Fabric Name Tags--How to Make Them

A group of quilters called the Sunday Sew and Sews are starting the 2019 Block of the Month soon. We have grown to 25 people and will  meet one Sunday a month. With such a large group it is important to me that everyone feel included--learning each other's names is a great first step.

So I made them all a name tag:

It was easy. Using Word, I created a document that had all the names on one page, keeping the spacing as even as possible.  I printed the document on fabric prepared for printing, the same product I use for quilt labels:

I cut each name apart, trying to keep them as close to the same size as possible. It would have been easier if each person's name was the same number of letters, but that was not to be.

Then I created little "quilts" where the  names were the blocks and I used sashing strips that I cut 2.5" wide:

 When I ran out of pink fabric, I switched to green:

All 25 ready to be layered and quilted

quilted

I used three different back fabrics, just pulling from the scrap pile, and scraps of Quilter's Dream Cotton batting:

Ready for quilting

Quilting was simply straight lines with my Bernina Q20 sit down machine and a ruler--free motion and fast, with variegated thread. One start and one stop, traveling at the outer edges which I knew would be cut away:

Then they were cut apart with a wavy blade rotary cutter--that was all the finishing to do. I could have added binding or finished with decorative stitches but keeping this simple was the idea. I added a safety pin to the back of each and they were done.

I made one a little bit special. This person found us the meeting space, she arrives early to help me be sure we are ready, and stays late to help me clean up. She is the designated "Teacher's Pet" and she didn't know that until she got her official Name Tag:

It took a few hours to do this but I think it is a fun way for them to learn each other's names. I told them there would be a test in December, without name tags!

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Tutorial: How to Add a Mitered Border to Your Quilt

There are times when a quilt really benefits from a mitered border, instead of a border with butted or cornerstone corners.  It takes a little more time to do miters, but the effort can really pay off.  It is NOT HARD, just a little slower to accomplish than plain borders.

Sometimes it's the fabric you've selected for your border that tells you to miter.  A stripe or a border print really looks good mitered.  Here are the steps I took this week to add a striped fabric to my   Circa 2016 quilt.

1. Measure the quilt top in both directions:

This was 52" x 43" including seam allowances.

2. Carefully cut the borders exactly the same size in width and placement of the lines.  This almost certainly has to be done one layer at a time to be sure all four borders are the same. I placed the 2.25" mark on my ruler on a specific line on the striped fabric--this is the center of the border.  I cut four borders, 4.5" wide each, 2.25" away from the center line in both directions.  Now the borders have the stripes exactly the same. The longest border I needed was 52" + 8" = 60" so the 2 yards (72") I had of this stripe was plenty.  I did not cut the borders to exact size before sewing.  Some people do, but I wait until the borders are sewn in place to make the final cut to size--insurance in case I measured incorrectly--it happens...

3.  Fold the border in the middle, mark the middle, and mark the outside measurement on both ends--here is the 52" border, marked at 26" and at the outer ends:

4. Do the same thing with other border, 43" is marked at both ends and 21.5" in the middle.

5. Pin the first border to the quilt, pinning at the middle and precisely at each end.  Use as many pins as you need to ease the border/quilt to fit each other:

This shows the back side of the border, where the mark on the border is lined up with the outside edge of the quilt.  I pinned and sewed with the quilt side up so I could see the Half Square Triangles (HST).

6. Start and end the seam 1/4" from both outside edges:

7.  Add all four borders in the same manner, starting and stopping 1/4" in from the outside edge of the quilt.

8.  When all four borders are in place, you will mark the 45 degree miter line with a pencil.  Carefully fold a corner of the quilt so two borders are exactly on top of each other and the quilt is folded at the seam where you started/stopped sewing:

Both borders sewn, from the back

Both borders sewn, from the front

If you have a triangle ruler, now is a good time to use it.  Line up the ruler with the start/stop stitches where the quilt joins the border and the bottom edge, keeping everything in line:

If you don't have a triangle ruler, any ruler with a 45 degree line will work:

Pencil line drawn carefully from start to finish:

I pin and check that the border lines are precisely lined up, this looks good so I'm ready to sew:

9.  Starting at the top where the quilt is joined to the border, sew with a few back stitches, being sure you don't go inside the seam allowance.  Any stitches that go inside the seam allowance will cause a small pucker--you'll want to remove any of those stitches.  Sewn and ready to trim:

10.  Carefully trim the seam.  I cut this slightly larger than 1/4", but 1/4" is fine if you prefer.  Press the seams open and admire how precisely you sewed your borders:

Lather, rinse, repeat with the other three borders.  Your quilt looks great!

