Category Archives: Quilting

Completing Binding Corner Folds Greater Than 90 degrees

Recently a member of my quilt guild asked about binding corners greater than 90 degrees. Although the technique for doing so is the same as other angles and is covered in my book Fast Fabulous Quilt Bindings, I did not show any specific drawings or photos for these oblique angles, so I worked through a sample and am going to show the steps here. This type of angle is fairly common, especially on tablerunners, so many quilters have encountered it.

Here is the mocked up quilt sandwich angle we are working on. I didn’t bother to actually make up a quilt, just used a couple of scraps with batting in between. If you are trying this for the first time, you can quickly make a practice piece like this to gain confidence in the technique.

135 degree quilt corner

I also cut a 2 inch wide strip for the binding and pressed it in half lengthways. I started stitching it on and then stopped to figure out the best way to mark the corner without special drafting tools.

The simple way to do this is to make a diamond-shaped template. In this instance, making it out of paper rather than template plastic is best because you need to fold it in half to get the marking angle. Use your wide ruler to make the diamond shape. My example here is a 135 degree angle, but the method will work for any other oblique angle. Hopefully you will only use 120, 135, or 150 degree angles, because these can all be created using the 30, 45, and 60 degree lines on your wide ruler.

Diamond shaped marking template

Once you have the diamond shape, fold it in half the long way. This gives you a template to mark the center of the oblique angle. Line up the fold line with the bend in the quilt at the corner.

Fold the template in half to mark corner

Mark the center line as shown in the photo below, where the template has been moved away from the corner to show the line.

Continue attaching the binding until you reach the marked line. Backstitch a couple of stitches. Remove the quilt sandwich and binding from your sewing machine.

Flip over the loose binding and line it up with the next side of your quilt, as shown in the photo below. Pin the fold in place.

Flipping over the binding at the corner

Then fold the binding over. The fold should be at the corner as shown.

Fold over the binding, keeping the fold at the quilt corner

Stitch the second edge down and continue to attach the binding around your quilt.

Stitch the second edge, backstitching to the corner and then going forward

After you have stitched down the whole binding and joined the ends, sew the binding fold down by hand with a blind hem stitch in the usual manner. The corners are mitered in the usual way. Details about how to hand sew the corners are shown in my book so I will not repeat them here.

Completed 135 degree corner

Paper for Foundation Piecing

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Just a quick post to tell you about a “new” discovery. Most of you know how hard it is to use regular (20, 22, or 24 lb) copy paper for foundation piecing patterns. The paper just won’t tear away cleanly after stitching and you end up using tweezers to get all the little paper bits off your quilt block.

I have been using 16 lb newsprint for the foundation piecing patterns in my Mariner’s Alphabet Pattern. It is fairly hard to come by in 8 1/2 by 11 sheets; the only place I have found was through an online order at Office Depot. The newsprint is great at tearing off after stitching, but I have some trouble with it not feeding through my printer properly. About 5 % of the time multiple pages will feed through at once. So when I print out a bunch of patterns to sell through the local shops, I have to watch the printer very carefully and double check every pattern to ensure the set of patterns is complete.

Ginny Hillsberg at Uptown Fabrics in Port Townsend is using 16 lb copy paper for this purpose. Last time I was in her shop, she handed me a stack of it and suggested I try it out. It feeds through my printer nicely (so far) and the patterns print well. I tested stitching through it and tearing off the paper; that worked well also. It is slightly harder to tear than the newsprint, but tore cleanly with a stitch length of about 1.5 mm. I like to use a fairly short stitch length on foundation piecing because the seams are less likely to start coming undone at the ends, so I haven’t tested the paper with a regular stitch length.

Once I use up the reams of newsprint I bought last year, I will definitely be switching over to the 16 lb copy paper. If you can’t find it locally, here is a link to Amazon where it can be purchased: X-9 Copy Paper, 92 Bright, 500 Sheets/Ream, 8 1/2″ x 11″, 16 lb.. It is also available online at OfficeMax, if you happen to shop there. Not sure if they stock it in their stores or not.

