How to Make a Quilt From Start to Finish [quilt as you go] EPISODE 1

[Music] so you want to make a quilt well stick around because in this three-part series i'm going to show you everything you need to know to make your own quilt from start to finish and by the end of the series we will have made this stunning quarter to go quilt [Music] hi welcome to my studio i'm monica poole i'm a fashion designer quilt designer and sewing tutor and i've been making cool deco cools for over 25 years for this series i've designed this fun beginner-friendly quilt that's based on a traditional string quilt design string quilts have been around since the 1800s they were mostly made from scrap fabrics all sewn together in strips or strings to form a stunning geometric pattern now i love string quilts and the reason why i decided to design a beginner friendly string quilt is because string quilts aren't about the seams and points lining up it's about the overall stunning geometric design that they create so we have our light and dark fabric that draw your eye in and take the focus of any other seam so if it's not lining up it doesn't matter so historically speaking string quilts new no bounds so it basically gives you permission to just have fun and enjoy making this quilt and enjoy the process but before we start sewing let's talk about the tools and the requirements list [Music] these are the basic tools that i recommend for the everyday person that wants to get started in quilting they're also the perfect tools for this project and you can pick up these tools from your local spotlight store or from the spotlight website spotlight is the one-stop destination for your quilting needs they have a fantastic range and great bargains quilting tools come in inches but don't let that scare you off just get a quilter's tape measure it has inches on one side and centimeters on the other side so you can always just double check what those measurements are you'll need an 18 inch by 24 inch cutting mat a 24 inch by six and a half inch ruler a 12 and a half inch square ruler this is really handy because most quilting blocks are 12 and a half inches square rotary cutters come in small medium and large and if you're starting out i recommend that you start with the medium which has a 45 millimeter blade you should also pick up a pack of spare blades while you're there also rotary cutters are really sharp so make sure that you get into the habit after every time you cut you close the blade and if you're sewing with the kids just let the adults do the rotary cutting these size tools are a great place to start because quilting fabric comes folded meaning that you will easily be able to cut across the width of the fabric this leads me onto my next topic fabrics [Music] when it comes to choosing fabrics start with the colors that you love you know what you like for this project i chose a beautiful jocelyn prowse print and then i just chose some coordinating colors that i thought went really well with it for my quilts i always choose lights medium and dark fabrics this gives my quilt depth and it also gives a balance for the top of the quilt you will need five fabrics so i've got my white which is my light navy is my dark and orange yellow and pink are my medium tones you can choose whatever colors you like for this project and if you need a little bit of color confidence pick up a color and tone guide it's really easy to use and it's got instructions on the back so batting batting comes in a lot of different varieties and i like to use a nice flat cotton batting because it's easy to sew through use a thin batting for your first quilt because it will help you to get used to sewing through three layers before you start any project pre-wash and iron your fabrics because this will remove any shrinkage and excess dyes and when it comes to batting check the manufacturer's instructions as some recommend pre-soaking and drying your batting before you use it so now you have all your supplies it's time to start cutting out so head to the spotlight website to download your project sheet and that's where you'll find the full requirements list [Music] it's easy to tell the right side of a printed fabric obviously it's the brighter side but it can be tricky to find the right side of a solid cotton fabric the trick is to run your fingers along the selvage the side with the raised pinholes is the wrong side and the side that is smooth is the right side the right side of the fabric also has a smoother feel if you can't work out the right and wrong side of the fabric and both sides of the fabric look the same just pick a side and go with it press your fabric and fold it with the right side facing out with the opposite selvage edges together make sure that the fabric is smooth and flat take the folded edge and fold it over to meet the selvage smooth out the fabric making sure that it is nice and flat you will now have four layers of fabric to get a straight edge align the folded edge that is closest to you on a horizontal line of the cutting mat extending the raw edge past a vertical line slightly now this demonstration is for a right-handed person so if you're left-handed just put it in reverse connect a vertical line of the mat at the top and bottom of the fabric with the ruler to double check that everything is straight align a horizontal line of the ruler with the folded edge that is closest to you hold the ruler firmly in place with one hand and with the rotary cutter in the other hand cut across the fabric applying pressure to the rotary cutter and running the blade along the edge of the ruler the thickness of the ruler keeps the blade straight and your fingers safe now that you have a straight edge you can cut strips any size that you like now there's two ways to do this and it's just a matter of working out which way you prefer the first way is to measure using lines on the cutting mat if you want a two inch strip count two spaces connect the lines at the top and bottom of the fabric and cut the same thing applies for any size strips by just counting the spacers and cutting you can also use the numbered measurements at the top and bottom of the cutting map the second way is to use the measurements on the ruler to do this transfer the straight edge of the fabric to the opposite side you can do this easily by just spinning the board now use the measurements on the ruler to cut your strips say you want a two and a half inch strip position the two and a half inch line of the ruler on the edge of the fabric and cut always check your first strip to make sure that it's straight before you continue cutting more now you have your strips you can cut them to any size you like to do this place your strips on a horizontal line on the cutting mat use a vertical line to trim the selvage then use either the lines on the cutting mat or your ruler to cut to the size you require here i'm going to cut some four inch pieces [Music] and then i'm going to cut some two inch pieces [Music] now you know how to cut out follow the cutting instructions in the pattern to cut out all the fabrics for your quilt top so cutting out can take a while so grab a cuppa and put on your favorite tunes and enjoy the process [Music] time to cut the backing squares the backing squares are nine and a half inches and this is how you cut