Consider these 4 before binding your quilt

The ultimate finish to any quilt—binding!

These are the last few days of the year and I'm celebrating the past year by finishing a quilt I’m making for charity. I’m part of a group that makes over 200 quilts a year that are donated to different organizations in our city. By finishing the quilt I mean I have to put on the binding. There are so many ways you can approach binding and there isn’t one right way or one wrong way, it's important to consider these 4 before binding your quilt.

It doesn’t matter which method you choose I think we can all agree on one thing. Binding is the ultimate finish to any quilt - it's not finished without the binding and attaching my binding with the PFAFF Passport 3.0 sewing machine with IDT makes it easier, let me show you why.

There are some basic questions you have to ask yourself before you take that final step of binding your quilt.

1. What  fabric will you choose for your binding? Will it be one (or more) of the fabrics used in the quilt top? Will it be the same fabric as the backing or will it be a completely separate but coordinating fabric? Print? Plain? Stripe?

2. Will you cut your strips on the bias or straight cut? Usually this is personal preference. I believe that occasionally this decision is made for us based on the quilt top itself. If the quilt top has lots of curves on concave and convex points then you'll likely go with Bias Cut.

3. How wide will you cut your strips? Most people fall into will choose either the 2½” width or 2¼”. Some people even use a 2” strip. For me it depends on the thickness of the quilt, and the method I'm going to use to apply it.

4. How are you going to attach the binding to the quilt? This can be the cause of some serious debates in the quilting world. I’ve noticed that most people one of two options on this issue.

• Option one - attaching the binding to the front of the quilt by machine and hand stitching the quilt to the back.
• Option two - attaching the binding to the quilt back by machine then flip the binding over and machine quilt the binding to the front of the quilt.

These are just some of the questions - there are so many others. Flanges? Prairie Points? Piping? OR you don’t even need to cut strips you could leave extra fabric on the front or back of the quilt to fold over and use as binding…

My Favorites

I love a striped fabric binding, cut on the bias at 2¼” wide and I use my machine with IDT to attach the binding to the front of the quilt. I press it to the back of the quilt and hand stitch the back down.   I tried lots of other methods and this is the one I like the most. For very special quilts I’ll add a flange or piping. 

Today however, I’m going out of my comfort zone. I'm using the same fabric that is prevalent in the quilt. The quilt I'm working on came as a kit so the binding has actually been cut for me at 2½". I'm going to apply the binding to the back of  the quilt, using my ¼” foot with the IDT system.

Applying binding with my PFAFF Passport 3.0, the ¼” foot and IDT system.

Then I'm going to flip the binding over to the front of the quilt and apply the binding to the front of the quilt using my regular A foot with IDT. I'm going to choose a decorative stitch for this step. I’m doing this because my PFAFF Passport 3.0 has so many decorative stitches to choose from AND because I’m up against a self imposed deadline. I want the binding finished this morning so I can make preparations for Holiday Celebrations with some of my Quilting Friends. If I don’t apply that binding by machine it won’t be done by this evening, I’m not a fast hand sewer!

Using a decorative stitch and the A Presser Foot to apply binding to the front of a quilt.

Using the PFAFF Passport 3.0 sewing machine to make a quilt for charity has been a real treat! I love the IDT system, the great lighting, the quality stitching, the extension table—everything. I love everything about this machine and it’s light weight and portable so I’ve moved it every day to the dining room table so I can enjoy my holiday decorations while I pieced, quilted and bound my quilt. It was a great finish to the year and an ultimate finish for this quilt.

Decorative Stitch to secure the binding to the front of the quilt. Stitch #41 from the PFAFF Passport 3.0

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FREE! QUILTsocial Magazine Issue 5 Now Available!

Here it is, the new issue of QUILTsocial Magazine! We're extremely excited to release this FREE issue featuring a full 60 pages packed with tips, projects, and quilting know-how!

At QUILTsocial, we like to think that all our issues are treasures, chock-full of tips and techniques to save for easy reference. This issue is no exception. You need to save this issue for 6 pressing tips, how to pick your fabrics for your next quilt, tips on beautiful curved piecing, triangles and triads and how to use them in your quilting color scheme, and what you need to know about fusible web and invisible machine applique. There is more, but if you want to know why happiness is a hexie quilt, then you'll love this issue!

