BLOG: Quilting + Appliqué

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #19

July 21, 2015

Here’s block #19 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt! Just one more block to go!

What You’ll Need

68 two-inch squares in color A (shown in yellow)
32 two-inch squares in color B (shown in pink)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in big chunks. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 34 yellow pairs and 16 pink pairs.

Sew the yellow pairs into two long 2 x 10 rectangles, two 2 x 6 rectangles, and one 2 x 2 square.

Sew the pink pairs into two 2 x 6 rectangles and two 2 x 2 squares.

Sew pink and yellow 2 x 2 squares into a pink/yellow/pink rectangle to form the middle of the pink “donut.”

Sew the pink 2 x 6 rectangles to the top and bottom of the pink/yellow/pink rectangle to finish the pink “donut.”

Sew the yellow 2 x 6 rectangles to the sides of the pink “donut.”

Assemble the final block by sewing long yellow 2 x 10 rectangles to the top and bottom of the pink “donut.”

That’s 19 blocks done. I can’t believe we’re down to the last one!

I’ll be on vacation next week, so look for the last Controlled Chaos block on Wednesday 8/5. I can’t wait!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #18

July 15, 2015

Here’s block #18 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt! There are only two left after this!

What You’ll Need

64 two-inch squares in color A (shown in aqua)
36 two-inch squares in color B (shown in red)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in big chunks. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 32 aqua pairs and 18 red pairs.

Sew the aqua pairs into large 4 x 4 squares. You’ll need four of them.

Sew the red pairs into 2 4×2 rectangles and 2 rows each 10 squares long.

Sew the long red rows together into one long rectangle 2 x 10 squares.

Sew one aqua block to one short red 2 x 4 rectangle and then to another aqua block. Repeat with the remaining aqua blocks and 2 x 4 red rectangles.

Assemble the final block by sewing an aqua/red row to the long red 2 x 10 rectangle and then to the last aqua/red row.

That’s 18 blocks done. I can’t believe we’re down to the last two!

Here’s what I calculated I’ll need to finish the quilt. I’m going to use a grey solid – I’m looking for a nice slate color. I’ll need. . .

1 1/4 yards for the sashing

5 yards for the backing

3/4 yard for the binding

I usually use Cuddle Fleece to back my quilts, but I want to hand quilt this one and I think the Cuddle Fleece will be too thick for that, so I’m going to use the same grey fabric. I’m going to big stitch quilt in a lot of different colors – it should make pretty speckling on the back and they’ll show up nicely on the solid.

I’ll be back next week with the penultimate block!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #17

July 8, 2015

Here’s block #17 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

48 two-inch squares in color A (shown in orange)
52 two-inch squares in color B (shown in green)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams as you go. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked in columns. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 24 orange pairs and 26 green pairs.

Sew the orange squares into columns – each 2 blocks x 8 blocks.

Add a green pair to the top and bottom of each orange column.

Sew the remaining green pairs into 4 strips, each 10 blocks long.

Assemble the final block by alternating green columns with the columns that have the orange in them.

That’s 17 blocks done – just 3 more to go. THREE!

Did I mention just three blocks left? I’d better do the math and figure out how much fabric to order for the sashing and the back. I’ll include that info with next week’s block. 🙂

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

How to Outline Applique Pieces – Where to Start Stitching

July 6, 2015

People get stumped when it’s time to outline applique designs – and the more complicated the block, the more likely I am to get questions about how to approach that outline stitching.

Where to start?

There’s no right or wrong way – as long as you outline each piece, you’re good. But I do like to have all my lines connect (just like they would in a drawing) and I have a system that I use.

This system works for any block, using any pattern – but I’ll go over the specifics using this quilt block as an example. I loaded it up big. If you click on it you should get a larger version of the image so you can really zoom in on the details.

Applique paper doll used as an example to show how to outline applique pieces

Here’s the order I used to outline applique pieces. . .

Start with all the pieces on top – that is, not overlapped by any other pieces:

hair
belt
shoes

Stitch all the way around each piece, then work your way out from those pieces:

dress top
arms
dress bottom
legs
face

As long as you always start with the pieces on top, you’ll always have lines to connect to. The best example of that in this block is the outlining of the face. The sides of the face tuck under the hair, and the sides of the neck tuck under the dress. So make sure the hair and the dress are stitched before you do the face and you’ll always have lines to connect to.