a square fold your backing fabric in the same way and place on your cutting mat straighten one edge and measure nine and a half inches from the straight edge in two places then connect the marks with your ruler and cut spin the nine and a half inch strip so that it is laying horizontal on your cutting mat remove the selvage by straightening the edge measure nine and a half inches again from the straight edge cut and repeat this step this will give you four backing squares from one nine and a half inch strip [Music] continue the process until you have the required amount of backing squares to cut the batting unfold it and look for the straight edges re-fold the batting aligning the straight edges on both opposite sides smooth it out so that it is laying nice and flat fold it up again keeping the side edges straight and aligned position the folded edge that is closest to you on a horizontal line on your cutting mat as this is a low loft batting it's possible to cut through four layers at once with your rotary cutter but if you prefer you can mark lines with a pencil and cut with your scissors so to start cutting the squares trim the straight edge if necessary then measure across eight and a half inches and mark in two places then connect the lines with your ruler and cut [Music] open out the strip and place it on a horizontal line on your cutting mat and cut the strip into eight and a half inch squares in the same way as you did for the backing fabric continue cutting the squares until you have the required amount [Music] sometimes batting can leave fluff on your cutting mat so just grab an eraser and rub in a circular motion to remove it [Music] [Music] to make one block first of all you'll need a backing square place that on your work surface with the wrong side facing up and then position a square of batting on top so that it's centered and you have a half inch gap all the way around the edge when it comes to batting the fluffy side is the right side and the rough side is the wrong side if you like you can hold the layers together with a little bit of basting spray but i find the cotton batting tends to grip onto your backing fabric you'll need to mark one line that is a quarter of an inch away from opposite diagonal corners [Music] to mark my line i've just used a 4b lid pencil this is a nice soft lead and it marks the batting nicely and you don't have to press too hard at all you'll also need a white strip one long navy strip orange strip a long yellow and a short pink and a smaller navy a long pink and a short yellow this is the top of the block and this is the bottom of the block to get ready to sew take one white strip and place it below the marked line so that the opposite diagonal corners are covered by the strip and one edge of the strip is level with the marked line take your longer navy strip and place it right sides together with the white strip also positioning it below the marked line making sure that it's covering your opposite corners take a few pins and pin it in place pinning through all layers so i like to set my fabrics up in order so i'm all organized and ready to sew so at the machine i have threaded up with a neutral colored thread something that's also going to look good on the back of the fabric i have a size 80 quilting needle and you'll need a quarter inch seam so you can either use a quarter inch board or i'm just using my standard foot with my needle position moved over to the right so that i have a distance of a quarter an inch from the edge of the foot to the needle and you'll also need a straight stitch with a length of three stitch the navy and white strips together with a quarter inch seam allowance sewing through all layers start and finish sewing level with the edge of the backing fabric also there is no need to back tack or reverse at the beginning and end of each row of stitching at this stage pull your workout from the machine and flip the navy strip over to the right side smooth out the seam with your fingers check that your stitching and tension is nice on the back of the fabric and adjust if necessary take a smaller navy strip spin your block and place the navy strip onto the opposite side of the white strip with right sides together center the strip making sure you have an even amount extending past each edge of the backing square and stitch in the same way flip over to the right side and head to the iron to press and be careful to not let the iron touch the batting take an orange strip and place it right sides together with the longer navy strip center it in the same way that you did for the previous navy strip and stitch [Music] flip to the right side and smooth out spin the block and take a long pink strip and repeat the process flip your pink strip and head to the iron and press making sure you don't press the batting and be careful not to press any creases into the seam take a long yellow strip placing it right sides together with the orange strip stitch and flip spin the block and place a short yellow strip and stitch and flip you can see our block is really starting to come together head to the iron giving it a press and sew on the final small pink strip in the same way [Music] [Music] [Music] this is what it looks like on the back it just looks like nice quilting lines [Music] take your square ruler and place it onto the backing square position the number one in the top right hand corner now just reverse this if you are left-handed you can see that your block would have shrunk slightly that's okay we are going to trim it back to nine and a quarter inches so locate that on the ruler align the 45 degree line on the center diagonal line judge an even distance around the edge of the nine and a quarter inch square and trim one side edge trim across the top and spin your block so that you have your straight edge on the left side and on the bottom edge position the nine and a quarter inch line on the straight edge and across the bottom edge and trim in the same way [Music] and here is our complete block [Music] so that is how you make a block repeat this process and make 36 in total i like to work on three blocks at a time to help speed up the process but you can do whatever works for you just have fun with it [Music] [Music] as you complete your blocks lay them out on the floor on a table or on a design wall to form the diamond pattern rotate the blocks so that you have some large diamonds and some small diamonds so i've almost finished making all of my blocks i absolutely love how this quilt is coming together it's amazing how the one block design rotated in different directions can create this stunning pattern repeat so join me in the next episode where i show you how to join the blocks together with my easy quilter to go technique my quarter to go technique is called the easy cover strip method i normally put the cover strips on the front but this time i'm going to put them on the back because i don't want any interruption between the blocks so that we're going to have a traditional string quilt with a modern edge so we'll see you there thanks for watching bye [Music] you

Channel: Spotlight Stores

Views: 3,690

Rating: 4.8904109 out of 5

Keywords: sewing, how to make a quilt, quilt as you go

Id: BlrzISB_-xw

Length: 19min 12sec (1152 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 16 2021