Ideas for Quilts

Gathered from the QuiltNet &rec.crafts.quilting

Small Scraps

Date: Mon, 6 Jun 1994 19:12:37
From: Colleen
Subject: teeny tiny scraps

Another idea for those who cna not stand to throw away even the most minute scrap(like me).

1) There was a quilt at the Mid Atlantic Quilt show in Williamsburg VA. The technique used was to iron fusible web to a foundation of material. Then take all those scraps and cover the foundatinon. Iron and those that stay stay. Then I beleive she also did lots of machine stiching with diff threads in crazy patterns. The effect was really neat. She (I think it was a she) used all types of scraps in many colors. The quilt it self was some sort of jungle or forest scene and the scraps were in the lower foreground of the quilt.

2) I also like to take those 3/4" or less strips and weave them into cloth using the method in the one of the latest American QUilter mags. You iron fusible webbing onto a foundation then lay out strips in a row. Then taking other strips you weave them(remember elementary school placemats). When down iron to secure the weaving. I have made some pins this way. I bet you could use this 'woven cloth'in blocks like a nine patch etc.. It is also a nice effect

Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 08:19:38 MDT
From: Teresa
Subject: Quilt with a bunch of squares

I was surprised at everyone's negative reaction to the quilt with a bunch of random squares. I was glad when people started posting positive ideas for the project. I think that with a little planning and imagination, the quilt could be beautiful.

If you just can't bring yourself to do it, try a 9-patch. Have you ever seen a radiant 9patch? You make a zillion (or more :-)) fairly small 9patch squares (two colors per square of the same value/color) - the 9patches I made are about 4.5 inches square That make each individual square about 1.5 inches.

You use as many fabrics as you can find (mine has 52 fabrics - 26 different squares and it's only a lap quilt). Make about 20% light colored 9 patches, 30% medium, and 50% dark/very dark. You need a lot more dark than light. The hardest part is picking the fabrics. You pretty much need to visit every fabric source in your area and always take the fabrics you've already chosen with you.

When the patches are done, you lay them out with light fabrics just off center, put medium around them, then the dark. You don't do this in lines/patterns. The progression from light to dark should look random. It's not easy - took me two weeks to get the squares where I wanted them. My family had to give up the living room floor.

The result is a beautiful quilt - random yet coordinated/organized. There are tricks to it's construction (strip quilting/piecing/ironing) that make it come together better. I took a class. There was a book but I can't find it. The book calls for 1/2" seams, but we used quarter inch seams.

The only drawback (IMO) is that the quilt will probably need to be machine quilted - I can't imagine hand quilting through all those seams.

Simulating the Sky in a Quilt

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 1994 10:44:10 PDT
From: Karen
Subject: Sky Fabric Summary

The responses to the sky fabric suggestions fell into roughly 3 categories:

A. Piecing:
1. Randomly piece 2" squares of blue fabric
2. Strip piece, adjusting to your satisfaction for shading
3. Bargello piece with blues to create a "moving" feeling to the sky

B. Dyeing/Painting

1. Graduated Whole Fabric ( Slowly feed fabric into a dye bath a section at a time. When complete, you should end up with a piece of fabric in graduated shades of blue from light to dark)
2. Spray Bottle Dyeing
a. Use colored dyes in spray bottles on white or light blue to achieve the desired result.
b. Use bleach or other color remover to lighten or whiten blue fabric
3. Paint with white on blue to shade and create clouds

C. Solids
1. Use a solid blue and quilt in texture (clouds, etc)
2. Use a solid blue (timesaver)
3. Several suggestions for "sky colored" fabrics already on the market.
By far the most popular fabric suggested was "painted desert" by Hoffman.

Making Ruffles

Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 14:18:27 EDT From: Susan
Subject: making those dreaded ruffles

Here is a suggestion for making ruffles. A method which I have used in clothing construction.
I use 'invisable' elastic. Cut the elastic the length of the finished piece [the length of the quilt]. Do some quartering of both the elastic and the ruffle fabric - mark the center, quarters, eights whatever. Pin the elastic and ruffle fabric at the marks. Put the needle in, through both, and STRETCH to the next pin; stitch [I use a zig zag stitch here]. This should result in an evenly ruffled piece.
If you are into clothing construction, this works well for gathering sleeves etc. especially on 'rabbit and bear cloths!
Hope this hint helps eliminate your hatred of ruffles.

Quick Log Cabin Quilt

Date: Thu, 21 Jul 1994 18:35:44
From: Terry
Subject: batting foundation quilt

I made my daughter a log cabin quilt using the technique of piecing it directly to the batting, but not the backing. She wanted something fast, to take away to college and I wanted it to be "sturdy". Each block was pieced to a square of bonded batting that was about 2" bigger than the block because as was noted before they do get a bit off kilter, but you can trim the excess batting and they are fine. I drew a diagonal line from corner to corner on each batting piece to find the center where I began the flip and sew process. When the blocks were done I sewed them in vertical strips. I cut the backing in one piece and lay the first strip face up along one edge of the backing, then the second strip face down on the first strip and pinned through all layers, then stitched along the inside edge of the strips through all layers, flipped the second strip over and sewed the third strip on top of it as I had the second. I continued to flip and sew the strips of blocks until the thing was together, then went back and sewed in the ditch through all layers along the horizontal seams. So, the front was completely quilted down to the batting and the back was quilted around the blocks, which works pretty well. I had been skeptical of this method, but it worked *great* for what I needed for that quilt. My daughter loves it and I think it looks awfully good for a "quickie". Oh, one more thing--you do need to be able to lay the quilt out flat and smooth each time you add another strip of blocks to the backing and pin, pin, pin!

Origami Stars

Date: 94-07-24 12:52:40 EDT
From: Jody

I learned a technique in a class called Origami Stars. We sewed light interfacing to the back of a circle, adhesive side facing the fabric, slashed the back of the interfacing, turned it and brought 4 edges of the circle toward the center to make a diamond. Attach the diamnds together to make a star. Magic! the front AND back of the star is ready to attach to another star for a summer quilt, etc. This technique was taught to me by Anna Marie Tucker of the Haybarn in Summit, NY. I love it :-)