Tutorial: Tabletop Quilt Basting

When I have the time and I plan ahead, I have the luxury of basting quilts on the great, big, perfect-height cutting table at the workroom.

However, there are times when I want a top basted right now, and the tops are often too big to fit entirely on the surface of my dining room table. No matter! I baste it anyway and here's how I do it.

I put the extra leaf in my table; it's an old IKEA table that's been used and abused over the years. Though we still love it, it is already a bit scarred on the surface so I have no qualms about sticking in my safety pins and adding to the rich assortment of scratches that are already there. I'm adding "patina." See how that works?


So, I press my backing on a tabletop ironing board (handy!) and then I tape the backing so the length of my quilt will fit on my table, but one edge hangs over the side of the table. I tape the three sides of the backing, layer and carefully smooth out my batting, then layer on my quilt top. (I'm working with an Amish-style Bars quilt top that I just made. It will be quilted in red and blue, with a blue binding! Anyway...) I smooth out the top and proceed with the safety pins.


When my pins are all in, I thread-baste the one continuous long edge I have available to me.


Then, I untape the backing and simply slide the whole thing over so the extra un-basted part is now resting on my tabletop, and the now-basted part is hanging over the other side of the table.


I peel back the top and batting and smooth down and tape the backing on three sides.

Then I carefully smooth down the batting, and then unfold the top over it and smooth it down, too. (Did I mention the "smoothing" part?)



Now I finish up my pin-basting and thread-baste the other full side of the quilt sandwich.



Almost ready! Just untape the backing from the table and swing the whole thing around so you can thread-baste each shorter side in turn. Trim your batting and backing down a bit if you like.


(I have used this technique for even larger quilts, too. I do the middle third of the quilt, then do the outer thirds one at a time. Make sure that your quilt sandwich is supported on a couple of chairs when you do the outer thirds.)

You now have a fully-basted, smooth quilt sandwich that is ready for quilting! And you did it without killing your back by doing it on the floor (ouch!) and you didn't waste valuable sewing time waiting for the perfect basting table to become available.

See? You can do it! Now get quilting!

Tutorial: Using the Backing as the Binding

Sometimes you just want to get the quilt done. Here is a fast and dirty way to bind a quilt- just make sure that what you've chosen for the back will also look good as the binding, because in this method, they are one and the same. In these photos, I'm just going to show you part of an edge and a corner. Ready?

Cut your backing a few inches larger all around than the top, as usual.

Layer it up and quilt it! BUT, don't quilt past the edges of the top...

...because the batting gets trimmed away. With scissors, trim the batting so that it is flush with the edge of the quilt top.

Pretty already! Now, using a grid ruler, mark the wrong side of the now-visible backing with a line that is 1 inch from the cut edge of the top/batting.

Now trim the backing along that line. You can skip the rotary cutter and just use scissors.

Okay! Now take your quilt to the iron, and carefully press that little 1 inch wide exposed backing in half, so that the raw edge of the backing touches the raw edge of the top/binding. Just press the backing fabric; do NOT press on your quilted top/batting. See how I'm scooting the iron just along that edge? You don't want to compress your gorgeous quilting.

Press in half right to the end.

Now, you're going to fold that pressed edge over your quilt top, covering the raw cut edge. Pin in place.

Go ahead and pin the whole side to the corner.

Fold the corner down on the diagonal, like this...

... and give a little careful pressing. Don't squish your quilting! Now, fold the next section of raw edge backing in half again, and do the careful pressing along the next side.

Now again, fold this pressed edge over the raw edge of the top/batting and pin in place.

Look at that pretty little mitered corner! Nice! Now you can stitch down the edge either by hand for an invisible finish, or you can take it to the machine and edge-stitch it in place.

I'd be inclined to machine-stitch, since that would give you a nice stitched edge finish on the back as well. Plus, it's faster, and I just want to get this thing done! TODAY!

Kaleidescope!

Here I am!

How long has it been? Never mind...


If you're in the Toronto area before March 21st, you MUST see the "Kaleidescope" exhibition of antique quilts at the Textile Museum of Canada! I saw it (experienced it, soaked it up like a sponge) a couple weeks ago, and I must tell you: You will swoon. Seriously.

