The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside => Current Projects => Topic started by: LeilaMay on December 21, 2018, 15:34:11 PM
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I've finally made the big jump - I am going to make a bed quilt!
Nothing fancy for my very first quilt, just big plain squares, but the colour palette is based on an idea we had last winter, and Mr came to Midsomer Quilts to hlp choose the fabrics, and it's being made for our bed (he's TALL so the quilt is big :) )
Fabric pic when I can remember where I tidied the camera away too, and progress reports in the new year once I can see the sewing room again - it's currently full of overwinter plants which were on the dining table in the conservatory.
I've made the small P&Q handbags last year, so it's the scale and precision needed here that's the nervous bit, but wish me me luck and off I go . . .
:vintage:
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Have fun. You'll get a great sense of achievement once you're done.
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Great Hon!
But may I interject one small note of caution ... you want a quilt for your bed? a large quilt???
Everybody does ... including me!
We all want something of purpose, something that matters, something BIG!!!
the problem being the ability and skills needed not to assemble said quilt, that is relatively easy ...
but to A) Layer it once the top is complete
and B) Quilt it!
My very very first 'quilt' is a monstrous thing, that never got layered or quilted, however I am quietly confident in the knowledge that in 2295 it will become the next 300 year old coverlet!
My next first quilt, lay unquilted for 2 years or so whilst I acquired both the skills required and a machine with a large enough harp space under which to quilt it! But it turned out nicely enough. (https://goo.gl/photos/FeqW2vRaRxzVp9e39)
My first quilted quilt of any size was a QAYG project (https://photos.app.goo.gl/CxXCIMGw1dBMS0ty2), which I loved, but even then a Double bed size (min 200cm sq) was a row or two blocks too far for me.
I will of course, as will most of the Darksiders I imagine, be more than happy to help you along the way...
Any questions, just ask!
So before you dive in, think how you are going to finish it ... and there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a large quilt professionally long-armed for you ... just keep in mind the £100+ it is going to cost you.
Good luck and keep us up to date with lots of pics please!
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I agree with @Iminei I love the piecing.... I adore the quilting ( but I do hand quilting which is not everyone's cup of tea.) I do it because it is too much of a faff to try to machine quilt with a domestic machine in a small space. I absolutely hate,loathe and despise the sandwiching of a large area of quilt.
If none of the above scares you, then I'm sure your quilt will look lovely and you will enjoy the experience.
Please let us see your progress and ask for any help you may need
Good luck :toast:
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A large quilt does need a large amount of space, and a lot of time and patience, to get sandwiched together properly which is perhaps another reason for doing quilt as you go, but I'm sure you'll manage. The harp space on a :vintage: 201 is fairly big but you will struggle to get half the width of a double/kingsize quilt under it.
A :vintage: machine itself will be more than capable of the task.
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Thank you all for your opinions - noted!
If necessary it will go back to Misomer Quilts for quilting - although I'm not planning anything other than straight lines if I do it myself - it's made of squares and comes from an idea of dry-stone walls. I may be able to hand quilt the very centre section and then move to machine ~who knows? But Mr is not averse to having it done by Midsomer - he finds that computerised long-arm quilter fascinating 8)
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As long as you are aware of the challenges of a BIG quilt, you are all set to go!
I will be putting the illusion quilt together in the New Year trying a new (to me) QAYG technique ... (ie NOT using joining strips) I will post in the Darkside when and how I go along, it might be of use to you.
Normal QAYG is brilliant and only gets tricky (ie ... awkward. cumbersome) in the later stages... be prepared to be pierced!
Piece your quilt and if Long-arming is a viable option, embrace it.
Looking forward to seeing your progress!
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I would never use an outside quilter, personally. I don't think it would feel like my quilt if I did, but it is personal preference.
I have done QAYG without joining strips @Iminei it is fiddly but looks fine.I haven't done a big quilt though. I doubt I'll machine quilt again since I discovered big stitch quilting and stencil type templates :)
Can't wait to see your progress @LeilaMay :)
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Im excited to see how you get on Leila, Im thinking 201k too - the large harp and quality stitching should be in the right direction.
