T-shirt memory quilt

T-shirt memory quilt

By Hatun Comak → Friday, September 1, 2023

 

Making a memory quilt has been on my to-do-list for a long time. Planning this quilt, I have put aside my son's T-shirts while he grows up. NOW is the right time to make a memory quilt as I have collected enough T-shirts of my son. 

It is a nice way of using these old, small T-shirts since my son gets older. Making a memory quilt should be on every quilter's list. As time passes quickly, it will be nice remembering these days when the kids were small. I took some photos during the process so that it may help you, too.

Here we go!

To start working, you need a pile of t-shirts. As I have mentioned I kept my son's T-shirts as they got smaller. There are T-shirt quilt kits which make the work easier but I do not have one. So all you need is some creativity. Instead of T-shirt Transformation ruler, I prepared a template of cardboard. You can prepare the template  according to the size of the T-shirts. My template is 10"x10"

The first thing to do is to cut the front piece of the T-shirt and if needed the back also. I used the backs of the T-shirts, as well.

Adding some interfacimg to the back of the T-shirt is a good idea so it doesn't stretch while sewing. Cut inrerfacing 1" larger than the T-shirt piece size. Center the interfacing over the wrong side of the T-shirt and press with iron to make it stick.

Cutting time. Put the template on the T-shirt, mark the places to be cut, place the ruler on edge if needed and cut along the edge of the ruler. 

The first T-shirt piece is cut. Since the interfacing is adhered to the back, you do not have to worry about any streching. Repeat this process for the other T-shirt pieces.

Once you have cut all your T-shirts, you are ready to start making the quilt top. Decide the size you want to make. Mine is lap size 60"×75"

Playing around with your T-shirt pieces, decide your desisn layout. My quilts design belongs to my son. He says since these are his T-shirts he will decide the layout. That was okey for me. 

This is what we have planned. The next step is sewimg them together. You go row by row and then you sew the rows together.

 The quilt top is not ready yet. I cut pieces of fabric 10" wide  and added a frame around the T-shirts. 

Top is ready now. You quilters know what is next; basting, quilting and binding before completing the quilt.

most popular quilt blocks

quilt blocks

most popular quilt blocks

By Hatun Comak → Monday, December 19, 2022

Quilt blocks are square or rectangle pieces that are joined together to form a quilt top. There are thousands of quilt blocks with many names given to them. Here I collected only some of these quilt blocks that are the most popular and widely used. I also share a link to these quilt blocks with tutorials in case you would like to learn how to make them.

Some of these traditional quilt blocks may seem simple but with the right choice of fabric and color, you can turn your quilts to lovely and beautiful ones. Also some of these quilt blocks look complicated but these quilt blocks with tutorials giving clear instructions are notthat complicated to make. When you click on the title, you get to the tutorial.

Here we go!

Carpenter's Star Quilt Block

It has some other names and variations, one of which is carpenter's wheel.In fabric choices make sure that you have a good contrast between the background fabric, medium fabric and the dark fabric to ensure the design of the pattern will stand out. The nice outcome of the pattern depends on your colour choices

Friendship Star Quilt Block

The friendship star is another perfect quilt block for beginners. It is really simple and quick to make with half square triangles (HSTs). It is not only simple but also looks cute. I like how it looks and I'm sure you'll love yours, too. 

Maple Leaf Quilt Block

The maple leaf quilt block is a perfect pattern for autumn time. It is an old, classic pattern which is made in two contrasting  colors with one light, three dark squares and four half square triangles. The stem is a strip of dark color constructed diagonally on light fabric.

Pineapple Quilt Block

Pineapple quilt block is one of the most remarkable pattern of all the quilts. At first pineapple quilts may look complicated but they are comparatively easy to make. Actually, pineapple quilt blocks are a variation of log cabin quilts. The only difference is that the corners are cut off. When you contrast the colors between the rows, it can be striking. They are perfect to play with colors and you can create amazing pineapple quilts with your own choice of colors.

Cathedral Window Quilt Block

Cathedral window quilts always look beautiful and fascinating to me. The pattern may seem harder to make but actually it is easier than it looks.
In fact it isn't a real quilt since it is not made by using background and batting and no quilting. But still it is one of the favourite patterns of quilters both for beginners and experts.

Cathedral window requires a technique with a lot of folding, pressing and pinning. The most desired colour combinations are a solid white for the background and printed, colorful fabrics for the windows. You will have the opportunity to play with colors, which is the funniest part.

