Let's Face it - Binding a quilt isn't always the best option.

TUTORIAL 

How to put a facing with a built in sleeve case on an art quilt or embroidery

Sometimes when you make a quilt, especially a small one, adding a binding, even a narrow one, just isn’t the right thing to do. This is especially true if, like me, you make ‘art’ quilts or small embroideries which are intended to hang on a wall or be framed. So this is the  illustrated tutorial of how I do it.

First of all, you make the patchwork or whole cloth top; quilt through wadding to a backing fabric as you wish then trim the edges to square it up. Press or starch as required.

For the facing, I try to use a fabric that has some ‘body’. My samples were made with Klona cotton from Cally Co in Cambridge.  Backstitch at Burwash Manor Farm also stocks it. I used the same colour as the quilt back but this isn’t compulsory. 

This method is not that hard to do but writing down instructions makes it look more complicated than it is.  I hope the photos help. 

My art quilt was 20” square. You need to decide which way up it will viewed and we start working on the two ‘sides’. That is the right and left.

I want the facing to finish 4” wide.  If your piece is small, make the facing narrower. Scale it as you feel best, no one will be checking.

Step 1: Cut two pieces of facing fabric 5” wide and 24” long (remember by sample is 20”).  On one of the long edges press over ½” or less and give it a good press. You may need steam. Top stitch this folded pressed edge. I always top stitch with a slightly longer stitch length than normal because garments are always top stitched like this. Remember to move the needle position far left otherwise you will be sewing into nothing. 

Top stitch #10 foot on the Bernina, needle moved to far left

A  #5 foot will be OK or even use a zipper foot. What ever you need to get close to the edge. 

Step 2: Pin the facing to your quilt. Press if desired. Tack if desired. Make sure the top edges line up. The photo shows the facing the wrong side up. and you can clearly see the turned back/topstitched  edge at the bottom. 

 

Step 3: Using a patchwork foot or even a walking foot, stitch the facing to your quilt. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 4: Press as you go, turning over the facing and quilt and top stitch the facing.  All right sides up. Again, use a  #10 foot with the needle position far left.

Step 5:  Turn everything over and this time encourage the quilt to turn over slightly to the back. This is the tricky bit and you will need to press this very carefully. I use steam to make it stay down. The close up photo now shows me pressing the reverse of the quilt. You can just make out the top stitched edge by the tip of the iron.

Step 6: Now turn everything with the right side or quilt side on top. You can see the excess facing which can be trimmed off.  On the wrong side, hand stitch the long side facing to the back of the quilt.

Cut off this excess facing





Repeat all steps for the other side. 

Step 7: Now for the bottom edge of your quilt.  Cut another facing strip, 5” wide and 20” long. Press and top stitch as before. Attach to the bottom edge of the quilt, press and top stitch just as before. You may wish to machine on a label now. 

The only difference here is that instead of trimming off the excess facing (as in step 6) you tuck it in carefully before hand stitching the facing down.  This needs to be done neatly as there is a lot of bulk at this point.  

Snip a little of the wadding away if needed.  The gap between the edge of the bottom facing, where it meets the side facing, will need to be closed with some slip stitches. It will be obvious when you get there. 

This photo shows the reverse of the quilt to the left hand side where the facing has been tucked in ready to be hand stitched in place. 

Step 8:  Basically you do it all over again for the top edge of the quilt. BUT, make the facing longer and deeper. Mine was 6” wide and 28” long. Repeat all the steps. However, as the excess facing is tucked in, let it remain quite wide within the facing/sleeve so that it doesn’t get in the way of a hanging rod. 

This time, you do not stitch up the gaps between the facing and the quilt otherwise you would not be able to insert a hanging rod, etc. Again, it’s quite obvious when you get there. This close up photo shows the top facing with the space created to fit a hanging bar.  

  

  

This photo shows the label which I machined in place at step 7. You could leave this to the end and hand stitch a label in place. Being lazy, I machined it down. 

Next is one of the blocks I made for my series of samples.

Here is another of the blocks I made. Using a 'wonky' log cabin technique; I did draw the designs first and used a foundation piecing method to ensure the blocks were exactly as they were on paper. 

Finally, here are all the four panels on display during my July Open Studio. Not a great photograph but they did look good together in my marquee.  

Commission with Kaffe Fassett Fabric Part One

When I first started quilting I decided to make a bedspread for my own bed. I knew very little about patchwork and quilting at the time but rather liked the look of Kaffe Fassett's fabric. 

Back then, 'Jelly Roll' packs were quite new to the market - these are strips of fabric cut 2.5" wide across the width of the fabric. In a pack you get about 40 strips of reasonably coordinated fabrics.  So, I set about stitching two strips together, then putting two sets of two strips together. 

After much work, you get a nice pile of 'flat tubes' which you then set about cutting them up with a triangular  ruler, As you open up all the cuts you get sets of squares with all four fabrics. After doing this rather a lot of times you get to stitch them all together to make your quilt. As I had a job at the time, I think the process took me almost three years, on and off. Here's the end result:

I put all the individual squares together as the feeling took me, I did not attempt to put the units together in 'fabric groups' simply going for a light/dark contrast. 

I added a pink border and took it to be long arm quilted at The Bramble Patch

Here's a close up: 

Coming now to last summer, I was asked to make another one!  I can't mention the name of the client or the future recipient right now but I bought the fabric at Festival of Quilts at NEC last August.  By the autumn I thought I better make a start.  So from this pile of strips I made almost 300 small blocks. What with the pressing, stitching and cutting, this took me 11 hours. I used five jelly rolls in total. 

A heap of fabric strips

One unit out of almost 300

. This week I set about putting all the units together to make this pile of 72 10" squares.  Nine hours work. 

This time I decided to keep the blocks together by putting together units made from the same fabric.  I now have enough blocks to make a double bedspread 8-10" blocks x 9-10" blocks. 

I think a border won't be needed this time but I have made the binding for when  it's all quilted. The binding is 2.5" wide and made out of the same 'marble' print in several colour ways. 

Looking ahead, I'm preparing a tutorial for the May meeting of Cambridge Quilters. More of this another day.

Animal Quilt

Wandering around the Duxford Quilt Show recently I was drawn to a panel of animal prints. I thought my grandson might like this especially as the colour orange was much in evidence. Despite my promise to myself not to buy any more fabric-well I couldn't resist could I?

Big bits

Smaller bits

Sebastian trying out the finished quilt/wall hanging. Note how his jumper coordinates so well with the quilt. He's demonstrating how to be a baby!

I decided to go for a quite simple method of quilting so I did some free motion quilting in a sort of 'scribbling or loopy effect'. I quite deliberately stitched over the lines to achieve a more casual look.  I made a narrow binding, stitched on using the usual method with mitred corners. I quite enjoy hand stitching the binding on.

The finished quilt, approximately one metre square