Quilt as you go tutorial

Funnily enough I have had 3 requests for help with quilt-as-you-go techniques via email & twitter this week! So I thought I would do a quick post outlining two different methods. This enables you to quilt blocks as you go along, and then put them all together at the end. It avoids the need to cram great big quilts through your sewing machine!

 

The method you choose can be determined by the result you want to achieve: do you want sashing as part of the design or not!

 

Whichever method you choose, you want to avoid quilting all the way to the edges of your block because you will need to pull the edges back a little to put them together.

Quilt as you go with sashing.

This lap quilt utilises sashing as a technique to sew your blocks together.  There are other quilt-as-you-go methods that do not use sashing but I use it here because it adds a uniformity to the design.

For the front sashing – you will need 1 inch wide strips, and for the back you will need 1 ¾ inch strips.

Fold the back strip in half and press lengthwise. Pin the raw edge of the strip to the back of your block, and the front strip is pinned right sides together to the front of the block (see picture).

Sew an accurate ¼ seam so that the back sashing, the block and the front sashing are now stitched together.

Fold the front sashing back and press.

Now pin the raw edge of the front sashing to the next block front sides together (as in picture). Sew with an accurate ¼ inch seam (the backing fabric in this picture is white!).

Now lay the two blocks flat with the right sides up and press the front sashing flat.

Turn the blocks over and sew the back sashing onto the back of the block using a ladder stitch as seen in the image.

Continue sashing the whole quilt.

Quilt as you go without sashing.

This method does not use sashing. I didn't want sashing to distort my log cabin so this method was perfect.

 

First, trim your squares to your required size (remember the seam allowance!).

Take your two blocks and place them face down. Pin the backing and the wadding back out of the way.

Now place the blocks right sides together, sew the front pieces together with a ¼ seam and press the seam flat (as shown in the picture below).

Trim the wadding carefully so that it will lie flat.

Now lay one piece of the backing flat. Turn the second piece under with a scant ¼ inch seam and pin in place.

Slip stitch the pinned seam in place keeping the stitches small so that they will not show.

Continue using this method to sew the rest of the row. Then continue and sew the rows together.

So now you are done!

There you are - two different ways of putting together your blocks once you have quilted them! I hope you find this useful and it gets you having a go!!!