MAKING QUILTS the Olde FASHIONED WAY

Pressing, ironing is VERY important for the finished look of your sewing project! IRON IT darn IT...should be your motto.

As you can see we did not have a quilting frame...not a problem for this small quilt. We just used the floor. Still gets the job done.

Quilting, even your kids can tie a quilt. This one is a baby crib quilt we made as a gift.

The lesson this week is easy Quilting.

Equipment needed: sewing machine with straight stitch.

good sharp sissors

thread

ruler

pencil

darning needles

crochet or knitting yarn

scraps of cotton fabric

single cotton bed sheet

Making a simple Baby's Crib Quilt size 45 inches wide by 60 inches long

Begin by cutting the fabric into 6 inch strips. I used my rotary cutter and my ruler. You could also rip the strips by cutting a small snip on the salvage after marking the fabric edges with your ruler and pencil making the marks every six inches. You should have 10 strips to give you 60 inches. Most fabric comes in 45 inch widths so that should be no problem. If your fabric is not 45 inches wide then sew strips together to make it 6 inches wide by 45 inches long, trimming as needed.

Look before you sew the strips together. Take a moment to look at the fabrics and combinations that are pleasing to the eye. Always make sure you have patterns and solids in an arrangement that is pleasing to you. Don't just throw any strip together. Be creative.

Now with wrong sides of strips sew them together. Use a tight stitch 2.5 is the usual. Seam allowance is usually 1/4 inch. Iron each seam as you sew. Pull gently on the seam and make sure the seam is secure. If you notice the seam coming apart. Now is the time to restitch. When all of the strips are sewn you will have a large retangle 45 inches wide by 60 inches long. Don't worry if your strips are not even or if you are not absolutely 45 by 60...don't cut anything right now.

Now you are going to sandwich the quilt top you just finished with a layer of batting in the middle and the backing together. Just remember the backing made from a sheet has to be larger by at least 5 inches than the quilt top. When you start tyeing the quilt together you will loose some inches from the backing. I don't know why...I just know this happens everytime I've quilted.

There are several ways you can secure the three layers, hand baste, pins and quilting frame. Since I don't have a frame and I don't like to handsew, we opted for the pins. I use the larger size yellow top quilting pins...great stuff. My gd and I were liberal with them and it worked great.

We started tieing the quilt at the end. You really should start in the middle and work your way out to the edges. But since we were sitting on the floor, it made more sense to start at the end. The strips help you keep track of where to place the knots. We used the width of our hand as a guide as to where to make the knots. Now when you tie a quilt you put a generous amount of yarn on your darning needle. You make your first knot tieing it over and under for a square knot so it doesn't come out in the wash. Now don't cut your yarn, just go to the next spot and tie your next knot..just remember to go over and under the yarn. When you are out of yarn, you can stop...clip the yarn between the knots and leave the tails..they will curl up after being in the wash and if they are too short your knot will come out.

For the crib size quilt it took us two days and about 4 hours each day. We made shopping trips and visited and went to the pool so it probably would have taken less time but where is the fun in that.

When the whole quilt is tied now you need to finish the edges. I took the quilt to my cutting table and using my tape measure and my rotary cutter, I squared all the sides. You can do the same thing with a ruler and pencil. Just cut carefully. For my binding...the peice of fabric which covers all the edges, I used a 4 inch strip of fabric that coordinated with the quilt top. I placed the strip right side to the quilt backing, pinned it together with about 2 inches over the edges. Seamed the quilt and binding together using the 2.5 stitch length and a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I did both the top and bottom first ( 45 inch wide side). Then I did the long sides next..with the extra fabric over each edge. When these were done, I trimed the extra fabric off the long sides only and ironed my seams. I also ironed a 1/2 inch crease...the right side folded toward the wrong side. Then I pulled the binding to the front or the quilt top with all the strips and pinned the creased edge down. I stitched the long sides first. Now you turn under the extra fabric on the top and bottom, pin the edges down and seam again.

Now you are finished.

Later I will try to draw some diagrams that are simple to understand. But if you are interested in making quilts, I think the smaller quilt is a great place to start. Now mind you there are some BEAUTIFUL quilts out there and I know there are tons of quilting books. But I can still remember trying to figure out all the techical jargin and not getting anywhere. My quilts would come apart and or the ends would come unraveled and my boys would have thread bear covers till some one said..." hey sweetie don't make it harder than it has to be. "

Good luck with your sewing.. hugs rozzi and her granddaughters.

Getting READY to SEW...fabric and 3 Ways of finding the SWEET SPOT

LESSON #1 FINDING the Sweet Spot

method # 1 Tear and Conquer

method # 2 Snipp IT

Image by jinnypearce via Flickr

method #3 Slice and DICE

Ok, here goes everyone. The first and most important part of sewing anything...the fabric. Why is it so important to find the sweet spot? What is a sweet spot anyway?
Why does it matter if you find the grain or not? Will it matter in 10 years? Will anybody know about this missed sweet spot other than me?
Yes, I do understand your reasoning and I have asked myself the same questions. So to answer the First one...The Sweet SPOT is very IMPORTANT to U.

