Thursday Night is QUILT NIGHT in my house and this week I got a lot “finished”… That is until I bent a needle at 12:30 AM and then immediately remembered what it was I forgot to get the last time I was at the craft store! So my night was cut short, but it was probably for the better, as I did get some much needed organization done since I couldn’t sew anymore…
So, here’s what I did last night:
FIRST – I finished my QFK (Quilts For Kids) Quilt. I started this one around the first of the year, and I finally got it done. I tried a new binding technique called “wrap around binding” because that is exactly what you do. You leave 1” extra backing material all around the quilt. Then you fold that 1” in half and iron it well, then you fold that over the front and you have thus “Wrapped” the backing around to the the front. Pin it in place and quilt down the Binding. It worked. The corners were a little tricky, but I got it done and I don’t think it looks that bad. I don’t know if I’ll do it again, but hey, if you don’t try it, you can’t knock it…
Finished QFK Quilt (can you see my error??)
Close up of the binding front and back
Binding process
SECOND – I wanted to finish my Mug Rug for the Columbus Modern Quilt Guild Swap… and I almost did, but I did not finish the binding. I need to do the final part which is to hand stitch down the binding on the front of the quilt. It was a week for new binding techniques for me. On this Mug Rug, I decided to add a little flange to the back of the quilt to set off that yellow binding. Here is the completed Mug Rug (notice the binding still needs to be stitched down)…
The Flanged Binding on the back
I also used a new trick to get my lines straight in my quilting… Frog Tape!
Tape in place and follow the edge of the tape.
The tape does not leave a residue on the fabric.
And you get nice STRAIGHT lines!!
The Flange Binding went on after the quilting was done…
Then the regular binding… I did not think of the additional layers caused by the Flange or I would have added an 1/8th of an inch… There are two spots where I am going to be lucky to completely cover the stitching from attaching the Binding. Next time I will definitely add at least 1/8th of an inch, maybe a whole 1/4 of an inch.
Then literally as I was stiching the last half inch of binding, my machine made a funny “CLANK” noise, then it rattled, and then it made and even louder clunk. My needle came up bent big time! Thank goodness I managed to finish getting the binding on, but it’s also kind of frustrating… I just cleaned it last week when I was done using it…
139
Hopefully this isn’t indicative of a bigger problem…
Next week is Guild Meeting night, but I plan to get some quilting in when I get back!
Until Next Week, or maybe sooner,
Paul
Great idea for the binding Paul. I'm going to try that and no, I didn't notice your mistake until you pointed it out. Shouldn't do that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I like that - you're human not a machine - quilt looks fantastic and it's a definate one-off!
Paul, I too have used the wrapped binding. When teaching beginners I will give them that option with a couple BUTs attached. LOL IMHO it is ok for utilitarian type quilts but not something I would use all the time. BTW, I am a new follower and really enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeletePaul---just found your blog through your interview at Stitchin' Heaven Blog. My husband is a quilter, too , although he doesn't get as much done as you do----I like the idea of a night dedicated to quilting! I use the wrapped binging on all my Project Linus quilts, I feel it makes the binding more sturdy for that kind of quilt. Happy Quilting!
ReplyDeleteHey, Paul. My first quilt has a folded binding. That's how my family bound the antique quilts I have. I still can't find the mistake. Lane
ReplyDelete