Welcome! It is Tuesday Tutorial Day and I would like to welcome all of the new followers of The Inbox Jaunt--Thank you to The Crafty Pioneer who sent you our way and to all of you who have pinned us on Pinterest! I’m so glad you’re here — please check out the “Quilt” tab above for more free motion quilting tutorials. We have many more on the sewing table…
Today’s design is The Open Leaf with Spiral. It is a variation of the Open Leaf–a little “dressier”. It looks great when combined with The Greek Key or other linear patterns.
For this design, begin by drawing three lines or “rails”. In the image below, the lines are 3/4 inch apart. Begin stitching on the middle rail a few stitches, then curve to the right rail. Stitch along the right rail for several stitches and stop (with your needle down).
Next, sweep toward the middle rail and sew a curl…
Stitch outside of your curl and back to the middle rail…
Now you are ready to stitch the left side. Stitch a few stitches along the middle rail, curve to the left rail and stitch along it a few stitches, then stop…
Stitch the curl, and back to the center rail…
Now keep going…
I love this pattern because it looks rather formal and it is easier than it looks. There’s a variation on this called The Double Open Leaf with Spiral that is perfect for a fuller, wider border. We will save that for now because next week we are stitching a fabulous flower border—We need flowers! –(Still snow on the ground here in Minnesota.)