Flying Geese Quilt Block

Flying geese quilt block is simple and quick to make and versatile. You can make a single quilt with flying geese quilt block or match it with another quilt block. It can either stand alone as a single block to make a quilt or be used to make some other quilts. It depends on your creativity.

Sawtooth Star Quilt Block

The Sawtooth Star is a traditional eight point star and one of the most classical and popular one amongst the quilters. It possibly have some other names also. It is a versatile quilt pattern; with color and fabric variations you can create amazing quilts.

Labyrinth Quilt Block

Labyrinth quilt block pattern which is a star with two interwoven borders is definitely my favourite. Look how delicate it is.

Disappearing Nine Patch Quilt Block

Disappearing nine patch quilt is perfect to make a quick pieced quilt blocks and quilts. A simple nine patch block is sliced in half twice to create four smaller units so that you can make disappearing nine patch quilts.

Hunter's Star Quilt Block

The original hunter's star quilt was designed with diamond shapes but now we are able to create the same look with half square triangle units and square patches.

Hunter's star quilt  may seem confusing due to its layout. Each quilt block is actually a combination of four different patchwork sections which are rotated and then joined for a larger quilt block. When the blocks are sewn together, a secondary design emerges.

Churn dash quilt block 

Churn dash, classic quilt block which has been around for about 150 years is still popular. It looks nice and it is so simple to make. Here you can find a super simple tutorial for churn dash quilt block. 

Woven quilt block

Here comes another easy and quick quilt block. It is easy, simple but still it catches your eye. Look how delicate it looks. It is such an easy quilt block to make but it is not  simple or boring. Woven quilt block is made up of only squares and rectangles. The key is the placement of the pieces in order to get the woven effect.

churn dash quilt block tutorial

churn dash quilt block tutorial

churn dash quilt block tutorial

By Hatun Comak → Thursday, July 28, 2022

 

Churn dash is a classic quilt block which has been around for about 150 years. And it is still popular. It looks nice and it is so simple to make. Here you can find a super simple tutorial for churn dash quilt block. 

Fabric requirements and measurements are available both for 6" x 6" blocks and 12" x 12" blocks.

Cutting instructions for 6"x6" churn dash quilt blocks

Background (white) fabric:

• 1 square 2,5" x 2,5"
• 2 squares 3" x 3"
• 1 strip 1,5" x 10"

Contrast (red) fabric:

• 2 squares 3" x 3"
• 1 strip 1,5" x 10,5"

how to make churn dash quilt block

We have cut and prepared all our fabric and now we can start sewing the pieces together.

• First of all sew the two strips together.

• Match up two sets of 3"x3" squares right sides together. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the white fabric and sew on both sides of the line. ( All the sew allowances must be 1/4")

• Cut squares in half on the diagonal line so that you have four half-square triangle blocks.

• Cut strips into four squares measuring 2,5" x 2,5". Also square up HST blocks to 2,5" x 2,5".

• Layout 2,5"x2,5" blocks in three rows as can be seen in the image below. 

• First assemle the rows and then sew the rows together. And you have already finished!

Cutting instructions for 12"x12" churn dash quilt blocks

Background fabric:

• 1 square 4,5"x 4,5"
• 2 squares 5"x 5"
• 1 strip 2,5"x 18,5"

Contrast fabric:

• 2 squares 5"x 5"
• 1 strip 2,5"x 18,5"

12" × 12" churn dash quilt block tutorial

• Sew the two strips together. Match up the 5" × 5" squares together. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the white fabric and sew along on both sides of the line.
• Cut squares on the diagonal line and you have four half-square triangles. Press the  seams open and cut the exess pieces.
• Cut strips into four squares 4.5" × 4.5". Also square up HST blocks 4.5"× 4.5".

• Layout blocks in three rows. Sew them together.

And you have finished! Super simple and quilt block to make.

cat pillow sewing tutorial

sewing tutorial

cat pillow sewing tutorial

By Hatun Comak → Friday, July 15, 2022

A perfect project for cat lovers. These handmade cat pillows are fun to make and also great as gifts. I'm sure many of you like cats and as you see these lovely cat patterns, you will probably want to sew one either for yourself or someone around who loves cats.

These are numerous cat sewing patterns around in various shapes, sizes and models. Even choosing the one to make is not easy since you probably cannot decide which one to make since they are all lovely. 

Here finally I chose to make one, an 14"x14" square pillow with a cat hiding behind it. You can only see the cat's head, paws and the tail. I enjoyed making it and most probably continue sewing cat cushions with different paterns. Here I want to share the pattern and how I made the cat pillow with step-by-step tutorial.

