Latest Projects and Pillow Tutorial

Hi there!

After being on an involuntary sabbatical (I had to bring my machine to the doctor; she's as good as new, thanks for asking!), I am back at my machine, sewing up a storm!

This weekend I finished this top:

It's my own design. I call it "Endless Stars". There might be a tutorial in the future if you ask nicely! :P

However, the fabric I want to use for the backing has not yet arrived (I simply looooove creative quilt backs!), so I had to keep myself busy with another project.

I decided to finally tackle the embarrassment that is in my living room:

 

See the pillows?

Yeah, not pretty (but pretty embarrassing), I know! And that's after fluffing them up...
Welcome to student living! *lol*

I recently bought some pillows at the Big Great Swede that I intend to cover with my own pillow cases. It's also a good possibility to try out some of my design ideas, as it is smaller so there is not that much waste if something goes horribly wrong. Another added bonus is of course that it is also much quicker to make! *lol*

Pillow (or Cushion?) Case Tutorial

For the small pillow (35cm x 35cm, or ca. 13.5" x 13.5") I used the four sample blocks from my DD4P tutorial. I just added a poly batting I had left over from another project and quilted it lightly. It's really more to attach than add a lot of structure:

For the back of the pillow, I cut a 13.5" strip of black fabric and cut two 17.5" pieces. Then I pressed them in half with my iron and topstitched down the folded line. When you overlap them and put them on the top right sides together, you only need to sew around and trough all the layers to get an easy envelope pillow. For a more detailed tutorial on how to make the back, see Crazy Mom Quilts' tutorial.

And this is how the cushion looks like:

Diagonal Disappearing Four Patch Cushion


I'll be making some more cushion covers in the near future. But I'm not sure yet if I'll make them all in black and white, or if I'll add a colour or two... What do you think?

All the best,
Cat


P.S: I'm really sorry for the bad pictures, but badly lit apartment + crappy camera = very bad pictures! :(

Disappearing 4 Patch Variation

Hi again!

Some time ago I saw Jenny Doan's tutorial on the Disappearing 4 Patch (D4P). If you're into using precuts, check out her other tutorials, but be aware that your to-do-list might easily double. Click at your own risk, don't blame me, I was nice enough to warn you!

Anyway, the finished D4P block looks like this:

This tutorial is a variation on that block, which I call DD4P (Diagonal Disappearing 4 Patch).

And here is how you make it:

Fabrics Needed

You need at least two different fabrics. But if you have a nice charm pack or even a layer cake at home, that'll look great combined with a matching solid.

Cutting and Sewing

If you're using yardage, cut 5" strips the width of the fabric and sew two strips together. Press the seam to the dark side. Then cut 5" pieces from these strips.

Take two of these pieces, flip one over, so that it forms a 4 patch. Sew them together and press to one side (it doesn't matter which one). I then squared them up (4.5" from the middle) just to make sure they're all the same size.

If you're using charm packs or layer cakes, you'll have to sew them together individually, but you can at least chain piece them.

Now to the trickiest part: Make four cuts (red lines) 1" away from the diagonal (blue lines). Check at least twice that your ruler is lined up properly before cutting, as you can't uncut it!

Take the four long corner pieces and exchange them:

Now sew the block back together. Be careful when handling these pieces, as you are working on the bias. So no excessive tugging!

 

First, sew the white longer strips to the small hourglass in the middle, then the two triangles to the black strips. Make sure that they line up on top. Don't worry about the bottom, we'll get to that in a bit!

 

Press the seams on the two triangles towards the black middle strip and the seams on the middle piece outwards. Now you can nestle the seams, when you sew the three pieces together. I pressed the final two seams open to reduce the bulk in the middle of the block.

 

 

Now for the final squaring up: Line up the middle seam at the 3.5" mark and also make sure that the vertical seam is perpendicular. Then cut off the fabric on the side. Rinse and repeat on all sides.

 

And here is your finished block. It's 7" unfinished and 6.5" finished.

 

 

Tipps and Tricks

 

There are just a few things that I'd like to add:

• Make sure you don't handle the pieces too much, as everything is on the bias.
• Press carefully, you don't want to distort the pieces.
• Don't cut too many blocks at once, it'll just cause chaos and you don't really want to waste time finding the matching pieces.
• Use pins when sewing together the three pieces of the block. The seams do nestle nicely, but the ends aren't straight, so you don't want them slipping around.
• You can basically adapt the size of the block to any measurement you like, be it 6" or 10" or even bigger. Just be aware that a 4 patch with 10" squares gets quite big and easily outgrows your cutting mat or ruler! Also, if you choose bigger squares, you might want to adjust the width of the diagonal cuts. I personally wouldn't go much smaller than 5" squares, as it might get quite fiddly and practically make the hourglass in the middle disappear.

 

Layout Ideas

There are two possible ways to lay out your block. This is the first one:

 

Here is a mock up with these colours for a bigger quilt:

 

Or maybe you prefer a more colourful option:

 



 

 

Or how about a more pastelly approach:

 

 

 

Here is the example for the second layout:

 

 

You just have to turn two of the blocks around so that the same colour meets up in the middle and forms a secondary design.

 

That's how it would look like on a bigger scale and with some more colour:

 

I couldn't resist and also made a mock up with borders:

 

 

 

As Jenny Doan would say: Isn't that a darling quilt?!

 

I hope you like it and try it. I'd love to see a quilt with this pattern!

 

 

All the best,

Cat