Row Along 2018: Row 4 Pinwheels

Row 4 is here and its a quickie! So that means it is a great time to get caught up if you need to and would like to. These simple pinwheels are extra fun because they are 3D! You will add these pinwheels to many quilts in the future. They are only a little more work than the classic, but add fun dimension to your project and are very unique.  Little one’s absolutely love them so they are especially fantastic in baby quilts.

Fabric:

For this row you will use your background fabric plus 8 fabrics of your choosing from your fats (or fat 1/8th’s).

Cutting:

Everything is cut the same size for this row,so its easy peasy.  But you are cutting a 5/8″ measurement which can be a little harder to see on your ruler, so just double check yourself that you are lined up correctly every time you cut.

Preparing the Pinwheel Units: 

Pressing:

The first video in the Facebook Group shows how to press your pinwheel fabrics.  Your folds will put you on the bias edge of the fabric, which is super stretchy, so make sure to press ( up and down motion) not iron (back and forth motion).  Ironing, rather than pressing will cause quilting fabrics (especially ones on bias) to stretch and distort out of shape, sometimes when pieces don’t line up and are not fitting together,this is the cause.

Another tip is to use a little glue stick in addition to pressing to hold your triangles in place , this is not necessary but helpful.

A glue stick and an awl are the most helpful tools for this row.

Stitching:

We have you stitch the pinwheel triangles closed, before they are stitched to the background, so that they do not open and give you any trouble in the next step. You can stitch them with your regular stitch length or even move to a larger basting size stitch. When stitching the triangles closed and a couple more times in this row you will use an 1/8″ seam. TIP: The inside edge of your 1/4″ presser foot is an 1/8″ and you can easily line fabrics up with it, as shown in the pic below.

You will again use a 1/8″ seam allowance to stitch the triangles to your backgrounds (with a regular or a basting stitch). Follow steps 3 &4 in the book exactly. Also it is very helpful to attach them into place with glue stick rather than pins. You will also find your awl very helpful when stitching from now on, you can use it to easily guide the triangle points under your presser foot. The #2 & #3 videos helps with these steps.

Stitching the Pinwheels:

When making your pinwheel block, there are 2 different configurations you can make, they each result in the pinwheel spinning at a different point or in a different direction. This was a small mistake we noticed in the book, our quilt shows the pinwheels in a different configuration than our how-to step shows. So here are both and you can choose which one you like best, the left or the right. Either works perfectly, they are just different, just make sure whichever configuration you choose, that all of your blocks are consistent. Our book quilt is made with the left picture configuration, and I decided to use the right for my quilt. Videos #4 – #7 offer additional help, pinning and stitching your pinwheel segments into blocks.

This pinwheel block will feel much more bulky than we are used to because of all of the extra layers so pay careful attention when pressing, press some seams open if you like and give each block a little extra press when you are finished. Video #8 helps with pressing the block.

Putting the row together: 

Layout all of your blocks in the order that you like the best, than take a photo or mark each ones place. Stitch them in pairs and so on until all 8 are together for your row.

This row was a breeze, don’t you think? Make sure to post your pics and use the hashtag #row4giveaway for a chance to win a Row Along prize!

Now everyone eat your Wheaties, next month are those darn birds! You’ll either love making them ,or be really excited to be finished, but I know you’ll adore them in the end.

I LOVE my quilt so far! I still need to add my red embroidery stitches to my Row #3, and stitch them together, but its a rainy day today so maybe I’ll get it done finally. We hope your loving your quilt too!!

Row Along 2018: Row 3 Dresden

Row 3 is here and I really think you all will be pleasantly surprised while making this one. It looks really impressive and in my opinion is much simpler to make than it appears. Follow the instructions in the book exactly, pay attention to these tips in this post and also watch our videos in the Facebook Group for extra help and you should end up with a beautiful row.

Fabric:

You will use 23 fabrics for the Dresden Spokes on this row, cut from Fat Quarters, Fat Eights or even scraps. You will also need a fabric for all of the center half circles, use your leftover solid red from Row#2 or a new fabric and it doesn’t necessarily need to be red ( I really wanted to use black but than chickened out at the last minute). Lastly you will use some of your background fabric.

Cutting: 

Background Fabric- In the book it has you cut the backgrounds 10.5″ X 6″, this is the intended measurement and will probably require small shims of the background on the outer edges once you see where your width ends up with all rows at the end (see page 15 in the book re: shims).You could also cut these backgrounds larger than our directions, at 11″X 6″. If you do this, you will end up with trimming a little teensy bit off both ends when you are putting all of your rows together. Either way is fine, I will be using the shims technique, as I like the look of them squeezed a little closer together, but you can do either.