Here is mine:

And, because someone will ask, the top border is wider because I did not cut the selvedge off when I cut the fourth border.  It will be trimmed off when the quilt is finished and I am squaring it up for binding.

Just a NOTE:  if you have multiple fabrics in your border, make "border fabric" first before joining the borders to the quilt.  Here is a striped border that I didn't worry about matching at the corners and an inner narrow black border.  The black fabric was sewn to the striped fabric before I marked, pinned, and sewed the borders to the quilt.  I only want to miter four times/quilt. not eight or twelve or however many borders you have on the quilt:

I hope you learned a trick or two here.  If so, please share this with all your quilt-y friends.  It can seem like no one is reading these posts out there in cyber-land!

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Piece Your Quilts Like a Pro--Part 1--the Cutting

There are only 3 things you can do "wrong" to make your piecing less than perfect:  the cutting, the sewing, and/or the pressing.  We will look at each of these skills so you can master them all and create beautiful quilts you will be proud of.  NOTE:  this post is photo-heavy and lengthy--it is a class in cutting!

8 points coming together nicely

A bit off--one of the points is "hidden"

3" block, pretty precise

One more set of 3" blocks

I am hoping you are after precise piecing, intersections that intersect, points that are sharp.  Now, having said this, you should know that I describe myself as a "95% quilter"--close is good enough most of the time.  If you are planning to enter international competition, that is NOT good enough.  If you are making quilts for people you love, it is fine AND you get to decide how precise it has to be.  I started 30 years ago as a "50% quilter" and was happy with that.  You will get better the more quilts you make.

One more DISCLAIMER:  I am not the quilt police and there is more than one way to complete any task.  I will show you what works for me and what has worked very well for the more than 1000 beginning quiltmaking students I have taught over the years.  If you have a different method that works well for you, I am happy for you and encourage you to keep at it. That is why there is chocolate AND vanilla--you get to choose. If you want some tips on how to improve, keep reading...

It starts with the cutting and that is where beginners seem to have trouble.  Rotary cutting changed EVERYTHING in quilting and is one of the primary reasons our industry has grown so much in the last 40 years.  Blades are sharp, rulers are abundant, and you need to learn how to use them.  My shots are for right-handed people.  Left-handed people can make great quilts--they just do everything upside down and backwards.

I prefer to cut only two layers at a time and use a 45 mm blade for this.  (Olfa is my favorite brand for their sharp blades and ease of use.)  When I cut four layers, I use a 60 mm blade--not often but occasionally.  My favorite rulers are Creative Grids and Omnigrip--my students get instantly better when they switch to these--the built-in grippers on the underside of the rulers minimize slipping.

 Here I have carefully pressed yardage to cut 2.5" binding strips.  You can see the edges are not even so they need to be trimmed.  Right handed people want their fabric on the right, ruler on the left. NOTE:  I do not use the lines of the mat for anything--I only use the lines on the ruler for measuring.

 Using two rulers, one a small square, and one a 24.5" long ruler, you will clean up that outside edge.  Place a line from the square ruler on the bottom edge of the fabric--that is the folded edge, the selvages are at the top.  Take care to press that folded edge neatly, eliminating any folds or puckers there.  You want the fold on the straight of grain as much as possible.

 Butt the long ruler up to the square, holding the square firmly in place so it stays on the fold line.

 Now you can remove the small square and hold firmly to the long ruler as you make that first long cut.  I find with Creative Grid rulers I can hold firmly in the middle and cut the entire 22-23" length without moving my hand.  It takes a firm grip and shoulder pressure to keep the ruler from moving.  Beginners find it helpful to cut about half-way up, placing their hand at no more than the 12" mark, then VERY CAREFULLY move their hand up toward the top of the ruler, again being sure it does not move out of place.  If it does, place the small square back on the foldline and start over.

 Now that the first cut is made and the long edge is perfectly straight, I place the ruler at the 7.5" mark.  WHY? Because I am cutting my binding strips 2.5" wide and with my 8.5" wide ruler I can cut 3 strips under the ruler before I have to set it again.  Here is the IMPORTANT POINT:
You want the edge of the fabric to split the measuring line in half--it is hard to see as this line is black and the fabric is deep purple. So let's try another fabric and ruler:

 The yellow fabric splits the black line exactly in half.  If you can see the green mat to the right of the black line, it is too narrow.  If you can see the yellow fabric to the left of the black line, it is too wide.  You have to place the ruler somewhere, you might as well place it exactly where it needs to go.

