If I Weren't So Distracted...
Aim to have pleasing combinations side-by-side so nothing is too jarring!
No, I did not forget about the Rail Fence quilt, it’s just that the sun has been shining, the thermometer is ready to burst, the lake is calling my name, and yard work (with accompanying mosquitoes) is never-ending. Quilting is really an indoor sport.
But we persevere…
You will recall I had already chosen my fabric (which is going to look so pretty) and I had settled on the Rail Fence pattern. This pattern uses identical blocks made of strips of fabric; the blocks are then placed in an alternating pattern. The possibilities can be endless! I am using four fabric strips for each block and a number of different fabrics, so it will look quite unique!
The first thing I did was separate my 40 fabric strips into sets of four (ending up with ten different sets). Ideally, I want to avoid having two really busy fabrics or two similar fabrics side-by-side, but that’s entirely a matter of taste.
Sew one pair of strips within the set together.
Next step: Divide each set into pairs. Take one pair of strips and sew them right sides together the length of the fabric using a 1/4” seam. Do the same with the second pair. Finally, sew the two pairs together!
Now pay attention, because this is important! It’s a good idea to “set” the seam by pressing it with a hot iron before opening it up and pressing again. It’s also smart to sew each strip in opposing directions. If you sewed each pair in one direction for example, the seam joining the two pairs should go in the opposite direction. This helps to prevent the fabric from bowing. For the record, I almost always forget to do this. So sue me. Give the whole thing another nice press with the iron to make the seams smooth and flat. You now have before you a beautiful strip of co-ordinating fabrics!
Next, measure the width of the strip. In a perfect world, if you started with four 2-1/2” wide strips sewn together with a 1/4” seam, you should end up with a 8-1/2” wide piece. The math nerd in me rejoices with puzzles like these! You may be off by a tiny bit; try not to sweat it. The point is that we are now going to cut squares, which means width and length must be the same.
Carefully trim the selvedges from each end of the long strip. Don’t go crazy, because you will need a minimum of 42-1/2” to work with. Most fabrics come in varying widths, so you’ll notice that not all your individual strips are the same length. Kinda frustrating…
Sew the second pair of strips together. You now have two strips in the set.
Finally, sew the two pairs together to make one big, fat strip from the set. Lookin’ good!
Trim your selvedges. You need a minimum of 42-1/2” of fabric, so be careful with that rotary cutter.
Alrighty… remember how I said you should end up with fabric that is 8-1/2” wide? And that we were cutting it into squares? And that you needed a minimum of 42-1/2” of fabric? Mathletes, start your engines! That’s right, time to cut each gorgeous strip into five 8-1/2” squares using your ruler and rotary cutter. This is what you’ll end up with:
This is where is starts to get interesting!
Even just one big strip of four individual fabrics yields some interesting placement combinations, don’t you think?
I’m going to carry on doing this with the remaining nine sets of fabric. Honestly, it takes no time and if I actually put my mind to it, I could do this step in a day. But moving the lawn sprinkler around takes time when the humidex is nudging 40.
I’ll update you on my progress in my next blog post. If you don’t already subscribe, please do so at the bottom of my webpage. Clearly, I’m too busy doing other things to bombard you with e-mails, so you’re pretty safe there.