Update + Quilt #3

I’ve been on a somewhat long and unintended hiatus. My last post was in January 2022 although the last time I was really actively and regularly posting was August 2021. It is not as though I wasn’t thinking about quilting or Singer 15-91s. Over the last two years I was occasionally buying fabric, patterns, and sewing equipment. I even had a grand plan to go over all the different sewing feet you can use on a Singer 15-91 and film demonstrations of it. But of course that didn’t happen.

Health-wise I had things going on that made it difficult to set aside time to quilt (or even blog about Singer 15-91s). I was often too tired and all my projects gathered dust. And then, when I started to feel better about six months ago, I was busy planning for a wedding. It wasn’t until very recently that I pulled myself together (and stopped staring guiltily at my fabric stash and quilting supplies) to actually work on one of my abandoned quilts. Part of the this was driven by the fact I had a coworker with a new baby and I wanted to gift a quilt to them. Another reason was that I had signed up for a class on hand quilting a binding and needed to bring in a project far enough along to practice on in class.

I think I’m in a better place now to post more actively here. I will first focus on wrapping up my abandoned projects and then transition into new Singer 15-91 content.

Quilt #3

Speaking of abandoned projects, I have just finished one. It is a long overdue baby quilt that I originally started for another baby. But after a year, it seemed like I had missed the window of opportunity to finish it and gift it. When another coworker recently had a baby, I decided I need to revisit this quilt and complete it. So eager was I to get this quilt at the door that I forgot to take good photos of it. I only have a few snapshots from my phone.

Mostly the front of the quilt with the back folded over. The top group of colors is repeated at the bottom.

Stitches from hand binding showing up on the back of the quilt

I followed the pattern ‘Angelos Mini’ from Southwest Modern (by Kristi Schroeder). As you can see it is somewhat similar to a diamond pattern although it is more like stacked rectangles. In terms of color, I picked Kona cotton colors (Sunny, Avocado, Snow, and white) mixed with a vibrant salmon corduroy and patterned blue and green fabrics. The back, which you can see folded over in the photos, is a Tula Pink cotton (specifically Wildflower in Snapdragon). I’m aware that some people have strong opinions that baby quilts should be pastels and neutral colors, but I think these colors came together in such a fun way. The corduroy also added some nice texture.

I didn’t do anything fancy with the quilting technique (just diagonal lines) but a fun part of the quilt was the binding. Recently, I learned 5 techniques for hand stitching and it was fun to apply one of them to the binding using Acorn Hand Dyed Threads (by Trailhead Yarns) thread for this particular project.

I did have some difficulties with the pattern though. Despite following the instructions, somehow the border strips were too short for the top quilt and I had to cut back some of my pattern at the top and bottom. Additionally, despite using color catchers, I also had a brief scare about color transfer when I washed the quilt. After seeing some yellow staining, I ran the quilt through the washer about three more times to remove it. All the washing though resulted in some weak points in my quilt top to come undone (specifically seams between two triangles). And I had to hand bind those weak points in two places. On one hand, it is better that I caught this now before sending it. Since this is a baby quilt I expect it to be washed often and these weak points would have been eventually exposed. Catching it now means I can reinforce those areas so the quilt can last longer. On the other hand, it is a bit of a disappointment that after all that hard work my quilt came apart a bit, and I have to put some visible mending on the front before gifting it.

I feel like every project I’ve done so far is a bit of a struggle in terms of piecing together the quilt top. If it isn’t cutting inconsistent fabric pieces, then it is inconsistent stitching which leads to things not lining up properly. Or sometime falling apart as in this case. While I’m sure I am improving since I first started, I still feel like I’m falling a bit short. Which is why it is one of my goals to really improve my piecing work.

One of the things that surprised me was my enjoyment of using hand stitching techniques. While it does take a little more time, I thought the hand stitching on the binding was very aesthetically pleasing despite me being a beginner and my stitches not being completely straight or even. I’m looking forward to doing more of that type of work.