Back to my purple binding strips:

 After cutting the first strip at the 7.5" line, I carefully slide the ruler to the 5" line.  DO NOT pick up the ruler to move it, just gently slide it in place, being careful NOT to move the fabric.  Now I make that long cut.

 Finally, I slide the ruler over to the 2.5" mark, again placing it very precisely where it needs to be, then make that last cut.

Here you see the 3 strips that have been cut.  I move them out the way and place the ruler at the 7.5" mark again.  To be honest, I had not pressed more than the first 9" or so of fabric, so I took the fabric back to my pressing station and pressed another 20" or so.  Then back at the cutting station, I cleaned up the outside edge again, using the small square and long ruler, and then continued to cut 2.5" strips, 3 at a time, until I had the 10 strips I need.  (A binding tutorial will be coming up in the future.)

That is the basics of cutting long strips from the Width of Fabric (WOF).  If you are using fat quarters, you can fold them in half to cut 22" strips crosswise grain or 18" strips lengthwise grain.  That is a whole other topic for another time.  If you only have to cut 1 strip, just place the long ruler at the line for the width you need to cut, no sliding necessary.  The sliding method works well when the numbers are easy to calculate, like 2", 4" ,6", etc., or my 2.5", 5", 7.5".  Once you get into numbers like 2.375" it becomes more difficult and is just as easy to simply cut one strip at a time,

Here is how I cut fabric pieces for a block:

 Here I am using scrap fabric and I only need one 4" square so I don't cut an entire 4" strip.  If I was making several of these blocks, I would cut the strip 4" and sub-cut into 4" squares.

The block has been rotated 180 degrees so I can clean up the other two edges

 There is only a little sliver of waste, but a perfectly cut 4" square.

Now to be honest, this little block I am making actually needs four 2" squares and each will have a pencil line drawn on the diagonal.  I learned this neat-o trick about a year ago and pass it on to you:  Cut one 4" square, draw two pencil lines on both diagonals and then carefully sub-cut the square in half on both directions:

Viola!  You now have four 2" squares with the pencil lines already drawn!  There is a big added bonus:  if you are using a directional fabric, like a stripe, the lines are drawn so that the stripes will all go up and down in your block.  I like wonky quilts, I love the fun and playful vibe they have, but in reality I am a symmetrical kind of girl and just have to have my stripes in line.  Guess it's the Marine in me: left, right, left, right, all together now...

If you were to cut four separate 2" squares and then draw the pencil lines, you would need to draw two lines going vertically and two horizontally to the stripes if you wanted those lines to be lined up like I do.  By cutting the four squares at once, with the pencil lines drawn, you get this already done, no thinking necessary.

ONE MORE THING:  how to change your blade.

I am often asked by students how often to change their blade.  My answer is simple;  No one has ever changed a blade and then said "I could have gotten two more weeks out of that old blade".  You change it when you get tired of the blade sticking and not cutting all the way through your fabric every time.  A new blade makes you feel so good!

And here is how my brand gets changed correctly, yours may be different:

 I laid out the pieces in the order I took them apart.  Using a small piece of batting I carefully cleaned away the lint and dust and grime that gets on the various parts. Be careful when handling the blades, both old and new.

 Once clean, I reassemble.  With the black surface face up, I added one drop of sewing machine oil at the bottom of the black surface just above the word "safety cover".  If you get too much oil on it, wipe a bit off with that small piece of batting you have.  The blade goes on with the name "Olfa" facing you.  If you can't see the name, you have the blade on upside down.

 I love this brand of Sewing Machine Oil with its' long spout:  Zoom Spout Oiler from Nifty Notions.  I got it at my Bernina dealer.  I keep it in the bag, even when I use it, so any extra drop of oil does not get where I don't want it.

 Now here is the trick--how does that washer go back on?  Just yesterday a very experienced, super award-winning quilter confessed on Facebook she can never remember.  So I decided to add this to our little lesson on cutting.  The washer goes on  CUP UP.  See how the washer is sitting on the mat  with the curvy part up?  Like a cup, if it didn't have a big hole in the middle.

Just place it in the same orientation, cup up, and then reattach the screw, finger tight.  Warning:  don't have a man do this for you; they won't pay any attention to how they took it apart and their "finger tight" and yours is very different.  It will take pliers to unscrew it because it's way too tight.  Just tight enough that it won't come off and so the blade rolls easily across the mat and through fabric.

If you are still here, thanks for staying with me and if you find this  helpful, please share it all over the world.  Part 2 will be coming up on the next problem area:  The Sewing.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara