Sizing Up Your Quilt So you have your quilt designed, but it’s small on paper. How in the world do you make it large?! This article accompanies the Design-A-Long Week Two, parts 1-2 that are found on my YouTube channel. There are a few questions to ask before you start figuring out the specifics of each block and piece within. Q: How is the quilt going to be used? Tip: The answer to this will lead you to your final quilt size. Q: How big does your quilt need to be to suit it’s purpose? Tip: A quilt large enough for a double bed doesn’t make a great lap quilt. Tip: Be flexible with your ending size, know what size range you want it to end up within. This will help you decide on your block sizes and allow you the freedom to choose numbers that are easy to work with. Q: How many blocks do you want in your quilt and how are you defining that block? Tip: If your block creates a larger shape, you need to decide how many times that shape is going to repeat. Q: How is your quilt block built - in a grid of two’s or three’s? If you have been following the Design-A-Long and using the Quilt Block Cut Outs, we used options for squares and rectangles that are “smaller” and a grid of 2’s or “larger” with a grid of 3’s. Tip: Keep your first blocks simple until you are confident with “mathing” out your quilt. Tip: Choose whole numbers for your finished block size. One final tip: Use graph paper to help you out. Use whole numbers for your finished block size. Each square on your graph paper can be equal to one inch. This will help you count everything up. Example One of the Process for a quilt using blocks built on a 2x2 grid: Answers to the questions above A: I want a lap quilt that could also go on a single bed if needed. A: The quilt should be about 50”x60”. A: My quilt block is really four blocks joined together in a 2x2 grid to make one larger unit/shape. If I make the larger unit finish at 10”, I can repeat the shape five times across and six times down to get my 50x60” quilt. A: If my larger unit finishes at 10” square then each of the smaller blocks in the 2x2 grid need to finish at 5” square. I also know that some of my smaller blocks are pieced together in a grid of 2’s so my smallest pieces finish at 2½”. Now that I know the above sizes, I can add the ½” rule to each of those smaller pieces to find out the sizes I need to cut the fabric. Example Two of the Process for a quilt using blocks built on a 3x3 grid: Answers to the Questions above A: I want a bed quilt for a single bed. A: the quilt should be about 75x75” A: My quilt design needs 8 blocks across and 8 blocks down. A: Each block is built on a 3x3 grid so everything is in 3rds. A: My whole number options for building my blocks are using increments of 2, 4, 6” ; 3, 6, 9”; or 4, 8, 12”. A block finishing at 12” and having 8 of them across is going to make my quilt 96” square - that is too large. A block finishing at 9” and having 8 of them across is going to make my quilt 72” square. This is very close to the size I need. * If you really need your quilt to finish a little larger, you can always add a border around it and quickly increase it's size. The measurements for the pieces in the "size up" picture are the finished sizes. I know that the best block size to make my quilt is going to be the 9" finished option. Now I can start applying the "add a ½" rule" to each of those pieces so I know how big I need to cut everything.
The large rectangle will need to be cut at 9 ½" x 3 ½", The medium rectangles will need to be cut at 3 ½" x 6 ½" The small squares will need to be cut at 3 ½" x 3 ½" There are some additional methods for piecing and cutting that I elaborate on throughout the video content for the Design-A-Long series. To get the most out of this article, I recommend going over to YouTube and watching the Week Two video series. Parts 3-4 in the series go into calculating how much fabric you will need to make your quilt. Remember to join the "Beginner Quilt Design" group on Facebook for additional support in your quilt designing journey. Depending on how you are signed into Facebook, the link might take you right to the group or ask you to sign in. If you don't want to sign in, go into Facebook as you normally would and then search for the group.