This post shows my favorite sewing machine feet – include the clear applique foot I use to get good visibility. That’s essential if you want to neatly outline applique pieces.

If you like that sample block that I used in this post – it’s part of the Paper Dolls quilt pattern. You get pages and pages of templates for different hair and outfits. It’s so much fun to mix and match them into your own designs!

Here are links to all my posts about outline stitching.

How to Topstitch and Edgestitch
How Durable Is Straight Stitching?
In What Order Do I Stitch?
Stitching Eyes and Mouths – with lots of help for stitching tight curves
Tips for Scribbly Outlining
Playing with Thread Weight
How to Mark Detail Stitching Lines

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about how to trim and assemble your blocks.

Happy stitching!

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #16

July 1, 2015

Here’s block #16 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

36 two-inch squares in color A (shown in red)
64 two-inch squares in color B (shown in light blue)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I worked (mostly) in rows. I sewed things up in the following order. . .

Sew all your individual squares into pairs of matching colors. You should have 18 red pairs and 32 blue pairs.

Pair up the red pairs and sew them up into squares – each square is four red blocks.

Alternate those red squares with blue pairs to create the three rows in the block that have red squares in them.

Sew the remaining 20 blue pairs into 4 strips, each with ten blue squares.

Assemble the final block by alternating blue rows with the rows that have the red squares in them.

That’s 16 blocks done – just 4 more to go!

I love how it’s coming together! And I feel like I’m so close to finishing!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

How to Choose Fabric for a Quilt

June 29, 2015

I get a lot of questions about how to choose fabric for a quilt.

I’ve got a post here with some tips for beginners on choosing what types of fabric to work with, and I include information with almost all of my quilts about the fabrics I used in my sample, but I realized I’ve never spelled out some general guidelines for choosing fabrics for a project – specifically choosing colors and prints.

Of course, choosing color is a pretty personal thing. 🙂 These are just the guidelines that I use to give my quilts their particular “look” and to make the blocks a cohesive collection.

First let’s look at the different groups I put my fabrics into.

Multicolor Prints

There are multicolor prints (fabrics that don’t “read” as a single color) which I hardly ever use. When I do, it’s often in a larger appliqué piece where the print makes sense, like this truck.

These fabrics are awesome and they make good quilt backs and doll clothes, but I rarely use them for appliqué, so I’m going to leave them out of this discussion.

If you really want to work with these kinds of prints, these two posts will help you out.

Using Fabric Print Wisely – this post shows how you can use prints like stripes to do some of the work for you in an applique project
Applique with Prints – this post has more info about choosing colors to pair with these multicolor prints

One-Color Fabrics

What I’m left with is lots and lots of fabulous monochrome fabric – which makes up the bulk of my stash. Within that group I have solids, batiks, and tone on tone prints (also called blenders).

When I choose fabrics for a quilt I work with these categories. I often start by choosing a category for my background blocks. I choose one of those groups and use those fabrics for ALL of the background blocks in a quilt. That makes the finished top look very cohesive.

Solids

This sample of the Lovable Mutts pattern uses solids for all the backgrounds. The quilting REALLY shows up on these solid blocks, so this is my favorite choice.

I’ve got fabric especially designed for this kind of background blocks in my Spoonflower shop. They’re 12-inch squares of solid fabric with easy-to-follow quilting lines printed right on the fabric – grouped in handy color palettes. You can find them all here.

Batiks

This sample of the Chirp quilt uses batiks for all the backgrounds. The quilting will tend to disappear in the dapply batik texture, so choose this if you’re not very confident in your quilting skills, or don’t want to put a ton of effort into the quilting.

Blenders

This sample of the Woodland Critters quilt pattern uses tone on tone prints for all the backgrounds.

The quilting won’t show as much as it does on solid fabric, but it will show up more than it does on a batik, so these tone on tone prints are a good middle of the road choice.

I design LOTS of blenders especially for my applique patterns, and they work for both the background blocks and for the applique – which means they’re very versatile fabrics to have in your stash.

In my Spoonflower shop you can shop by color collection – like this collection of Gemstone blenders. This is a great option if you want to have a lot of different colors in your backgrounds, but you want them all to go together.

Another option is to go for a more monochrome look. You can shop by color and get pale to very dark shades of the same color, all in different one on tone prints. Here’s an example of the Amethyst collection.

