Good Morning, Quilters!
It’s time to begin our Second Annual Mystery Quilt-a-Long!
Read all of the instructions first.
If necessary, draw the composition on notebook paper first.
WEEK ONE RE-CAP and a CHANGE
Last week I asked you to collect a fat quarter of solid fabric in aqua, blue or red and a backing fabric in a nautical theme and create a quilt sandwich with your choice of batting.
I also asked you to mark a rectangle… here is where the change comes in…DON’T MARK YOUR FABRIC YET!
I’ve re-written the tutorial to allow more room for error….let’s call it “wiggle room”.…
We are going to do the marking together.
(If you have already marked your fabric…just follow along, you will just make a small change at the end…
HORIZONTAL COMPOSITION
In my first Craftsy video, Divide and Conquer-Creative Machine Quilting, we learned six compositional styles to divide quilts or blocks into manageable sizes for quilting.
This quilt is a Horizontal Composition.
The basic layout is below:
We will stitch 14 rows of motifs.
Each of the rows are 1 inch apart except Row 8 is 4 inches and Row 2 is 2 inches.
Drawing the OUTLINE–bottom and sides only:
Draw the following lines onto your fabric:
- Draw a line 1-1/2 inch above the bottom edge of your fabric.
- Draw the left side line 1-1/4 inch in from the left edge of the fabric.
- Draw the right side line 1-1/4 inch in from the right edge of the fabric.
- The top line will be added as we draw the quilting lines.
NOTE-The Width of the quilt is not important.
The distance between the two sidelines will be around 15-1/2 inches…don’t fuss if it’s smaller or larger.
Continue Drawing (The Quilting Spaces)
Working from the bottom line, add the lines following the chart.
Use a one inch stencil or any ruler and your favorite marking pen-(I like chalk)
Your top line should be around 2 inches below the top edge of the fabric. (Mine was 2-1/2 inches…but if the fabric was only 21 inches–yours may be smaller)
STABILIZE THE OUTER BORDER
Once the quilt is marked, use a matching color thread to stitch the outlines. This stabilizes the quilt.
To stabilize your quilt, stitch each long, vertical border–knotting off in between.
Stitching long, straight lines are difficult to free motion quilt–
Either add a walking foot and straight line stitch or stitch a slightly wavy line...(that’s what I always do!)
After stitching both vertical borders…
Stitch the short, horizontal borders.
NOTE-I don’t recommend that you stitch all the way around in one path around the rectangle as this will cause the layers to twist and create ripples in the quilting–trust me, I know these things….
START STITCHING
Choose a decorative thread in a contrasting color. I recommend a heavier weight thread — 30 or 40 wt in Rayon, cotton or polyester.
In Row One and Row Fourteen-Stitch Beginner Loops
Stitch Row One Loops downward
and Row 14- Upward Loops.
STEPS
- Press a fat quarter quilt sandwich.
- Mark the sidelines and bottom line.
- Mark the quilting lines, creating the top line.
- Stabilize the quilt by stitching the sides then the top and bottom using matching thread.
- Stitch Beginner Loops in Row 1 and Row 14.
- Place your right hand on your left shoulder. Pat, pat, pat…Cheers!
ENTER TO WIN
Don’t forget to enter Craftsy’s Giveaway contest to win my second class, Creative Free Motion Techniques: From Doodle to Quilt.
The Winner will be announced on Monday, April 11 when the class goes “live”!
Happy Quilting!
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. This blog contains affiliate links. Thanks!