The grain of your fabric, the threads that fall crosswise and up and down needs to be centered. This is what I call the SWEET SPOT. U will be working with a textile that is formed from thousands of small strings..if you cut your garment at an angle, cutting thru the sweet spot at an angle, then your garment will be catewompis. No this is not life threatening, however please take note****** Your product is only as good as the cut.*********
So how do you prevent this from happening by finding your sweet spot..glad u asked. There are several ways to accomplish this. I will go over three of these methods.

Method #1....TEAR and CONQUER!
That's right tear...you are going to make a small cut on the salvage, you know that hard part of the edge of your fabric. The part that you can't tear by just pulling really really hard, yea that's called the SALVAGE.

Image by Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer via Flickr

So now that you made a cut , oh about a 1/4 inch , you put your sissors down, and pull and the fabric tears straight across with your bear hands. You'll see some loose treads, that's the weave we talked about earlier. Now you have found the SWEET SPOT and you can fold your fabric with salvage edges together and the new torn edge at one end...TATA! U found it.
As hilarious as this sounds, this is a good way to find the sweet spot but if it is too Brutish and uncooth for your tastes...the next way is more refined and dignified.

Method #2 SNIPP IT
Now using your ruler, yep the one you used in grade school to draw pretty lines, and find the SWEET SPOT just like you would if you were cutting a 2 by 4 (lumber). Think T. One ruler resting on the other in the shape of a T. Upside down...The one ruler on the edge of your fabric with the salvage and the other crosswise on you fabric. Mark it with a pencil and snipp this line with your scissors. Takes a little more time, has less mental claifying benefits--getting that aggression out and all-- but does the trick.
If you possess a T square, I highly recommend using it. It does make you look Oh so much more professional in front of your family and friends.


Method #3 SLICE and DICE

This is by far my favorite method of finding the sweet spot.
However you will need three peices of equipment or Sewing Gagets as I like to say...1. rotary cutter and 2. rotary cutter mat and 3. rotary cutter clear ruler.

Now for some of you this is very squeamish...using a rotary cutter and all the slicing and dicing of the fabric. However, with care you can accomplish this without harming the fabric, furniture, kitchen counters or YOURSELF. I have been using mine since it was first introduced...which was in the 80's I think. I still had all my hair and it was a nice shade of brown, so yea I'm pretty sure it was the 80's. Well back to the lesson at hand.. you will be placing the folded fabric with salvage edges together along the edge of the mat, keeping it straight. ( If this is difficult a little scotch tape will hold it down nicely and it doesn't matter if you slice thru it. )

Now your place your straight edge ruler made for the cutter along one of the marked lines closest to your edge and then with gentle, even pressure you roll the blade next to the ruler and across the fabric. TATA...you have a straight edge and you have your SWEET SPOT. Hint*******U need to read all instructions before using this sewing gaget. U need to use care and caution since it does have a rotary cutter that can roll. Be sure and CLOSE the Cutting BLADE after e

Image by billhd via Flickr

very use.
In conclusion, you have started on the road to sewing. I hope I made it fun and educational at the same time. I hope this helps . Look for Lesson #2 in a few days. Feel free to make comments...not rude ones I hope. I purchased all the items in this demo from local fabric stores nearby on sale. Make sure your rotary cutter is in excellent condition and that you can purchase extra blades at the store near you.

Other blogs related...How I use my rotary cutter at momblognetwork.com

Image via Wikipedia

TATA for now...rozzi

the Ology of Sweet Pea

hello again. my name is Rozzi and I am a sewing fanatic. My joy and the love of my life is creating thru sewing. I have way too much fabric in my house, I have way too many sewing gagets in my house, I have way too many sewing books in my house, I have way too many patterns in my house. How does this benefit you??? Well if I can share my 40+ years of sewing knowhow with you, If you would like to learn how to make something simple into something spectacular, if you are sick and tired of spending way too much on clothing for you and your family...then this blog is your spot and I have done what I set out to do...SHARE with YOU.
As I learn this techn ology I will share my Sweet Peaolgy with you. A little of this and that, FREE tutorials on lots of things you can make. I'll even do tutortials on things you and I find on the web and can't seem to understand or make. I will give credit to the original tut, but will do it with lots of pics so we can understand how did they do that.
I will include little tuts and videos on sewing 101 so that you can get started and finish your project in a week if you only have a few minutes a day to get the job done with all your other busy day activities..kids, family, husbands, job, etc.

Over the next few weeks, as I begin publishing my new posts for you, keep a look out for giveaways related to sewing...yep, I am giving away some of my FABULOUS stash..so you can enjoy creating thru Sewing just as I have over all these years... see ya'll soon hugs rozzi