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3 tips on piecing with the PFAFF Passport 3.0

Perfect piecing with my PFAFF Passport 3.0

I'm all ready to work on my charity quilts and break in my new PFAFF Passport 3.0 sewing machine. Today I get to work on one of my favorite parts of quilting - piecing! I LOVE piecing! It’s quiet and takes me to my “Zen” place.

Using the IDT (built-in walking foot) on my PFAFF Passport 3.0, piecing my quilt blocks just doesn’t get any easier! Since the IDT feeds both layers of fabric at the same time, I can achieve perfectly pieced blocks and I don’t have to spend time pinning! Did I mention I hate pinning?

I did all my pressing and cutting yesterday. When I’m working on a specific project I like to break it down into its components. I press and starch all of my fabric, then do all of my cutting (and repress the cut pieces if necessary). I then organize the cut pieces so when it’s time to sit down at my machine I can piece to my heart's content.

The first thing I do when I sit down at my machine is wind a couple of bobbins with the same thread I'm going to use in the top. Bobbin winding is super easy on the PFAFF Passport 3.0 and it gave me a perfectly wound bobbin the first time I used it.

When I have enough bobbins wound for my project, I shorten my stitch length for piecing. While not everyone does this, I prefer a 2.0 or even a 1.8 stitch length when I’m piecing, especially if they are small pieces. I think it just gives me a more secure seam, especially for those baby quilts that are going to see lots of use and take frequent trips to the washing machine.

Because the buttons on the front of the machine are easily accessible it’s really easy to shorten the stitch length on the PFAFF Passport 3.0. Simply press the “-“ button until you're desired stitch length is showing on the screen.

My preferred stitch length for piecing 1.8.

The ¼" foot, with and without the guide

Next I choose which of my ¼" feet I want to use. PFAFF has a really good selection of ¼" feet to choose from. Check all the cool tools and accessories at http://www.pfaff.com/accessories .

I'm going to use two feet on my quilt. I like the perfect ¼" foot with right guide when I start my piecing, it helps me achieve that perfect seam quickly and efficiently since I can move my needle to give me either a scant ¼” seam or a perfect ¼” seam allowance. Once I’ve accomplished some of the initial piecing, I switch to a ¼" foot without the guide, which I like to use when I'm piecing my blocks together and working with lots of seams. I have a great sight line and can ensure my seams aren’t flipping over on me.

The light on my PFAFF Passport 3.0 also helps to see where I'm stitching.

The perfect 1/4" foot by PFAFF allows you to adjust your needle position to achieve either a scant or generous 1/4" seam depending on your preference.

Two of the five ¼" feet available from PFAFF

Wait! What if you don’t have a ¼" foot?! Don’t despair!

On the PFAFF Passport 3.0 you can move your needle to 29 different needle positions. So move your needle over to the right until you find your perfect ¼" spot and stitch away.

A perfect ¼" seam achieved through moving the needle over and using a standard presser foot.

I also press  a lot when I quilt. I press and starch before I cut. I then press and starch each and every seam I piece. I wait until I have my initial piecing all done and then I press all of my seams.  Lately, I’ve been pressing all of my seams open and I’m really liking the nice flat quilt top that results in pressing these. If you prefer pressing to one side, go ahead, just make sure you press it well. And no, finger pressing does not count.

When I'm ready to free motion tomorrow, I'll be happy I took that extra time to press.

I love the perfect piecing I get with my PFAFF Passport 3.0. IDT, the ¼" feet, being able to select a shorter stitch length and the great lighting on my PFAFF Passport 3.0, all add up to another perfect day in my sewing room during one of my favorite weeks of the year. It doesn’t get much better than that!!

3 key elements to successful free motion quilting

My passport to free motion quilting

I want to have the charity quilt I'm working on finished tomorrow, so I really need to finish the FMQ today so I can get the binding on tomorrow. I believe there are 3 key elements to successful free motion quilting on any domestic sewing machine.

I have yet to meet another quilter who doesn’t want to improve her free motion quilting skills. I not only want to get better at it, I have wonderful fantasies of actually becoming good at it and merging those skills into exquisite works of thread painting!

There's only one thing holding me back - and that’s me. I need to practice, and practice some more, and quit beating myself up over my free motion quilting. So with my PFAFF Passport 3.0 ready to help me achieve my fantasy, let’s get started.

1.  Have a flat surface - luckily I have an extension table that was made for my PFAFF Passport 3.0. It slips on and off easily, giving me a great work surface with really good visibility.