How to sew cat pillow

• First you need to prepare the cat's head, paws and tail. For that, download the free pattern I share below. Print out, cut out the pieces. For the head, attach the template to the fabric and cut out a front and back piece. 

        DOWNLOAD CAT PATTERN

• Before sewing the head pieces together, hand stitch the cat's eyes, or you can use buttons.

• Right sides together machine sew front and back of the head pieces together. Leave downwords unsewn, this part will be attached to the pillow. Turn the head right side out and then stuff it with fiberfill.

• Do the same process for the tail  and the paws. So now you have the cat's head, tail and two paws ready.

• The finished size of the tail is 14" X 14". So cut the front piece 15" X 15" and for the back the same.

• Lay the front side of the pillow with right side on. Place the head, paws and tha tail as seen in the image below. Put the back side on, right sides together. Pin the edges so that the cat's, paws and tail wont move while sewing around the pillow. 

• Sew all around the pillow and turn it from the opening below. You have already finished! Now place the pillow inside and it is ready!

    You can use this as a part of your home decoration or give it as a gift to a cat lover. This lovely pillow will be placed on my son's bed who is an absolute cat lover. It was fun to make it and you can be sure that more cat pillows will be coming.

how to bind a quilt by machine

machine binding

how to bind a quilt by machine

By Hatun Comak → Sunday, July 3, 2022

 

Are you one of those who usually stops when it comes to binding? You are not alone with this! We are a huge community that is so eager to finish a quilt but binding. When it comes to binding, the last step, I usually stop there, wait for a while, wait a little bit and finally I finish when I have to. 

Binding is the final step when creating a quilt. It prevents the raw edges from unraveling and fraying. What's more, this final touch makes the quilt more beautiful. Binding is made from several strips of fabric, sewn together which makes a strip long enough to cover around the quilt. 

The easiest and quickest way is machine binding. With this tutorial learn how to bind a quilt in an easy and quick way.

Step-by-step tutorial for machine binding

1. Prepare the strips

The most common width for quilt binding is 2 1/2".. Measure around the quilt and add around 10" more to the length of the strip. I cut the strips and sew them together to get the length needed. Fold the  2 1/2" strip in half and press with iron.

2. Attach the binding strip to the quilt back

You need to start by attaching the binding to the back of the quilt. Start from the middle of the long side of your quilt. Line up the binding and quilt raw edges.

3. Clip or pin to the quilt back

Leave a 6" tail from the beginning of the binding which will be needed when you attach the binding ends. Start sewing with 1/4" seam allowance.

4. Pay attention to the corners

The secret of beautiful machine bound quilts is perfectly mitered corners. So please pay attention to these steps. Before you get to the corner, stop with the neddle down and mark the binding 1/4" from the edge. Sew until you reach this line and sew off the quilt at 45 degree angle.

Fold the binding up and away from the quilt at a 45 degree angle. So you will see a triangle in the corner. Fold the binding back down over the corner and line up the raw edges. Pin to hold. Begin 1/4" from the top.

Continue attaching the binding in this way. Stop stitching when you are around 10" from the starting point.

5. Join the binding ends

There are several methods for joining the binding ends. I attach the binding using a 45 degree seam.With this method you get a beautiful, seamless finish. Start with trimmnig the binding tails. In this step you should be precise. Binding strips should overlap by the same length of their width. In other words if your binding strips are 2 1/2" wide, they should overlap by 2 1/2".

Mark the cutting line and cut off the excess piece. With wrong side of the quilt facing up, flip the quilt so the two binding tails are pointing away from you and open up the two binding strips. Pay attention to the placement.

Overlap them at right angles- right sides together. Pin them together, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. 

Stitch the two ends together on the marked line and trim the seam allowance to 1/4". Press the seams open and align with the raw edge. Finish sewing the binding to the back.

6. Binding to the front of the quilt

Wrap the binding to the front of the quilt. From the middle of the long side begin securing with pins or clips, around 6" apart until you get to the corner.

7. Preparing to miter corners

Fold the bottom binding up and over the seam line and go straight across, make a fold where it meets the other side. Bring the other side over to meet at the corner, pin to secure.

8. Sew the binding

Using a 2,5-3 mm stitch length sew along the binding. When you get to each corner, take one stitch past the corner point, drop the needle and turn the quilt. Continue sewing all around the quilt.

This binding method is beginner-friendly and tried to explain every step in detail. I hope it is helpful for you. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.