0 Comments
There are many terms involved with quilting and when they come attached with numbers, it can be enough to make your brain go AAHHH! Let’s get this all sorted out. Finished vs Unfinished Blocks. Like, what the heck! What does this even mean? Why are they different sizes? And just as soon as you finish a block that pattern is calling it unfinished again? You made the block and followed all the instructions so how is it unfinished! Huh?! It’s like the “Song That Never Ends”, those blocks never really become finished until the whole quilt is bound up at the end. Here is a simpler way to think of what these words mean. Finished: The piece or pieces of fabric are completely surround by other pieces of fabric on all sides. The edges of the fabric have been included in a seam and your finished piece is going to be smaller in dimension than what you started with. Unfinished: The piece of fabric has one or more edges exposed. The measurements for this piece of fabric are larger than the finished. You haven’t sewn these pieces yet so they haven’t lost some of their fabric to the seam. The terms can then apply to different stages of your quilt progress. You start with unfinished pieces, then move to unfinished blocks, and then unfinished sections (depending on how your quilt goes together). Why do we need to have both of these terms? Quilts are designed using finished measurements. If you are drawing it out on graph paper, using my Quilt Block Cut Outs, or a computer program, you are designing in finished block sizes. You do it because all your pieces match up like how they will when that quilt is all put together. The unfinished part comes in because you have a hungry, hungry seam allowance that eats up part of your fabric. Have you ever made a mistake in cutting your fabric and cut your pieces at the finished size and then they don’t fit together and definitely come out too small? Or maybe you’ve tried designing your own quilt in the past and this is where you were stuck, nothing was lining up as you were sewing it together. This leads us to the next bit of math. Seam Allowance, Unfinished Measurements, and Quilt Math
As quilters we like to use a ¼” seam. That means stitching ¼” in from the edge of the fabric. That seam is where your finished measurements begin/end. If you have made quilts before, you have probably laid out all your pieces for a block and noticed that they don’t fit together like the photo of the finished block. However, once those seams are all sewn up, it lays out like it’s supposed to… hopefully. When you have designed your quilt and are ready to figure out your measurements, there is One Rule (in a world of "there are no rules, it’s your quilt"; there is at least this one rule if you want to be successful). Add your seam allowance to everything! Depending on what shapes you are working with, the math will be a bit different. For this blog and this Design-A-Long we are focusing on squares and rectangles so the seam allowance rule is add ½” to the width and to the length of the pieces in your quilt design. You are accounting for the ¼” seam allowance on the left side and on the right side and again for the top and bottom. I go over this in more detail in the accompanying YouTube videos for Week Two. Part One: "Small Block Math and Assembly" Part Two: "Large Block Math and Assembly" Designing your own quilt is a lot of fun. You might be wondering, how does someone even begin to do this! Or maybe you have the, “I’m not creative” statement going through your mind. A quilt doesn’t have to be fancy and intricate for you to have designed your own quilt. Maybe you like the colour green and are comfortable cutting out squares of the same size. Go ahead and find all your fabrics that have green in it, cut out squares and then start laying them out until you are happy with how it looks. You DESIGNED your own quilt! Maybe you are thinking “that’s so basic and anyone can do that” - well…maybe you aren’t thinking the word “basic"; I work with a lot of young people. Your green quilt with squares is still your design. YOU chose the fabrics, you decided what size to cut them and how to arrange them. You decided on the fabric for the back of your quilt and how to quilt it. You also decided on the fabric that would make the perfect binding. All those decisions are design decisions. Let’s say that you want to make something that is a bit more involved. Week One of the design course is building your own blocks and arranging them into a pattern that you like. Watch the YouTube video for Week One: Part One to see how to use the Quilt Block Cut Out’s to design your own blocks and arrange them into your own pattern ideas. If you aren’t much for watching videos, I have outlined the steps I go through in the video.
YouTube video: Week One - Part Two - this video goes over taking your larger blocks that you laid out and putting your pattern onto graph paper.
Sometimes when your quilt is drawn out on graph paper, you might have another idea begin to form. Sometimes you see things a little differently and you will be prompted to explore those ideas. It might be changing the direction of some blocks to create a different look. Or colouring in a different pieces to make another secondary pattern jump out.