Extension Table for the PFAFF Passport 3.0

2.  A good quilting foot is essential - I prefer the spring action type of foot like you see below. This is an optional accessory for my PFAFF Passport 3.0 but worth it’s weight in gold for free motion quilting.

PFAFF Passport 3.0 with the spring action free motion foot attached

3. TEST, TEST and TEST your tension.

I can’t say enough about this step! It doesn’t matter how good you are or how artistic you are in your quilting! If you don’t have a good quality stitch then it doesn’t matter if you have perfect FMQ feathers or pebbles, the stitches won’t hold up in the long run.

The tension is so easy to adjust on the PFAFF Passport 3.0 that it’s a dream to do free motion quilting on it. Just adjust the dial until you find the tension that's right for your quilt.

The weight of your fabric, batting and thread could all affect your tension, so always, and I mean always, run a small sample through your machine. Don’t be intimidated by adjusting your tension. Once you figured out the correct tension settings through testing you'll be amazed at your results.  

Rule of thumb: If you see top thread showing on the bottom your top tension is too loose, if you see bobbin thread showing on the top your top tension is too tight.

The tension dial on the PFAFF Passport 3.0 is easy to use

A great picture illustrating proper tension.

I’ve run my tension tests, lowered my feed dogs and now it’s time to actually start the quilting. 3 key elements to successful free motion quilting are very helpful in achieving my mission. I really will be ready for the binding tomorrow. Another great day in my sewing room.

Best week to quilt with the PFAFF Passport 3.0

This year's passport to quilting happiness doesn’t come from the government but from my local PFAFF dealer. The PFAFF Passport 3.0 sewing machine is the perfect machine for every quilter. Let me share with you what the best week of the year to quilt with my PFAFF Passport 3.0 looks like.  

I love the week of the year between Christmas and New Year. It’s the best week of the year! Work demands are light, the stress, and hustle and bustle of the season is over and I get to spend time indulging in my hobby - quilting. I'm sew looking forward and excited to play with, and explore, the PFAFF Passport 3.0 during that week. I always try to do some extra charity work at this time of year and using the PFAFF Passport 3.0 will make the work even more rewarding!

I have a quilt for charity to finish, quilt, and bind and want it all done by the end of next week so that on New Year's day I can start to make two new crazy patch placemats. The PFAFF Passport 3.0 has 100 built in stitches I get to try on my new placemats. I can't think of a more perfect way to spend that week and start off 2016 in stitches!

A perfect PFAFF for a perfect quilting week!

Benefits of the PFAFF Passport 3.0

This small and portable machine weighs in at under 15 pounds but is no lightweight when it comes to features and stitches! It's a PFAFF so it comes with my favorite feature - IDT (Integrated Dual Feed) for absolutely even fabric feed from both the top and the bottom. IDT makes piecing my quilts a real joy and it’s so easy to achieve a perfect seam with no pins required. The PFAFF Passport 3.0 is easy to use as well as all the functions buttons are right there on the front of the machine. There's great lighting around the needle which is going to make free motion quilting later in the week so much easier on my eyes.

My favorite features

There are so many great features about this machine that I can’t list them all at one time.  But let me say this I am super happy that they added the thread snips. These automatically cut top and bobbin threads, pulling thread ends to the back side of fabric. They are easy to use and work great. No more searching for my tiny scissors amongst the other treasures hidden on my work surface.

Features of the PFAFF Passport 3.0 are all at your fingertips.

And as far as features go, let me add the automatic start/stop button, the speed control, the needle up/down, easy to use reverse…the list goes on and on. Right now though it's time to get started on the charity quilt I want to make! My PFAFF Passport 3.0 is set up and ready to go – it's just going to have to be patient while I cut and press the pieces for my quilt!

Applique or quilting, which comes first?

Those big white squares around the lone star need to be filled in - too stark and blank for me and there isn't enough of the dark grey fabric in the quilt. I'll use it for the binding and applique to tie it to the stripes in the star. So the question is applique or quilting, which comes first?

Well, there are two answers to this question and neither is wrong. It all depends on personal preference of how you want to finish off the quilt, what you want the back to look like and how many threads you want to tie off and bury when all is said and done.

If I go with putting the applique on the quilt top now then I'll have to quilt around the snowflakes which will be tedious and more time consuming with all the starting and stopping I'll have to do. Plus I'll get lots of use out of my self-threading needles when I'm tying off and burying all the loose thread ends.

