of the cutting and sewing of binding, we first need to calculate how much yardage you’ll need to make the binding.

A. Measure the quilt’s dimensions. Take a deep breath…time for a little simple math. We’ll start off by figuring the number of linear inches of binding you’ll need.

• (width + length) x 2 + 24” = linear inches

• EXAMPLE: (60” + 70”) x 2 + 24” = 284”

• If you’re wondering why we add the 24”, it’s because you’ll need more than just the number of linear inches around your quilt…you’ll lose a bit in the corners, plus you’ll want a bit of a tail on each end to overlap your start/finishing point.

B. Once you get the number of linear inches you’ll need, we calculate the number of strips to cut. To do this, we divide the number of linear inches by 40” and round up to a whole number.

• Linear inches/40” = number of strips (round up!)

• EXAMPLE: 260”/40” = 6.5 → 7 strips

• We divide by 40” because there are about 40 inches of useable fabric once you trim the selvages per each width of fabric. Each strip you cut will be about 40” long.

C. Lastly, to determine the amount of yardage needed, multiply the number of strips by the width of the strip. We use 2 ½” strips for all our binding.

• # of strips x 2.5″ = inches of fabric needed

• EXAMPLE: 7 strips x 2.5″ = 17.5”

Now that you have that figured, the real fun begins. Time to cut and sew!

1. Once you have the appropriate yardage of fabric for your binding, cut it into the number of needed 2 ½” strips. Be careful how you cut! Cut exactly perpendicular to the fold, otherwise you will end up with a “V”-shaped strip.

I used the lines on my ruler to be sure I cut at a perfect 90 degree angle with the fold.

Note: You don’t need to cut off the selvage just yet — you will be trimming them off as we join the strips together.

2. Join all the strips with a diagonal seam.

• Place the two fabric strips right sides together, perpendicular to each other. Let the ends overlap each other as shown in the photo. This will allow you to see the corners where you need to sew. Secure strips with a straight pin. Once you have your strips pinned in place, you can “check your work” by folding your strip over and see if your seam will give you a straight strip of fabric.

In case it wasn't clear, I've noted what the right side of the binding fabric I used is, and what the wrong side is since they look similar.

By folding over where I pined, I can see that when I sew a seam, my strip will make a straight line.

• Using a fabric pen or pencil, mark the top strip on the diagonal, beginning and ending the line at the corner created where the two strips intersect each other. Sew strips together on the marked line.

• Continue to join your strips until you have the binding length required for your quilt – this is the linear inches calculated in Step A.

• Trim away all excess fabric, leaving about a 1/4″ seam allowance to the right of the seam lines. Press the seams allowance open.

Trim off your excess fabric -- including the selvages.

3. Fold the strip lengthwise and press with wrong sides together.

4. Trim your quilt. After the quilt is quilted, trim the excess backing and batting from the quilt.  We leave a scant 1/8″ of batting and backing around the quilt edge.

5. Next, unfold the left end of the binding strip and lay flat with the wrong-side facing up. Make a 45º cut to the left – see photo for the direction of the cut.  Fold in about ⅜” on this angled end (wrong sides together) and press. Fold the whole strip in half again and re-press. Trim off the extra little “flap” (see photo).

Here's what the left end of your binding should look like when you're finished.

6. Start sewing your binding onto the quilt.

• Starting in the middle of one of the quilt sides, align the raw edges of the binding with the edge of the quilt top (not the back!) – you will have a little batting showing.  Pin binding to the project at the beginning of the binding in a few places.

Note: I did not use batting on this quilt, so make sure there is a little bit of batting showing when you align your binding with your quilt top!

• About ½” in from where the double thickness of binding starts, begin sewing using a ¼” seam allowance.

Start sewing about where I am pointing.

7. Sew around your entire project mitering the corners.

• To miter a corner, stop sewing ¼” before the corner of the quilt and backstitch a few stitches.

• Fold the unsewn tail of quilt binding straight up, positioning it so that its right edge is even with the next side of the quilt to be bound (Side B) and perpendicular to the side you just sewed the binding to (Side A).

• Next, fold the binding down, with the top of the fold flush with the edge of Side A and raw edges aligned with Side B. Pin the fold in place.

• Start sewing at the top edge of the binding. Then sew one or two backstitches before you continue sewing down Side B of the quilt.

8. Continue around your quilt until you are close to the starting point.  Stop a few inches before your starting point.  You do not need to remove it from your machine.  Put the needle of the sewing machine down into the binding to help anchor it while you cut the end.

9. Lay the end of the binding over the starting point and cut the end (using sharp scissors) at an angle (a 45 degree angle to the right) and nest into the tube of the binding. Make the binding lay flat – edges flush with the edge of the quilt. Continue sewing until you are past your starting point.

10. Once your binding has been machine stitched to your quilt, press the binding from the front of the quilt and down over the back.  You should be covering up the stitches and your binding should be full of batting.  Hand stitch in place using a blind hem stitch or ladder stitch about 8 stitches to the inch.  Use binding clips to help hold your binding in place while sewing by hand.  When you reach a corner, place a few stitches in the miter on both sides of the binding.  Also make sure you stitch the join closed.  And you’re done!