It’s okay to have a few graph paper renderings. You can make a quilt for each one, or just choose your favourite. You might already be familiar with the term “Quilt-a-Long”. The “Design-A-Long” is very similar in that we will be making a quilt together, however your quilt will be designed by you! We will work through all the stages together and support each other along the way. For a more interactive experience, follow my Facebook page: Krista's Quilting Services and join the Beginner Quilt Design group on Facebook. Is this Design-A-Long (DAL) for you? If you have wondered how other people can look at a quilt and then design their own version of it, this DAL is for you. Some people have this wild ability to construct and move all kinds of shapes in their mind as well as “see” their creation from all different angles. It really is a neat super power if you have it, however, a lot of us don’t. One of the tools you will use to help simulate this are paper cut outs that you can physically move around to create different design ideas. Remember to take pictures as you go so you can review your favourite ones later. Often you can see a different perspective from the photo than with your eyes. The camera on your phone is a secret spy glass. If you have ideas for a quilt, but figuring out how to actually assemble it is a challenge, this DAL is for you. I will talk about ways to break down a block into it’s most basic parts and how to group pieces together to complete that block. There is often more than one option! You can pick the way that makes the most sense to you. If you struggle with quilt math, this DAL is for you. Once you have your design laid out, I will teach you how to do the quilt math so you can figure out your fabric needs and cutting instructions. There are a couple tricks to make this simpler. If you have never made a quilt before and want to try, this DAL is for you. I will go through all the quilting basics and you will get to make that first quilt without following someone else’s pattern. There are some pre-requisites before starting the Design-A-Long:
The Design-A-Long is a machine sewn project. You will need a sewing machine and you will need to know how to operate the machine you are using. Every brand is a little different and while you may be able to get some help with a few things in the group, you do need to have a basic understanding of how yours works. If you are turning on a machine for the first time or if it has been a long time, YouTube will be a great source of info in learning how to work your machine. You will need to know how to:
Materials: I have a materials list available in a PDF download. Take a look through it. Some items you will need right away and others will be purchased, repurposed, or borrowed as you go. There is also a YouTube video that goes with the materials list. I go into greater detail on the video. You have looked at hundreds of complex and beautiful quilts and wondered, “how did someone come up with that design?" I probably won’t be the first to remind you; that amazing quilt was not the designer’s first quilt pattern. That designer was once a beginner. There are many design tools available that range from essentially free to costing money. Like every tool, each one has it’s own pro’s and con’s. Most quilt designers use more than one method to see their quilt pattern take shape. Conceptual drawings are best on paper and then more technical work is done in other programs. Graph paper is the cheapest and pretty easy to use. Each square can represent whatever unit of measurement you need it to be. However, it can be cumbersome when you decide to make some changes and have to redraw from scratch. I have also used Numbers (Excel) to draw and colour a log cabin block that was printed and cut out. It was worth it at the time, but it was definitely time consuming! The Quilt Paper App is a free/paid app for designing a quilt and while it’s helpful in building a better quilt framework, you are limited to one block type per quilt design and some sashing/border elements. It has basic blocks for free, but if you want access to some of the more complex options you will need to pay for it. I have used it to quickly make a “graph” or quilt paper of sorts and prefer to print it out and colour it in (even though you can do this digitally in the app). Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8) is a computer program that is a bit of an investment. Depending on where you are at with your design journey, this might be something to look into. It is pretty easy to learn and there are a lot of YouTube tutorials to get you started. The design capacity of this program is immense! The biggest limitation that I have found with non computer program options is the inability to move blocks around to see the primary and secondary designs that can be achieved. At this stage, you are likely not ready to spend money on a program that will let you do that. Let’s be real, moving those blocks around to create those unique designs is the bulk of the fun! I have a growing source of solutions to this problem waiting for you. I have created some PDF files that have blocks and parts of blocks that can be coloured, cut out, and arranged however you would like to create a layout of your own quilt. You might even use them in connection with one of the quilt colouring pages/quilt paper to help you break down that design into specific blocks and colour ways. You can find these free downloads in the Products tab on the website. Pro tip: put sticky tack on the back of each block to keep it in place on your table or stick it up on a wall! This summer I am hosting a free beginner design class where I will help you walk through the process from design to finished. We will be using the cut outs to aid in the design, math, and piecing of the quilt.
Who is this Design-A-Long for? It’s for you! It does not matter what skill set you (or don’t have). You will be able to follow along and successfully complete the quilt you design. My desire is to see you tap into your creativity and get started on your personal quilt design journey. Here's how to participate:
|
Krista RussellLong arm quilter, budding quilt designer, and teacher. ArchivesCategories |