Self-threading needles, one of my favorite quilting tools

If I quilt it first then I can just add the applique, stitch around the snowflakes and be done.

Creating the snowflakes

To create the snowflakes I used the HeatnBond EZ Print sheets in featherlite weight. These 8½″ x 11″ pre-cut sheets are for ink jet printers only. And since my snowflake motif was a file in my computer it was easy as 1-2-3 to print off the template onto the fusible web sheets. Just remember to place the fusible side up in the printer tray so that it prints out on the paper side.

Fusible web printable sheets

Once printed on the fusible sheet I waited for the ink to dry and sometimes it does smudge a bit but that's no problem since the paper is going to be peeled away. After cutting out the design I fused the snowflake to the wrong side of the dark grey fabric. I used a pressing paper from HeatnBond to cover the applique and fabric so as not to get any glue on my iron surface. They are pretty much see through making it easy to see the applique shapes and fabric.

Using presser paper is a very good habit to get into because trust me you do not want a sticky, gooey mess on your iron.

These presser sheets are 11″ x 17″ in size and are reusable but once the shiny side starts to disappear it is time to throw them away and get a new one.

Pressing paper covering the snowflake on fusible web

Here are the snowflakes in place on the quilt - only pinned in place so I can see what they look like because I'm going to quilt the piece before I add the applique. I wanted to put some black snowflakes on the quilt as well but I was told they were to dark in more ways than one. I will stick with dark grey snowflakes but in 3 different sizes.

Snowflakes pinned in position on the quilt top

I don't want to have to bury a lot of threads when I'm done so I'm going to quilt the piece before I put the applique on. This means that I will have the applique stitching on the back of the quilt but because I'll be doing a satin stitch it will look really cool to have the snowflake motif outlines with stitching on the back of the tree skirt.

Marking the quilting lines

Using the right marking tool for the job is very important as we do not want any of the marking lines to show up after the quilting is done. There are many marking tools out there - here are some that are in my drawer.

An array of marking pens and chalk

Before I baste the layers I figured I would mark on some of the quilting lines in the star so that the pins wouldn't be in my way. I used the white chaco liner from Clover for these lines on the red fabric but I'm going to have to use something else on the white as I don't want the red, blue or yellow chalk to leave a mark on the white fabric. Although I did discover yesterday that a fabric eraser will remove the chalk from most fabrics but I would still be wary with light fabrics.

Chalk lines drawn to make out the quilting lines on the lone star

The blue eraser pen does work and erases off completely. I did a test piece. Always do a test piece on a scrap of your fabric when using a marking pen because you want to make sure it will come off and leave no marks - especially on light colored fabrics. I'll wait and mark these when I'm ready to quilt these sections.

Once I had the marking lines all sorted I basted the layers with curved safety pins leaving about a fist width between the pins. Yes, it's a lot of pins but well worth the effort because it won't move and there won't be any ripples, buckles or puckers when I'm done. I've used a 100% cotton batting for this piece as I don't want it to have a lot of loft.

Choosing a thread for quilting

I don't have a lot of choice for threads for this piece. I can do either red, white, gray or silver/gray and it can be either cotton or rayon. Shiny versus mat finish.

Thread choices for quilting

The Sulky rayon thread provides a wonderful shine when stitched into the quilt and with it being a 30 weight thread it stands out nicely but I think that the red will blend in too much with the red fabric and not really show up.

The 2 different variegated gray/black cottons of the Sulky blendables I think will give really nice contrast to the piece and stand out nicely since it's a 30 weight thread as well. The darker one on the red fabric and the lighter one for the white background.

I'll use the Sulky rayon silvery-gray to stitch around the snowflakes. It'll be nice contrast to the dark gray fabric.

If I wanted to do any stitch-in-the-ditch quilting then I would use the Sulky Polylite as it's a finer thread (60 weight) and will sit in the ditch much nicer than the 30 weight thread. This isn't my favorite quilting stitch as I find it tricky to do perfectly and if it isn't done perfectly it just doesn't look nice in my opinion. I figure if you're going to go to the trouble of quilting then why not show off the stitching and all the work you have done.

In the bobbin I will use a gray Gutermann 50 weight cotton.

Spool of PolyLite thread on the basted quilt top

Now that I made my thread choices I can get started on the quilting and then move onto the applique and finish with the binding.

