Sandwiches ... the tutorial

Welcome to my first ever tutorial!  Like in the Sound of Music the beginning is a very good place to start ...

For this quilt I wanted to do something super easy, something that wouldn't require pressing seams or arranging blocks, and so I picked an adorable panel and matching fabric for the back from Fabric.com.

Millie's Closet Designer Cloth Panel Blue
Millie's Closet Floral Bouquet Blue

I personally like to prewash all my fabric and press them before starting any project but I do know some folks don't do that ... shrinking, unraveling, and bleeding always are a concern with me so I keep up with my laundry.  Once everything is all pressed and crisp looking the fun can begin! 

*First step: CLEAN YOUR FLOOR!!!  Now I say this because though it should be a given you don't want to take chances with messing up your pretty new fabric because a child dropped a sucker on your hardwood floors 2 days ago and it has gone completely unnoticed until it leaves a sticky red stain on the back of your quilt.  You can totally just swiffer and move furniture out of the way to make sure you have plenty of space for the quilt.

*Second step: Layout your fabric for the back of your quilt face down.  You want to make sure it is smooth and not bunched up in places and I have found that taping down the corners to be rather helpful.  You also want to make sure the back of the quilt is slightly larger than the front and if you are planning on using the back as the binding you want it about 3 inches overhang on each side.

so maybe it isn't perfectly smooth

*Third step: Throw your batting on top of that smoothing out any huge lumpy bumpy places.  I like to make my batting slightly bigger than the front and back fabric due to hand quilting because it allows me to get closer to the quilt edges.

*Fourth step: Time to bring on the quilt front! Again making sure it is smooth and free from lumpy bumpys.
 

this is the size of two panels uncut

*Fifth step: Baste Baste Baste! This part isn't the most fun but it is probably the most important there is! There are several options you can use to baste; safety pins, straight pins, using one of those little guns that shoot out the little plastic "I" shaped things that hold price tags on clothing, basting spray, spit, etc. (ok so not really spit but let's have fun with the not fun step!)  Whatever method you want to use is up to you, I like basting safety pins because they are slightly curved making it easier to grab all three layers, but no matter what you want to start in the center and work your way outward smoothing and straightening as you go.

I like to make sure there is a pin every 5-7 inches meaning if I wanted to do a mini quilt that was 6 inches long and wide there would be a minimum of 5 pins in it.

*Sixth step: Begin quilting!  This by far is my most favorite step which is probably why I still hand quilt despite machine quilting being much less time consuming and can provide detailed quilting almost effortlessly.  Don't get me wrong you can totally get beautiful details from hand quilting (for example Amish quilts) but they are very very time consuming.

For this quilt I kept it very very simple by simply quilting around every other "block" (as shown above) and then doing a diagonal pattern by quilting details in some of the "blocks."

 

 I only quilted around 3 of the flowers on the above "block" just to add a pop on the back.  This is probably the #1 reason I love hand quilting so much because you can use the design on the fabric to quilt whereas machine quilting an over all quilt design is needed, even if it is just straight line quilting it is a uniform design all connecting.  Don't get me wrong machine quilting is breathtaking and can add depth and further design to any quilt such as with the quilting Angela did for Jaybird Quilts in the blog post Seaside Table Runner ...

seriously! SERIOUSLY! Amazing!

Anywho back to the quilt I did and the tutorial instead of being all star-struck by the many talented people in the quilting world.

*Seventh step: Trim off excess backing and batting. Sit back and admire your handiness, pat yourself on the back, maybe rub your back and shoulder and wrist and neck, and just sit there relaxing because your sewing machine is still at the shop and you can't make a binding let alone attach it to finish the quilt ... ok so you technically could but you've already hand quilted an entire quilt so why hand sew any more for a while?

And there you have it! A 99.9% completed quilt in one weekend.  This quilt measures roughly 44"x 48" which to me is a great size for babies aged newborn to 10 or if you are my height this is a great size to have on the couch to just throw over your legs when cold.  I honestly love using panels for quick quilts because it takes all the thought out of making a front and you still end up with a beautiful quilt.  Another reason I like using panels for kid quilts is because you know those things are going to end up being washed a thousand times and there is absolutely no worrying about seams coming apart in the washer, you really can just love on them as roughly as you want to.

Hopefully I'll be getting my sewing machine back in the next few days so I can do a binding tutorial for you guys!  Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and as always comments and question are welcomed!