Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Quilted Potholders: Strip Piecing

I know, I know! This is a stamping blog. But, since Stampin' Up! introduced Designer Fabric I've been learning to quilt and I want to share. I hope you'll give my simple potholder tutorials a try.

The first two projects are strip-pieced. It's so easy!

Log Cabin Block
I used Flirtatious 122335 and Springtime Vintage 121817 fabrics.
Cut 2-1/2 in. wide strips and sub-cut them into these lengths:
Springtime Vintage large floral (1) 2-1/2 in. square
Flirtatious pink doilies (1) 2-1/2 in. square and (1) 4-1/2 in. strip
Flirtatious lavender doilies (1) 4-1/2 in. strip and (1) 6-1/2 in. strip
Springtime Vintage small floral (1) 6-1/2 in. strip (1) 8-1/2 in. strip
Springtime Vintage blue print (1) 8-1/2 in. strip (1) 10-1/2 in. strip


All seam allowances are a scant 1/4 in. unless otherwise stated. Sew the squares together and press the seam toward the doily fabric.
Sew the next strip to the first section and press the seam toward the new strip.
Sew the next strip and press the seam toward the new strip.
Continue sewing and pressing the strips.
Trim the edges of the finished block.
Layer the pieced block over batting and backing fabric. Pin and sew through all layers. I stitched 1/4 in. inside and outside the squares with pink thread.

Add a heat resistant fabric layer to the bottom if desired and trim the edges.
Cut (3) 2-1/2 in. X 18 in. strips. Sew the strips into a continuous strip and press the seams open. Press in half lengthwise.
Match  raw edges of binding strip and quilted potholder. Start sewing 3/8 in. from the edge and about 4 in. from the end of the binding strip.
Stop 3/8 in. from the corner with needle down.
Lift presser foot, pivot fabric and lower presser foot.
Sew off the edge.

Fold binding strip over edge.











Fold binding strip down to turn corner.









Sew from edge to next corner and repeat steps for all corners.


After last corner overlap ends of binding strip and trim. Finger press 3/8 in. on end of strip.
Join binding strip and finish seam.
Hand sew binding to back of potholder. Form corners as shown.







Continue sewing binding. Add a hanger loop and a button if desired.








Nine Patch Block
I used Beau Chateau fabric 122336.

 Cut (3) 2-1/2 in. X 18 in. strips each from two fabrics.
Sew two sets of 3 strips with a scant 1/4 in. seam allowance alternating fabrics. (One light strip between two dark strips and one dark strip between two light strips.)
Press seams toward blue strips. Use a rotary cutter and straight edge to cut the sets into 2-1/2 in. sections. You should have 14 sets

 Sew Nine Patch block from sections. Press seams toward sides.
Sew remaining sections into alternating fabric binding strip. Press seams open and press strip in half lengthwise.









Trim edges.
Cut (2) 2-1/2 in. X 18 in. strips from rooster fabric.
Sub-cut each strip into a 6-1/2 in. strip and a 10-1/2 in. strip.
Sew short strips to sides of block and press seams toward strips.
Sew long strips to top and bottom and press seams toward strips.
Layer with batting and backing fabric and sew through all layers diagonally with white thread. Add a heat resistant fabric layer to the bottom if desired and trim the edges.
Sew binding to edges following instructions for first potholder.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cheryl,

I know exactly what you mean... I love stamping and all things Stampin' Up! and ever since SU came out with fabric I have been trying to come up with cute, small ideas for using it. I have also recently become interested in quilting and I am always looking for ways to combine SU (the big shot is great too) and quilting. Thanks so much for sharing this! It is great!

Kimberly Allen