Well, this week didn't really go as planned. Work was nuts but then Friday was my birthday and I was planning on taking the day off to do some sewing and have some time for myself. But then Chaney woke up with strep throat and an ear infection so Friday turned into pretty much the opposite of what I had planned. Oh well... such is life when you are a mom. ;)Do you have all your rows ready to sew into quilt top? This is the fun part when you start to see your hard work turn into a quilt!
Lay out your rows as shown above. It's really personal preference as to how you stitch your rows together but as you can see, the rows in this quilt are assembled on the diagonal.I stitched Row 1 to 2B, 3B to 4B, 5B to 6B and then to 7B.
I followed the same order for the A rows and then stitched the two "halves" together.
Once you have your rows stitched together, you will see that you have essentially one giant square with edges that need to be trimmed.
It's important that you leave a 1/4" seam allowance so the points of your squares don't get cut off when you add your borders so trim as shown paying close attention to where the ruler is.
I just took the quilt top to my cutting table and with a rotary cutter and ruler, I worked my way around the square trimming a few triangles away at a time.
Press your top well and let's cut the strips for the borders...
Measure your quilt top through the middle of the quilt. It should be approximately 60" across. This is how long you need your first two borders to measure.
These will be 3" strips. Take your fabric A and cut 4 strips 3" x width of the fabric {WOF}. Piece two strips together, press, and trim to measure the same as your measurement through the center of the quilt {this is border A}. Repeat with the other two strips for the opposite border {border B}.
Stitch these two borders to the top and bottom of your quilt. Pin well but do not stretch your border strips... this will create the dreaded wavy border!
Press and then measure again through the center of your quilt from top to bottom to determine the length of your remaining borders.
Cut 4 more 3" x WOF strips for your other two borders. Piece two strips together, press, and trim to measure the same as your measurement through the center of the quilt {this is border C}. Repeat with the other two strips for the opposite border {border D}.
Once again pin and stitch these borders to the sides of your quilt. Press and you have now completed your quilt top!
Now it's time to decide on your backing...
Your quilt should measure approximately 65" x 65" now so you will want your backing to measure approximately 68" x 68". Here is my tutorial on making a quilt back. There are some ideas within that tutorial... you can also use your leftover scraps from your quilt top to help piece together your quilt back.
Once you have your quilt back completed, press it well and set it aside. Next week we will be basting and quilting!
PS... Chaney is feeling much better now!