Free Cut Floating Bricks Quilt Block Tutorial

To make a 13 inch quilt block I started with 16 wide x 15 inches tall rectangle of Kona solid in coal.  You will need a few fabric patterned fabric strips for your brick- size and number is up to you.  This is an improvised block so you can end up with lots of varieties of the same block. I free cut my strips and added some angles and wonk.  For a great tutorial about free cutting and piecing visit http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/2009/10/ready-set-sew.html

Have a mess around with the placement.  It helps to take a pic as this time to remind yourself later what you had in mind.  You are aiming for space around each brick of fabric. Fussy cutting your bricks works well.  From your solid, free cut the first strip that will run across the block.  This needs to be at least 1.5 inches wide and if you cut it with a bit of diagonal it will immediately place your first brick at a wonky angle.

Put this strip to one side.  Now take the widest patterned brick you are going to use and lay it on top of theremaining solid.  Use it to guide the start of your cutting line, you are free cutting a solid strip about the same width as this brick. Cut right across the width of the solid.

This strip is to provide the floating solid fabric at either end of the brick.  If your brick has an angled end, place it right side up on top of one end of the strip and cut along the angled end.  when you flip the solid strip over to join to the brick right sides together they will fit together beautifully!

Add solid to both sides of each brick, varying the width according to your original plan- this is where the digital pic you took earlier will come in useful.  You will need to cut another solid strip as thick as the widest remaining patterned strip, just as before.  Your completed strips need to be at least 15 inches wide.

With the remaining solid, cut the strips that will go between the bricks.  I keep a check with my ruler that the block is going to be tall enought- remember you will lose a quarter inch for each seam.  You can always join strips of solid together if you run out of strips the right width.  Starting with the first solid strip you cut at the top, join the brick strips to the slid strips, press after each seam.

You should have a block which is wider that 13 inches square with higgledy piggledy sides all ready for squaring up.

If your squaring up ends up being a little on the short side- mine did, not an unusual occurrence, you can always add an extra strip of solid.

Each block is going to end up different, celebrate the variety! 

Blocks and Swaps

A new year brings new Flickr activities, swaps and Bees  I ran the lottery gaunlet for Doll Quilt Swap 10 and got in and I am very happy.  There is a very cool button designed by Amy, assisted by Smith and her miniature circle of geese.

I am also doing My Favorite Little Quilt Swap which you can join at any time as long as you make your quilt by beginning of February, it is a very flexible swap commitment, click the link to find out more.

I have 2 bee commitments and I am very happy with those.  February is my month in Bee (a Little Bit) Japanese so I have been devising a block and prepping fabrics to send.

Some of my all time favourites, Suzuko Koseki, Sevenberry, Lecien, Kokka, Kitchen rpints, sewing prints, I have an emotional relationship with each.

A pile of strips and a chunk of Kona coal ready to go.

This is the block design- i have called it Floating Bricks

It is designed to showcase the fabrics and is flexible and adaptable.  I did a lot of free cutting which frees up the shapes and creates nice seam lines too.  Here's another...

I will post a tutorial on how to make this but it is pretty easy.  Meanwhile for others I made, non wonky Drunk Love Denyse Schimdt inspired blocks for Tong in the same Bee

And a fun block for Lisa in Ringo Pie- here theme is Mid Century Modern doors- loved doing this and the other blocks have been amazing.  I was inspired by this photo on Flickr

It was a tricky one, quick unpic in use a few times but I was determined to get it how I wanted it.  The wall plate number 5 is the date of Lisa's birthday/  I loved the yellow- Cosmo Cricket Early Bird.  I loved it so much I had to buy a lot more whilst I could still find it.  I am definitely using it again, it makes me smile :)

Obssessions

A bit of new year fabric eye candy...

Kona Snow, School Bus, Celery and Aqua

I am stocking up on solids and those big blocks of colour feel almost cleansing.  From Mandy at Simply Solids (UK online)- 20% discount going until 11th Jan.  I have just discovered the delights of Essex linen,  yes I know I am late to the party,  t'was ever so, but it is being added to this stack along with Kona banana.  There is more than a hint of beach in this stack, I think I just need some sun!  Yellow is going to be a key colour for me this year.  The stack reminds me of this vintage buy from a few months ago...H is for Holiday

I know it is part of being creative to be obssessive, but sometimes my head is a very strange place to be.  I keep it hidden, my public face is capable, organised, can do, a grown up- scratch underneath and I can't stop thinking about a colour, a design, a food, and lately a song.  Music is a big part of my life, partly my day job and a big emotional driver for me.  When I sew I have the radio on but it is mainly spoken word, even sport radio which is ironic as pilates and dog walking is my idea of sport.  I know all sorts of surprise details about the transfer window in football, why Australia lost the Ashes etc.  I don't listen to music much because I need immersion for that.  So, I listen with my ipod in the bath- a little unsafe but I like to live life on the edge.  I've mentioned the Villagers before, since I saw them live one song has ruled, '27 Strangers'

This did strange things to me  hearing it live and makes my head whirl with pictures.  I have lost count of how many times I have listened to this, over and over again. I have a whole mini quilt sketched out- quick cursory glance at the fastest preliminary sketch.

