Lap Quilt

 
 Hi, this is Mandy with my first post of 2011, about a quilt I made before Christmas. 

It's a lap quilt & was a special Christmas present for my niece (held up below by my dd)...

 

It's made with a Moda Jelly Roll of fabric called 'Fruitcake' by Basic Grey.  I got mine online (posted from the UK) here.  A Jelly Roll is a pre-cut roll of about 40 strips 2.5" wide...

 

I searched online for Jelly Roll Patterns and came up with this pattern here   (scroll down to Jelly Roll 2.5" strips) to find 'Breaking Waves' pdf Pattern put together by the Cozy Quilt site.  I  downloaded the free pdf pattern, printed it out and found the instructions VERY clear with good diagrams. 

Aswell as the Jelly Roll, I bought the cotton padding which is sometimes called 'wadding' or 'batting' i.e. the filling for the quilt.  I used 100% natural cotton which is more expensive and tricky to use than stuff with a polyester mix, but because it was a present I decided on that. I didn't even buy the border fabric or the backing fabric until the patchwork top was finished, so I could measure it and see what colour would look best.

The first step was sorting and laying out the strips.  Please check the free pdf pattern   for the detailed explanation about the colours of the strips if you intend to make this quilt. 

 

Then I sewed the strips into groups of 3 as the pattern explained, then pressed the seams.  It is WELL WORTH THE TIME TAKEN TO IRON THE SEAMS for the stressy frustration you'll save yourself later on.  Trust me, I KNOW :)      The clever part of this pattern comes next.  You lay a 3-strip piece on top of another 3-strip piece as directed and sew down both edges to make a TUBE!!

 

After ironing the tube you cut right-angled triangles, cutting through both layers of the tube...

 

...all the way along the tube...

 

Then when you open up the triangle it makes a square with light and dark fabric pieces...

 

 These need to be pressed and put into a pile with the darks and lights lying the same way...

 

Then lay out the squares until you're happy with the design...

 

I sewed the squares together and added a 2.5" red fabric border all the way around the patchwork top.  The photo below shows the diagonal join I used on the border.  Once stitched it was folded back and ironed.

 

When the patchwork top is completed it's time to 'baste' the quilt.  I laid the green backing fabric right side down onto the carpet, then slowly and carefully laid the wadding (filling) onto the backing fabric without creasing either of them.  This is a two person job. Then the patchwork top is added, right side up.  I gently smoothed out the top, but NOT pulling it, just smooothing from the centre outwards.  My ds likes to help with the basting because I use a Microstitch basting gun tool to hold all the layers together.  Some people use safety pins or big tacking stitches but the tag tool works for us.

 

I always baste on the thick rug in my lounge.  At the end I just pull the quilt up and pick off any odd bits of rug stuck to the back of the quilt.  Don't trim the excess wadding or backing fabric until after the quilting.

I chose to 'stitch-in-the-ditch' on this quilt, see this You Tube clip by Serena Smith.   I just use my normal sewing machine foot.  Under my right hand you can see the quilt is rolled up to help it pass through the sewing machine.  I use cheap rubbery gardening gloves from the poundshop as my quilting gloves.  Once I got used to them I found them essential for quilting as they grip really well.  I have done some free motion quilting on another quilt in the past, in a 'bubbles' pattern like this You Tube clip by Pat Sloan.  It really needed the grippy gloves! 

 

After the quilting was finished, I trimmed the quilt and added a dark blue binding all the way around.  One of my favourite quilting sites is Quiltville.  I consulted the advice here for their quilt binding tutorial.  It was really helpful.  I learned how to prepare the binding and do the corners...

 

On the photo below you can see that the blue binding has been started about 6" or so down from the corner...

 

 I learnt (from the Quiltville tutorial) how to finish the binding and join it together neatly...

 

 

 

 

All that was left to do was finish the binding, turn it and hand stitch around the binding on the back of the quilt.  I made a square of fabric dedication to my niece and dated it, sewing it onto the back of the quilt with a little heart shaped button.  My niece and sister-in-law were especially delighted on Christmas day.

 

I made a different quilt for my other niece, mainly using a 'Layer cake' of BG Fruitcake fabric and with what was left over have nearly finished a lap quilt for our family too. 

Time for a break from quilting and some crochet I think,

Mandy

 

Comments

[Gez]

WOW! Absolutely AMAZING. Ooo you are soooo clever. :) Great choice of fabric. :)
I've always fancied making a quilt.. I kni
t, crochet, stitch.. quilting looks complicating.. will have to check out your links. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year & happy crafting. Gez.xx

[Debbie Roberts]

That is absolutely beautiful, I would struggle to give that away. Didnt realise you could get scrapbooking fabric either.x

[Eleanor]

Really lovely, (and how industrious you are!)
xx

[Lynne V]

Beautiful quilt.

[Suzanne]

Wow this is beautiful, gorgeous choice of fabric. Such a wonderful gift for your niece (and you did two?!)

[claireliz]

Wow, that is lovely. I keep looking at the Jelly Rolls & wondering if I'm brave enough to give it a go. I may just try it now. It looks so snuggly, I'm sure your niece will love it
C
xx

[alexa]

This is just beautiful! Amazing work ... I've seen the Basic Grey Jelly Rolls and wondered how to use them so this has given me a really good idea. :)

[PepPop]

What a beautiful quilt. Absolutely stunning. Brilliant work. Jaqui x

[Scrapdolly]

What a truly amazing quilt - that is a real labour of love

[Hobbysew]

Pretty Quilt...with Pretty Work