Tips & Free Patterns
©
Tips & Free Patterns
©
Here's a link to an easy way of calculating your fabric Fabric Calculator.
Here are some tips I have been given during my time quilting, if you have some more please send them to me and I will put them on this page for other quilters to see. Click on the link to take you to the tip you want to review:
Thimbles Don't Work For You, Try This
Fluff Up That Polyester Fibre Fill
Rubber Glove Tips Make Great Thimbles
Making your quilt labels a more permanent feature … why don’t you make your label before you start quilting your quilt.
Baste the label in place on the back of the quilt and quilt through it.
This way the label will be very difficult to remove and will look great!
If like me you are a pin pusher, then a helpful tip for pinning your appliqué pieces in place is to put the pin in on the underside, that way as you are appliquéing the piece in place your pin won’t keep catching on the thread.
Thimbles Don't Work For You, Try This
Can’t get on with Thimbles, neither can I, but I bet you still get sore fingers?
Buy some surgical tape.
Cut two-pieces large enough to cover the tip of your finger.
Place one piece on your finger then place the other piece over the top of the first piece.
Excellent, no more sore fingers and still able to quilt!
Having curly hair means that I leave my hair to dry on its own a lot.
So I have found another use for my hairdryer.
Instead of putting your crinkled batting into the tumble dryer, hang it over the banisters and blow dry it.
The creases and crinkles will drop out and leave you with a lovely smooth batting.
If you just happen to be drinking wine while you are quilting and you spill some on your quilt soak up as much as you can with a clean cloth then wash the quilt in cold water and ammonia.
Bubble Jet Set 2000 is a permanent inkset for inkjet and bubble jet printers. I use it to prepare my fabric before printing images from my computer onto my fabric. Here’s how I use it ...
Without pre-washing your fabric, cut light coloured 100% cotton into 9” (letter size) or 11.5” (A3 size) widths.
Get a flat pan, like a large plastic Tupperware bowl.
Fold the fabric strips accordian style so that they fit into your flat pan.
Shake the Bubble Jet Set 2000 well.
Pour the completely mixed Bubble Jet Set 2000 solution on top of the fabric making sure that the fabric is completely saturated.
Let the fabric strips soak in the Bubble Jet Set 2000 solution for 5 minutes.
Hang the fabric to drip dry. Do not ring out the excess solution. DO NOT DRY THE PEPARED FABRIC IN THE DRYER.
While the fabric is drying cut your freezer paper into 8.5” x 11” (letter size) or 11” x 17”.
The fabric will be slightly stiff when completely dry.
Iron the plastic coated side of the freezer paper onto the one side of the fabric treated with BJS 2000.
Trim the sides of the fabric to the edge of the freezer paper using your rotary cutter. Make sure your edges are fray free so that loose threads do not get caught up in your printer.
Insert the fabric sheet into your printer so that the image will print onto the fabric.
Print your design onto the fabric.
Separate the fabric from the freezer paper.
Let the printed fabric sit for 30 minutes.
Machine wash, using the delicate cycle. Allow your washing machine to fill with water. Once the washer is filled with cold water stop it and add four caps full of Bubble Jet Rinse and put your prints in one at a time keeping them seperate in the water. Turn the washer back on and let it agitate, rinse and spin.
Place prints and a dry towel in the dryer, the towel will stop the fabric bunching up together. Dry using the medium heat setting.
When your fabric is dry you can start quilting.
Bubble Jet Set 2000 printed fabric is 100% machine washable and dryable. It is advisable that you keep fabric out of direct sunlight as with any printed or dyed fabric to avoid fading.
Back to Top
Two
Reels of Thread
When you have a new project make sure that you buy two reels of thread. Use the first spool to fill up a few bobbins. Thread your sewing machine top with the second one. This way when your bobbin runs out you will not have to stop to re-fill it, just replace it with one you filled earlier.
Ever wondered how those beautiful
vine and stem appliqués are completed with all the curves?
I know I have, well it turns out that it is possible to get these lovely curves
by making up your own BIAS STRIPS which take advantage of the stretch in the
fabric.