This needs more work, rearranging but it is enough to remind me what to do.  I have drawn all my life but pencils, charcoal, paint never quite worked through all my artistic endeavors.  I have found the medium in fabric- don't what to do with the results, there is only so much wall space but there is no choice, I am compelled to make this and others like it inspired by music and poetry otherwise my head will burst.  Glad to get that out...

Enough crazy talk, a big welcome to a new followers following my single binding tutorial- so glad to help, my teacher mode breaks out in tutorials!  And a huge thank you to Quiltstory who featured my quilt for Lula- have a little look over here and take a look at the other quilts featured.

Meanwhile, some homework for you... whilst listening to my ipod I scrolled down and started on a sewing theme, often bad puns involved.  What follows reflects my musical tastes, my age and my sense of houmour.
'Corduroy', Pearl Jam
'Tapestry', Carol King
'Reel around the Fountain',  The Smiths
'Pieces',  Villagers
 and suggested in comments by 'Neumaisse''Coat of Many Colours' Dolly Parton
and 'Fancy', Reba McIntire
If you think of something, leave me a comment- you know it'll make me laugh!

Single Binding Tutorial

Quilting those smaller items- mini quilts, mug rugs, coasters, placemats etc is tricky.  Double bindings are too chunky and sewing them on by machine l doesn't seem to work out the same on these little things.   A good binding lifts your creation and a bad binding can detract from all your hard work. I am sharing all my best tips in a picture-packed tutorial  The pics show a coaster but I call it a mini quilt throughout for ease.

1.  Trim your item with a rotary cutter and rule, then zigzag round the edge.  Don't zig zag into the corners as they tend to distort- I pivot around them.  This stage is optional but it does keep the edges nice and neat.

2.  Cut your binding a scant 1 1/4" wide using a rotary cutter and rule.  Cut across the grain; selvedge to selvedge.  Unsure what scant looks like?  That's my scant 1 1/4" inch version below.  This is going to create a narrow close-fitting binding.  If this is your first time with this technique, you can cut your binding 1 1/4" wide for a big of wiggle room and not worry about the scant option. 

If you want to use bias binding (cut on the bias diagonal of the fabric rather than across the grain) for round mats or rounded corners, cut a little wider, 1 1/2"

3.  At one end of your binding, turn over the corner to make a right angle triangle and press.

4.    I normally start binding at the mid-bottom edge of the project.   Remember the join between the start and end of your binding will be here. I don't use pins when machining small items,  but if you would rather go ahead!

5.  You have to allow for joining your binding so on a really small piece like a coaster although the binding lies halfway across the bottom,  I am only going to sew the last inch towards the corner, the first bit of binding will therefore not be attached yet, just lying ready. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance- I use my 1/4 foot to guarantee it, accuracy on this makes a big difference.  Secure at the beginning and end an stop and secure 1/4 inch before the end of the mini quilt corner.  

6.  You will need to mitre the corners.  Not sure how? See my mitred corner's tutorial here!  I attach the binding all the way round until I am within 3-6 inches of the where the binding began depending on the size of the object.  Secure your last bit of stitching at this point.

7.  Line the edges of  binding up diagonally, you will need to turn the end of the binding away from the mini quilt.  You need to make sure that the unattached binding is not too slack here or it will be too loose when you come to machine sew it.   Press the diagonal folds.

8.  Take a small needle and co-ordinating thread with a knot at the bottom and push between the  diagonal folds- see how the needle is going through at a 45 degree angle? 

9.  I folded back the left hand binding fabric here so you could see how the needle tip angled through.

10.  Push the needle back through angling the opposite way and keep this going until you have line of little hand stitches joining the binding.  You can always put in the odd back stitch for security.  I have found hand stitching more accurate for joining binding especially when there is so little room to join the two edges by machine. 

Just showing you the other side of the join here.

11.  Trim the edges to 1/4 inch and press open.  Now you can machine stitch across the last bit of unattached binding

One side of binding is attached.  

12.  With your fingers, open the binding outwards so you can see its right side and give it a good press with your iron.

Get right into the corners with the tip of the iron.  A little iron helps, I use a travel iron.

This is how it looks on the underneath side.

13.  Turn your mini quilt so the underside is facing you and along the edges (avoid the corners) turn the binding in so that the edge of the binding meets the edge of the mini quilt.  Take your time here.  Doing this bit really well will given you an even, narrow, close fitting binding.

14.  This is how it will look.  The corners are too fiddly to do with the iron, we'll do these with pins in the next step.

15.  Take the pressed folded edge of binding and line it up ever so lightly above the stitching line, pin to secure.

You can fold and overlap to get your corners nice and sharp.

It ends up looking like this.

16.  With a little needle and a thread with a quilters knot in the end, secure your thread into the mini quilt seam allowance to hide the end and we are going to hand sew the back of the binding with ladder stitch. If this is new to you there are lots of diagrams and you tube videos but it is pretty easy and the stitching is almost invisible.  I take a stitch just above the machine stitching line where the binding was first attached...

and then a stitch through the pressed fold of the binding, pull gently and repeat- that is ladder stitch!  Stitch all around the binding.

Your mini quilt/mug rug/coaster/placemat binding is complete!

This method is not super speedy but it gives me good results, I hope it works for you.  

Any queries or problems with it- email me and let me know!