Yesterday on QUILTsocial I discussed the anatomy of a Double Wedding Ring quilt and I showed you some different versions of this classic pattern.
Today I’ll show you the math behind a Double Wedding Ring quilt and the 5 different ways you can cut those differently shaped pieces.
I can’t wait to get all of the pieces cut to get sewing with the Dreamweaver XE from Brother.
The Dreamweaver XE
Because of the shape of the blocks in this quilt, it’s sometimes hard to figure out the number of each piece required to make a certain quilt size. So, I got out my calculator and did the math for you! This chart shows the numbers for each piece required to make the Double Wedding Ring quilt in 7(!) different sizes.
The finished size of the quilt is based on a 12″ block, so if your block finishes at a different size, your quilt will be proportionally bigger or smaller.
Number of pieces needed per quilt size
As you can see in the chart, a double size Double Wedding Ring quilt with 12″ blocks will measure 78″ x 90″ and has 1497 individual pieces of fabric. A queen size quilt has 2032 pieces and a king size has 2255 pieces!! Am I ever glad I decided to make a bed runner!! My bed runner will end up with 12 blocks and will require 32 arcs.
Double sized quilt
So now that we know how many pieces we need, how do we cut them??
5 ways to cut Double Wedding Ring quilt pieces
1. Rulers
There are many companies that produce rotary cutting rulers for making a Double Wedding Ring quilt blocks. Some will have an optional single arc piece that can be substituted for the pieced arcs.
Double Wedding Ring ruler
2. Templates
If you want to go old school, you could always do what our great-grandmas did and cut the pieces with templates. There are a few companies that still produce quilting templates for tracing and cutting by hand. Here are patterns you can trace using your favorite template material – these include the ¼” seam, so don’t add anything to them. Click the picture to download PDF.
Page 1 of the Double Wedding Ring Templates – Click the picture to download PDF
3. Foundation piecing
Foundation piecing is a great technique for getting precise points and accurate blocks.
Foundation piecing book
4. English paper piecing
Curves are especially suited to hand piecing, so if you love handwork, maybe English paper piecing would be your method of choice to make this heirloom quilt.
English paper piecing shapes
5. Die cutting
Ok, I may be biased, but I left the best for last! Die cutting is my favorite way to cut ALL pieces for quilts – especially for curved piecing. There are a few companies that offer Double Wedding Ring dies for their die cutters.
Double Wedding Ring die
Now that we know how to cut our pieces and how many we need, all we need to do now is to get cutting!
I’ve cut all of the pieces I need with my die cutter, so I’m super excited that tomorrow I can start sewing with the Dreamweaver XE! Are you ready?
This is part 2 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 1: The anatomy of a Double Wedding Ring quilt
Go to part 3: First steps to piecing the Double Wedding Ring quilt
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9 comments
Hello, how much fabric is needed for the centers please when using accuquilt studio 12” double wedding ring to die cut? I know there must be waste. I’m making a larger king size with rings 10×9 so that would be 90 rings correct ? I can probably get the melons out of the waste.
You mention your favorite method is die cutting. Could you recommend a machine brand? I’m new to die cutting
Hi Heidi! Thank you for following QUILTsocial. Finding the right die cutting machine depends on your specific crafting/quilting needs and budget. We recommend you visit your local craft / quilt store and check out the different models to choose the best one for your specific needs. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
how can I get this five insrutions printed out ?or can I buy them ? am having a very difficult time with this pattern that I have started with out insructions ! thank you
Hi Olga. Each post has a “Print this page or save as a PDF” link at the bottom. I’ll email a combined PDF to you with all 5 posts. I hope it helps.
I am ready to start a double wedding ring for my grandson and bride-to -be. Can I get your your five instructions to print out for reference as I sew? I kept learning something new all the time. I am a visual
learner and at 75 I need to reread some parts. Thank you for making this quilt approachable.
Hi Elyn! We’re so happy you found Christine Baker’s double wedding ring tutorial helpful! Please look for ‘Print this page or save as a PDF’ in green colour at the end of the post! Thank you so much!
The ones in yellow are normally “white” although you can use your own color scheme. I think the yellow here makes it look older. Very pretty.
I need to know which template pieces are supposed to be white