Jan
30
The super secret piecing project
Filed Under Fabrics, Show & Tell | 7 Comments
Whew! It’s been awhile. I was gone for quilt shows back to back… first a guild show in Modesto, then home one day and on the road to Road. Road to California in SoCal is a quilt show and conference on steroids. What fun to be there and experience the excitement and positive energy of 35,000 quilters gathered in one spot to enjoy their common interest. On the way home I visited the fabulous Cathy for our annual schmooze.
Before I left for Modesto I was able to finish the super secret piecing project, which I can now reveal!
Last fall, my super smart nephew Stephen, just finishing his master’s at Stanford, expressed that he would like to give his treasured girlfriend a quilt, something on an oceanic theme, since in her studies she does things like get on a cutter and sail to Antarctica with other students to do research on the waters and sea life there.
Fish quilts. I’ve seen tons of them, I admire them, but to be honest they are not in my wheelhouse. My brain was spinning. But this kid is the nicest guy in the world and never asked me for anything in his life, so I was determined to make it work. Instead of literal fish or sharks or other watery fauna, I tried to think of ocean-related patterns. At first I thought of Storm at Sea, but I get kind of seasick looking at Storm at Sea. Then I thought, Storm at Sea is based on Ocean Waves, and I like Ocean Waves! I pitched the design and coloration to Stephen, who approved it enthusiastically.
I knew I would be seeing Tammy, the dyemistress of Always Unique Hand-Dyed Fabrics, at my next show, so I pitched that type of fabric. I felt that the use of hand dyes would bring the quilt more toward the modern aesthetic for this young ‘un. Again, a hearty approval.
The Always Unique booth
I found the perfect tutorial to make the quilt in exactly the size needed… queen size. Yes people I said queen size. I was putting on my big-girl panties for this one. Thank you *so much* Janet Wickell for posting the Free Ocean Waves Quilt Pattern on about.com.
I read the pattern, studied the pattern, double checked the pattern, made a list. Invaded Tammy’s booth, picked out the colors I liked, secured the fabric for the project. My buddy Alicia the Batty Lady was at the show too. She’s a Wonderfil rep, so I asked her what thread I could use for general piecing. (The DMC I use is too light for sewing a bed quilt.) Alicia led me right to the Tutti.
The Batty Lady booth
Okay, got the pattern, got the fabric, got the thread. When I got home I took a deep breath and started cutting squares.
It was right about this time that Stephen emailed to say that he would somehow like to help with the quilt, if there was a way he could do it without any trips to the emergency room. I was flabbergasted and very pleased. How many computer science grad students want to help with a sewing project? He came down to the house, and I set him and the DH up with marking stations. They sat and marked squares to be sewn into half-square triangles, whilst visiting with Grandpa from back east who just happened to be visiting at the same time. Whew. That was some weekend.
So now I’m making half-square triangle units by the hundreds. There are to be exact 800 of them in the quilt. I did say 800 in case your eyes didn’t believe it. Dana and I sat and marked again one night, and I finally got them all sewn, cut apart, pressed, and trimmed to accurate size.
Stephen wants to help some more. Awesome! I threw a block party. I sewed a sample block, set up a couple of my booth tables in the living room, laid out all the units and triangles, and told them to have at it. They laid out (18) 20-inch blocks on top of taped-together cardboard, with pieces of ancient humongo sketch paper that had been behind my desk for 15 years in between. Now I could pick up the blocks and move them upstairs to the studio.
The beloved nephew.
The boys hard at work in the salt mines.
The fabric is so beautiful.
The background fabric is not actually white… it’s a very pale misty grey, which I thought was oceany. Now I commenced a period of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair, sewing a block or a block and a half a day, until hallalujah! they were all done and pressed. Dana and I laid them out on the floor.
It only took one more day to sew the blocks into a quilt top, 80 x 100, and it was ready to go to the quilter.
After consulting with my friends, I took it to Barbara Heno in Gilroy, California. Stephen and I chose a panto called Waterworld to go with the watery theme. Barbara had the quilt done for me in just a few days, and it came out exactly how I wanted, with big overall swirls and eddies.
I bound it in the same mist grey to give it a more modern-y look.
Barbara doesn’t have a website but if you’d like contact info, just shoot me an email.
I left for Modesto with Dana in charge of the quilt transfer. Stephen came that night and took it away, very pleased with his super secret surprise.
Along with the quilt went a small bottle of Synthrapol that Tammy gave me for the initial washing.
Sigh. I did it ya’ll. I, the appliqué enthusiast and specialist who makes wall quilts, I pieced a queen size Ocean Waves quilt. Boom!
Next time, back to appliqué and the critter who popped into my head and wouldn’t go away.
Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Apr
27
Back-basting redux
Filed Under Back-basting (no-template), Curves, Hand appliqué, Needleturn, Photo tutorials | 14 Comments
Thanks everybody for the great suggestions for appliqué topics! I’ve got ’em all down on my list.
I love this from Sharon Decker!
