Welcome to the the Running Stitch Quilts Color Inspiration blog series! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
For June - since it is the month when summer starts - I almost had to feature the Summer Garden Quilt pattern as my Pattern of the Month! How could I not, right? When I took a look back at this quilt pattern, I knew it would be the perfect fit for June's Color Inspo challenge!
Before we get into the fun color palettes, I wanted to let you know that my June Pattern of the Month, Summer Garden, is on sale through the end of June 2024! You can save $3 on the printed and digital patterns.
Okay back to colors!
The colors used in my Summer Garden cover quilt are Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids in the colors Celestial, Nite, Mosaic, Lagoon, Isle, Luna, Sun, Melon, Geranium, and Peach for the Flowers. The Center accent color is Iris, and the background color is Soft White to make everything POP!
I loved how bright these fabrics were and how well they played together. Mixing and matching them in the making process gave me so many new favorite color combinations! If you want to read more about how this quilt came to be, you can read about it here.
It was honestly hard to narrow down the colors from my Summer Garden cover quilt into just 4 colors to use for this Color Inspo challenge, because I just love them all so much. After some color auditioning, I decided to go with Turquoise, Luna, Geranium, and Marigold. I felt like those 4 colors embodied the feel of summer perfectly!
In this first color palette, I wanted to expand on the yellow and coral gradient to give the full color palette a more vibrant summer feel. I'm not going to lie - this color palette has been one of my favorite to create! It's giving a "strawberry lemonade" vibe that I am so here for!
The addition of Bubble Gum, Girl, and Lava, makes this color palette transform into a beautiful youthful palette that can be used in a variety of project types! I love the pops of Marigold sticking out in the Summer Garden quilt mockup below. The vibrant Lava and Lipstick throughout the Rivermill quilt mockup packs a punch!
In my second color palette, I wanted to tie in the feel of a summer beach by adding in some browns and tans. Whether you frequent the beach of a pond, lake, or ocean, I bet the earthy feel of the colors Bamboo, Toffee, and Tan in this color palette make you feel the warmth in your toes and the smell of sunscreen in the air!
While I love the mix of colors in the Summer Garden quilt mockup, I can't get over how great these colors look in the Hurrication quilt mockup! The deep tones of Lavendar and and Toffee balance out the bright colors like Cameo, Geranium, and Marigold nicely.
I my last color palette, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a summer sunset color palette. I envision this sunset happening over the water after a long day of fun in the sun. The darker colors of Teal and Lagoon represent the depths of the water and the colors Nite and Jam represent the darkness of the night sky.
In the Summer Garden quilt mockup below, I paired these colors with a classic white background fabric. I always love how colors pop against a white background. But the magic comes when you take a look at the Mountain Valley quilt mockup below! Using those deep tones as the background and star colors in this quilt give it a lovely dusk sky look.
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Being able to blend colors together to create such dynamic color palettes for my handmade quilts makes my creative soul so happy. I invite you to try out one of my June Color Inspiration color palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or use them as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I'd love to see! Share your quilts made with my color palettes on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photo. :)
Stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
Welcome to the first ever Color Inspiration blog! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
For this month's color inspiration, I wanted to start with colors pulled from the cover quilt of this month's Pattern of the Month - Spring Garden.
The cover quilt of Spring Garden featured a fabric selection of these beautiful blues and pinks from the Michael Miller Cotton Couture line. Honestly, I think about this quilt often and have to talk myself out of using them in all quilts forever.
Of course, I didn't want to use this full fabric pull as a jumping-off point, so I had to narrow it down. I picked these four colors called Spa, Lagoon, Celestial, and Orchid from the Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids fabric collection. I felt like this was a good place to start since it had a good mixture of light, medium, and darks colors. Gotta love color theory!
In the first color palette, I wanted to show you all how I originally built out this full palette for the Spring Garden cover quilt. All fabric colors included in this fabric pull are used in my original Spring Garden quilt sample. My design inspiration for this was very much the Spring season. I wanted to make it my own spin on Spring colors! I typically lean more towards blues and purples in my quilting life, so it only felt natural to do the same for this! I threw in some mints and pinks like Mist, Seafoam, Iris, and Pink to give this palette a well balanced feel. I just love how well these colors distribute out in the Hurrication quilt mockup!
