Quilting tools to help with everyday needs

Yesterday we sewed a set of pre-cut strips for the start of a simple strip quilt.  The OLFA 45mm ergonomic rotary cutter, OLFA  6″ x 24″ Frosted Acrylic Ruler, and OLFA 6″ x 12″ frosted acrylic ruler were the perfect tools to do all the cutting we needed while the Oliso M3Pro Project Iron – Coral took care of all of our pressing needs. Our OLFA and HEMLINE GOLD tools will come in handy again today to help finish the quilt top.

It’s not uncommon for me to want to take a quick measurement during the process of making a quilt to ensure that I’m on the right track. I use a tape measure such as the HEMLINE GOLD Retractable Tape Measure – 150cm/60. The precision of this tape measure never lets me down.

The first thing we’ll do today is to square off the black fabric and cut the strips for the black accents.

If you aren’t sure how to square off, here’s a quick little tutorial.

Note: This tutorial will be shown with white fabrics for better visibility.

Fold the fabric in half, selvage to selvage, and place it on your cutting mat.

Line up the dotted line of the OLFA 6″ x 24″ Frosted Acrylic Ruler against the folded edge of the fabric. The dotted line and the fold must be perfectly matched. Be sure that there’s some fabric past the edge of the ruler that can be trimmed.

Cut the excess fabric along the ruler’s edge with the fabric and ruler aligned.

Now square off the black fabric and cut 20 – 2½” strips. Once two or three strips have been cut, it’s an excellent habit to square off the fabric again. Doing so will ensure nice straight strips.

Next, we’ll cut 6½” strips from the 54” length of pieced strips we set aside yesterday.

As I’m not at home and didn’t bring all my OLFA rulers, I’ll get the job done with the help of both the  OLFA 6″ x 12″ frosted acrylic ruler and the OLFA 6″ x 24″ Frosted Acrylic Ruler together, or should I say, side by side.

Cut a total of 8 units of 8 strips each.

Separate the 8 units from the above step into two stacks of 4 sets each. Sew 4 sets of 8 strip units end to end. Repeat with the second set. Once sewn, there will be 2 strip sets of 32 strips each.

Cut 4 – 2½” x 6½” pieces from one of the black strips cut earlier today.

Add a black 2½” x 6½” strip between the third and fourth strips of the 32-strip unit. Yes, the seam ripper will need to come out to place the small black strip. Repeat this step so that there’s a black strip in the same position at each end of both 6½” x 32 strip sets. Once completed, there’ll be 34 strips in each strip set.

Yesterday, we completed the center part of the quilt. The center of my quilt is 37½” wide after trimming and contains 32 strips.

Note: Your quilt center may be a different width as there are many variables when making a strip quilt, such as:

·         The length of the strips used.

·         The number of strips in a roll.

·         When and how the edges of the center were squared off.

Use a seam ripper to remove the three strips at each end of the center. Sew on a black strip that you’ve trimmed to the width of your quilt. Re-sew the three strips to each end.

Sew enough black strips on the short sides to cut 4 lengths measuring 2½” x 68½”. I used my HEMLINE GOLD Retractable Tape Measure – 150cm/60 to keep my measurements accurate.

Sew one 68½” black strip to both long sides of the pieced center section, then sew the 6½” x 34 strip sets to the black fabric.

We’ll take the two remaining 2½” x 68½” back strips and sew them to the long outer edges of the quilt. Measure the width of your quilt top. Sew three of the remaining black strips together and cut two strips to the required length. Sew them to the top and bottom of your quilt.

The quilt top is complete! I’ll quilt it using Fairfield Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting, 229 x 274cm (90″ x 108″).

At the start of today’s post, I talked about the HEMLINE GOLD Retractable Tape Measure – 150cm/60. I want to show you another product I like, the HEMLINE GOLD Sewing Kit. It has a beautiful case that takes hardly any room in a suitcase or toiletry bag. This little kit comes with everything you may need in an emergency or when wanting to do some hand sewing. We’ll be putting it to good use tomorrow.

I’m quilting my fun and easy strip quilt tonight with Fairfield Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting – 229 x 274cm (90″ x 108″). Tomorrow, I’ll use my HEMLINE GOLD Sewing Kit to help me sew the binding on. I’ll see you then.

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: OLFA rotary cutter and rulers for quilters on the go | strip piecing quilt

Go to part 4: Oliso M3Pro project iron – the perfect travelling companion