Could you do it in 2 halves and join them in the middle to keep the harp space requirement down or is that just asking for trouble?
R.
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Fabric is all washed and pressed - there are a couple of small pieces from my minuscule stash in the right colour, which was nice to find. Cutting to start this week or next. Have bought new rotary blades :)
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Squares are now cut - the colour rendition of the shots isn't great but there is mainly greys, with accents of bracken, berry, ivy green, that kind of thing.
A few accent squares are amalgams of two fabrics, so those will get sewn first, for practice :)
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Cue crawling round on the lounge floor for several hours this evening. After laying out our original pattern idea and finding we didn't like it, there has been much shuffling of pieces and scratching of heads.
How does one 'DO' design for a large piece without wasting fabric that's been cut and then doesn't quite work? I appreciate that the actual making of a smaller piece can be easier, but as a small design doesn't automatically scale-up, I'm finding the design process frustrating. I can see why there's a market for packs and sets of cut fabric already chosen for people to make - but that's not what I want to do.
Mr has been crawling round and giving opinions also - sore knees all round. At least it kept the parrot amused watching :)
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Is there one particular fabric which sticks out like a sore thumb? If so eliminate it, and use something else if need be.
Also those squares are quite big; cut them into 4, reassemble in a random order and have another crawling around on your knees session.
Learning what does and doesn't go together is a combination of theory and experience, though it does come easier to some than to others.
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Many thanks Brenda.
There were indeed several fabrics that eventually we had to agree weren't working. :( Individually they were great, but when combined they didn't add anything to the whole - one too pale to be effective, and a couple that although organic designs were printed in a very geometric grid, so all you saw at a distance were the lines , which we didn't like.
We were able then to say what 'did' work about the ones that were left, and so what to look for to replace.
I didn't at the time consider making the squares smaller, but now that you say it I can see how that would have had an effect on how the fabrics worked against each other - might be useful to do that exercise with some of the scrap pieces, thank you, I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.
Onward and upward :vintage:
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Here's what was left once we'd taken out the fabrics we didn't think worked, and abandoned the idea of random, coz there wasn't enough different fabrics left to make that work LOL Apologies for the picture quality, it was very late at night.
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Then a trip back to the fabric shop, and here is what we're aiming for, there are four bold accent colours in total, only two show here.
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And I have just begun the sewing . . .
fingers crossed
Leila
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Well the blocks are individually completed, and here they are laid out next to each other. There will be one row of additional squares (as the bed is longer than standard) which is here at the top but will be moving to the bottom :)
Tough colour to work with, grey, but Mr is very happy with it, and as his favourite colour used to beige I'm pleased he's managed to express choices and likes the result. That's enough sewing for today. [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
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Looking good :)
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Thank you :)
So the sewing together of the quilt top is now DONE :toast: Here it is, spread out on the sofa (because the bed was covered in clean laundry LOL) sideways on but you get the idea.
Now another trip to Midsomer Quilts - getting to be regulars there - to chose the backing fabric and wadding, and probably to consider the edge binding colour.
(There is a formula for how much fabric one needs for that right? Goes off to search . . . )
Then I get to find out if my machines will be big enough to do straight line quilting on something this size. Fingers crossed. [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
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I have an app on my ( android) phone that does all the calculations for you is
Backing fabric,
Binding fabric,
Border fabric including multiple borders
Fabric amount needed for a number of pieces of a certain size
Number of pieces of certain size that can be cut from a piece of fabric - good for stash busting :)
Size of squares to sub-cut into HST's or QST's for setting triangles
It works in both metric and imperial units too
It's allied to Robert Kaufman but it was free to download. I found it by searching for quilting calculator and have found it to be really helpful
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Thank you, sounds great. I don't have any technical thing onto which one downloads aps (bit old school here) but I'm sure the info exsits somewhere online :)
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I'm sure the info exsits somewhere online
Or you can just use pencil and paper and a bit of thought.
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:D
Quite true. I did check out the suggested widths you need to cut the strips - never having done it before that seemed relevant - the source I was usng suggests 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 inch widths. Then as you say, it's the sum of the length of the four sides, the width of the bolt of fabric, and 'a spoonful for the pot' :)
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That looking pretty good.