I also really enjoyed using corduroy. It took a little bit of consideration to make sure I was cutting and piecing the grooves/wales (in the fabric) in the same direction, but having that texture in the finished quilt was amazing. I’m looking forward to using it in more projects (as I have a pile of corduroy sitting in my fabric stash).

Quilt #2: Fancy Fox

For my second quilt, I decided to do a Fancy Fox pattern (by Elizabeth Hartman). It was initially intended as a birthday gift but it turned into a Christmas gift… I like a lot of Elizabeth Hartman’s patterns but chose this pattern as it seemed one of the easier ones. And the foxes are undeniably cute.

As you can see above, I’ve started to use a quilting journal (from Patterntrace on Etsy) to keep track of my projects. I do wish the fabric section was a bit bigger since I like to list all the fabric colors, but overall it has been a good way to log my quilts. It is also a great way to review the work I’ve done, especially when it is something I’ve given away. While this is labeled ‘Project 3’ in the journal, it is the second quilt I’ve actually finished. Project 2 is still in progress.

I decided to go with the 80 block version (twin sized) of Elizabeth Hartman’s pattern. Which meant A LOT of cutting. And A LOT of piecing. And A LOT of ironing. The only thing that got me through all 80 blocks is how cute the foxes are (and a new blade on my rotary cutter didn’t hurt either).

I’m not sure if it was due to inconsistencies in my cutting or sewing, but I had a lot of difficulty keeping the fox blocks the same size. I had to do a significant amount of trimming to make sure I could fit the blocks together when sewing the strips of blocks together. It means my final quilt is actually a bit smaller than twin size due to how much I trimmed down.

I was also worried about the final layout of the foxes. I didn’t want clumps of certain colors. I ended up having someone help me with the layout (a second pair of eyes really help with this!). When it came to the batting I pulled out my big roll of batting (ordered from Dinkydoo). Is a roll of batting excessive? Maybe. But if you are planning multiple projects that will use the same batting, it might ultimately be cheaper and easier to order a roll of batting (as it was for me). It also meant I didn’t have to piece together multiple pieces of batting for this quilt.

I decided to go with a large diamond pattern to quilt the layers together. Besides the aesthetic, I was also looking for a quick quilting pattern to make sure the quilt was done by Christmas. Since none of my rulers were big enough to draw the lines across the quilt, I used a laser level cube to help guide my lines. I drew them in chalk marking pencils (Roxanne Quilter’s Choice bought from Quilters Cupboard Uxbridge). My one complaint about those marking pencils is I constantly have to sharpen them but it is better than disappearing ink when working on a large project. Next time, I think I will just buy a chalk stick.

For the top of the quilt, I decided to use Blood Orange Aurifil 50 wt thread (#2245, I used it in the piecing as well) to contrast with the gray background. For my bobbin thread (the back of the quilt), I used Gray Aurifil 50 wt threat (#2625). To fit the quilt through the throat of the sewing machine, I had to roll it. I was expecting some trouble due to the size of the quilt (even rolled), but it wasn’t too bad since I have a table behind my quilt that catches the quilt (i.e. prevents pulling on the fabric from the weight of the quilt falling down). There was only a few moments I needed someone to hold the end of the quilt (when I had excess fabric on the left side of my sewing machine).

For the binding, I used the same gray background fabric. After attaching the binding to the front, I had a bit of trouble cleanly sewing it on the back. If I had to do the binding over again I would be a bit more careful about the binding width (make it more consistent) and pinned it more securely while sewing. I would have also taken a bit more time doing the hand stitching around the label. Unfortunately I was under a time crunch and had to get the quilt out the same day in time for drop off Christmas presents.

For the hand stitching of the label, I used some Sew Fine thread gloss (satsuma scented), Acorn Premium Hand Dyed Threads by Trailhead Yarns (Butternut), and sashiko needles. I would not recommend sashiko needles for this type of work. I’m not sure if it was the stiffness/material of the label or something else, but I actually had two sashiko needles break on me while I was trying to sew this label on the quilt. The label itself was from EverEmblem, and the only complaint I have about it is that the color faded a bit in the wash. I’m curious to see how the label holds up long term. I actually sewed the label up to the batting layer of the quilt. I did this so the hand stitching wouldn’t show up on the front of the quilt. It took some practice to correctly gauge the depth of my needle.