Bias strips are made from cutting diagonally across the grain of the fabric at a 45° angle, which is the most stretchy part of the fabric.
Here’s How to Cut Them …
Take your fabric Square and lay it down on your cutting board.
Now take your acrylic ruler and make a 45° angle cut to the left edge.
Cut enough strips to total the length required. BE VERY CAREFUL when handling the fabric and make sure you do not distort the strip by stretching it.
Place the strips together perpendicular to one another with the right sides together and the raw edges aligned.
Sew the strips together with diagonal seams to make one long continuous bias strip. Trim the excess fabric leaving a ¼" seam allowance.
Press the seam allowances open.
Trim the dog ears.
There you have your Bias Strip ready to start making those beautiful stem and vine appliqué designs.
Here’s How to Measure Them …
Measure your piece of fabric that you are going to be cutting your bias strips from.
Now multiply the measurement of the square by itself to get the squares area.
Then divide the squares area by the desired width of the bias strip.
For Example :
Square = 12”
So 12 x 12 = 144
Bias Width = 2½”
So 144 / 2.5 = 57”
Which means you will get 57” worth
of 2½” bias strips from a 12” square.
Back to Top
Starting
and Ending Sewing
Use a small scrap of fabric for
starting and ending seams. It saves
thread and helps prevent the thread nests that end up under the plate of your
machine. It also means you won’t
have to repair seams as it helps prevent seams from unraveling at the beginning
and end.
Back to Top
To save you having to remember to take your seam ripper with you whenever you move between your sewing machine and your ironing board, buy two, place one on your sewing table and hang the other from a piece of ironing on your ironing board.
You will need :
Freezer Paper cut to 8.5” x 11”
Bubble Jet Set 2000
Bubble Jet Rinse
Plain light coloured fabric cut to 8.5” x 11”
Prepare the fabric first, cut it into 9" strips and place it concertina style in a flat container. Pour over the Bubble Jet Set 2000 and make sure all of the fabric is saturated. Leave for 5 minutes. Remove the fabric from the container and leave to drip dry, do not ring out or place in the dryer.
Making the Fabric Sheet …
Place the fabric on top of the shiny side of the freezer paper and iron the
fabric in place.
Feed the fabric sheet plus another sheet of regular printer paper into your
printer. (refer to your printer guide to find out which way up you need to put
the paper into the printer to ensure that the image gets printed on the fabric
and not on the paper.
You are now ready to print your images, photos, own designs onto the fabric
sheet.
Use Bubble Jet Rinse to wash through your newly printed fabric.
To help out with stiffness and aching while sewing at your machine, keep a stash of chocolate near your working area, making sure that it is just far enough away so that you have to get up and walk over to it for a quick handful, by doing this at regular intervals you will stop yourself from getting stiff joints and/or an aching back!
Pre-wash your fabric to make
sure that the chemicals and sizing are removed as these may prevent the fabric
from sticking to the steam a seam.
Take your piece of Steam a Seam 2 and cut it to the required size for your
appliqué design.
Trace your appliqué design (IN REVERSE) onto one of the Steam a Seam 2 liner.
Peel off the liner you DID NOT draw your appliqué design on.
Stick your Steam a Seam 2 to your appliqué fabric.
Cut out the appliqué design from the Steam a Seam and the Fabric.
Peel off the remaining liner.
Stick your cut out Steam a Seam 2 and Fabric appliqué design onto the Background
Block Fabric.
Press with a hot iron for 10-15 seconds (time may vary depending on fabric
used—this timing is for cotton). Repeat this until the appliqué design is stuck
to the Background Fabric securely.
Don't forget to clean your cutting board between fabric cutting, particularly if you are going from light to dark or vice versa. To do this take a lint brush and just sweep it across the board a few times, this will clean up your board nicely.
Fluff Up That Polyester Fibre Fill
Another tip kindly submitted by Denise Lamontagne
of Kapuskasing, Ontario
In order to fluff up polyester fibre fill you are told to leave it out overnight to air. A much faster approach to fluffing it up is to just throw it in the dryer with heat for about 6 to 7 minutes. It takes all the creases out, softens and fluffs up the fibre fill beautifully.