I spent years not doing the “A” word. Why, because I didn’t realize there was more than one method. Once I learned backbasting, I became a convert. I now tell people who are either afraid of applique or haven’t even tried it that they just need to find the method that works for them. “One size does not fit all.” I don’t think people really understand how many methods there are and they just need encouragement to find what works for them.
Right on sister! You’re preaching to the choir!
Most of the questions were about hand appliqué, in fact a whopping 76%!
The easiest way to start is with things I’ve already written about. (Reminder, there are a bunch of categories in the left-hand sidebar. Click on any one of them and it’ll bring up anything that’s been posted having to do with that topic.)
MaryB wrote:
“I would like to know more about back basting. Right now I use glue basting but some times it’s not always convenient to take glue with you.”
Back in August 2008 I posted a photo tutorial of back-basting. Instead of just linking to it, I thought I’d repeat it here, adding in a few new comments in blue to address some of the back-basting questions.
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Back-Basting Photo tutorial
How about a method of appliqué that gives super-accurate results, yet uses no glue, no starch, no freezer paper, no fusible web, no fusible interfacing, no vinyl or tracing paper. Just fabric, needle and thread, scissors, and a marking implement. Pretty cool, huh?
Clairellen wrote:
“I must be missing something, as I am hearing such wonderful things about back-basting applique, and how it converts you forever from previous methods, but when I tried it (twice so far), it seemed bulky and hard to handle. So a detailed photo-enhanced tutorial would be terrific.”
No glue, no starch, no freezer paper, no fusibles, no overlays, just fabric and thread… what could be less bulky? I hope the following visuals will help you refine your strategies. Give it another whirl!
I promised awhile ago that I would write more about the back-basting, aka no-template preparation for hand appliqué. It’s really quite ingenious and is now my favorite way to work by hand. As I was stitching a Heart in Hand block today I took some pictures along the way to show how it works.
Use a reversed pattern for this method. Start by marking the reversed pattern on the back of the background fabric. I use the blue water-erasable pen. You can also use a marking pencil.
Rough-cut a hunk of the appliqué fabric that’s bigger than what you’ll need. Lay it in place on the front.
Pin the fabrics together. On the back, baste the two fabrics together with a small running stitch, exactly on the drawn line. Use a thick or fuzzy thread for this and a big honking needle. I use a size 7 cotton darner.
Baste all the way around the shape. This is what it looks like on the front.
Now trim the fabric to the shape of the motif, leaving your preferred turn-under margin outside the basting.
Clip and remove a section of basting stitches. In this freed-up area, start turning and stitching. Keep clipping and removing the basting a few stitches ahead of your appliqué. The thick needle and heavy basting thread leave behind temporary perforations that help the fabric turn along the stitching line. I use a size 10 milliner needle and DMC 50-weight cotton machine embroidery thread for appliqué.
Kat wrote:
“Backbasting…I have heard such wonderful things about it but I find that when I clip the basting thread and it is suppose to turn under so beautifully, my holes just disappear and I am left trying to figure out where to turn under! It seems that I can’t get the fabric to behave…like a stubborn child. I don’t find my points nearly as neat as with other methods…. it would be easier to do back basting if I could see what I was doing!”
Kat, is it possible that you’re removing the basting too far ahead of where you’re stitching? Try taking out the least amount of basting possible each time. And, the more you practice, the more you know how much to turn under. You’ll develop an appliquér’s sense of it. Also, here’s a tip… I can’t remember where I saw this, but I did see someone suggest that you could run a chalk marker over the basting stitches before starting to sew. That way, when the basting stitches are removed, there’s a dotted line left on the turn line. Lastly, see the next point in the tutorial. :)
Continue all the way around. Don’t press the block yet.
Hmm, not bad. A benefit of this method is that you can flip the block over to see how you’re doing. The marking serves as a built-in stitching guide!
Repeat the same process for the heart.
Christy B. wrote:
“I would like to know more about back-basting curves. I love the method for vines and leaves, but have a lot of trouble getting smooth curves for rose petals, etc.”
Christy, back-basting is actually a preparation method. The ‘smooth curves’ aspect comes along in the stitching part, which is just like traditional needle-turn. The culprit in chunky curves is the turning allowance and how it’s acting underneath the appliqué edge once it’s turned. First, make sure your turning allowance is not too wide. A quarter of an inch is actually too much. Trim to about 3/16″ of an inch, and distribute the bulk of the turning allowance smoothly underneath as you stitch. Make sure it’s not pleated up on itself under there.
Once the block is completed, remove the markings from the back. I dip a Q-tip in water and stroke it along the lines. Let the block air-dry and check to make sure none of the blue has reappeared. (If so, just wet it again.)
After all the marks are gone and the block has air-dried, give it a quick press. All done!
I have really come to love this method, since it gets me on the sofa stitching a lot quicker instead of fiddling around with freezer paper templates at the ironing board. I hope you enjoy it too. Like anything new, it takes practice, so give it a whirl and then another!
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FYI, back-basting is written up and illustrated in my books Teapots 2 to Appliqué, Easy Appliqué Blocks, and Inspired by Tradition, all available at Amazon and my website, By Kay Mackenzie.
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
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