Make a circle marking tool from template plastic

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I frequently need to mark circles, either on freezer paper, fusible web, or directly on fabric. I have a couple of circle marking drafting tools that usually meet my needs. Recently I had the students in my beginning machine quilting class marking concentric circles as a quilting pattern. I only had one large circle template with me and it was a little confusing to use (hard to see what circles on it were the right ones). A compass could be used but I always have trouble getting them adjusted to the right radius – and by the time I have gotten around the whole circle, the compass has slipped and my circle ends don’t match up. I have been thinking about how to solve this problem when the solution suddenly came to me today. Fortunately I had everything to make this at home, so in ten minutes I had a great circle marking tool!

The supplies needed are: template plastic (I used gridded, but plain will also work), a 1/16th inch hole punch, a thumbtack, an old pencil eraser, and a marking pen with a fine point like a Frixion (for temporary marks) or an ultrafine Sharpie (for permanent marks). You will also need to cut your template plastic with your rotary cutter or scissors, and a short piece of tape.

The hole punch I used is one I purchased at my local craft store. It is made by Fiskars and is shown in the photo below. I bought this after it was recommended for use with templates by Sally Collins (well known for her incredible precision piecing and miniature quilts). Sally punches holes at the seam allowance intersections of her templates so she can mark where to start and stop stitching. In case you can’t find the hole punch locally, here is a link to buy it on Amazon: Fiskars 12-23508897 Hand Punch, 1/16-Inch, Circle

Fiskars 1/16 inch hole punch

The size of your template is up to you; I cut a piece of template plastic about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long. Then I used the hole punch to make holes every inch. I used a Sharpie to draw a circle around each hole so I could see them easier, and also to mark the dimensions. At the top of the photo you can see the eraser I will be using later. The eraser came out of a supply of eraser refills I have for a mechanical pencil, but you can probably find something else to do the job if you don’t have one.

Circle marking template and eraser

Then I put a small thumbtack through my fabric at the center of my circles, from the back. After mounting the thumbtack, I taped it in place as shown in the second photo.

Thumbtack through center point on back of fabric

Tape over the thumbtack on the back

And here is the centered thumbtack from the front:

Thumbtack through center from the front

And the marking template mounted on top of the thumbtack, with the eraser put on top to hold the template down.

Circle marking template mounted on thumbtack and held in place with eraser

Then insert the pen point through one of the other holes for the size circle you want, and carefully draw the circle. Make sure the fabric stays flat. If you were concerned about the fabric moving, you can use a gripping mat such as a Good Grip or iron the fabric to freezer paper or Totally Stable on the back side before you start. Probably you don’t need any of that if you just mark carefully and slowly.

Here is what it looks like in use:

Marking template in use with Frixion pen

I am pleased with this simple tool. Template plastic is great stuff! You can find it at your local quilt shop or craft store, or buy it online. Here is a link to the kind I use at Amazon, in case you need more details about template plastic: EZ Quilting 882670027 Quilter’s Template Plastic Assortment, 6-Piece

Frixion pens – removing white marks

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Many quilters are now using Frixion™ pens, made by Pilot, for marking quilts. These pens make a nice thin dark line that is very visible. The pens are fairly long-lasting. The ink is heat sensitive and disappears on light fabrics after heated with an iron. As the manufacturer warns you, the marks will come back in very cold temperatures and then must be removed again through ironing or rubbing. Most likely you can find these pens at your local quilt shop, or at office supply stores.

Unfortunately there are a couple of disadvantages. The first is that the pens only come in dark colors, so they are not suitable for marking very dark fabrics. The second is that, when used on a medium to dark fabric, heat will remove the dark line but leaves a white line instead. As long as you will be stitching on top of the mark, the white line is not very visible. Of course I started using the pens for marking a quilt top and made a mistake, putting a mark someplace I did not want to quilt.

So, how to remove the mark? I visited the Pilot pen website and found some information about the Frixion™ ink and how it works. The website advised using hair spray to remove ink marks. I tried that but it was not successful. So I called the customer service number and was told to use an ink remover called Amodex™, which I purchased through Amazon since it was not available in my local stores. If you want to purchase it, here is a link to Amazon where I purchased a 4 ounce bottle: Ink and Stain Remover, 4 oz., White . It comes in other sizes too. The actual seller is not Amazon, but one of their third party vendors.

This ink remover works well. Some gentle rubbing with a brush is necessary to get the marks out, so don’t expect instant results. Amodex is claimed to remove even permanent black ink such as a Sharpie™ pen, but I haven’t experimented with that. Below are my photos showing my test. I found that the marks were removed both before and after ironing, but it was easier to get them out after ironing so that is what I will do in the future.

I drew several lines on two squares of medium green fabric, as shown below.

Lines marked with Frixion pen

Then I ironed half of the lines on one of the squares. White marks show on the left and the unironed marks are on the right.

marks on left side ironed away leaving white lines

I put the Amodex™ (which is fairly thick, like hand lotion) along the lines and rubbed briskly with a stiff stencil brush. The photos below show the result while the fabric was wet on the unironed square.

Amodex rubbed in over the left (unironed) marked line

I then washed the squares with a little dishwashing detergent in water, rinsed and dried them. As you can see, the marks are gone.

unironed mark on left removed by Amodex, washed and dried

And the removal of the ironed marks was even easier. Two of the lines have been removed with Amodex, two have been left as white lines, and the others are the original unironed lines.

two lines of left removed with Amodex; two lines in center ironed but not removed; original line on right

This is more work then I would normally want to do to remove marks, but it is nice to have a way to get rid of them if necessary. If you are going to use this product, be sure to test it on a scrap of your own fabric first before depending upon it to remove the marks in a completed quilt. Just because it worked in this test for me doesn’t mean it will work every time!

I am also experimenting with another marking tool for application to dark fabrics that is a form of chalk. More about those results in another post!

Barb Schultz and Enchanted Valley Arts

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Those of you who are local are familiar with Barb Schultz and her great patterns, offered both online at www.enchantedvalleyarts.com and through local quilt shops. Just recently her patterns are now available through Nancy’s Notions! How cool is that! Barb also teaches art and quilting classes locally and is our resident expert on Tsukineko inks.

Yesterday Barb took my free motion quilting class. Not sure how much instruction she really needed, but she seemed to enjoy it and we had some great conversations. After my class she gave me an impromptu mini-lesson about application of Tsukineko inks (I was having trouble getting a uniform color application; now I know what to do to fix the problem!).

Anyway, this reminded me of the class I took from Barb years ago, which involved use of Tsukineko inks and also fabric discharging. Here is a photo of the quilt I completed in that class:

Leaf shadow quilt

In a future post I will be showing how to make those angled corners on the binding, because someone at my guild asked me about that recently. It is covered in my binding book (the techniques work for any angle) but since this kind of corner is fairly common on tablerunners, I will put up a post with step by step photos for this specific corner. Stay tuned!

And here is a closeup of the shadow and quilting detail in the leaf quilt:

Leaf shadow quilt detail

The detail photo shows the shadows behind the leaves ( a bleach discharge technique; see Colleen Wise’s book Casting Shadows for details) and also shows the very subtle veining in the batik leaves that was accomplished with Tsukineko inks, courtesy of Barb’s great lessons in her class. I am also very fond of the free motion quilting in this one. The gold rayon thread worked very nicely with the rusty orange discharged fabric (which started out as solid black before discharging; the black shadows under the leaves are the original fabric color). And I am very fond of leaf quilting patterns, which can be done with no marking and almost always turn out great.

I don’t know if Barb is teaching this particular class any more, but it was one of my favorites. Tsukineko inks are great for many things, adding both bold and subtle detail to a quilt. Once ironed, the color is permanent.

Here are a couple of links if you want to get Colleen Wise’s book or need an online source for Tsukineko inks:

Colleen Wise’s book: Casting Shadows: Creating Visual Dimension in Your Quilts

Tsukineko ink sets: Tsukineko All-Purpose Ink Workstation Set This set is fairly expensive ($100+) but does give you lots of colors and everything you need to get started, including an instructional DVD. You can probably buy the ink and applicators through your local quilt shop to try them out without such a big commitment. The inks are also sold as Fabrico markers, if you want the color in something more like a felt tip pen. The markers would be great to add an accent color to a fabric — say you had a black and white print and wanted to add just a touch of color – a pop of red or yellow on a flower petal or inside a circle. Lots of creative options to think about.

