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Thursday, May 28, 2026

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.

13 comments:

  1. Thank you so much Wanda, this is great and exactly what I need as I want to start making a Trip Around The World for an expected great niece/nephew. Really glad now that I splashed out on half-yard cuts rather than my usual FQs.

    (I’m the person who asked previously about widths, I’m Caroline but I don’t have a quilting website so I come up as Anonymous)

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  2. Thanks, Wanda! The TATW I made this spring was cut square by square....I'm going to give your strata method a try!

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  3. Thank you Wanda for the Trip Around the World tutorial!

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  4. Thanks for posting step by step instructions. I know how that takes a lot of time and remembering to take photos along the way!

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  5. Great step by step instructions, Wanda--I esp'ly appreciate ironing instructions...thanks so much for posting your methods for this
    TAW piece...
    69 here with a still chilly breeze this morning...Sitting out all day really impacted my allergies so sill be staying in more and limiting my outside time today...the pollen is crazy here!!!
    Hugs, Julierose

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  6. This is fantastic Wanda! Thanks so much for your complete instructions. I enjoy every one of your colorful days, whether it is cloth or flowers. Keep it up!

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  7. Your tutorials takes my breath away. There is so much detail and work that goes with a TATW. But you break it down with ease.

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  8. This is very generous of you to share all this information. I actually started quilting in the early to mid 70s, though I haven't made nearly as many as you (understatement). So this was before the days of the rotary cutter and I made templates out of cardboard. I made a TAW, and it was hideous! I had no training in color or design. I may have used some polyester fabrics in it. Your TAW quilts are beautiful, as is everything you make!

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  9. Thanks for this information, Wanda. You taught this class over 100 times!?! I know you keep good records, so I do not doubt you.

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  10. Oh, thank you, Wanda! It’s lovely of you to provide this tutorial and I can’t wait to start selecting fabrics for a TAW.

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  11. I remember the first time you mentioned rectangle TAW—it blew me away. I made one square TAW in the 80s from the book by Blanche Young. It turned out cute, but what a process! -Roxanne

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  12. I have surprisingly never made a TATW but with this tutorial, I just might. Such excellent directions.

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  13. Wanda, thank you so much for generously sharing these TATW tutorials with us. I've admired your trip quilts for a long time. Using rectangular pieces to get a design with the same fabric ending up at the outer edges makes so much sense, but I never would have come up with that.

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