Trip Around the World tutorial 2

A few facts before I go into the next step of the tutorial.

Don't cut off selvages before you make the stratas.  The first clean-up cut from the strata tube will trim them off....and you may need 1/8" of the selvage area to get the number of loops you need from a strata tube.

I don't pre-wash regular printed cotton fabrics so I will get more loops per tube than those of you who prewash.

Batiks don't have the wide unusable selvages so you can always get more loops from a batik tube.

You are at the trickiest part of the assembly as we tackle this next step.

Sew the last seam to make your strata into a tube, making sure you do not have a twist in it.  The ends of the fabric will not necessarily match at this point.  Move the fabric back and forth until it hangs straight (see below).  Your ends may mismatch by an inch or so.

The way I check for a twist is to fold the strata right sides together as if I'm going to sew the last seam.  I hold it out in front of me (the strips of fabric are running horizontally) and look to see if there is a twist at the fold.  If there is, I slide one of the layers to the left or right to make it hang straight. This is the new match for the end that I will start sewing.  (I'll try to add a photo here when I get to that point on my project.)

You now have tubes to work with.  For larger quilts you will need to fold the tube to fit on your cutting mat and you will want to avoid stacking seams on top of seams.  Re-cut the tubes of fabric into loops by trimming the even end with a clean up cut, and then using the countercut measurement for your quilt, cut as many loops as you need.  If your cut is 2-1/2” you need to get 16 from each tube for the twin and the double/queen size*. (double/queen 2.5", king 3”)  These measurements are here to remind you that not every size quilt has the same size cut.  Refer to the yardage chart for the width of your countercut for the size quilt you are making.

*If you can't get 16 loops from a strata, you may have to piece an extra half strata.

I mark my ruler with tape for the width of cut I need to make.  Then I cut as many loops as I can out of a strata.  You may not need all of the cuts from the last strata so you might want to save the part you don't need and use it on the back of the quilt.  (To figure out how many loops you need, multiply the number of fabrics you are using by 4 and subtract 2.)

In #3 of the tutorial we will be designing the layout.

Trip Around the World tutorial 1

 Trip Around the World tutorial 1

I will be using parts of my hand out sheets when I taught this class over 100 times, to do this tutorial.

Back in the 1990s, before mattresses were 11" - 15" thick, my measurements were good.  Now if you are actually making a bed quilt, you might have to add 2 or 3 borders to these sizes.  The chart is at the end of this post. To use my directions you need to have an even number of fabrics.

After you decide on the order of your fabrics, take a photo to refer back to before sewing.

Cut the required number of strips for the size quilt you are making.  Try cutting 2 to 4 fabrics at the same time with the lightest color on top.

Referring to your photo of the fabrics in order, sew the number of strata required for your quilt.  If you have a walking foot, you can sew from the same end each time.  Without a walking foot, you might want to sew from opposite ends each time to prevent a curve in the strata. Always keep one end of the strata as even and lined up as you can.  Let the mismatched lengths all be at the other end.

 Press the seams one up, one down all through the strata.  Make sure each strata is pressed identically (with the same fabrics going in the same direction as the first strata).

You can just do a quick press from the wrong side to set the seams in the right direction and do the heavier pressing from the right side to make sure you don't have any pleats at the seam lines.

(Now, before I add a yardage chart, the pieces in my rectangular TAW quilts are rectangular, not square.  It isn't obvious when you first look at it.  Rectangular pieces make it possible to have the same fabric touching the center of all 4 sides. If you use squares on a rectangular quilt, you will end up making extra rows for the top and bottom of the quilt and the top and bottom of the main diamond created won't touch top and bottom edges.)

 All yardages are generous so there is enough to recut a strip if you have a miscut.

Wall quilt  34 ½” square before borders

          12 fabrics, ¼ yard of each,

cut 3 strips 2” wide from each fabric ( across the 44”width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2”

 

Baby quilt  34 ½”x 46” without borders – border optional

          12 fabrics, 1/3  yard  of each

          cut 3 strips 2 ½” wide from each fabric (across the 44”width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2”

 

Couch/Lap quilt  54” x 67.5” - borders optional

          14 fabrics, 1/2 yard of each

          cut 4 strips 3” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

Twin size quilt  62” x 93” without  borders

          16 fabrics, ½ yard of each

          cut 4 strips 3½” wide from each fabric (across the 44”width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

Optional twin size quilt 70” x 96 ¼”

          18 fabrics, 5/8 yard of each

          Cut 5 strips 3 ¼” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          Crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

Double/Queen quilt  78” x 97 ½” before borders

          20 fabrics, 5/8 yd. of each

          cut 5 strips 3” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

King size quilt          107 ½” square before borders

          22 fabrics, 3/4 yd. of each

          cut 7 strips 3” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 3”

If you have questions (and don't have a link to your email address in your blogger account), my email address is on my right side bar (on a phone I think you can click on the title of the blog post to see the right side bar, or scroll down and click on see web version).