Appliqué with Dryer Sheets
Another tip kindly submitted by Denise Lamontagne
of Kapuskasing, Ontario
Save up all your used dryer sheets and wash them through, to make sure that no residue remains, then iron them.
Place your appliqué design piece face up on the table
and then lay the dryer sheet on top of it.
Sew all the way around the edge of your appliqué piece and the dryer sheet.
Cut a slit in the middle of the dryer sheet.
Trim your edges and turn inside out.
You will be left with a perfect appliqué piece ready to be appliquéd on to your
background fabric.
Ideal for leaves and petals.
Rubber Glove Tips Make Great
Thimbles
This tip has been kindly submitted by Denise
Lamontagne of Kapuskasing, Ontario
Take a rubber glove and cut off one of the
fingers.
Put the cut off rubber glove finger on your index finger and start quilting.
Denise said that this has really speeded up her work tremendously as it grips the needle extremely well.
Quick Flying Geese
This is an excellent little
trick. It was given out at the $10 Quilt session
at Jilly Beans Pride.
Cut one 4¼"
background square
Cut four 2⅜" squares and draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each square
Take the 4¼"
background square and place it right side up.
Then take the two 2⅜" squares and place them right side down on top of the 4¼"
background square. The two 2⅜" squares should be on opposite corners of
the 4¼" background square.
Now sew ¼" seam on both sides of the line and then cut on the line and press.
Now take the remaining two 2⅜" squares and place them right side down on the
remaining corner of the background square. Do this for both of the
background square pieces.
Sew ¼" seam on both sides of the line and then cut on the line and press.
Do this for both of the background square pieces.
There you have it ... FLYING GEESE
1 Yard of Fabric weighs approximately 4oz.
4 Yards of Fabric weighs approximately 1lb.
|
1/8 yard |
equals |
0.15 metre |
|
1/4 yard |
equals |
0.25 metre |
|
3/8 yard |
equals |
0.35 metre |
|
1/2 yard |
equals |
0.50 metre |
|
5/8 yard |
equals |
0.60 metre |
|
3/4 yard |
equals |
0.70 metre |
|
7/8 yard |
equals |
0.80 metre |
|
1 yard |
equals |
0.95 metre |
|
1 1/8 yard |
equals |
1.05 metre |
|
1 1/4 yard |
equals |
1.15 metre |
|
1 3/8 yard |
equals |
1.30 metre |
|
1 1/2 yard |
equals |
1.40 metre |
|
1 5/8 yard |
equals |
1.50 metre |
|
1 3/4 yard |
equals |
1.60 metre |
|
1 7/8 yard |
equals |
1.75 metre |
|
2 yard |
equals |
1.85 metre |
|
2 1/8 yard |
equals |
1.95 metre |
|
2 1/4 yard |
equals |
2.10 metre |
|
2 3/8 yard |
equals |
2.2 metre |
|
2 1/2 yard |
equals |
2.3 metre |
|
2 5/8 yard |
equals |
2.4 metre |
|
2 3/4 yard |
equals |
2.55 metre |
|
2 7/8 yard |
equals |
2.65 metre |
|
3 yard |
equals |
2.75 metre |
|
3 1/8 yard |
equals |
2.9 metre |
|
3 1/4 yard |
equals |
3 metre |
|
3 3/8 yard |
equals |
3.1 metre |
|
3 1/2 yard |
equals |
3.2 metre |
|
3 5/8 yard |
equals |
3.35 metre |
|
3 3/4 yard |
equals |
3.45 metre |
|
3 7/8 yard |
equals |
3.55 metre |
|
4 yard |
equals |
3.7 metre |
|
Fabric Width |
32" |
35"- 36" |
39" |
41" |
44"-45" |
50" |
52"-54" |
58"-60" |
|
Yardage |
1 7/8 |
1 3/4 |
1 1/2 |
1 1/2 |
1 3/8 |
1 1/4 |
1 1/8 |