Victorian-era crazy quilts, mind-boggling English paper pieced masterpieces with thousands and thousands of patches, classic appliqued quilts- all lovely, all stunning. The quilts are grouped together by type, and there are really interesting and informative placards throughout. I liked the fact that laminated sheets with the details about each quilt were provided in each section. You can grab one and walk around with it. Nice!


In a section called "Variations" were a number of examples of the classic Log Cabin design. Americans associate it with American pioneer culture and call it Log Cabin, while Canadians also lay claim as originators, calling it Canadian Loghouse, etc... What I found particularly fascinating was, according the information presented with the quilts, there was a mention of the Log Cabin design in a publication from 1897, which suggested it might be more properly called "Egyptian" or "Mummy" since this lattice-like pattern is evident in linen mummy wrappings.


Friends, I give you the cover of the November 2009 issue of National Geographic... Pet mummies!!


And more inside...


See there? How cool is that?!

I can't decide which is more fascinating- that this Log Cabin-like design existed all those thousands of years ago in pet mummy wrappings (which I never knew about until my issue arrived in the mail) or the fact that someone in North America in 1897 knew enough about mummy wrappings to draw the comparison! It's not like they could have watched a mummy documentary on the Discovery Channel! How did that little tidbit of Egyptology find its way across the ocean way back then?

Okay! Back to the present! By the way, there is an exciting event to go with this very special exhibition hosted by the workroom. Karyn has arranged for a private tour of the show, along with an exclusive peek into the Textile Museum's stored collection of quilts! I know!! Check out either the Textile Museum of Canada's website of the workroom site (click on classes). The tour is January 31st, a Sunday.

Go and see it!

Done!

"Her Sampler"! She is finished!!

Whee! A finished cross stitch always supplies a great sense of accomplishment. I think it's the perfect craft when you can only sneak in a few stitches here and there. (Or sit for hours hunched up in the corner of the living room in the wee hours squinting through reading glasses- you know, either way.)

A side note for cross stitchers, from my experience as a custom framer- please leave a nice margin around your images, say three inches or so. If you have your work professionally stretched and framed, the framer will LOVE you if you leave enough extra to work with around the edges. Also, try your best to keep your work nice and clean while you work on it, and press it nicely (from the back) before you take it in. I have seen some dirty, soiled embroidery come through the shop, and it's a real shame they didn't take the time to clean the work beforehand.

Onward! I'm working on stitchy gift for Dad, so I'll be taking a brief break from samplers, which I have decided that I adore. I have a number of them in queue after this- I'd better stitch faster!

Stuff With Scraps #5

I have been obsessing over finding the perfect snap coin purse for a long time.  I had a great one for a while- it was leather, the ideal size- but I lost it somehow.

Years pass.

I start teaching (and shopping!) regularly at the workroom.  One day...

"What's this?  Metal purse frames?!  I could make my own coin purse?!"  This idea cooked in my brain for quite some time.  This week, after realizing that I would not be able to attend Reva's Snap Coin Purse class, which I've been wanting to take for ages (drat!), I decided to take matters into my own hands.

It's not perfect, that's for sure, but look how cute!  I'm sure Reva has some tips that would make it all come out even better.  The hex patchwork is from a chunk of it I made last year.  The fabrics are all Japanese scraps leftover from when a friend was finished cutting out the pieces for her quilt. ("Umm, are you going to throw those out?")

I will now pay for all cash purchases with exact change just so I can show it off.

Just... one... more...

One more English paper pieced pillow.  Here's how it happens...

We plan a road trip that involves several hours in the car, followed by a few days away from the sewing machine, then several more hours in the car driving back.

I'm not driving.  My hands will be free, and not working on something during all those free hours isn't appealing.  So, I cut a whole bunch of papers, quickly pick out a batch of scraps from the scrap bin, iron the papers to the back, pack an abbreviated sewing kit, and I can be happily on my way.

This patchwork was started last month on such a road trip, and since I don't want to be a collector of (more) half-done projects, I made it big enough to be a pillow top.  I finished it up yesterday.  Yay!!  I had another pillow that was looking sort of worn out, so I ripped off the old cover and crammed the form into this new cover.  It was a tight squeeze, but I managed to get the zipper closed.  Yess!!

Busy Hands

Since I just completed (yet another) English paper pieced pillow top, I needed a new project to work on while waiting for kids at lessons.

I love love love Carriage House Samplings.  Their designs all have that early American, folky-but-not-cutesy look that I really go for.  Plus, I find myself very attracted to alphabet samplers, and they have lots.

My most recent major proud accomplishment has been getting my sister into cross stitch!!  She lives in Houston, Texas and given their crazy, tropical storm prone weather, I decided she needed to have a hobby to work on when the power went out.  So, I hooked her up with a pattern I knew she would love, and all the floss and everything, and now she's going like gangbusters.

Problem is, even in a huge city like Houston, she can't find a cross stitch and embroidery dedicated shop...  I KNOW!!  Needlepoint, no problem, but not cross stitch.  Go figure.

I, on the other hand, am spoiled for choice here in Toronto, with not one but TWO lovely stitching shops within 15 minutes of my house- The Sampler on Browns Line in Toronto, and Gitta's on Lakeshore in Port Credit.  I was in Gitta's the other day and called my sister to gloat, because I'm evil.

Anyway, new project, and I'm well on my way!

Black Creek Pioneer Village!

School's out!  June end-of-school madness is OVER!  Yaaaay!!

To celebrate, I took my daughter to Toronto's Black Creek Pioneer Village.  Of course, there was quite a bit of quilty goodness there.  Check out these lovely old Log Cabin quilts!

The first one was in the building with the man making brooms.  He informed me that the Log Cabin design was considered a manly one for a quilt.  It is very scrappy (then again, they all were), with the logs about a half an inch wide, six deep all around the centres- hefty and substantial with all that wool.

The next one I found had traditional red centres.  I couldn't get my grabby paws on it, though.

And look!  A Log Cabin puzzle for kids!  This was part of a hands-on exhibit.  I love how under each "patch" there is a little title of where the fabric came from.  So smart!

I'm really looking forward to teaching my Log Cabin workshop at the workroom this month!  Seeing all these old lovelies was extra inspiring.

Tutorial: Mitered Borders for Quilts

Give your quilt top a classy touch with an elegantly mitered border!  Here's how...

Just work with me for a moment with sketches for the first few steps to get us going.  Step-by-step photos are included.  (Think if it like the opening scenes of The Wizard of Oz in black and white, followed by glorious Technicolor!)

Ready?

Here is your quilt top, face down so I can show you more clearly where you will stitch.

Cut your 4 border strips to the required width.  The examples in the photos are with borders that are 3 1/2" wide.

Now, determine the length of each border strip by adding the length of a side PLUS the width of the border times two PLUS a little extra (a couple inches).  If you have a square quilt, all 4 will be the same.  If a rectangle, then you'll have two short and two long.  But you already figured that out...  never mind...

 

Use a 1/4" seam allowance.  Sew each border strip to its correct edge on the quilt top, right sides together, matching centre of quilt top edge to centre of border strip.  Begin a 1/4" in from the starting end and stop 1/4" from the other end.  You'll have an equal amount of overhang on each end.

Turn over to right side, open out your border and press seam allowance away from the quilt top so it sits under the border.  Press.

Attach opposite edge's border strip in the same way, making sure you start your stitching 1/4" in from starting end and stop 1/4" before you reach the other end.  Turn over, open out border and press away from the quilt top.

Add remaining two border strips the same way.

Now you have all four border strips attached, but with free-flapping ends at the corners.

(Cue the pretty photos...)

Work on one corner at a time.

Overlap the corners, nice and square.

Pin together so they don't shift while you trim.

Trim off extra fabric as shown.  Just trim carefully with scissors and skip the rotary cutter.  Now your two strips will meet perfectly in the corner.

Carefully un-pin so the corner will lie flat while you mark.  On the wrong side of your overlapped corner,  mark a fine pencil line from the outer corner to the inner corner where the stitching line from attaching the border strips form a wee little right angle at the corner of the quilt top.

Now un-lap the corners, fold your quilt top on the diagonal (right sides together) and match up the corners of the border strips.

Pin along the pencil line for stitching, making sure to keep the border seam allowances free where the meet at the corner of the quilt top.  (We want to keep all the seam allowances free and not caught accidentally in other seams.  We are constructing a "Y seam.")

Start stitching at inside border corner (1/4" from the edge) and stitch along pencil line right to outside border corners.

Open out the borders.  Finger-press the corner seam open, then press.

Trim off excess fabric, leaving about a 1/4" seam allowance...

...and VOILA!!  Look at your pretty mitered corner!

Now do three more just like it.  Easy peasy!