In this second color palette, I went with more jewel tones in saturated purples and oranges. I saw the original four colors as part of a sunset and ran with it! You can see how the addition of Raspberry, Shell, Coral, and Orange really brings the sun aspect into the color palette and gives it a lot of warmth. You can see that especially in my Deltille quilt mockup!
In this final third color palette, I kept to the softer, pastel tones but leaned more into purple instead of the teals/blues of the original Spring Garden cover quilt palette seen in the first section. For the purples, I knew I had to include Twilight, Blackberry, Jam, and Jewel - they are just such good colors! I love how they play off of each other in the Chevron Points quilt mockup.
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Being able to blend colors together to create such dynamic color palettes for my handmade quilts makes my creative soul so happy. I invite you to try out one of my March Color Inspiration color palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or use them as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I'd love to see! Share your quilts made with my color palettes on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photo. :)
Stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
I had the pleasure of making a quilt for an Art Gallery Fabrics lookbook using my Hurrication quilt! The lookbook that this quilt was made for is the True Blue collection designed by Maureen Cracknell. Maureen is a designer from Pennsylvania who started out by sharing simple projects on her own blog. She has since worked with several fabric manufacturers designing fabrics. You can also find her sharing projects over on Janome's website too!
The True Blue fabric collection has a range of quilting cottons, rayons, canvas, and flannels in various shades of blues. This fabric collection was designed to 'evoke a balance of cheerfulness with tranquility and calm.' From light and bright to bold and saturated, this fabric collection is a true blue-lover's dream to work with!
I chose to make a Hurrication quilt with this fabric collection because it reminded me so much of the Hurrication cover quilt! (If you'd like to read about it, you can do so here.) Unlike the cover quilt, I went with the scrappy throw size version using 10 half yards. I have previously made a scrappy Hurrication quilt that focused on creating an ombre effect of the fabrics in the design. But with my True Blue quilt, I played around with mixing and matching my fabric combinations to make it look as scrappy as possible!
To finish this quilt off, I used an Art Gallery Fabrics-approved coordinating print from the Deco Stitch Elements line in the color Denim. I love the subtle texture this low volume print adds to the back of my quilt without competing for attention with the front. The binding on this quilt is a print from the same True Blue fabric collection. I loved the vintage feel of the floral print in the Wild Garden Breeze and couldn't resist adding a little bit more of it in my quilt.
I am so happy with how this quilt turned out! Since the pattern is inspired by our hurricane experience while living in coastal Georgia, having an all-blue quilt seems only fitting. I'm so happy I was able to create another one with Maureen's beautiful fabrics.
If you'd like to grab a copy of Hurrication, you can do so by using the buttons below. I truly appreciate your support and hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I do!
I love this scrappy Hurrication quilt so much!
The fabric I used for this quilt came from Kristin Quinn Creative. Kristin made a quilt with a similar bundle for Modernly Morgan, and I fell in love with it. I reached out to her and asked her if she could expand the bundle to 20 prints for me and this is what she came up with!
Choosing the layout of this scrappy quilt was a process of mixing and matching until the layout was just right. I wanted to make sure the colors within the quilt flowed nicely from one another. I actually have a blog about planning this ombre layout that you can read all about here!
I decided to use Floral Elements by AGF in Antique Rose for my backing fabric. I figured that since the front has so many colors and patterns going on, the backing should be calm and pretty neutral for the quilt. I think it pairs nicely with the scrappy Hurrication top!
I decide to quilt this scrappy ombre Hurrication quilt myself on my domestic sewing machine. I chose straight-line quilting approximately 1" apart. If you need a trusty, quick quilting design, you can't go wrong with straight-line quilting!
The scrappy binding is hands down my favorite part of this quilt! I think everyone should have at least one scrappy bound quilt under their quilting belt. It adds so much fun and flair to the quilt - especially if you choose to add it to a simple solids only quilt!
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Want a cute Hurrication sticker? You can get yourself one here! |
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Scroll for more pretty pictures of the Scrappy Ombre Hurrication Quilt!