That Woodland Critters sample uses all Avocado Blenders for the background blocks.

Choosing all your background blocks from one type of fabric helps create a unified look right from the start. But what about the appliqués?

How to Choose Fabric for Applique Quilts

For choosing those I rely on The Rule of Two Out of Three.

I look at three categories, and I only choose fabrics that have contrast in two of the three categories.

Texture

This is the easiest. Look at those categories of monochrome prints and choose two different ones. If you have a batik background block and solid fabric for the bird appliqué, you have contrast in the texture category. If you have a solid background block with a tone on tone print for the appliqué, you have texture contrast. Here’s a good example of that. . .

Temperature

This is also mostly easy. Warm colors are fiery – red, orange and yellow. Cool colors are watery – blue, green and purple.

Things can get tricky with neutrals – there are warm greys and cool greys, for example – but mostly this is pretty straightforward. If you have a cool background and a warm applique fabric (like that cat block above), you have temperature contrast.

Value

This one’s easy too. Dark fabrics contrast with light ones.

It can be hard to read the value contrast, especially if your fabrics are different temperatures. If you’re having trouble, try this trick.

These fabrics look high contrast because one is warm and the other is cool.

Snap a quick photo of them on your phone, then use a black and white filter on them.

Whoa! They have almost the exact same value!

Let’s audition some fabrics. . .

Even though that green/orange combination above turned out to have the same value, they still pass The Rule of Two Out of Three, so I would still use them. They have no contrast in value, but they contrast in texture (solid vs. tone on tone) and temperature (warm vs. cold).

How about this combination?

This one has contrast in texture (solid vs. tone on tone), contrast in temperature (warm vs. cool) and contrast in value (dark magenta vs. light green). It passes on all three categories, so it will be a very successful block. And by that I mean it will have enough contrast that the appliqué won’t get lost on the background fabric.

Here’s another one.

I love red and orange together, but this combination fails. 🙁 They contrast in texture, but they are both warm, and both relatively dark. They only contrast in one category, so I’ll try again.

This one passes! It’s the same red (photographed at different times of day and not color corrected) but paired with a much lighter orange. They’re both warm, but now I have contrast in texture and in value, so I know this is a combination that will work.

So there you go – The Rule of Two Out of Three. It’s how I choose all the fabrics for my quilts.

Want an even deeper dive into what colors go together? Check out Color Theory 101.

Here are links to all the posts about choosing fabric.

And here are links to posts about using specialty fabrics.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Happy stitching!

Book Review – All Points Patchwork

June 23, 2015

I may have mentioned once or twice here that I really love handwork. 🙂

I love the feel of the fabric and thread in my hands.

I love the little pop I hear when the eye of the needle with the doubled-over thread passes through the fabric, followed by the low shush of the thread.

I love that I can take it anywhere.

I love the slow, meditative pace – and the fact that it allows me to sit and watch TV guilt-free. I’m “working” while I watch. 🙂

I can not believe that it has taken me this long to try English Paper Piecing.

I got interested a year or two ago when I started seeing fun projects popping up on Pinterest – but then I heard that Diane Gilleland was writing a book and I decided to wait for that. I’ve read Diane’s books before and they are always amazing and comprehensive and inspiring.

All Points Patchwork is available now – and it’s everything I knew it would be!

Quite simply – it’s the best craft book I’ve ever read. Even better than Anatomy of a Doll – the book that got me interested in 3D sewing.

Like Anatomy of a Doll, there are no projects – it’s pure instruction and inspiration from start to finish – exactly what I look for in a craft book.

Let me show you what I’m talking about. . .

I love that the front of the book shows a block with some of the pieces flipped over. On the back of the book you see the same block, entirely from the back (so you can see the construction details) and the most basic instructions for English Paper Piecing.

Really – that’s all there is to it. Choose a shape and cut it out of paper. Baste some fabric around the shape. Join the bits together.

If it’s that simple, why do we need a whole book?

Because Diane teaches you EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW.

EVERYTHING.

The pros and cons of different template materials.

Where to buy pre-cut templates.

How to design your own blocks – on the computer with high-tech drawing tools or on paper with nothing more complicated than a compass and a straight edge.

Different basting techniques.

I could go on and on and on. It’s all in here.