Once the quilting is done I'll slit the piece open from a corner to the center and make a circle in the center with the Tru-Cut circle maker.

I'm not going to apply any ties to the tree skirt but rather I'm going to put buttons on the back with some fabric button hooks sewn into the binding to attach around the buttons and keep the tree skirt together. The Dress It Up buttons I plan on using are penguins - oh so cute and my nephew's wife is a penguin fanatic.

The oh so cute penguin buttons

The tree skirt adds the finishing touch to this gorgeous tree

The tree skirt is done and looks awesome dressing up my friend's tree in this inviting room with a fire to sit by while reading a good book or just sitting and relaxing. 

So as you can see there is no wrong answer to the question applique or quilting, which comes first? 

Happy Holidays

Half square triangles made easy with the No-Hassles Triangle Gauge

I felt that the lone star block on the tree skirt center was a bit too simple and decided to add a border to the tree skirt to dress it up a bit. I'm always looking for ways to make half square triangles easier and faster to make. They are such an important part of quilting and are found in so many blocks, patterns and quilts. One day at my LQS I found a cool gadget I should try today. HST made easy with the No-Hassles Triangle Gauge from Clover is going to be used to create a classy border for this lone star tree skirt.

The No-Hassles Triangle Gauge

No hassle half square triangles

Not only is this gauge for half square triangles but it's also for quarter square triangles. Today though I'm only making half square triangles.

The numbers along the left side are the ones I'll be using. At first I was going to make 2″ finished half square triangles but then I thought, "That's a lot of half square triangles considering I would need 36 per side times 4 that would be 144 half square triangles total!"

Back to re-configuring the border... I decided to make 3″ finished half square triangles. This means I only need 96 total - 24 per side.

For the 3½″ unfinished half square triangles the squares need to be cut at 3⅞″ each. This will result in a 3″ finished half square triangle.

Bring the wing tip green piece down to the 3⅞″ mark by pushing in the button that says push and sliding it down the center plastic piece.

Gauge set up for a 3 ½″ half square triangle

Place the fabric squares under the gauge and line up the edges of the fabric with the green wing tips.

Draw a line, with a pencil or find tipped fabric pencil/pen, in the center cut out slots on the fabric.

Fabric under gauge ready for pencil line

Sew a ¼″ seam on either side of the pencil line. An accurate quarter inch seam allowance and a straight seam allowance is required to ensure that all the squares come out the same size.

¼″ seams sewn on either side of pencil line

Cut apart on the pencil line and press open. The only trimming required is of the dog ears. With this handy gadget the half square triangles are the correct size when sewn together. Wow, that's awesome as every other method I have used for making half square triangles I end up standing at the cutting table trimming forever - okay maybe not quite forever but some days it feels that way.

The other bonus of using this triangle gauge is that there are no triangles to sew together which means no bias edges to stretch out of shape.

One 3 ½″ half square triangle

The border design required that I sew the half square triangles in two sets. I placed them with right sides together in two rows on my table so that I wouldn't get anything mixed up or turned around.

Squares laid out and ready for sewing

It seems that even with the greatest intentions and best laid plans that I still managed to get 2 of them turned around. Oh well, it's a good thing I'm experienced at reverse sewing (aka ripping out).

Oops, those 2 don't look like the others

Once I had all my half square triangles made I sewed them together to form a zigzag pattern with a four patch in each corner to form the border of the tree skirt. Now the tree skirt measures 48″ square. I think that will be big enough - any bigger and it will be a lap quilt.

Half square triangle zigzag border around the lone star

Oh boy, I sure am loving this design but the big white squares and triangles in the tree center around the star are a bit too stark and bare for me. I'm going to have to add some applique to these areas. 

The tree skirt is coming along nicely and those half square triangles made easy with the No-Hassles Triangle Gauge were a piece of cake. Tune in tomorrow as I add the final touches to this tree skirt. 

Happy Quilting

How to sew the Lone Star quilt block

Once the pieces are cut using the Trace'n Create Lone Star templates it's important to know how to sew the lone star quilt block for the tree skirt to ensure success every time. This is going to be so easy because there are no inset seams. I'm doing the happy dance in my studio about this great reason to use these templates.

There's one thing we do need to be aware of when sewing the pieces together - bias edges. A bias edge is cut on an angle.