Hurrication is finally out in the world and I couldn't be happier about it!
This one has been in my drafts for a couple years now, and I am excited to finally get it out into the world. It was inspired by my time living in coastal Georgia. We had only lived there for a couple of months when we had to evacuate for a hurricane. My sweet neighbor invited us to come stay at her family home a few hours away. It ended up being a really fun way to spend a few days, so we jokingly called it our “hurrication” for the rest of the time we were neighbors. And, luckily, the hurricane that was coming our way took a detour at the last minute, and there was minimal rain and wind damage to our area. *Phew*
For my cover quilt, I knew I had to use my go-to for solids: Cotton Couture by Michael Miller. The colors I used in this quilt are Cadet, Denim, Sea, and Delft with a background of Soft White. I love how soothing and calming these colors are together - despite the scary weather inspiration behind the quilt. It is a little like the feeling of relief once the weather has cleared!
The quilting for this Hurrication cover quilt is by Katie Hanson of Modern Textiles. She used the Mike's Swoosh pantograph which is basically the perfect design for this pattern - the swirly effect of the design looks like the pattern a hurricane makes on a weather radar! I'm not saying ALL Hurrication quilts should have this quilting design, buuuut it is a pretty great combo if I do say so myself!
You can get your own copy of the PDF or paper versions in the shop now! Make sure to tag me in your makes so I can admire your work and use the hashtags #rsqpatterns and #runningstitchquilts on your social posts!
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Want a cute Hurrication sticker? You can get yourself one here! |
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Keep scrolling on for more pretty picture of the Hurrication cover quilt! :)
Welcome back to the Hurrication QAL!
This week is all about the extra HST you can make from your snowball corner leftovers!
Let's get started. :)
I like saving all of my triangles for the end for a couple reasons. One, I don't always use the background fabric and pair up the prints instead. Two, they make a good leaders and enders while piecing other projects.
Reminder, these are on the bias so handle gently when sewing!
If you click on the Week 2 link above, there is section on sewing an extra line 1/2" away from the original. Cutting in between these two lines gives you the extra HST without having to sew them separately later! If bias edges are troubling for you, do it this way to avoid that issue.
Press your HSTs open or two the side (whichever your preference), and square to 2.5". They will finish at 2" when sewn together!
The Rainbow Sherbet Pouch by Great Heron Thread Co is my newest obsession. I made one to hold my hand embroidery projects, and I loved it so much I used my HSTs from my cover quilt and my QAL quilt to make two new pouches.
Don't tell the others, but the ombre effect from my QAL pouch is hands down one of my favorite things I've ever made. The ombre continues on to the back and it's just so fun!
For the blue pouch, I attempted some improv style patchwork. I randomly paired triangles together to make the HSTs and then randomly paired the HSTs when sewing them together. It was freeing to not worry about matching points!
I used this pattern by Something from Nothing to make a journal cover that fits over a composition book. When sewing these HSTs, I randomly paired the fabrics together omitting the background fabric altogether. I had less HSTs to work with, but this was a small project so it worked out just fine!
Each week I will be giving away a FQ bundle curated from my own stash! Here is this weeks bundle!
To enter in the giveaway:
– Share your progress on instagram using the hashtag #hurricationqal and #rsqpatterns. (Your Instagram account must be public or I won't be able to see it.)
– Because I want this to be a stress-free QAL, any picture of your progress counts! It doesn't have to necessarily “match” the prompt. If you don't have your fabrics yet, post the QAL graphic. If you have your fabrics, show them off so we can see what you're going to make! If you want to post more than once, go for it! All of it counts. :)
I will randomly pick one winner on Sunday night and announce it in next weeks email newsletter and in my IG stories!
Jill of J. Coterie is giving away free long arming services (up to $250) and will offer 20% off on any quilt you send in to her!
AND
Rachel of Saltwater Fabrics is giving away a $50 gift card to her shop!
We're almost done! If you haven't finished your blocks yet, next week is a good chance to do that before we finally assemble the tops!
Welcome back to the Hurrication QAL!
We are almost to the halfway point, how are you feeling!?
