Strip Quilt Finish & My First Tutorial

I finished my Strip Quilt this week.

This 40″ square quilt, which you can read more about here was made using Moda “A Stitch in Color” fabric by  Malka Dubrawsky and followed a pattern from the book “3-Fabric Quilts” by Leni Levenson Wiener.

It was made for purely selfish reasons as I desperately needed a quick and easy finish. It also gave me a chance to use fabric that had been sitting untouched in a drawer for far too long!

It’s a little difficult to see the quilting in these photos but I simply outlined the zig zag pattern achieved by the stripe and spiral fabrics.

The backing fabric was an easy choice as I had just enough of the stripe fabric left over from the front to use as one continuous piece on the back.

I chose to machine bind this little quilt as I expect it will be frequently washed.  I think it would make a great table topper or picnic rug.

I followed a great machine binding tutorial by crazymomquilts in which the binding is attached to the back of the quilt first. This method also doesn’t require you to pin before sewing it down on the front! I will definitely try this method again one day but I do prefer to hand sew down the binding. It’s perhaps one of my favourite stages of quilt making 😉

Now for my first little tutorial!

I am really into using my fabric scraps at the moment and decided to use some of my leftovers from this 3-fabric quilt to make myself a set of 3-fabric drink coasters.

Here’s my method:

1. Cut 3 strips of coordinating fabric  1¾ inches by 4¼ inches and sew together using a quarter inch seam.
2. Square up to 4¼ inches (or you can skip until step 5)
3. Place the square on a slightly larger scrap of batting and quilt as desired. I chose to quilt a ¼ inch on either side of the seam line.
4. Again square up to 4¼ inches
5. Place a 4¼ inch square of backing fabric on top of the quilted square RST (right sides together) and sew around all 4 sides using a quarter inch seam. Leave a 2 inch gap for turning the right way out and backstitch at the beginning and end. 
6. Snip the corners to reduce bulk and turn the right way out, using a chopstick or similar to carefully poke the corners out.
7. Neatly tuck in the edges of the opening and press well.
8. Sew a scant eighth inch seam around all four sides to close the opening.
9. Repeat if desired to make a complete set of 4.

And there you have it – a lovely fabric drink coaster perfect for a nice cup of tea!

I have so many ideas buzzing around inside my head at the moment. I’ve never been one to stay up late at night sewing – I’m usually too tired! But last night I was up sewing until 10.30pm  (I know…I’m a crazy night owl 😉 )

So if you have any feedback for me on this, my first tutorial, please drop me a line or two. I’d really appreciate any advice, good or (gulp…) bad.

Deb

Linking up for the first time to TGIFF (Thank God It’s Finished Friday) with Jenn @ A Quarter Inch From The Edge,  and my usual visit to MCM (Main Crush Monday) with Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts & Let’s Bee Social with Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts!

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