And she doesn’t just throw the information out there. She anticipates any possible problem you might have and helps you fix it. I love this bit on getting the perfect, invisible whipstitch seam, with good and bad seams shown, along with several troubleshooting suggestions.

The tone throughout the book is warm and encouraging – like she’s sitting on the sofa next to me helping me learn this new craft. Just what I need!

The book isn’t just for beginners, though. She includes more advanced techniques too, like how to add a pieced, finished edge to your work.

So fabulous for a table runner or mug rug where the back will be seen and where you don’t want to square off the edges!

Or this bit, where she shows two different ways to baste diamond shapes, and then explains when she uses each method. Throughout the book she shows exactly what she’s doing (with really terrific photos), and also explains why. This is so rare – and so helpful!

After a general intro with all the basics, she moves on to more detailed sections for each type of shape you might use. This, to me, was the real meat of the book.

For each shape she shows how to draft it by hand, and exactly how best to baste it.

Then she shares a couple of pages showing sample layouts, the different kinds of arrangements that each shape lends itself to.

Finally, she gives tips for how to join individual pieces and larger units together.

She does this for hexies, diamonds, jewels, triangles, tumblers, octagons, pentagons and even curved shapes. It’s so comprehensive!

And then there are the “Project Inspiration” pages. They’re scattered throughout the book, and each one shows a finished project, with suggestions for fabric choices and alternate ways of using it.

This lovely book cover, for example, is a great way to showcase tiny scraps of favorite fabrics – really setting the bits off surrounded by a frame of solids – and would also be good for placemats, a pillow, or a table runner.

Or this one, showing a softie made with EPP fabric.

Basically, she’s showing us how to create fabric using EPP, then showing us how we can use that fabric with any of our favorite patterns!

I’m not sure I ever would have thought of using EPP for a softie, but now that I’ve seen this image, I can’t stop thinking about how great Bailey Bear or Bartholomew Bunny would look with this technique. Their construction is very simple, just like this little guy, and I’m going to have to try it now.

(If you don’t have a favorite pattern for a project, go to www.allpointspatchwork.com where Diane has collected links to tons of different patterns and organized them by category. Handy!)

Most of the projects shown are small, or are larger projects with smaller bits of EPP incorporated into them, like this quilt.

These are a few EPP appliqués added to a whole cloth quilt, and she also reminds us that we can add them to a store-bought blanket, or even use them as patches to give a second life to a stained or worn quilt. I love that!

But I also love this. . .

It’s a feature of someone who actually made an entire hexie quilt – in less than a year! She shared exactly how she did it – a totally doable approach for anyone who wants to tackle a big project.

All Points Patchwork is a craft book designed for the way most of us actually use craft books. It’s got. . .

Instruction! All the information we need, and a lot we didn’t even know we needed – the kinds of tidbits that you pick up from your mother or grandmother, or from years of practice and trial and error.
Clear organization with a solid table of contents and index.
Beautiful illustrations – terrific photos for all the how-tos and clear diagrams for all the layouts.
Inspirational eye candy – also beautifully photographed, and with extra tips for how to take each project in your own direction.

I just finished my first EPP project – this doll quilt.

It was so much fun to make that I already started a new project last night – and you can bet there will be more projects to come. I know I’ll be referring to this book again and again for years to come. It’s an incredible reference book for anyone – of any skill level – interested in EPP.

Get All Points Patchwork here. And get it now.

Happy sewing!

My Stitch & Stash Project Bag

June 4, 2015

I love, love LOVE my new project bag! It makes me smile every time I use it – and I’ve been using it steadily for about two months now.

It’s made with the Stitch & Stash Project Bag pattern from Betz White – reversible, with no zippers or velcro to snag on my work, and with a handy pocket inside to hold my tools. Such a well-designed bag for crafters!

Of course, I had to add some appliqué to the front. Give me a flat surface in a pattern and I will add some appliqué. Guaranteed. 🙂

I only made a couple of simple changes to the project.

The original pattern has snaps on the sides, but I decided not to add them because I know I will never actually snap them and I like the shape without tucking in the sides.

I quilted the outer bag fabric instead of just staystitching the batting around the edges. I love the little bit of extra texture the swoopy quilted waves add to the front. I just quilted the batting to the main fabric – no need to add a backing fabric since the bag is lined. This is how I quilt all my quilts, too.

