Welcome to our first blog post about learning to quilt. I'm Charlie, one of three members of the Quilt Direct team who are keen to learn about all things quilting and the tools we pack into parcels for our customers every day.
Starting with Foundation Piecing
Our early sessions focused on half square triangles, and after trying out different methods we all agreed that foundation piecing using triangles-on-a-roll was our favourite. The paper foundation keeps everything perfectly aligned, making it an ideal technique for beginners and a reliable choice for experienced quilters who want consistent, accurate results.
The triangles-on-a-roll paper has easy-to-follow instructions printed directly on the roll, so there's no risk of losing them. The complex series of dashed lines looked quite daunting at first, but Katherine led us through pinning our fabrics to the paper (right sides together) and we were soon away. Everyone was able to follow the lines guided by the arrows, and within a short time, we had 16 completed, perfect, half-square triangle units each.
Pressing, Not Ironing
One of the most important lessons Katherine taught us at this stage was the difference between pressing and ironing. Ironing involves moving the iron back and forth across the fabric, which can stretch and distort your pieced units. Pressing means lifting and placing the iron down firmly, then lifting it again, keeping everything square and true. Using Best Press Fabric Spray on the fabrics before we started also helped to keep the units crisp and square.
For this project, with its very light fabrics, we pressed our seams to the darker side to prevent them showing through on the front. Katherine was very clear: always press to the dark, and always check your work before moving on.
Deciding on a Layout
None of us had ever designed a quilt layout before, and it was quite baffling to begin with. But we had great fun experimenting and each came up with our own arrangement for the blocks. You can see my choice of block design on the sheet below.
Building Up the Design
With our half-square triangle units pressed and ready, we laid them out to build up the design. This is where it gets exciting, but also where mistakes can creep in. Katherine's advice was to return to your layout after stitching each set of squares and check that everything is still in the right position before sewing the next seam. It's very easy to pick up a unit the wrong way round, and catching it early saves a lot of unpicking later.
Taking the time to stay organised, keep your layout visible, and press carefully between each step makes a real difference to the finished result.
Ruler Quilting on the BERNINA Q20
With Valentine's Day 2019 as our deadline, Katherine helped us turn the blocks into a quilt and then finish it using ruler quilting on the BERNINA Q20 longarm. Watch the video below to see it in action.
Ruler quilting uses a quilting template as a guide to create smooth, precise lines and curves that are difficult to achieve freehand. In the video you can see Katherine using the Four Paws Line Tamer, one of our favourite quilting templates, to guide the stitching across the quilt. The Line Tamer is brilliant for creating evenly spaced parallel lines and is a great introduction to ruler quilting for anyone new to the technique.
To use a quilting ruler on a domestic sewing machine or longarm, you need a specialist ruler foot. For BERNINA machines, the BERNINA Foot 72S Ruler Foot is designed specifically for this purpose, allowing the ruler to glide smoothly against the foot as you stitch.
Here's the finished quilt. We're really proud of our first team effort!
What We Learnt
- Do not pin over the sewing or cutting lines.
- Use a shorter stitch length (around 1.6mm) to perforate the foundation paper so it can be easily removed.
- When removing the paper, hold the narrow side of the seam, start the rip, and remove the large section first.
- Press, don't iron. Lift and place the iron rather than dragging it across the fabric.
- Press seams to the darker fabric to prevent them showing through on the front.
- Use Best Press Spray to keep your fabric crisp and your units square.
- Return to your layout after stitching each set of squares to check positioning before sewing the next seam.
- When squares are complete, pile them all the same way. Stay organised!
Products We Used
- BERNINA ¼" Patchwork Foot (37, 97 and 97D)
- BERNINA Straight Stitch Needle Plate
- Four Paws Line Tamer
- BERNINA Foot 72S Ruler Foot
- Triangles-on-a-Roll Foundation Piecing Papers
- Olfa Rotary Cutting Mat
- 45mm Olfa Rotary Cutter
- Omnigrid 6" x 12" Ruler
- Clover Patchwork Pins
- Best Press Spray
Inspired to give foundation piecing or ruler quilting a go? Browse our full range of foundation piecing supplies or get in touch to find out more about sessions at the Quilt Direct BERNINA Studio in Tavistock.