Oh My goodness! How cute is this! I finished making this quilt today. All up it took me about 8 Hours I think - Not bad for a self taught quilter!! I must say that i tend to sew at FLAT out speed! Livi (my girl) and I picked out the material.
Very 'Gelato'. I was just gald she picked something with lots of colours and no Dora the explorer! {phew..he he he....}
So I had a pattern to follow, but like everything I make or cook, I never follow it exactly and end up tweeking it so much, I couldn't follow the instructions anyway... oh well... So here is how I made it.... Lea STYLE! (aka - 'Handmade and rustic.. wink wink jules!)PS Yes I am Australian, and i know we use cm's for measurement, but it's easier to talk inches (") when quilting!! Trust me!!
STUFF you Need!!
Materials
10 x 25cm of Quilting fabric
The backing I had already, so I just cut it to size at the end! You could just use an old sheet if you like... :)
The 'filling' was an old polar fleece blanket I had that I cut to size.
Cutting
Fold each 25 cm piece in half (length ways) and then cut the following strips.
1 x 3 1/2"
1 X 4 1/2"
You'll have heaps of left over material but keep it for the back or another nest project.
Starting with the 3 1/2" strip (cut the fold so that you have 2 strips, but keep them together so that you can cut the pieces together - save time!)
You need to cut four 7 1/2" x 3 1/2" rectangles from each colour. You'll end up with 40 of these once you have cut all of the fabric.
With the 4 1/2" strips - cut four 4 1/2" squares and four 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles. Again, a total of 40 pieces for each cut when you are finished.
Ok so the cutting is done. It is really easy if you have a cutting mat and rotary cutter... (oh how i love the cutter, I am hopeless at straight lines with scissors!!!!!! Just ask my mum! :)
Now for the sewing! Use a 1/4" seam allowance foot on your machine if you have one... if you don't, GET one - they make sewing straight SOOOO much easier!! If you don't just allow 1/4" for the seam. You'll need to sew together the 4 1/2" squares and the 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles first. It's a bit easier if you do all 40 at once. Be quite random with your fabric choices, try not to think about it too much, just GO FOR It (eekk be brave!).... Once they are all sewn, you'll need to press well the seams (I was never a believer in pressing, but BOY does it make a difference!!) Press the seam towards the darker of the two colours... that way, you wont notice it when the quilt is done. It doesn't matter too much though - so don't stress!
Then sew on the 7 1/2" rectangles. Again, be random with your choices... be creative! Put pieces together that you like. You'll end up with 40 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" blocks. Again, make sure you press the seams....trust me! :)
Now for the fun bit!! Lay out your blocks, 8 rows of 5 blocks (You can just differnt combos eg 6x6 would make a great baby play mat). I placed my blocks with the large rectangle at the bottom first, then for the next block the rectangle in the left side, then the top, then the right side (like if you were turing the block clockwise for each placement) but that is not important, play around with the squares and place them where YOU like them!!
Then sew the rows together (5 blocks) and press the seams!!! Then once you have 2 rows, sew the 2 rows together. Then keep repeating, each time you have 2 rows, Sew them to the first 2.... get me?? Then press all the seams so it is nice and neat (oh if my mother could hear me saying neat - me and neat don't usually ever cross paths!!)!!
Then get a cup of tea and a tim tam... lie down if you need too!! hehehe... BECAUSE you have finished the front!! YIPPEEE!!! See, wasn't too hard hey!
Now for the back... I sewed my quilt front and back together - because the thought of doing binding is too much for this beginner! So you need to cut backing fabric 1/2" bigger all around than the front (this allows for the 1/4" seam allowence). I made my backing 3 1/2" smaller on one side as i wanted to add a deatail strip down one edge. You don't have do this, I just liked it! So what I did was use the scrap fabric, stitching a few rows together then cutting 3 1/2" strips from the rows and attaching to the backing main piece. Then it is a matter of cutting the fill, slightly smaller again. By placing the 2 main pieces RIGHT sides facing, lay the fill over the top of one and pin so it is all smooth and joined. Then sew around 3 sides. Don't worry too much if the fill doesn't 'catch', it will when you turn it right way around. On the bottom edge, sew leaving a 10 - 15cm gap in the middle. Turn the quilt right way around and take a moment to admire your handy work!!! Now hand sticth the opening.
I did a top stitch around the border and then randomly selected some squares and rectangles to 'quilt' around. Hey PRESTO... You're done!! Now for the next one....
