Patchwork Plaid Quilt Tutorial

Iwant to offer you a whole post on creating a small, but soulful patchwork plaid.

Finished product:

Patchwork plaid approximately 135x135 cm.
Ready-made block in a patchwork top — 15x15 cm (total 49 blocks: 25-with colors of yo-yo and 24 blocks of "9 patches").
Ready-made block "9 flaps" in edging — 10, 5x10, 5 cm.

Tools:
- ruler, cutting Mat, roller knife (if you don't have these wonderful tools, you can easily do without them, and as a template for squares, you can use cardboard);

- 2 cardboard templates for creating yo-yo colors (circles with a diameter of 9 cm and 11 cm);
- scissors;
- sewing machine with a walking foot (ideally).

Materials:
- fabric;
- sintepon (100-150 mm) or other filler;
- thread and regular embroidery floss.

Process.

I. Cutting of blocks.
1. For yo-yo flowers, which will be 3 pieces in each block, cut out 72 circles with a diameter of 9 cm (do not forget about 0.5-0.7 cm for the allowance). For yo-yo flowers on borders-16 circles with a diameter of 11 cm.

2. a) with blocks where there will be flowers, everything is simple: we cut 25 squares 16x16 cm. the Size is given taking into account the allowance for 0.5 cm on each side;
b) for blocks of "9 flaps", cut strips with a width of 6 cm (taking into account the allowance of 0.5 cm on each side).

II. Creating yo-yo colors.
The pleasant job of creating yo-yo colors will take you several hours.

III. Assembling the "9 flaps" block.
Sew the strips and smooth the seams as follows:

Cut the finished strips into pieces of 6 cm (taking into account the allowance).

Combine the bands for the future block.
Tip: when assembling blocks, it is best to use a walking foot. If you do not have it, sew at a speed lower than average, then the supply of fabric from the bottom and top will be more evenly distributed. Do not forget that the maximum allowed speed for a walking foot is average.

When we sew them together, it is important that the seams match:

To make the back of the block look no less attractive, open the seams. If you start stitching when stitching halves, stepping back from the edge of 2-3 mm, the seams will open easily, and then you will see a small mini-block at the joints.

When the path for the iron is planned, we iron the seam. It is better to iron at an average temperature and at a reduced steam supply, so the fabric will be less prone to distortion. If the block is distorted, it can be corrected by stroking again and slightly pulling in the right direction until the fabric has cooled down

Creating 24 beautiful blocks of "9 flaps".

IV. Assembling the "yo-yo flowers" block.
1. Place the yo-yo flowers on the block, then fix them a little with glue.
Tip: place the yo-yo with a margin of 1.5-2 cm from the edge, this will facilitate the Assembly of blocks and provide a more even seam, since the foot will not jump on the flowers and "evade" them.

Sew flowers with a seam "Back needle". This way the stitches are obtained more often, and the part is securely fixed on the base. The seam itself does not pass at the very edge of the flower, but a couple of millimeters deep into it, so the "working" threads are not visible on the block.

2. Now we will embroider. To begin with, apply the thin contours of future stems and leaves with a simple pencil (or any of your favorite markers). I don't know how to draw symmetrically, so I use this cardboard template for the leaves.

Embroider the stems with a "Back needle" seam, or some other seam that you like. You do not need to be diligent in pulling the threads of the floss, otherwise the fabric will become clogged. I usually hold the previous stitch with my finger to control the tension.
I used 3 threads of floss for embroidery. 25 units went to 3.5 a coil "gamovskii" floss.

The block is ready. It will take approximately 3 to 5 days to create 25 blocks, depending on how many hours a day you will spend on it. On average, it took me about 40 minutes to create one such block.

V. the Assembly of the quilt top. Stage 1.
Combine the blocks and create lanes.

Combine the stripes and assemble a patchwork top. Do not forget that the seams of each finished strip will look in opposite directions!

The Assembly of the strips does not differ from the Assembly of the block in terms of joining the seams. But if you can do without pins when assembling blocks, then it is better not to abandon them when stitching strips.

We stack the strips one on top of the other with the seams pressed in different directions and pin the strips exactly at the joint. With the correct connection, your pin will pass exactly along the seam on both sides.

Tip: do not delay Ironing the top for later. It is much easier to smooth the seams as they arrive.

Putting all the bands together.

VI. The Assembly of the quilt top. Curb.
After the main patchwork top is assembled, we measure it and cut the strips, but cut them gradually, as needed. First, a narrow edging that will add beauty to the finished plaid. 4 cm is enough for it (taking into account the allowance of 0.5 cm on each side).
Tip: any edging strips should be taken with a margin of 1 cm in length, if they are connected to each other, and not with blocks, as in the case of our wide border, in the corners of which we will place blocks of "9 flaps".