Each piece of the lone star has at least one bias edge which means that it can stretch easily and distort causing problems with the finished size of the block.

To prevent distortion or stretch, the bias edge should be sprayed with starch and pressed before sewing the pieces together. This gives the bias edge a nice firmness and makes for accurate piecing every time!

Starch help to sew accurate seams with bias edges

I also recommend pinning the pieces together when sewing as this will also help prevent any stretching and distortion. The flower head pins are ideal for this as they are long making it easy to remove them as you sew along.

Pin bias edges

Sewing the pieces together

Before sewing, lay out all of the pieces to create a square block which is one quarter of the total block. I stacked all the pieces on top of each other for the 4 blocks. The block is a mirror image of pieces.

By laying out all the pieces in order on the table beside my sewing machine, I hope not to get any mixed up when sewing the pieces together.

Pieces laid out in order ready for sewing

Sew piece A & B together first. This is the small triangle and diamond. The small triangle will align with the point of the diamond and hang over a ¼″ beyond the seam allowance.

Pieces A & B sewn together

I suggest chain piecing to speed up the sewing process. Chain piecing is when you keep feeding in pieces under the foot and sewing them together without stopping to remove the pieces prior to the next. This method also has less thread wastage.

Then sew piece C, the large triangle to the above unit to create half a block. Piece C is aligned with the top edge of the A-B unit and hangs over a ¼″ below the seam allowance. The 2 units are mirror image of each other.

Piece C sewn to A-B unit

Sewing the blocks together

Sew the mirror image pieces together to create 4 blocks. I do suggest pinning these pieces together for accuracy especially where seams meet. My favorite pins for pinning seams together are the Clover Fork pins. I find that they hold the seams together and I have perfectly matched seams 9 out of 10 times.

Be very careful to never sew over a pin as it can do a lot of unwanted damage to your sewing machine. Sew up to the pin, remove the pin and continue on sewing.

Fork pin at seams

Each corner of the lone star is made with two mirror image units to create an 18″ block.

One corner block

The finished quilt center looks like this and is 36″ square - a perfect lone star and not a single inset seam to be found.

The lone star center

I chose to have my lone star symmetrical and used only the one main fabric with the accent of the grey stripe. It could have been 2 different fabrics or many fabrics for a scrappy star. There are many options that can be used for this lone star block.

We can learn sew much from sewing the Lone Star quilt block! Onward and forward to the border. Yes, it still needs to be bigger - remember it's a big tree. With the sewing of the lone star center of the tree skirt complete I can think about designing the border using half square triangles and another cool gadget I picked up at my LQS. See you tomorrow.

Happy Quilting

4 great reasons to use the Lone Star quilt templates

Today I'm starting the lone star quilt center using templates from the Trace'n Create Quilting Collection and as I said yesterday I haven't worked with a lot of templates in my quilting. Mostly I just cut the pieces needed to make a quilt with the rotary cutter and a ruler. As I worked with the lone star templates I was very impressed with how fast and easy they are to use. This experience spurred the discovery of 4 great reasons to use the Lone Star quilt templates.

The 3 lone star templates

The 4 great reasons

Excellent instructions - the instruction sheet that is included with the templates is very detailed with both written instructions and graphics - perfect for the visual learner as well as the learner who does best with written instructions. I'm a visual learner and loved all of the graphics detailing how to use the templates step by step.

Easy to use & read templates - the templates are well marked and color coded for where to trace for the different sizes.

4 different sizes - the templates have 4 different sizes of the lone star block - 12″, 24″, 32″ and 36″. I decided to make the largest size as the tree this skirt is going to dress stands 7' tall. A large skirt is needed for this tree indeed.

No inset seams to sew - my favorite reason to use these templates! There are no inset or Y-seams to deal with. Woohoo.

Using the lone star templates

The templates are marked A, B & C. A is the small half square triangle, B the diamond and C the large half square template. Each template gives the size of fabric strip to cut for the size of the block being made. 

I started with template B - the diamond. I was to cut an 8″ x WOF strip of fabric but I decided that I wanted the red fabric to have a strip of the gray in it as well so I had to piece my 8″ strip. With the gray strip to finish at 1″, I cut a strip 1½″ x WOF and 2 red strips 3¾″ x WOF then sewed them together to create an 8″ x WOF strip.

In fact I made 3 of these strips and cut one in half in order to get the 8 diamond strips needed to create the jumbo lone star.