This was also my first time using Acorn thread. The thread itself is 8 weight, and I have had some difficulty finding sewing needles that I can thread with that size (hence my attempt with sashiko needles). Despite that though, the color of the thread is gorgeous and I’m excited to try the other colors I have bought on other projects. While hand quilting can be time consuming, it can be a nice touch. And hand quilting can be mixed with machine quilting if you don’t feel like completely hand quilting a quilt. For the thread gloss, while it is not a necessary product, it can make hand quilting easier. It coats the thread to protect it from fraying and tangling, and makes the thread stiffer (i.e. easier to work with). And I would be lying if I didn’t say the scents are a big part of the appeal of using thread gloss (there is a variety of scents of satsuma doesn’t appeal to you).

I am aware there is a debate about washing quilts. Washing quilts will give them a crinkly look (although you can minimize that by pre-washing fabric). Personally, I don’t mind the crinkled look and it has been important to me to make sure the quilts I’ve given out are clean (one was for a baby and the other a toddler). I also think it is a good way to test the integrity of the quilt (as a quilt for a child will likely have heavy wear and tear). After I wash and dry a quilt, I examine it for tears and loose threads. For this quilt, I ended up having to wash it twice since the chalk marks didn’t completely disappear in the first round of washing.

Quilt #1 Update 2

I realized I never finished posting about the baby quilt I made for a family member (part 1 here). I did actually finish the quilt! Some notes below:

Front - I had some trouble around the dimensions of my piecing blocks. I had to cut many of the blocks down. It’s actually resulted in pieces smaller than what the pattern called for but I don’t think its noticeable.

Backing - the animal panel wasn’t quite as wide as I needed so I cut out strips of the blocks and resew them together to fit the size of my quilt better

Quilting - I did a clamshell pattern with a walking foot. Jacquie Gering actually covers the technique of how to do this with a walking foot in her book ‘Walk’. If you look closely at my quilt, you can see some of my lines for the clamshell pattern are a bit rough but it isn’t noticeable farther away (thankfully). This pattern ended up giving a nice effect to the finished quilt.

Binding - I ended up cutting the binding on the bias and I think it was the best decision given the pattern.

On to other quilts! I think in the future I will wait to post any new quilts until I’ve completed the project in full.

Quilt #1 Update 1

The first quilt I’m working on is a baby quilt for a family member. I already had some fabric from Paintbrush Studio’s Animal Kingdom Collection and I decided to pair it with the Zoo Dwellers pattern from Andy Knowlton. For piecing thread, I’m using 50 wt. Aurifil cotton thread (2805 Light Gray Turquoise) . I am still not sure if I will use this color for the actual quilting part but I will have some time before I have to decide.

As you can see above, I’m done with the cutting for all the piecing work (although I still need to make the binding tape and cut the backing). I will say the first thing that has made me nervous is the fact that this pattern calls for cutting out long white strips of fabric. I’m a bit worried that these strips aren’t completely square since I couldn’t cut them in one cut (too long for my table), I will have to keep an eye on my quilt blocks as I construct them and make sure they are square.

In terms of time, piecing is actually going pretty quickly even though I have to pause often to iron out all the seams. I think I will be able to finish the front of the quilt in the next day, although I haven’t tried sewing in the long white strips yet…

Binding Tape

Example of a quilt’s binding. The binding tape is the strip of green fabric with white polka dots.

After writing Quilting (the basics), I realized that binding tape probably deserved its own post. Since I’m not working with binding tape yet myself, I’m not going to explicitly talk about how to make binding tape or how to attach it, but you will see a lot of my references do go in more detail as I try to explain what is binding tape, and all the different options for binding tape from a quilting perspective. When I get to the point where I’m actually making binding tape for my quilts, I’ll make posts more specific about the process of making binding tape.