I don't have much to share this week, so I thought I'd share some of the posts from the Instagram hashtag. Everyone is making great progress, so hopefully you are feeling inspired and motivated to finish!
Let's get started. :)
These are just a handful of the quilts being shared on Instagram. Be sure to follow the hashtag or check it out here!
Each week I will be giving away a FQ bundle curated from my own stash! Here is this weeks bundle!
To enter in the giveaway:
– Share your progress on instagram using the hashtag #hurricationqal and #rsqpatterns. (Your Instagram account must be public or I won't be able to see it.)
– Because I want this to be a stress-free QAL, any picture of your progress counts! It doesn't have to necessarily “match” the prompt. If you don't have your fabrics yet, post the QAL graphic. If you have your fabrics, show them off so we can see what you're going to make! If you want to post more than once, go for it! All of it counts. :)
I will randomly pick one winner on Sunday night and announce it in next weeks email newsletter and in my IG stories!
Jill of J. Coterie is giving away free long arming services (up to $250) and will offer 20% off on any quilt you send in to her!
AND
Rachel of Saltwater Fabrics is giving away a $50 gift card to her shop!
Next week will be all about snowball corners! I'll share what I'm making with my leftover HSTs, give you some other ideas what you can make with yours, and have a handy tutorial for you. :)
Welcome back to the Hurrication QAL!
This weeks' post is a short one. I had a few questions throughout the week, so I wanted to address them here in case you also have a similar question.
Let's get started. :)
Starching Fabric
I was asked about how often I starch my fabrics, so here is my process in a little more detail. I ONLY starch once - before cutting my fabric
I do not starch again after my fabric cut or after I've started sewing the pieces together because starch can cause the fabric to shrink.
Starch washes out completely and you will still get that quilty crinkle after it has been washed. I've also used starch in wall hangings that have never been washed with no negative effects.
Trimming Blocks
If you are having trouble with squaring up the blocks - sewing with a scant 1/4" seam, and pressing seams OPEN will give you a little more wiggle room when trimming your blocks to size. This can be particularly important if you are working with a thicker fabric like wovens or flannel.
Each week I will be giving away a FQ bundle curated from my own stash! Here is this weeks bundle!
To enter in the giveaway:
– Share your progress on instagram using the hashtag #hurricationqal and #rsqpatterns. (Your Instagram account must be public or I won't be able to see it.)
– Because I want this to be a stress-free QAL, any picture of your progress counts! It doesn't have to necessarily “match” the prompt. If you don't have your fabrics yet, post the QAL graphic. If you have your fabrics, show them off so we can see what you're going to make! If you want to post more than once, go for it! All of it counts. :)
I will randomly pick one winner on Sunday night and announce it in next weeks email newsletter and in my IG stories!
Jill of J. Coterie is giving away free long arming services (up to $250) and will offer 20% off on any quilt you send in to her!
AND
Rachel of Saltwater Fabrics is giving away a $50 gift card to her shop!
If you have any questions or any issues making a block, please let me know so I can talk about it in next weeks newsletter! From here on out, we will we be making our blocks. :)
See you next Monday!
Welcome back to the Hurrication QAL!
We are starting our blocks this week and I can't wait to see them come together. If you are making the throw size quilt with me, we have 20 blocks to make and five weeks to do it. You can either make 4 blocks a week, OR make 5 blocks a week with a catch up week at the end. Either way you go, this should give you plenty of time to keep up!
If you are making a different size quilt, divide the total number of blocks needed by 5 to see how many blocks you need make each week.
Let's get started. :)
I highly recommend making a test block before diving into the rest. It can be a good way to make sure you know what you're doing and a good visual check as you make your blocks. It is also a way to test of your fabric placement and to make sure you like the flow of your block.
In order to get the best results when making these blocks, I recommend pressing creases into the E1 square so you can easily center the triangles on the square fabric.
Fold the fabric in half horizontally and use your fingers to press down on the crease. Open the square, rotate it 90 degrees and repeat the process. To be honest, I don't bother to do press a crease into the triangles, but you can also press the triangles in half to find the center point.