Then we measure the canvas again and cut the strips again, this time wide-11.5 cm (taking into account the allowance of 0.5 cm on each side). The same size will be used for the corner blocks of "9 flaps".
Since there will be embroidery on the wide edge, take its length with a margin of 0.5-0.7 cm, and before sewing the border with the block "9 flaps", attach it to the canvas and, if there is an extra length, cut the same number of millimeters of fabric from the two ends of the border.

To map out the points for the yo-yo colors, spread out the patchwork top on the floor and apply the future border to its edge. Fix the flowers with yo-yo glue. As a guide, we use the center of the "9 flaps" blocks. Then we make the remaining three borders one at a time, but do not forget to attach each of the strips to the patchwork top initially.

When the yo-yo flowers are sewn on, we decorate the space between them. Initially, I thought to use the "Bindweed" braid as a decoration, so if you want to get a ready-made plaid as soon as possible or do not really like to embroider, you can use this quick and cute option. Or, if the creation process takes you longer than the result, let's raise more :)

The more swirls in the drawing, the more difficult it will be to repeat its contours when using a larger number of threads. So here you can do with two strands of floss.
Tip: reduce the length of the stitches on the curves, so the thread will lie exactly on the contour of the drawing.

Do not forget to measure and trim the finished borders before assembling them with the main top and corner blocks! To the two strips, sew the pre-prepared blocks of "9 flaps" and connect the borders with the top: first those that will be without corner blocks, and then the remaining ones.

VII. The Assembly of the sandwich.
Spread the fabric on the floor face down. We straighten it, but do not pull it, and attach it to the floor with masking tape (it is easily removed and does not leave traces on the floor or on the fabric). Then spread out the filler and smooth it out, if necessary. Next, put a patchwork top on top of everything and properly smooth it out in the direction from the center to the edges.
Important: the fabric for the back of the plaid is taken with a margin of 2-3 cm, and the filler is 1-1. 5 cm on each side!

Fasten the layers with pins. The more pins you use, the less likely it is that pinches will form on the back of the stitch. Not forgotten during the removal of the layers of a sandwich all the time to spread your quilt top!

VIII. Patchwork quilt stitch.
This time, for the first time, I decided to first quilt the plaid along the seam lines, and then do a free-running stitch.
The straight-line stitch option is, of course, much easier and faster, but it also has its own difficulties associated with the limited working space of the sewing machine. So let's get started.
Tip: when sewing in straight lines, I strongly recommend using a walking conveyor foot!

Setting up the machine before starting work.
1. since we now have not one fabric, but a whole sandwich, it is necessary to adjust the upper tension of the thread. As a rule, it is always weakened. How much depends on your sewing machine. Before quilting the future plaid, do not be lazy to make a trial sandwich and "adjust" the thread tension on it.
2. The stitch length can be increased to 3-3. 5 mm.
3. It is very important to choose the right speed mode! You should sew at a low speed, especially if you don't have a walking foot.

Before starting each new line, you need to pull the lower thread to the surface, so that, first, there is no clump of tangled threads on the back side, and, secondly, in the future we will fix the beginning of the line, and hide the threads inside the sandwich.
To pull out the lower thread, it is enough to lower the needle with the thread, and then raise it, so the upper thread will grab the Shuttle thread and you can easily extend its end with your fingers or tweezers. This procedure is especially pleasant when the sewing machine has a needle positioning function.

Make a stitch along the lines in the same direction, without turning the product (for example, from right to left or Vice versa. I preferred the right-to-left option, so that the heavier part of the stitch, when the main part of the plaid is on the right, remains for the last time), that is, we start each new line at the top and finish at the bottom. The quilted part of the product can be folded into a "roll" so that it does not interfere much with moving the sandwich when the following lines are stitched.

However, when approaching the left edge of the blanket (or the right, depending on which direction you choose), you need to control the smooth and easy progress of the sandwich. This is much easier to do with the upper conveyor. Therefore, it is better to stop more often and correct the fabric if you see that due to tension, folds are formed on the surface.

If you do not have the desire or opportunity to do a free-running stitch, you can stop at this version of the stitch. Your plaid will be beautiful, and the sandwich layers will be securely fastened together!

But you can continue working on the plaid and add beautiful lines to it. Here are a few options for stitching the "9 flaps" block.

I stopped here on this sketch, so just in case I give you a movement diagram for the stitch :)
Tip: you can draw a drawing before a stitch on paper, and when you like it, feel free to sit down at the typewriter.

Continue the master class here>>>>> .