Dresden Spokes- Make a template of the Dresden Spoke #1 pattern in your book from velum or something similar (I suggest even making a few in case you cut into one as you go, than you already have a replacement). This is a silly tip but actually really helpful, use a piece of scotch tape on the back of the velum to adhere it to fabrics when you cut. The tape can be reused over and over as you cut each fabric and holds just enough to make a huge difference. Its best to cut fabrics in pairs and a small ruler is really helpful, a 1″ X 6″ or a 2.5 X 4.5″.

THE NEXT STEP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP WHEN MAKING THIS ROW! You must trace the Dresden spoke #2 pattern onto the wrong side of all of your spokes after they are cut. It is not exactly 1/4″ in all spots, if you trace 1/4″ with your ruler or skip this step all together you will have issues getting the finished dresden to fit and lay flat correctly. This traced line is also your stitch line later. It is REALLY IMPORTANT and will make all the difference in having this row work perfectly for you. Be sure to center the pattern as best as you can each time you trace it.

Making the Dresdens:

Follow the directions on page 21 in the book, they are great with lots of pictures. There are 3 videos #1-3 in our Facebook group that will help you to turn the Dresdens right side out correctly, get perfect points and press them precisely.

Putting the Spokes together: 

Follow page 22 instructions paying extra attention to the following tips.

Before you stitch your spokes together, I strongly suggest picking your fabric placement for all 5 blocks and taking a photo with your phone, or attaching a labeling system to ensure that the colors are all spread out evenly.

When pinning pairs together to stitch, make sure the top and side points are lined up perfectly. If the bottom ends are off slightly, it will not be a problem, but if your points (especially the side point) are off it will be an issue.

Next and most importantly, when stitching spokes together use your traced pencil line as your stitch line, not your 1/4″ foot. See our video #4 in the Facebook group for more assistance here.

Adding the Background:

If you follow our directions carefully, you should be able to fit a Dresden made up of 9 spokes onto a background easily. Make sure to line up your middle spoke point to the middle fold line you make in step 1. Use a basting glue to adhere all 5 to the backgrounds, do not worry if the beginning and last spoke is hanging over the background a little, this is totally fine and you can trim it after you stitch them into place. See our #5 video on the FB page for more help on glue basting your Dresden into place.

Machine Applique: 

We love our favorite machine applique method for attaching the Dresdens but you can also use Hand Applique or another Machine method if you prefer. Remember, when using a mono-filament clear thread, it is only used on the top, NOT in your bobbin, just keep your regular thread down below. If you have a needle down option on your machine it is VERY helpful to keep everything in place when you have to pivot to turn up and down the points while stitching (if you do not have this option on your machine, just hand crank the needle into place and it does the same thing).

Applique Centers: 

The Half circles are dynamite in red but could be any other color that you think sets off your Dresdens, I ended up switching to a polka dot last minute, just because, and I really love it. Follow the directions carefully on page 24. I suggest making 1 velum template before you make all 5 and make sure your piece covers your opening easily. If your piece seems a little too small, cut your velum template slightly outside the drawn line and this will fix this problem. There is a great little video (#6 in the FB group) that shows how the seam allowance in turned over with your awl and some glue stick.

YOU GUYS! Your pretty much done!

Optional Embroidery:

The outer red embroidery is totally optional, but I love it and think it really adds a little extra pizazz. You can also change the color to match your center if you did not use red. Someone in our FB group had black centers with black stitching and I really loved it.

I hope everyone really enjoys making this row! Also after all 5 are stitched together, remember to wait to add shims or trim, it is really best to do this to any rows where its necessary at the very end, once all rows are finished and measured. As usual we will have a giveaway for some of our favorite products we used for Row 3, you can enter in the FB Group or Instagram.

11277 Hamilton White F’17

Row Along 2018: Row 2 Ribbons

So, hopefully we all survived Row 1 and were ready to stitch forward. Row 2 is fun to make, but there are a few places that can give you some problems if they are done incorrectly. So we are going to guide you on your way and point out exactly what to do to get the best results.

Fabric:

This Row requires only 3 fabrics, your background and 2 other fabrics that can co-ordinate or have contrast, its totally up to you. We used a red print and red solid, but I have already seen other rows with more contrasting colors and they look great.

This is the first time you will cut into your background fabric for a row, please read the “Cutting Borders, Sashing, and long rows” (page 13) section before you cut into your off white. In that section we talk about making sure to cut the long pieces required for borders and sashing FIRST, before cutting for any of your rows. This will ensure you have enough length to cut these pieces in a continuous piece. If you purchased our kit , there is a piece that is 88″ and labeled for cutting borders & sashing ect. You will use the other piece to cut for rows wherever needed and also the extra on the 88″ piece only AFTER you cut for borders, and sashings.