If you pressed a crease in the triangle, line up the two creases and pin in place. If you did not, line up the center point of the triangle with the creased line.
I repeat this process again before attaching the B triangles. Because of the way the block rotates, you will need new markers. However, I use the same marks for C and D triangles, but you can re-press if need a more obvious line.
Finger pressing works well for me, but you can also use your iron if you are wanting a deeper crease.
Chain piecing is my favorite quilting short cut.
If you are making the Modern Solids version, chain piecing is a piece of cake! Make a pile of triangles and a pile of background squares and dive in. Just be sure you are sewing the correct color in the correct orientation!
If you are making a Scrappy or Ombre version, chain piecing takes a bit more planning.
First, I make ALL 20 blocks with the A triangles. I make these one at a time so I don't accidentally mix up any of my sets. Once all 20 A triangle blocks are made, pressed, and trimmed, it's time to chain piece!
I find it easiest to work in batches of four or five (see how that worked out! ;). I will gather the remaining triangles in the colors needed next to my sewing machine. That way, I can quickly I grab the correct color and size triangle from the stack as I need them.
I also like to set up a small pressing station next to my sewing machine so I can easily press each set blocks before sewing the next step. After each round of triangles, I square them up and repeat the process until the four blocks are done. It makes the process so much faster!
In the pattern, I suggest pressing the A, B, and C triangles to the side and the E1 triangle and snowball corners open. Those last two seams will line up with the seams on other blocks so pressing them open helps to reduce bulk.
Certainly, all seams can be pressed open if you prefer to do so. Remember, when pressing open, trim the dog ears before attaching the next set of triangles.
Do not skip this step! I know it can be tempting to think it looks square enough and you really just want to move on to the next set of triangles. Don't do it! Each round of triangles makes a block that is slightly oversized and needs to be trimmed down to the appropriate size to work. Accuracy is important here since each round of triangles builds on the ones before.
When lining up my ruler, I do a quick visual check of an inner square with the ruler so I don't accidentally square the block a little wonky (see photo above). I also check to make sure I have 1/4" from the point on all sides. Double check everything again, and trim the right and top edges. Rotate the block 90 degrees and do it again!
TIP: Place washi tape on your ruler to easily see where you are supposed to trim. Place tape JUST outside of the marks. If you place the tape directly on the lines, it can be hard to see if you are covering up the fabric with the tape.
If you don't have a large square ruler (I'm using a 16.5" creative grids rulere here, I love this one and I use it every quilt I make): here are two resources that can help!
I have a blog post/video tutorial on using two rulers to square larger blocks, and Jen of PiperAutumnFabrics made a similar reel squaring her Hurrication blocks. Check them out below!
The last step in making the block is adding the snowball corners. You're in the homestretch now!
Mark your squares. I like to use hera markers or a frixon pen to draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the square. I sew my seam JUST to the right of that line.
TIP: fold the D square over and press it BEFORE trimming off the excess. It stays more square this way.
Also, save the extra triangles to make a bonus project. I'll be back later in the QAL with some ideas of what you can do with them.
TIP: Sew another line 1/2" from the first and then trim down the middle. This quickly gives you the extra HST without having to sew them later.
Each week I will be giving away a FQ bundle curated from my own stash! Here is this weeks bundle!
To enter in the giveaway:
– Share your progress on instagram using the hashtag #hurricationqal and #rsqpatterns. (Your Instagram account must be public or I won't be able to see it.)
– Because I want this to be a stress-free QAL, any picture of your progress counts! It doesn't have to necessarily “match” the prompt. If you don't have your fabrics yet, post the QAL graphic. If you have your fabrics, show them off so we can see what you're going to make! If you want to post more than once, go for it! All of it counts. :)
I will randomly pick one winner on Sunday night and announce it in next weeks email newsletter and in my IG stories!
Jill of J. Coterie is giving away free long arming services (up to $250) and will offer 20% off on any quilt you send in to her!
AND
Rachel of Saltwater Fabrics is giving away a $50 gift card to her shop!
If you have any questions or any issues making a block, please let me know so I can talk about it in next weeks newsletter! From here on out, we will we be making our blocks. :)
See you next Monday!