You might worry that that will make the seams too bulky, but if you use 100% cotton batting (I love Warm & Natural) and press the seams open, it’ll squish nice and flat.

When I work with batting like this I also use sewing clips instead of pins. They’re great for holding bulky fabrics in place with no distortion!

Of course, the main change I made was adding the cute kitty. 🙂

After I did the quilting, I appliquéd the cat in place with fusible adhesive and stitched around all the pieces with black thread. I love the cartoony pop that gives.

Here’s a video showing how I appliqué an image like this.

The cat is one of the blocks in my Cuddly Cats quilt pattern, shrunk down a bit. I made the small bag and resized the cat image to be 5 inches tall and 4 inches wide. That left plenty of breathing room between the top of the cat and that awesome big grommet, and fit from side to side nicely. I wouldn’t go any bigger than that in either direction for whatever image you’re adding.

I love it! Mine is holding my current EPP project (to be shared soon – it’s almost finished!) and Jo has already requested a larger one with a monster on it, and a tall, skinny pocket inside especially for holding a few crochet hooks. My plan is to make a few more in different sizes (the pattern includes three sizes) to hold various works in progress and hang them on some hooks on my studio walls. Cute AND functional. I see a lot more of these in my future. 🙂

Get the bag pattern here.

Get the cat quilt pattern here.

Happy sewing!

Free Applique Alphabet Pattern

May 8, 2015

free alphabet applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

Here’s a free applique alphabet pattern!

You can use these to add words to any pattern. This post shows several different layout possibilities you can use with any Shiny Happy World pattern – including several that add words.

Add a name, a birth date, a gift date, animal sounds – even a poem or quote!

I especially love this version of the Wild Flowers pattern that adds a quote from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Let your imagination run wild!

These letters are skinny-ish, allowing you to fit more letters in a standard block. They’re also very irregular so you can easily just shave a smidge off individual letters if you need to skinny them up just a touch to fit in a block and don’t want to go to the hassle of resizing them.

If you do want to go to the hassle of resizing them “properly” there’s a post here with the info you need.

Also – after many requests – this alphabet includes capital letters, numbers, and some punctuation. Yay!

There’s a post here with more info about adding half-size blocks to your quilts – perfect for adding words. The nutshell version is to cut your blocks 6 x 11 inches, then trim them down to 5 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches so that when you sew them together with a quarter inch seam allowance they finish at 5 x 10 inches – exactly half the size of one of my square blocks.

If you need more than six letters, I recommend cutting a larger block. That’s what I did for cock-a-doodle-doo up in the corner of this quilt. (This sample uses an old, chunkier alphabet that I don’t use anymore – but you get the idea.)

Noisy Farm Quilt pattern from Shiny Happy World

So. Here are the super basic instructions. Find more detailed fusible applique instructions (with videos) here.

Download the pattern here. It comes with all the letters the right way (for needle-turn applique) and reversed (for the applique with fusible adhesive technique I’m showing here).

Trace the reversed image of the letter onto the paper side of your fusible adhesive. Roughly cut around it.

h - mirror image traced onto fusible adhesive

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and fuse it to the back of the fabric.

Cut it out as neatly as you can.

Peel off the paper and fuse the letter to your finished piece. Stitch around it if you like. Some adhesives require stitching – so read the label before you decide to skip it.

Use this free applique alphabet pattern to add words to your quilts, pillows, tote bags and more. Add your kids’ names to everything they own. Have fun with it!

If you like this pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Members get a weekly email with tutorials, patterns, sewing news, fun stuff and things to make you smile. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #15

April 15, 2015

Here’s block #15 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

48 two-inch squares in color A (shown in pink)
52 two-inch squares in color B (shown in green)

Instructions

Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.

Press all the seams. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.

Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.

For this block I sewed things up in rows. The top and bottom rows are identical, as are rows 2 and 9, rows 3 and 7, etc. Knowing that can help you sew them up in batches.

Then sew those rows into one fabulous block. 🙂

That’s 15 blocks done – just 5 more to go!

I love how it’s coming together! And I feel like I’m so close to finishing!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

Multicolor Prints

One-Color Fabrics

Solids

Batiks

Blenders

How to Choose Fabric for Applique Quilts

Texture

Temperature

Value

Let’s audition some fabrics. . .

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