 My guest bed quilt.

Coming in Tutorial 2, sewing the stratas into tubes.

Deciding on order...................

I did 4 layouts of order of strips for the Trip Around the World with William Morris fabric.

This is the first one.

It was hard to get all of the strips in the photo and not have them crooked.

This is the second one.

The third one.

And this was the original layout with the folded fabrics lined up before I cut strips and sewed sections of strata.

The fourth one.

As I type this late at night, I'm favoring one and four.  As soon as I make a decision, I can start sewing the 4 sections together into one large strata and then talk about my pressing method.

More sewing......................

 I'm still sewing stratas for the William Morris fabric Trip Around the World quilt.  Normally I lay out the order of all of the strips and sew it as one huge strata instead of sections.  This time since I had 4 different 'runs' of light to dark I decided to sew each separately (there is one more group to sew) and then play around with the order before they get sewn together.  I can't press anything until I have the whole strata sewn together because of the pressing method I use.  I'll show my play time for determining order in a couple days, maybe tomorrow if I get the one million other things done that need to be completed today.

Here is the original order of the strips as I was deciding if I had enough variety to make a nice quilt.

Someone asked if I could post today what size strips I'm using.  These are 3" but I also sometimes use 2.5" or 3.5".  It takes a little math, but if you choose your fabrics first (from your stash), and have around a half yard of each (or sometimes a little more), you can figure out which size strip will give you the size quilt you want to end up with.  In the following week or so I'm going to explain everything as I work on this one, but first I have a busy day today to get past.

Here is a collage from several years ago showing some of the Trip Around the World quilts I have made.

Sewing started.....................

The William Morris fabrics were finally pressed so I could cut the Trip Around the World strips.  My sciatica has kept me from standing for long times at the ironing table.  I got several bobbins wound for all of this strata sewing so I'm all set for mindless sewing.

I got those 3 strips sewn for all 4 stratas.

Today looks to be a beautiful day for all of the Memorial Day events.  82 degrees and sunshine is predicted.

Miscellaneous.................

As promised yesterday I took a photo of the lock screen on my cell phone with my Canon camera.  This is the close up photo of one of my Peony blooms.  Before the last update on my phone I didn't see the possibility of using one of my own photos.  Now I can enjoy the Peony year round.

For several years I have been dropping photo Christmas cards, loose photos, folders from funerals, obituaries cut from the newspaper, etc. into the top drawer in the guest room.  I wanted to find my grandparents' obituaries to see how old they were when they passed.  By the time I was done I had everything out of the drawer and sorted on my guest bed.  I have a little more sorting to do plus figuring out a system for this drawer so it won't just be layers and layers, and layers...............

Outside yesterday, I planted my little cucumber plants in a large pot and also one more tomato plant in a pot.  I cut lots of leaves off Burdock plants.  I don't have the energy to dig out their huge roots.  I also cut down the new branches of a Tree of Heaven.  I have to cut it down at least twice in the summer, sometimes 3 times.  I haven't had any luck trying to get rid of it.

I only cut a few more floral squares for the current project.

I checked out a 2 tier box as I was cleaning off a table top and it has 2.5" batik squares in one layer and 2" batik squares in the other layer.  Nice seeds for a new project.

The weather people say we might get rain overnight into this morning.  I'm hoping we get some but I think the bulk of it will go south of us and into Indiana.

Floral progress and nature...............

I did trim 2 of the 3 blocks mentioned yesterday, changing them from 9,5" to 6.5"  squares.  I also cut a few more 3.5" and 6.5" squares from different fabrics.  I think this is about 1/3 of the squares I will need.

I took a close up photo of one of the pink Peony blooms.  When I went to change the lock screen photo on my cellphone, it was one of my options.  It is a rectangular section of the center of the flower and it is beautiful on the phone.  My Canon camera was down in the basement and I didn't go down there yesterday so I couldn't take a photo of my cellphone.  You will just have to wait to see it (and hope I remember to take the photo).

The Garden Heliotrope is starting to bloom now.  The plant dies back after blooming and I can pull it out.  It always comes back the next year.

The Annabelle Hydrangea is starting to set buds.  I didn't get this one cut back last fall and it was already sprouting leaves by the time I checked it this spring so it will be larger this year even though I did some trimming.  Unfortunately that means it will be covering up a lot of other plants.

Several of the tomato plants have blooms on them so I hope I see little tomatoes soon.

The predicted rain looks like  it will all go south of us so I'll have to do some watering soon.