For your red solid and red print fabrics, you will NOT use Fat Quarters, there is a specific yardage requirement for these fabrics on page 6.

Cutting:

Accuracy in cutting is KEY on this row, so “measure twice, cut once” and be extra careful. The first video for this row on our Row Along Facebook Group (make sure to click the link & join if you haven’t already) is on cutting the diamonds with your 45 degree angle, this can be a little tricky, especially if its your first time.

P.S. I noticed several people who stitched ahead commenting that these red print diamonds looked large and they thought they had done something wrong. They do appear a little larger than you think they should. As long as they are measuring the 3 3/8″ width, your good.

Stitching It All Together:

There are two main things to be careful of when stitching your off white triangles to your red square.

First, be careful to attach the triangles the correct direction, it is very simple to accidentally place them wrong way. See the pics below, the wrong direction pic is sewn on one side, because I was in a hurry and totally made that mistake!

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second, you need to make sure you line up and pin the triangle with its 90 degree angle matched up to the 90 degree angle corner of the red square. There are 2 quick videos in the FB group showing the pinning and stitching of the triangle.

See in the above pic, how both 90 degree corners on the triangle and square are matched perfectly and the pointy ends are sticking out about 1/4″. The little triangles sticking out are what we are calling “dog ears” and are very important to make this row work. Also from here on out, do not be skimpy with your pins, you want everything to stay perfectly in place as you stitch. Look at the picture in your book, where both off white triangles are sewn and you can see the dog ears sticking out on both sides, once you have pressed these finished units.

As you continue and attach the diamonds to these stitched units, again the “dog ears” will be the key to everything lining up to make a straight row.

See above, how the diamond is lined up with the pieced unit, right sides together, creating the “dog ear” on both sides. It should be sticking out 1/4″. See FB video for more help on lining up correctly.

Once your stitched and pressed, you will still see the “dog ear” on one side and everything should be lined up pretty perfectly. Eventually you can slice these all off, I like to wait and do it when my whole row is completed.

When you stitch all of the row te row together, again its the “dog ears’ that matter. They really are the key.

Hopefully these tips with the book instructions will help you to make this row correctly.

When your ready to trim your edges, make sure to trim them to match the width of your Row 1. If your lucky, it will turn out just perfect, like mine did. Yay! Happy Dance!

I hope you are still having fun! Make sure to post your pics in the FB group as well as instagram! I will be doing more giveaways later this month from your posts, and I will choose the winners from last month tomorrow and post.

ROW ALONG with us in 2018!

Most of you already know we have a newly released book with C & T Publishing called Quilting Row by Row.  The book is inspired by a class we did a few years back, where we made the beautiful row quilt pictured above, one row a month. At first the quilt might look a little daunting , but if you tackle it a month at a time, a row at a time, it becomes much more do-able. You know the saying: How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time. Its just like that!

We will work one row at a time starting with the easiest and working our way up to the harder ones. You will learn a new fabulous quilting technique, that you will be pretty great at by the end of each row. And at the end of the year, you will have finished your own version of the beautiful quilt above. We know you want to make one! So make one with us! Come one come all, beginners and intermediates can quilt along.

So lets do it! Join our ONLINE ROW ALONG starting in January. We will be posting the row for you to work on, extra tips for each row, plus most months will have a bonus free pattern that you can make once you have mastered the technique for that month. And of course we will also have some GIVEAWAYS for those of you quilting along with us, because hey, we all love to win a quilty prize, right?

Who’s excited for 2018!?

Stay tuned for our Getting Started Post at the end of December and than the first Thursday of every month we will be posting that months Row. Make sure to get a copy of our book from us or at your LQS, its the main thing you will need and fabric of course. We have a few kits left, pick up fabric from your fave shop, or use up some of that stash.

Start a group and Row Along together, or get going on your own, either way it will be a blast!

We have a BOOK!

We are sooooo excited to announce our first ever BOOK is coming out! It is being published with C & T Publishing who did an absolutely amazing job partnering with us to create our vision perfectly. In “Quilting Row by Row” you can learn and perfect many quilting techniques one row at a time, while making the most beautiful quilt. The rows are made in order of difficulty, so that even beginners can make it and will finish up being an expert.

The book will start showing up in stores near you in October (please make sure to tell your favorite quilt shop about it). Copies are available from us directly now and have FREE SHIPPING, YAY!  We also have fantastic fabric packed QUILT KITS with all fabrics picked by us available.

Stay Tuned, we will be announcing a ROW ALONG soon, where you can sew along with us one row at a time with lots of additional tutorials, videos and some FUN surprises and prizes. We can’t wait!