Quilting with a Walking Foot class samples

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I recently finished a couple more class samples for display in the shops where I teach classes. These show students what they will learn in my beginning quilting class. This is the class most suitable for quilters who have either never sandwiched and quilted a quilt, or have done a few and not been satisfied with the results.

The first quilt is on a dark rusty brown fabric, mostly quilted with a copper colored rayon thread:

Beginning Machine quilting class sample

The other sample was done on an ombre fabric and I really like the result. Thanks to Susan Travis from Creative Union for suggesting this fabric from her sale rack!

Green Beginning Machine quilting class sample

Quilting with Decorative Stitches from your sewing machine

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Quilting with decorative stitches is a great way to add an accent to your quilt, especially along a border or in place of “stitching in the ditch” on a casual quilt. Some decorative stitches can be used with your walking foot, but only if the stitching always moves forward. Some decorative stitches can only be made when the feed dogs force the fabric to move backwards or even sideways. These stitches cannot be done with the walking foot in place, since the walking foot moves the fabric in the usual front-to-back direction only.

For these decorative stitches, another presser foot must be used. The best foot to select is an open-toed satin stitch or embroidery foot, such as the one shown below. The photograph shows a Bernina foot for my machine that has a 9 mm stitch width; if your machine has a narrower stitch width, your foot will also be narrower. The embroidery foot can be distinguished from other feet by the groove on the bottom, shown in the right hand photo. The groove allows a dense stitch that stands above the fabric to move under the foot smoothly.

Open toe embroidery foot

bottom view, embroidery foot

Without the walking foot, the quilt top fabric will tend to be pushed forward relative to the batting and backing. Eventually when you reach a previously stitched line this will result in a pucker or fold. Avoiding puckers requires more careful pinning along the stitching line. This can be done by pinning the stitching area for six inches or so ahead of the stitching, as shown in the photo below. I use large pins for this purpose so they are easy to pull out right before the needle reaches them. As they are removed, they can be placed further along the stitching line.

Temporary pins ahead of stitching with the embroidery foot

And below is an example of some decorative stitches I like for quilting. None of these stitches is very dense, so they are relatively fast to stitch and look good on the back of the quilt as well as the front. I particularly like the serpentine stitch (basically a wavy line), a simple feather stitch, and a simple leaf stitch. You may need to adjust the stitch width and length before they make an attractive quilting stitch. Be careful to check your tension on a scrap piece before stitching; sometimes the default tension on a decorative stitch is set loose so the top thread will go to the back and no bobbin thread will show on the top. Since we will be seeing the quilting stitches on the back as well, we need to balance the tension, especially if the top and bobbin threads are different colors.

Some decorative stitches suitable for machine quilting

If I don’t want to take the time to bury knots at the start and stop, I ensure an attractive start and stop by first stitching 5 or 6 tiny straight stitches. Then I change to the desired decorative stitch and continue until I am within about a millimeter of the end. I then change back to a straight stitch and make a few tiny stitches. The closeup photo below shows this area; the straight stitching is not noticeable and provides the necessary locking of the thread so it won’t unravel.

Begin and end the decorative stitch with 5 or 6 tiny staight stitches to lock the thread

Try some decorative stitches on your next quilt. Several of them are great substitutes for stitching in the ditch, if you have trouble keeping your stitches in the ditch!

Joining the ends of double fold bindings

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As I was doing research for my binding book, I found many methods for joining the ends of the binding together. Some of them require a special tool and others require calculations involving the width of the binding strip, making 45 degree cuts on the end of the binding, etc. When I discovered the method I include in my book, I couldn’t believe how simple it was compared to all the other methods.

As I teach this method in class I have learned that I needed a little more explanation than I included in the book. Someday I will update the book, but I have written a little tutorial with lots of extra photos for my students. I am posting it here now so it will always be available.

Here is what a perfect end binding end join should look like. The end join is on the right side, about in the middle. Can you see the diagonal seam?

A perfect end join is nearly invisible

Often the other methods taught either leave an unattractive lump or straight seam. My method does not require special tools or measurements. It works for all double fold (also known as French fold, or “flip and fold” bindings), regardless of width or seam allowance. Details of this technique and a thorough explanation of all aspects of binding or edge finishing a quilt without bindings are found in my book, “Fast Fabulous Quilt Bindings” available for sale on Amazon. Go to the “Books” page of this blog for a direct link to the book.

Don’t be intimidated by the length of this tutorial. Once you learn the method, the whole process will take about five minutes. It takes way longer to explain it here than it does to do it. If you were sitting here with me, I could explain it quickly! But for this post I have to include way more pictures than you probably need, just so it is clear to everyone.

The tutorial does assume you know how to apply a “flip and fold” binding. If you don’t, get a quilting friend to help you or, of course, you can purchase my book where it is all explained in detail.

A few notes to help you:

– I have used one fabric (cream) for the beginning tail and a different fabric (soft green) for the ending tail, to make the photos easier to understand.

– I have oriented the quilt and binding tails in all the drawings and photos so that the quilt edge is vertical (lined up as if about to be stitched in the sewing machine). If clipping or pinning in this position is awkward for you, rotate your quilt temporarily to accomplish the desired step. Then re-orient to match the pictures.

– The binding attachment process will be easier if you use an open-toe walking or dual-feed presser foot. The open toe feature helps you see better.

– For step 5, handling the binding will be easier if you pleat the quilt along the edge, as shown in the photos. You can hold it with a clothespin or a large straight pin if needed.

1. Step One. When you attach the binding, leave a 12 inch unstitched tail at the beginning, as shown in the photo and drawing below. NOTE: (first side) in the drawings means the quilt side you attach the binding to first – usually the quilt top, but for machine applied bindings some quilters attach to the quilt back first.

Leave a 12 inch unstitched “tail” at the beginning of your binding

2. Step Two. Leave about 12 inches of unstitched gap where the two tails come together. Do not skimp on this distance! If you are using an extra wide binding, make the gap even larger – 15 to 18 inches. In the photo below, the cream color is the “beginning” tail of the binding; the soft green is the “ending” tail.

Place ending tail on top of beginning tail along quilt edge

3. Step Three. Trim the tails so that they are within the unstitched area and lay flat together.

4. Step Four. Line up the two binding ends perfectly, one on top of the other. Pinch the two binding tails (four layers of fabric) between your fingers (about in the middle of the unstitched gap) and clip a 1/8 inch deep notch in the raw edges of all four layers, as shown in the drawing below. DO NOT CLIP the edge of your quilt; just the four layers of binding.

Pinch all four layers of the binding tails between your thumb and forefinger

5. Step Five – Make a pleat in the quilt edge (this makes bringing the binding ends together easier) and then open up the binding tails. Place the beginning tail right side up and the ending tail wrong side up on top of it. Line up the notches. Shown at the top where the two binding tails come together, you can see a notch in each tail. On the left, a notch in the ending tail lines up with the edge of the beginning tail. On the right, a notch in the beginning tail lines up with the edge of the ending tail.

If desired, draw a line along the diagonal stitching line as shown in the photo below. The proper diagonal is parallel to the edge of the quilt.

Mark the stitching line along the diagonal parallel to the quilt edge

Place one pin on the marked diagonal on each side of the binding center fold. Keep these pins clear of the binding fold. Remove any pins in the binding that are not along the marked sewing line.

Pin along the stitching line and remove any other pins

6. Step Six. Test the binding by smoothing out the quilt edge (unpinning if you pinned it) and folding the binding on the center fold. The binding should lay flat without any twists. If it doesn’t, you have probably twisted one of the tails. Go back to Step Five and proceed with the steps again.

Test the pinned seam line by folding it in place along the quilt edge. It should lay flat except for the extra fabric inside the fold

7. Step Seven. Open up the binding again and stitch along the marked line. Remove the pins as you stitch; or relocate the pins away from the stitching line before you sew.

