Yesterday we created a pretty woven heart basket, using interfacing for support, to fill with tulip blooms for our Laughing Flowers wall quilt. Springtime is nearly here, and our wall quilt is almost ready!
Today, we’re going to create a hanging system and bind the quilt using 2 sewing tools to make binding a quilt easier: Flatter starch free spray and small Clever Clips.
From coordinating fabric, cut two 5″ squares. Fold in half on the diagonal and press with a dry iron. Don’t use steam as it will distort and stretch.
Pin the folded triangles to the top edge of the wall quilt, matching the raw edges (see photo).
Stitch the hanging pocket very close to the edge of the quilt, and then again, slightly more inward from the first stitching.
Cut 20 – 4″ squares of coordinating fabrics and join them together, alternating patterns. Cut the resulting strip of fabric in half, and sew the two halves together along one short edge. This is the binding for the quilt. Bind the quilt. For tips on how, follow Elaine Theriault’s excellent QUILTsocial tutorial on binding a quilt.
Press the binding to the back of the quilt and clip with Clever Clips. If you do this while the pressed edge is still warm, the fabric will really hold a crisp crease. It’s a great solution for those corners that persist in looking a little more loose than desired.
Slip stitch the binding to the back.
Raid your stash of mini doilies and pretty buttons to make this wall quilt shout hello to spring!
Create a label for your wall quilt, and iron it on to the back using HeatnBond Featherlite.
Dip the ends of the blooms in PVC glue, and place in the basket. Allow the flower arrangement to dry.
Once the glue has dried, assess which ones might still be a bit floppy. These can be tacked to the quilt using tiny hand stitches. If the edges of the basket are not secure enough, they can be secured with hand or machine stitching.
If you like, tack a couple of ribbon or raffia bows to the edges. Insert wooden dowel and hang for everyone to enjoy!
That’s all from me for now, I hope you’ve found these 2 sewing tools to make binding a quilt easier, useful. This basket full of fabric tulips is a pretty, hopeful and happy welcome to the coming spring. Until we meet again, remember to make a mess and have some quilting fun!
This is part 5 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 4: Sulky’s PolyLite thread adds shimmer to wall quilt
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