8" wide strip of gray and red fabric for the diamond template C

To trace and cut the pieces the fabric strips are placed together with right sides facing. The wrong side of the fabric will be facing up as the cutting line needs to be drawn on the wrong side of the fabric. I used a Clover Chaco Liner to draw along the outside of the template to create my cutting lines. These chalk liners come in several different colors.

The outside edge of the template makes the largest size of block and it's placed along the straight edges of the fabric strip. The template plastic is not ideal for cutting along so I do recommend drawing the cutting line with a marking tool and then cutting.

Notice the other lines are color coded - green, orange and pink - for each different size of block.

Template on wrong side of fabric strip with marking tool ready

With a rotary cutter and ruler I cut along the chalk lines to create 8 diamonds - 4 of the 8 will be the mirror image of the other 4.

The diamond

Templates A & C are done in the same fashion with right sides of fabric facing each other. The cutting measurements are found on these templates as well. Template A uses an 8¼″ x WOF strip and template C uses an 11⅜″ x WOF strip.

Below shows template A positioned on the background fabric and a red Chaco liner to draw the cutting lines.

Template A positioned on fabric with Chaco liner

All template pieces cut

Now that all the pieces are cut don't you agree these 4 great reasons to use the Lone Star Trace'n Create quilt templates makes the job easier? I'll see you tomorrow to do some sewing. Happy Quilting.

Lone Star templates quilt a Christmas tree skirt

I had promised my nephew and wife a tree skirt way back in 2011 - oh dear, that's a few years ago now. Finally I'm getting around to fulfilling that promise of a quilted skirt for the Christmas tree which takes up a large chunk of their living room. Needless to say this tree skirt will need to be a little larger than normal. No point putting a teeny tiny skirt under the tree if it will never be seen and besides the cat needs a comfy place to lie before the presents all arrive.

Collecting the bits and pieces as well as the fabric is always one of my favorite parts of the quilting process. There are so many wonderful tools, notions, threads and gadgets to enhance our quilting process and projects.

I found these templates at my LQS and of course had to have all three sets as it was too hard to choose between circles, hexagons, parallelograms and triangles. I do love geometric shapes. How about you? Which is your favorite?

3 sets of templates using different geometric shapes

I decided to go with the triangle shape to make a Lone Star tree skirt. Using the lone star shape will make it easy to cut the quilt to become a tree skirt, plus it will be a simple yet elegant design. I haven't done a lot of quilting with templates so I'm looking forward to using the Clover Trace'n Create quilt Lone Star Collection templates.

Lone Star templates

Picking the fabrics for any quilting project is a lot of fun! It's like opening up a box of crayons and choosing the colors that inspire you most at the time.

In this case the colors white and gray are definitely in this color palette, since they decorated their house in gray, black and white. I decided to add red to represent the Christmas season and therefore adding some cheer at this time of the year.

I pulled out these fabrics that I had leftover from another project that I did earlier this fall. They are from 3 different fabric lines but they go together beautifully.

Fabric choices for tree skirt

In the end, I only want to have 3 fabrics in the quilt so I put together different combos of the above fabrics and took a picture of each to see how they looked together. Taking a photo is a great way to audition fabrics because it gives a perspective of distance and how the fabrics interact together.

I also wanted to have differing values of fabric - a light, medium and dark - by using these 3 different values in the quilt there will be good contrast between the fabrics and the design will 'pop' right off the quilt.

I narrowed down the choices. Both have the red and dark gray but the background fabric is of the same design just a different color - one is white with gray swirls and the other is gray with gray swirls.

Fabric combo #1 - red, dark gray & white with gray swirls

Fabric combo #1

Fabric combo #2 - red, dark gray & light gray with gray swirls

 

Fabric combo #2

After auditioning and comparing the fabrics I narrowed it down to the 2 combos above and after much contemplation I decided to go with fabric combo #1 - the red, dark gray and white swirl fabrics. I find that the dark gray pops the gray swirls out in the white fabric better than in the gray fabric which will make for more contrast and more wow factor in my quilt.

These 3 fabrics are going to make a fabulous tree skirt! I love the different textures in each fabric and how they interact so well together.

Gathering up the rest of my supplies I'm ready to get started on this not so little project.

Gathered supplies for the tree skirt

Join me tomorrow to see how easy it is to make the lone star center of the quilted skirt for the Christmas tree. Happy Quilting!