I'm so excited to make this quilt and share my tips with you along the way.
Here's how it's going to work: each Monday for the next 7 weeks, I'll share a blog post with the weekly focus and any tips, tricks, or tutorials for the week. Each blog post will be linked to the Hurrication QAL page (bookmark this page!). I will also send an email with a link to the blog post and the giveaway winner. Plus I will share it on my social media, so you don't miss anything!
If you are on Instagram, share your progress using the hashtag #hurricationQAL and #hurricationquilt so I can see and cheer you on! Be aware, your account must be public for me to see it.
First things first, if you don't have the pattern already, you can download the PDF here, the PRINTED version here, and download the free alternate version here.
Before we jump in, let me introduce myself really quick! My name in Julie and I am the pattern designer behind Running Stitch Quilts. I started quilting in 2014 when I bought a sewing machine on a whim and I haven't looked back since. My husband is in the military and we have lived all over, but we are currently in Michigan with our two daughters and two dogs. When I'm not quilting or wrangling kids, I'm probably running. So far, I've done one marathon and five half marathons with another coming up in October!
This week we will be focusing on choosing, prepping and cutting fabric, and getting organized.
You have a lot of options with this quilt. It can be made with yardage, half yards, or fat quarters. In addition to that, I made an alternate version that has slightly different fabric requirements. You can get more information on that here.
No matter which version of the quilt you make, the key is staying organized. To help you with that, I've linked the coloring page here. Print off as many as you need to plan your quilt!
If you are making the Modern Solids version, it can be helpful to make a swatch card to keep by your sewing machine for easy reference! Glue, tape, or stitch down your fabric in the desired placement. It is a great visual cue when sewing.
If you are making the scrappy or ombre versions, I talk more about how I keep those layouts organized below. For now, make sure you get your pieces mixed and matched or laid out in an ombre pattern.
Starching your fabric is not required if you want to skip this step. However, I like starching my fabrics because I think the stiffer fabric is easier to sew with and helps with accuracy. I like it for this pattern in particular because of the bias edges in the pattern. Bias edges are prone to stretching and distortion, so you'll need to handle them with care, but starched fabrics can help with that a bit. I have a blog post where I talk more about bias edges.
If you want to starch your fabric, do it this week, BEFORE you cut into it. Starch can cause a small bit of fabric shrinkage, so if you spray down fabric that has already been cut, you run the risk of trying to sew with pieces that are too small.
I shake out my fabric and then spray it down pretty good. I let it dry a bit, then iron out any wrinkles and creases. If I'm not cutting into it right away, I will drape it over the back of a chair to minimize putting creases back into it.
Cutting for this quilt is fairly straight forward. Please make sure you are following the correct chart and read through all of the instructions before starting!
TIP: Use a fresh rotary cutter blade (your hands and wrist will thank you!), and measure twice and cut once. ;)
If you are making the alternate version from the pattern extension: You will need to refer to the original pattern for B, C, and E1 cutting instructions. Please let me know if you have any questions!
For ALL versions: Don't forget to cut the appropriate pieces diagonally into triangles. Refer to your pattern or pattern extension for specifics.
When you are finished cutting, plan the scrappy or ombre layout.
TIP: If you are making a scrappy quilt, you need four different fabrics per block. When mixing and matching (or planning the ombre) only work with the small A triangles. This way you aren't handling the bigger triangles more than necessary.
This is how I planned the ombre layout for my quilt!
If you are wanting to make the ombre scrappy version, this blog post goes into more detail about how I planned that quilt. It also has a color key you can refer to that can get you started. Depending on your fabric, you will probably need to make some tweaks, but it is a good starting place!
Each week I will be giving away a FQ bundle curated from my own stash! Here is this weeks bundle!
To enter in the giveaway:
– Share your progress on instagram using the hashtag #hurricationqal and #rsqpatterns. (Your Instagram account must be public or I won't be able to see it.)
– Because I want this to be a stress-free QAL, any picture of your progress counts! It doesn't have to necessarily “match” the prompt. If you don't have your fabrics yet, post the QAL graphic. If you have your fabrics, show them off so we can see what you're going to make! If you want to post more than once, go for it! All of it counts. :)
I will randomly pick one winner on Sunday night and announce it in next weeks email newsletter and in my IG stories!