Sew along the marked line, carefully removing the pins as you sew (or put additional pins to the side)

The stitched line is shown below:

Completed stitching along the join

8. Step Eight. If desired, test the binding by smoothing out the quilt edge again.

Testing the stitched seam against the quilt edge

9. Step Nine. Trim the tails to a ¼ to ½ inch seam allowance. The exact seam allowance isn’t critical. Press the seam. then press the binding fold.

Cut the loose ends to make a 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam allowance

10. Step Ten. Pin the binding to the quilt edge every 1-2 inches. Use the closer spacing if you do not use a walking foot. With a walking foot, pins every 2 inches should be sufficient.

Pin the binding to the quilt every 1-2 inches

11. Step Eleven. Sew the binding to the quilt between the previously stitched areas. Backstitch at each end. Your binding join is complete!

Completed binding end join

If you try this method, I would be interested in hearing your feedback. If you have questions, email me at shirley@mysterybayquiltdesign.com and I will try to answer them. Your questions will help me understand where my explanation needs to be improved, so please do not hesitate to write.

Book review: First Steps to free-motion quilting by Christine Cameli

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I have just read a new book on Free Motion Quilting. This book, “First Steps to free-motion quilting” by Christine Cameli and published by Stashbooks, is intended to be just what the title says: a beginning free motion instruction book. As a bonus, it includes 24 simple projects that are designed to be quick to make so that you can spend a minimum of time making the project and most of your time practicing your free motion quilting.

The instruction section is short but complete. The photos are good and the writing clear. Extensive use is made of bulletized lists so that you can quickly see the important ideas without wading through lots of text. In fact, as I read the instructions I found the author making all the same points I tell my students in my free motion classes.

Following the instructions, a thoughtfully organized section shows about 65 different free motion designs, all very suitable for beginners. This section is a wonderful resource for quilting ideas.

The remainder of the book – in fact more than half of it – is devoted to the 24 projects. There is a wide variety – bags, bowls, placemats, tablerunners, clothing, and quilts. The last part of the section discusses embroidery – or using the free motion designs on plain cloth or readymade clothing. Many of the projects have a “modern quilt” feel. They are young and fresh and are likely to appeal to younger quilters (Judging by her photo, the author fits in this category!)

In short, I heartily recommend this book. I will be telling my free motion students that this is the one book they should buy as a reference. You can purchase this book at Amazon through the following link: First steps to free-motion quilting

Free Quilt Patterns and Designer at Equilter.com

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I recently received a newsletter from Equilter.com featuring their free quilt designer. It has some nice features and is a great way to get a free pattern and shop for fabric at the same time. You can go see it at the following link: http://www.equilter.com/pattern/category/0/equilter-free-pattern-designer

There is also a short video showing how to use it. Be sure to watch the video, it is short and a good explanation of how the software works. This is not truly quilt design software like Electric Quilt (which is great but costs money), but it is essentially a library of quilt designs that allow you to access the design, see what fabrics were used for the original design, change the fabrics to others available at Equilter, see how much fabric is needed and how much the fabric will cost, download complete instructions, or email your version of the quilt with instructions to yourself or a friend.

There are over 400 patterns available with more being added frequently. Most of these patterns are ones created by the fabric manufacturers to feature their new fabric lines. The software that Equilter has developed allows you to take that pattern and see how it will look with other fabric choices.

This is a great added feature to the Equilter website, and a very efficient way to access all those free patterns made available by the manufacturers.

Based on the email newsletter I received, Equilter will be sending out newsletters announcing new patterns as they are added. If you aren’t already drowning in emails from quilting websites, you might want to get on their mailing list.

Mystery Bay Quilt Design

Exploring the art and craft of contemporary quilting

Category Archives: Quilting

Completing Binding Corner Folds Greater Than 90 degrees

Paper for Foundation Piecing

Make a circle marking tool from template plastic

Frixion pens – removing white marks

Barb Schultz and Enchanted Valley Arts

Quilting with a Walking Foot class samples

Quilting with Decorative Stitches from your sewing machine

Joining the ends of double fold bindings

Book review: First Steps to free-motion quilting by Christine Cameli

Free Quilt Patterns and Designer at Equilter.com