What is binding tape?

As mentioned in my previous post, binding tape is strips of fabric used to finish the edge of your quilt (i.e. the binding). The strips can be cut out of fabric cut lengthwise, crosswise, or on the bias. Binding tape cut on the bias, is also known as bias tape. You can buy binding tape in a store, or make it yourself.

Single Fold vs Double Fold

One of first things you will need to decide when it comes to binding tape, is if you want single fold binding tape, or double fold binding tape. If you are making you own binding it will affect the width of strips you need to cut, and if you are buying from a store, you risk getting the wrong width if you don’t know what you want. In very basic terms, single fold binding tape is where the edges of the fabric are folded towards the middle. Double fold binding tape has the edges of the fabric folded towards the middle and its folded in on itself. Blueprints for Sewing has a helpful diagram if you are having trouble visualizing.

For me personally, this is the point where most blogs on binding tape lost me. Because I look at images of single fold binding tape vs double fold binding tape, and ask myself, isn’t double fold tape just folded over single fold tape? When I sew single fold tape onto the edge of my quilt and then fold it over to sew on the other side, doesn’t that just become double fold tape?

I spend a few frustrating hours searching the internet, trying to understand the difference. And then I hit youtube. It is there that I realized that the difference between single fold tape and double fold tape isn’t so much about how it is made, it is actually about how it is sewn and applied to the quilt (or whatever project you are working on). You see, for single fold binding tape when you sew the tape on one side of the quilt and then flip it over to sew on the other side, you do it in a way that the binding tape will only show on ONE side of the quilt. You can see that demonstrated by Melly Sews here. With double fold binding tape, you sew it in a way where you can see it on BOTH sides of the quilt. Treasurie demonstrates this here, in two different methods for double fold binding. Since I don’t have great examples of single fold vs double fold bindings lying around, I grabbed some from Well Sew to help you understand if you are still confused.

Single Fold: As you can see here on the Well Sew’s shirt, the binding is hiding the raw edge of the shirt fabric, but the red binding is only showing on the “right” side of the shirt.

Double Fold: Well Sew is showing the front and back of their project here. You can see that the binding is not only hiding the raw edge, but appears on both sides

Understanding this difference makes it more obvious why in the quilting world, we talk more about double fold binding than single fold binding. Putting aside any aesthetics of how you want your quilt to look, if you expect your quilt to be heavily used, then a double fold binding is the better choice. A single fold binding is far more susceptible to wear.

Binding Tape: Why direction of fabric matters

As I mentioned above, binding strips can be cut out of fabric lengthwise, crosswise, or on the bias. I think Village Bound covers this very well in their blog post on binding tape. In summary though, if you are looking for binding tape that can stretch (i.e. around rounded corners), then binding tape cut on the bias (i.e. bias tape) is the best choice. If you care less about stretch, then lengthwise or crosswise cut tape would be your other options. There are of course other considerations when creating binding tape:

• If you are trying to avoid fabric waste, you might go with crosswise cutting (or a very carefully planned bias cut)

• If using a patterned fabric (like stripes), your choice of fabric cut for your binding might be more influenced by the direction of the pattern. Shelley Hong uses some examples from Polly Danger to illustrate how differences in how you cut striped fabric could really impact what the finished binding tape looks. I couldn’t find the original Polly Danger source so I’m linking you directly to Shelley Hong.

Binding Tape Width

How wide you want your binding to be on a quilt is a bit of a subjective question, but from what I’ve seen, a lot of quilting books will give you instructions on how to make a double fold binding from a 2.5” strip of fabric (FYI it will result in a different version of the double fold, but it is still a double fold as discussed by Clover and Violet). It is then sewed to the quilt with a 1/4” seam allowance, which give you 1/4" wide binding on the front, and a little larger than 1/4" binding on the back. If you want to adjust the binding size to be wider in a quilt pattern, you will have to be mindful of not only how much more fabric you will need, but consider if any of your quilt blocks on the front will get cut off by the border.