Jill of J. Coterie is giving away free long arming services (up to $250) and Rachel of Saltwater Fabrics is giving away a $50 gift card to her shop!
We are jumping right into block assembly next week. I'll be sharing my tips for chain piecing and trimming the blocks at each step.
If you have any questions, drop them in the comment box below!
See you next Monday!
For a newbie quilter (or even a seasoned one), the idea of bias edges can be scary. They stretch! They can distort! They can make your quilt top wavy! None of those things sound fun, especially when you are spending blood, sweat, and tears (and money) on making a quilt.
But don't worry, several of my patterns have bias edges so I'm going to share what works for me when I make those kinds of quilts.
First thing first. What is a bias edge?
Here is the simplest way I can explain it (if you want to get technical, here is a good blog post). Fabric has a lengthwise grain and a crosswise grain that goes perpendicular. This makes up the straight grain of the fabric. If you cut the fabric selvage to selvage, that is a straight grain cut. If you cut the fabric diagonally across the straight grain (like you would to make a triangle), that is the bias edge.
The bias edge has considerably more stretch than the straight grain. Which is great if you're making garments, bags, things with curves, etc. If you're making a quilt, it can be...fussy.
1. STARCH your fabric. My friend, starch is your best friend here. Whether you prewash your fabrics or not (I don't, for the record), starch them if you're going to be working with bias edges. Starch adds stiffness and structure to the fabric making it easier to work with.
My process: I lay down a shower curtain liner, place the fabric top and spray generously with starch. I use the the cheap stuff you can find in the grocery store, but there is quilting specific starch like Best Press that I have heard good things about.
Once the fabric has dried, iron with a hot iron over a pressing board (which gives me better results than an ironing board).
Sometimes, if I'm working with wovens (like Warp and Weft from Ruby Star Society) I'll repeat the process twice, but that is not usually necessary.
2. PRESS don't iron. This is an important one.
Whether you press your seams open or to the side, make sure you are pressing (setting the iron down on the seam and then lifting it up) instead of ironing (dragging the iron across the seams). The heat plus pressure from the iron can pull the fabric slightly out of shape.
3. Handle pieces GENTLY. The more we handle the bias cut pieces, the more distorted they can become, and it's not always obvious until trying to sew it to another piece.
If possible, I'll wait and cut the triangles (like for Deltille or Hurrication) until I've reached the step where I need to sew them. If I do cut everything at once (because I want to take a picture for Instagram), I'll leave them stacked on my cutting table until I'm ready to use them. I avoid playing with them and moving them around for pictures as much as I can.
When sewing, I am careful not to push or pull the fabric through the machine and just guide it while the feed dogs to the work. Honestly, this is true for any piecing, but a good reminder for working with bias edges.
4. PIN as needed. Full disclosure, I rarely use pins.
That being said, I will always use pins when sewing long seams with bias edges to keep things from shifting and pulling as the weight of the quilt increases. If you have the space, larger work surfaces to the left of your sewing machine and behind your sewing machine can help hold the weight of the quilt as it's going through the machine.
That's it! Bias edges really aren't as intimidating as they are made out to be. It just takes a little more care and a little practice, and you'll be just fine!
Do you ever have that lightening bolt moment where an idea pops into your head and you have to write it down/sketch it out/mock it up RIGHT. THAT. MINUTE.
I was vacuuming the living room when I thought "what would Hurrication look like if I flipped the background and the corner fabrics?" I didn't even finish vacuuming the room before I opened my computer and started mocking it up. To say I loved the result is an understatement.
At that point, I had already sent the original Hurrication pattern to the printer so it was too late to write this version into it. But I couldn't let it go. I had to make it.
Luckily for you, I wrote up this PDF so you can make it too (you will need the Hurrication pattern as this is only a supplement)!!
I hope you love it as much as I do. :)
Get a copy of the Hurrication Expansion PDF here!
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Want a cute Hurrication sticker? You can get yourself one here! |
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