1 |
|
2 1/4 |
2 |
1 3/4 |
1 3/4 |
1 5/8 |
1 1/2 |
1 3/8 |
1 1/4 |
|
|
2 3/4 |
2 3/4 |
2 1/4 |
2 1/4 |
2 1/2 |
1 3/4 |
1 3/4 |
1 5/8 |
|
|
2 1/2 |
2 1/4 |
2 |
2 |
1 3/4 |
1 5/8 |
1 1/2 |
1 1/4 |
|
|
3 1/4 |
2 7/8 |
2 1/2 |
2 1/2 |
2 1/4 |
2 |
1 7/8 |
1 3/4 |
|
|
3 3/8 |
3 1/8 |
2 3/4 |
2 3/4 |
2 1/2 |
2 1/4 |
2 |
1 7/8 |
|
|
3 3/4 |
3 3/8 |
3 |
2 7/8 |
2 3/4 |
2 3/8 |
2 1/8 |
2 |
|
|
4 |
3 3/4 |
3 1/4 |
3 1/8 |
2 7/8 |
2 5/8 |
2 3/8 |
2 1/4 |
|
|
4 3/8 |
4 1/4 |
3 1/2 |
3 3/8 |
3 1/8 |
2 3/4 |
2 5/8 |
2 3/8 |
|
|
4 5/8 |
4 1/2 |
3 3/4 |
3 5/8 |
3 3/8 |
3 |
2 3/4 |
2 5/8 |
|
|
5 |
4 3/4 |
4 |
3 7/8 |
3 5/8 |
3 1/4 |
2 7/8 |
2 3/4 |
|
|
5 1/4 |
5 |
4 1/4 |
4 1/8 |
3 7/8 |
3 3/8 |
3 1/8 |
2 7/8 |
|
Standard Beds: |
Mattress Size (Inches) |
Batting (Inches) |
|
Crib |
23 x 46 |
45 x 60 |
|
Twin/Daybed |
39 x 75 |
72 x 90 |
|
Full/Double |
54 x 75 |
81 x 96 |
|
Queen |
60 x 80 |
90 x 108 |
|
California King |
72 x 84 |
See Note |
|
Standard King |
76 x 80 |
120x120 |
|
Water Bed sizes are the 'old fashioned' style and size, rather than the newer ones that accept standard mattress bedding. Sizes given do not include the padded railings which add approx. 3 to 4 inches to each side and the foot of the bed. |
||
|
Super Single |
48 x 84 |
|
|
Queen |
60 x 84 |
|
|
King |
76 x 84 |
|
|
Pillow sizes are the size of the actual pillow. Generally add 4 to 6 inches to the pillow length for a pillow case, and double that if you are going to double fold the open edge. |
||
|
Standard Bed Pillow |
20 x 30 |
|
|
Queen Bed Pillow |
20 x 34 |
|
|
King Bed Pillow |
20 x 40 |
|
|
Body Bed Pillow (sizes vary) |
20 x 54 or 20 x 60 |
|
|
NOTE: For those beds that batting sizes are not specified: Choose the batting based on the mattress size plus the amount of overhang or 'drop' you want on the left, right, and foot of the bed. |
||
Removing Stains From Your Quilts ...
There are many different stains that your quilts could get on them over the years, so click on the Stain Removal Guide link and you will be take to a wonderful web site page that gives full details for removing a variety of different stains.
How to make up the Square in a Square
Block with ease ...
This really does work,
it is a wonderful little trick. It was given out at the $10 Quilt session
at Jilly Beans Pride.
Cut your Centre Square
Cut your Triangles
Now comes the good part ...
Stack all your triangles on top of one another.
Fold the centre square in half.
Lay the folded square on top of the stack of triangles so that the fold point is even with the triangles top point and the bottom edge of the folded square is even with the long edge of the triangle.
There will be a little bit of fabric from the triangles sticking out of the side of the folded square.
CUT THIS OFF!
Flip the folded square over and do the same to the other side.
Your triangles will now fit perfectly with the centre square
Here are some free patterns for you to use. If you have any patterns you would like me to display on this site for others to use please send them to me.
Happy Halloween Cushions Pattern
Contact Me About Shop Quilts History Links Fun Books Newsletters Patterns Tips
©
Both the name Quiltalotamus and the image are copyrighted.