It’s Alphabet and Shirts Week 4! Can you believe it?
Week 4 Video
In this week’s video, I share some of my general thoughts on the Quilt Along experience so far, my finished Alphabet quilt top, new Shirts blocks, as well as some tips on adding borders. I also answer questions from you.
This Week
I finished my twin-sized Alphabet top–yay! My hang up was 4 border pieces that, in the end, took less than an hour to cut and add. I don’t know why the littlest thing can hold you back, but it happens. I’m glad that I made it a goal for this week. Now that the top is done, I’m excited to quilt it.
In Shirts world, I made some Shirts to match some outfits this week.
I also made some Shirts to commemorate clothes from my wedding last month. I share more details in the video this week–so make sure to check that out.
There are more elements from the wedding that I want to capture in blocks, but I’m happy to get these done. This Quilt Along is reminding me of how making little bits of progress adds up and helps me realize a bigger goal.
Goals for Next Week
Next week we’ll talk about quilting and finishing. I’d love to get my twin-size project quilted. I have a few ideas kicking around in my head, and I’ll go with the one that feels best when I actually sit down to do it.
If there is anything quilting and finishing related you’d like me to address next week, let me know.
As for Shirts, I’ll keep on keeping on. Seeing my Shirts–this year and last–all grouped together on my wall is making me want to keep them all together, maybe add some big borders and finish it out as a throw. That’s how I’m feeling for now. I’ll keep making Shirts in the meantime.
Border Tips
Borders can be one of the trickiest parts of the project. I learned this lesson years ago when I was quilting for others. It was such a common thing to have extra fullness in a border that I have always been very careful when applying mine. I really get into it in my video this week, but here are the important points.
- Be deliberate with fabric grain. The direction parallel to your selvege will have the least amount of stretch. Cutting your length in this direction will help prevent distortion when you are sewing it on.
- To make sure I was on grain with the borders of my Twin-sized quilt I ripped the fabric. Simply snip with your scissors to get it started, then pull the pieces apart. The fabric will rip on grain, ensuring your border is square. Give it a press to clean things up. This is very satisfying!
- I like attaching my borders with the border on the bottom and the pieced project on top. Having good contact with the feed dogs on your machine (the teeth that grip and pull your fabric through) will help keep things even.
- Don’t be afraid to use pins when attaching borders! I use pins to make sure things are nice and even.
Details
I can totally relate to your languishing Knitting project. I recently picked up a block of the month that I started last year that was EPP. I had gotten a little bored but kept seeing it in the closet so I pulled it out recently and got a few blocks cut out and pasted and now I’m chugging along on it again. It feels good to get it moving even if I only do a couple of blocks a month. Little victories!
Yes! And sometimes it’s just getting started. It can be a big hump, but things get rolling right after that. Such a good feeling!