– Posted by Della & Stacy

Top Ten Notions

Without notions, quilting would be a laborious task (well, more than it already is…) These useful objects are the tools that make your sewing more efficient, more accurate and ultimately more fun! As a quilt shop, we do our best to carry all the top notions — both the essentials and the unique ones that help you with some of the more advanced techniques. Our girls have tried it all, and through years of trial and error we’ve found the best of the best.

So here’s our list of the top ten essential notions. You aren’t livin’ life to the fullest if you don’t have one of each of these. Trust us — they will make a difference!

THE ESSENTIALS
Havel’s Snip-Eze
These snips are lightweight, have a curved blade and are super easy to use. Unlike most snips, you don’t have to search for the finger-holes. Just pick ‘em up and squeeze!

OLFA Ergonomic Rotary Cutter
These comfy cutters come in 45mm or 60mm sizes and have fantastic safety features. When not in the “locked” position, these cutters only expose the blade when you squeeze the trigger to cut. The advantage of an extra sharp blade? Quick, clean cut edges.

O’Lipfa Lip-Edge Ruler
I won’t cut fabric with anything but this ruler. The lip-edge latches on to your  cutting mat or table to help stabilize each cut. No more slippy-slidey rulers!

Sewline Fabric Pencil
These mechanical-style fabric pencils come in a variety of color choices and use refillable erasers and lead. They are manufactured well and will last you forever.  The best part? Unlike traditional pencils that need sharpening, your lead will always be sharp and make an incredibly accurate line.

Collins Crystal Glass Head Pins
Throw away all your dull-pointed pins and buy these babies! The fine tips are  sharp and glide through fabric like a knife through butter. Unlike plastic-headed pins, the glass-heads won’t melt when you iron over them! They heads also don’t break or fall off like other, cheaper pins and the ⅜” lengths are pretty  sturdy. They can still bend like all pins can, but you can’t beat all the other great   features. Tip: don’t get the ⅞” length if you can help it. Although the tips are still  sharp and the heads will stay put, the longer length has a greater tendency to bend with normal use.

Magnetic Pincushion
Ok, I know quilters just love making pincushions, but ladies, you have to up your game. These magnetic pincushions will save you time and energy. Rather than  stick each pin into your cushion, you can just toss your pins in the general direction of the magnet and they’ll zip right on there. We have larger magnets for beside your sewing machine, or you can jump on the new trend and get one that clips onto your shirt for a mobile option. (Seriously, these things are a hot item.   We sold twenty-two last Saturday. Twenty-two! They come in a million colors and make great gifts!) Beware! After getting spoiled by the magnet, you’ll start  throwing pins at any pincushion, and they’ll just bounce right off the traditional kind. I do this all the time. It’s embarrassing.

Schmetz Sewing Needle
Simple. Easy. Reliable. We use these and you should too. When was the last time you changed your needle? Can’t remember. It’s probably time to change ‘em out. Just do it!
Binding & Hem Clips
Just like hair clips, these handy notions make hand-sewing binding a bit easier. Just press your binding fabric onto your quilt top and attach some of these throughout, especially at the corners. The best part? You’ll never get stabbed by a million pins if you carry your quilt around. No one likes to bleed on their projects, ladies…

Quilters Glue
Whether you’re doing some applique or need to finish up that binding real quick, quilter’s glue is the answer — it keeps your materials together and washes out when you’re done. There’s a million different uses for this stuff and Quilter’s Choice is our favorite variety.

Triangle Square Up Ruler
These rulers make all kinds of triangles so easy. Half-square, quarter-square…you name it they make it. Don’t fuss anymore – you will honestly make PERFECT triangles every single time.  They come in 6-1/2” and 9-1/2” sizes and have easy to understand instructions included. And unlike thangles, you’ll never “run out” when you’re feverishly finishing up a project at 3 in the morning. All you need is one ruler for the rest of your life — just don’t lose it!

Already have all these? Check our our bonus list of the top five notions that tackle new techniques.

BEYOND THE BASICS
Washable Marker
These are Karen’s favorite. She uses them “liberally” (meaning by the dozen.)  They have many uses but they’re perfect for custom, free motion long arm quilting. Karen can draw on a pattern or trace a stencil/ruler to get a guide for her quilting. Check out her full post on using the washable marker with a Sue Pelland Leaves Galore Large Ruler here.

Angler
This is Della’s favorite sewing machine tool — it makes piecing 45 degree angles easier and more accurate (as the name suggests.) The lines on the clear plastic tool act as a guide when sewing half-square triangles, mitered corners, Flying Geese, Snowballs, or diagonal ends and corners.

Rotating Mat
Have a lot of pieces to cut? This ruler is great, especially for using a triangle square up ruler. Just place the fabric and ruler on top of the rotating mat (maybe use some  fabric grips to keep everything in place) and make your first slice. Then, just rotate the mat to cut all the way around without having to move your fabric.

Flying Geese Ruler, Tri-Recs Ruler and Dresden Ruler
These three rulers take the guesswork out of making these advanced quilting techniques. Each comes with clear instructions to make your impressive blocks faster and more accurate.

   

Perfect Circles
The name says it all. Each package includes 15 different circle sizes (a small circle or large circle option) for hand and machine appliqued circles.

  

– Posted by Stacy