Sometimes it's fun to switch things up! I've been doing a lot of quilts lately but last week I spent an afternoon making a new tote bag for myself with some lovely new fabrics.
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
French Market Tote Bag Tutorial + Dots and Posies Fabric
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Coral and Gray Scrappy Quilt + Season to Taste Book
There's been some scrappy sewing around here lately. After all of the reds and greens of the holiday season I sure was ready for a new color palette!
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Fast Track Quilt Along + Pattern Sale
Hey everyone! Want to sew along with me in February? Starting February 1st I'll be hosting the Fast Track Quilt Along!
The quilt along will run for four weeks:
February 1 - February 28
and all of the information will be sent out directly to participants in a weekly email - including tips, inspiration, and helpful video tutorials. I can't wait to get started.
Want to join in? Click here for the sign up page. It's free to join - no subscription fee or membership required. All you'll need is a copy of the pattern and the supplies and fabric to make whatever size of Fast Track you wish.
Weekly schedule:
Week 1: Fabric selection & cutting fabric
Week 2: Block construction
Week 3: Finish blocks & quilt top assembly
Week 4: Quilting & binding your Fast Track quilt
Details and other info will be conveniently delivered to your inbox each Monday morning so be sure you're signed up so you don't miss a thing!
Fast Track is quick to piece and fun to make. It's also a versatile pattern! You can use:
- Jelly roll strips
- Layer cake squares
- Fat quarters
- 1/4 yard cuts
- or even scraps!
Along the way we'll all be sharing our progress on Instagram
#FastTrackQAL
#FastTrackquilt
Not on Instagram? No problem! It's not mandatory - it's just a fun way for us to see everyone's creations and cheer each other on!
I'll have more details to share as we get closer to February 1st - in the meantime be sure your signed up for the QAL and start thinking about what size you'd like to make!
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Fast Track quilt pattern
I'm so excited to be able to share my newest quilt pattern, Fast Track! It's a quick and easy quilt pattern that uses pre-cuts and includes four sizes of quilts.
Super quick to piece
Friday, November 20, 2020
Fast Track Quilt in Pure Delight Fabrics
Hey friends! Today I get to introduce to you to a couple of new fun things.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Venture Out quilt in Backyard Blooms
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Scalloped Quilt Border Tutorial
Ever since sharing my Winsome quilt last week I've received a lot of questions about how I did the scalloped border. I admit that up until this month I was completely intimidated by the idea of scallops, and also a little afraid I'd mess up my quilt.
So today I wanted to share a tutorial showing how I created the scalloped border. Are you ready to try it?
- Scallops, Vines, & Waves ruler from Quilt in a Day (find it here on Amazon*)
- Marking tool of some kind like a disappearing ink pen or another non-permanent marking pen
- Sharp scissors
- Pins
- Bias binding
Step 1: Trim the edges of your quilt so they're even. Sometimes after quilting the edges of a quilt can be a bit wavy and you'll want a nice, straight edge to work with. I went around my whole quilt and trimmed the border to be 3.25" all the way around.
Step 2: Ok. Time for just a bit of math - and this is the trickiest part, I promise!
Measure the width and length of the quilt top. Subtract 4" from each. For example:
width: 68" - 4" = 64"
length: 77" - 4" = 73"
Take these two numbers and refer to the chart on page 15 of the booklet that comes with the ruler. By looking at the chart* I can see that for the top and bottom edge of the quilt I can get 8 scallops that are each 8" long. And on the sides of the quilt I can get 9 scallops that will be about 8" long.
So now I know I'll be making 8" long scallops. It's okay if your scallops are different sizes, but you'll want them as close in size as possible. Having 6" long scallops along the top edge and 9" long scallops along the sides would be noticeable. But having 7.5" and 8" scallops would not be.
*If you want to skip the chart and do the math yourself, scroll to the very bottom of this post and I'll step you through it. You really have a lot more options when you do the math yourself so it's worth taking a look!
Step 3: Use a straight ruler and a marking tool/pen to mark a diagonal line through the border to the corner. I started marking mine with a hera marker but then realized the markings don't show up in photos well, so I added the purple line so you could see what I meant.
Step 4: From step 2, I've determined that my scallops will be 8" long. So I find the 8" marking on the scallop ruler and place that on the diagonal line. Be sure to have the solid line of the ruler placed on the edge of the quilt.
Place a pin to mark the 8" spot on the other end of the ruler (see the circle in the photo below).
For my quilt, the center few scallops ended up being more like 8.25" long but that difference is not noticeable in the finished quilt.
Step 8: Repeat steps 4-7 for the opposite side of the quilt, and then for the top and bottom of the quilt.
On the top and bottom of my quilt my center scallop was too small. So I needed to adjust the center few scallops just a bit shorter than 8". They were more like 7.75" long, but again that wasn't noticeable in the finished quilt.
Step 9: Once all scallops are marked with pins, you're ready to draw the scallops. I used a Fine Point Disappearing Ink pen (air and water soluble) to mark my scallops. But you can use any non-permanent marking pen. Fat Quarter Shop has a Sewline Air Erasable Fabric Pen here that would work great.
Be sure to line up the solid line on the ruler with the edge of your quilt! (see photo below)
Some tips:
- One thing I learned is that it's a lot less exact than I thought it needed to be. Small adjustments in the middle few scallops are not noticeable in the finished quilt.
- The first time you make scalloped edges on a quilt will be the slowest. Then you'll get the hang of it and it will be quicker next time - and more fun.
- If you prefer more of a wavy edge instead of a true scallop, the same ruler will help you with that - another reason to have this ruler in your toolbox. There are separate instructions inside the booklet for doing a wavy edge, plus another section for adding applique vines to a quilt. It really is such a useful tool!
If you have any additional questions that I didn't answer just add them to the comments at the bottom of the post!
And for more details about the quilt shown in these photos, visit this blog post.
Want to figure out the math on your own? Here's how:
Measure the width and length of the quilt top. Subtract 4" from each. For example:
width: 68" - 4" = 64"
length: 77" - 4" = 73"
Next, we want to find a number that we can divide them both by (or close enough). This will help us determine the size of the scallop and how many will be on each side.
In this case, I can divide 64 and 73 both by 8
64 / 8 = 8
73 / 8 = 9.125 (which is really close to 9 so we'll be rounding that down)
So now I know that across the top of my quilt I can make 8 scallops that are 8" long and down each side I can make 9 scallops that are 8" long.
Want to see another example? Let's say you've made a baby quilt that is 45" x 45"
width: 45" - 4" = 41"
length: 45" - 4" = 41"
If I divide by 7, I get 5.85
So I can make 6 scallops per side that are about 7" long
If I divide by 8, I get 5.125
Which means I could make 5 scallops per side that are about 8" long
If I divide by 4, I get 10.25
Which means I could make 10 scallops per side that are about 4" long
See how many options you have when you do the math yourself? I love that!
There is a bit of wiggle room and you really can play around with what size of scallop you want to have. With a smaller quilt like a baby or crib size, I'd probably go for a shorter length of scallop. But for a queen or king I'd use a longer scallop.
When doing the math, there's no one right answer. Play around with the numbers and you can even go ahead and mark a few scallops on the quilt to see if you like the scale of the scallop in comparison to the quilt design!