2 1/4 or 2 1/2 inch widths. Then as you say, it's the sum of the length of the four sides, the width of the bolt of fabric, and 'a spoonful for the pot' :)
That's about it! The sum of the length of the four sides, plus an inchor so for seam allowances, then work out how many strips across the width you will need to get to the total and multipy that number by 2-1/4 or 2-1/2 inches. 6-7cm if you are buying in metric measurements. You generally need half-three quarters of a metre for a full size quilt binding.
The wadding needs to be a couple of inches bigger all round than the finishe top. If it works out more ecconomical it is OK to have joins in the wadding. Just butt two edges together and oversew together using stitches an inch or so long. Once inside the sandwich even you won't be able to tell where the join is.
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As we already know,
The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42 .... .... and this is true for binding too!!!
This is the number we use to determine how many WOF strips you must cut and join to make the binding for your quilt.
Quote from (https://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php/topic,1574.0.html)
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Looking lovely @LeilaMay.
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Sunday morning project . . . [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
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Your kitchen is clearly just the right size!! 0_0
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Perfect (anyone else having a quick snoop at the edges of the picture to see the kitchen?)
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I didn't know looking at other people's kitchen was a thing? I hardly ever go in there myself, but it had the largest amount of clearable floor.
Here you go, complete with resident chef and half made cups of tea . . . [ You are not allowed to view attachments ] [ You are not allowed to view attachments ] [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Fairy lights are fairly obligatory in Glastonbury LOL
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Love that oven, or rather DH would love that oven, after around five years I still have to get the book out to find out how you switch ours on. I'm not exactly a domestic goddess.
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Top stitching (just stitch-in-the-ditch all around) all done, on my hand-crank 201. Nice and slow :)
We were considering further off-set lines, for a more random rectangle wall effect, but we kind of like the simple homey style of it now. So leaving it until tomorrow to see what we think.
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The edge binding is made and ready to be sewn on, hopefully today. Please think good thoughts for me :)
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You are doing wonderfully Leila!
If you do want a bit more quilting a simple diagonal cross through some of the squares looks incredibly effective!
And if you want to go further and do them all just run from corner to corner of the squares diagonally through the entire quilt!
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You are doing wonderfully Leila!
If you do want a bit more quilting a simple diagonal cross through some of the squares looks incredibly effective!
And if you want to go further and do them all just run from corner to corner of the squares diagonally through the entire quilt!
Ah, thank you - but too late now I think :)
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All the construction is now done - just some hand sewing to finish it off.
The edging is a nice dark blue, but doesn't show up very well in the shot. OH likes it very much - phew - he has "history" with quilt making from his previous marriage, and at one point quilts were out of the question. However his active part in this one means he's very happy with it :0
Thank you for all the comment and good wishes
Leila + Mr Tall
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A lovely quilt. :toast:
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a lovely quilt
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Beautiful !! Is the backing one of the front fabrics???
Its very nice ... What is it please?
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Beautiful !! Is the backing one of the front fabrics???
Its very nice ... What is it please?
The backing is a "wide" from Misomer - hang on and I'll look it up . . .
https://midsomerq.com/collections/quilt-backing/products/extra-wide-108-blueprint-basics-by-robert-kaufman-21383-91-9-00-50cm?variant=12307822805015
there you go - I do seem to like Kaufman fabrics :)
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Lovely and goes soooo well with your masterpiece but £18 a metre ...Ouch!
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Yes, but it is extra wide - so there are no joins in the back of the quilt, it's one huge piece :)
I have a section left, are you keen to use some in something? <3
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Well I am conjuring up a lil something at the moment but that would depend how much you have left wouldnt it???
But Im sure Im due a trip to MQ soon, after all my local Emporia has next to nothing left in it!
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It is 80" by 24" - selvedge along one long edge. If it would be useful to you?
Or we could meet up there? :) :)
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runs off to find a tape .....
Oooohhh!! That might indeed do the trick!
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So if you'd like it by post you'll need to PM me your details :loveit: