It's taken me a long time to take this step.... my first quilt!
Ok, confession...
This was NOT my first quilt. Below is photo evidence circa 1996, a school project. *wince*. Yes I made the matching dress too. Everyone needs apparel to match their quilt.
MOVING ON.
I. Learned. A. Lot.
You'll get much more valuable tips from other blogs and sites, I won't pretend to be an expert after 1... ok, 2 quilts. I will tell you though, I learned I didn't understand triangles, bias cutting, and fabric stretch. If you're a newbie, my suggestion is to look this up before endeavoring on your first triangle quilt. Also, learn the triangle trick (at least I think it's a trick).
I thought I was choosing a pattern that would be easy, but it turned out that the fabrics I chose led to... a lot of math. Don't try to create your own pattern if you're a newbie, too much unnecessary stress!
**I used to have a link to the original pattern by Riley Blake, but they have since removed it. The only record I have of this pattern is the following picture:
Precision is important. This is not my strong suit, so it's great practice for me to take things a bit slower.
Get organized! Label your stacks & label your quilt axes.
I used the pattern system G1-G-4 (gray fabrics) and B1-B4 (blue fabrics), letters for my vertical axis, and numbers for my horizontal axis. Do what is comfortable for you. My first two columns created the pattern that repeated throughout to make 5 sets of 2 columns=10 columns across. My columns were 12 squares high. If math is your thing, that's 120 of those suckers.
AFTER the fact, I watched this gem: Bluprint has a free quilting basics class online. AMAZING! In a way I may have learned more watching after I made all my mistakes, because it was easier to apply the knowledge, but I do suggest watching it BEFORE. ;)
My Materials:
1/4 yard of each of the 8 fabrics (this was cutting it close *pun intended*).
1 1/4 yards for backing fabric
Batting (baby quilt size in a bag)
1/2 yard for binding
2 spools of thread
I got all my supplies at Jo-Ann Fabrics with 5 coupons. Score.
I cut 4.5" squares, once they are sewn into triangle pieced squares, they are 4" square (including seam allowance). My quilt's final size is 36" w x 43" h. Now to wrap it in tissue paper and give it away *sniffle sniffle*.
I stitched in the ditch with the walking foot. I'm excited to try something different next time. Did I say next time?
Ok, confession...
This was NOT my first quilt. Below is photo evidence circa 1996, a school project. *wince*. Yes I made the matching dress too. Everyone needs apparel to match their quilt.
 |
MOVING ON.
I. Learned. A. Lot.
You'll get much more valuable tips from other blogs and sites, I won't pretend to be an expert after 1... ok, 2 quilts. I will tell you though, I learned I didn't understand triangles, bias cutting, and fabric stretch. If you're a newbie, my suggestion is to look this up before endeavoring on your first triangle quilt. Also, learn the triangle trick (at least I think it's a trick).
I thought I was choosing a pattern that would be easy, but it turned out that the fabrics I chose led to... a lot of math. Don't try to create your own pattern if you're a newbie, too much unnecessary stress!
**I used to have a link to the original pattern by Riley Blake, but they have since removed it. The only record I have of this pattern is the following picture:
Precision is important. This is not my strong suit, so it's great practice for me to take things a bit slower.
Get organized! Label your stacks & label your quilt axes.
I used the pattern system G1-G-4 (gray fabrics) and B1-B4 (blue fabrics), letters for my vertical axis, and numbers for my horizontal axis. Do what is comfortable for you. My first two columns created the pattern that repeated throughout to make 5 sets of 2 columns=10 columns across. My columns were 12 squares high. If math is your thing, that's 120 of those suckers.
 |
| It's so easy to nit-pick, but I won't, it was a learning experience! |
AFTER the fact, I watched this gem: Bluprint has a free quilting basics class online. AMAZING! In a way I may have learned more watching after I made all my mistakes, because it was easier to apply the knowledge, but I do suggest watching it BEFORE. ;)
My Materials:
1/4 yard of each of the 8 fabrics (this was cutting it close *pun intended*).
1 1/4 yards for backing fabric
Batting (baby quilt size in a bag)
1/2 yard for binding
2 spools of thread
I got all my supplies at Jo-Ann Fabrics with 5 coupons. Score.
I cut 4.5" squares, once they are sewn into triangle pieced squares, they are 4" square (including seam allowance). My quilt's final size is 36" w x 43" h. Now to wrap it in tissue paper and give it away *sniffle sniffle*.
I stitched in the ditch with the walking foot. I'm excited to try something different next time. Did I say next time?
I love this! It turned out great! I made my first quilt for Josh for our wedding a hundred (ok 13) years ago. Last year I volunteered to put together Liam's class quilt. I'm getting close to being ready to make another...I absolutely love how yours turned out!!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed you humor in this post.... keep quilting!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! What a nice website, Bethany!
ReplyDelete