Table Of ContentQuilt Essential
Quilt Essential
THE GO-TO REFERENCE FOR QQ The perfect book for the modern breed of design
TODAY’S QUILTERS AND savvy sewists, QuiltEssential is a quick-reference
FABRIC JUNKIES uu directory of fabric types, color combinations,
block settings, and piecing styles that shows
ii readers how to design their own quilting patterns
Got a question about quilting? Whether you ll
tt A VISUAL DIRECTORY OF CONTEMPORARY PATTERNS, FABRICS & COLOR from the limitless combinations this book offers.
want to know how to choose colors for your
quilt, how many squares or triangles you can EE Which fabric types match each other? How much
ERIN BURKE HARRIS backing fabric do you need? How do pattern
cut from the fabric you have, how to mix and
Erin Burke Harris is a wife and mother with a ss styles work? What shapes complement one
match quilt blocks, or the difference between
passion for quilting. She began sewing as a ss another? Rather than simply offering a book of
Hawaiian quilting and sashiko—you’ll find the
young girl and has been playing with fabric ee designs and projects for readers to follow,
answers in Erin Burke Harris’ quick-reference
ever since. Erin enjoys exploring different
directory of contemporary fabrics, colors, nn QuiltEssential categorizes and explains all these
combinations of print, pattern, and color, and
elements, arming readers with everything they
finds modern quilting to be a wonderful vehicle designs, and quilting techniques. tt
to view these in the context of a traditional craft. ii need to know to make informed decisions to
aa design their own quilts.
Photos, charts, and tables help you make
Her patterns have been published in Stitch
Magazine, Quilts Baby!, Pretty Little Patchwork, your own design choices ll
As a bonus, profiles of contemporary fabric
and A is for Aprons. Various sewing tutorials can
designers, quilters, and sewing virtuosos provide
Includes guides to quilt settings, piecing
be found on her blog. Erin lives in Kentucky with
insights, advice, and stunning inspiration to
styles, color combinations, and fabrics
her husband and two daughters. Follow her on
demonstrate how this traditional craft is being
her crafty adventures at houseonhillroad.com.
E reimagined and reinvented by a new wave of
Bonus profiles of popular contemporary
R
quilters and their quilting journeys IN artisans. Divided into four sections, the book
is organized by category; fabric, color, design,
B
U and assembly. Each entry offers clear advice
R accompanied by diagrams and photographs to
K
E help the reader choose which options work best
H for them.
A
R
R
I
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11016 s
stash
BOOKS
QQuuiillttEEsssseennttiiaall
First published in the United States in 2013 by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T
Publishing, Inc., PO Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
Copyright RotoVision SA 2013
RotoVision SA
114 Western Road
Hove
BN3 1DD
www.rotovision.com
ISBN: 978-1-60705-793-2
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic,
magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
prior permission in writing from the publisher.
While every effort has been made to contact owners of copyright material
produced in this book, we have not always been successful. In the event of a
copyright query, please contact the publisher.
All quilt patterns remain the copyright of their designers, photographs of
completed quilts are shown for inspiration only.
Editor: Liz Jones
Commissioning Editor: Isheeta Mustafi
Art Editor: Jennifer Osborne
Art Director: Emily Portnoi
Design and illustration: Natalie Clay
Technical Adviser: Sara Cook, Brighton Fashion and Textile School
and Joanna Corney
Photography: Michael Wicks
Picture research: Diane Leyman
Cover Design: Emily Portnoi
QQuuiillttEEsssseennttiiaall
A VISUAL DIRECTORY OF
CONTEMPORARY PATTERNS, FABRICS & COLOR
ERIN BURKE HARRIS
INTRODUCTION 6
CONTENTS
QUILTING TOOLS 8
SECTION 1: FABRICS
1: TYPES OF FABRICS 14
Quilting cotton ....................................................................15
Muslin .................................................................................16
Broadcloth ..........................................................................17
Voile .....................................................................................18
Calico ..................................................................................19
Flannel ................................................................................20
Lawn ...................................................................................21
Linen ..................................................................................22
Velvet and velveteen ............................................................23
Denim .................................................................................24
Corduroy ..............................................................................25
Silk .....................................................................................26
Wool ....................................................................................27
Hand-dyed fabrics ...............................................................28
2: YARDAGE AND MEASURING 30
Calculating quilt sizes ........................................................31
Calculating shapes per yard ..............................................34
Using precuts .....................................................................36
Calculating sashing and borders .......................................38
Calculating batting, background fabric, and binding .........40
3: CARING FOR FABRICS 44
Prewashing fabric ..............................................................45
Testing for colorfastness ...................................................46
Caring for your fabric ......................................................... 47
Malka Dubrawsky ..........................................................48
Rita Hodge .....................................................................50
SECTION 2: COLORS
4: COLOR THEORY 54
Color wheel ........................................................................55
Choosing color palettes ..................................................... 56
5: MATCHING FABRICS AND COLORS 58
Matching solid colors and prints .......................................59
Combining different prints .................................................60
Using different textures ..................................................... 62
Backings and bindings .......................................................64
Anna Maria Horner ........................................................66
Blair Stocker .................................................................68
SECTION 3: DESIGNS SECTION 4: ASSEMBLING
6: SHAPES 72 12: PIECING 142
Squares and rectangles .....................................................73 Traditional piecing .............................................................143
Triangles ............................................................................74 Foundation paper piecing ..................................................144
Diamonds ...........................................................................76 English paper piecing ........................................................146
Hexagons ............................................................................78 Chain piecing ......................................................................148
Circles and curved shapes .................................................79 Strip piecing .......................................................................150
String piecing .....................................................................152
7: QUILT BLOCKS 80 Grid piecing ........................................................................154
Traditional blocks ...............................................................81 Improvisational piecing ......................................................156
Modern blocks ...................................................................84 Piecing batting ....................................................................158
Mixing and matching quilt blocks ......................................86 Piecing backing fabrics .......................................................160
8: BLOCK LAYOUTS AND SETTINGS 88 13: QUILT SANDWICHING 162
Side-by-side settings .........................................................89 Types of batting ..................................................................163
Horizontal and vertical settings .........................................90 Making the quilt sandwich .................................................164
Diagonal and on-point settings .........................................92 Basting ...............................................................................166
Alternating settings ...........................................................94 Transferring the quilting design ........................................168
Medallion settings .............................................................96
One-patch settings ............................................................98 14: QUILTING METHODS 170
Hand quilting ......................................................................171
9: STYLES AND ARRANGEMENTS 100 Tying a quilt ........................................................................172
Traditional patchwork ......................................................101 Machine quilting with a walking foot .................................174
Japanese Sashiko quilts ..................................................102 Free-motion machine quilting ...........................................176
Hawaiian quilts .................................................................104 Longarm quilting ...............................................................178
Provençal quilts ................................................................106
Art quilts ..........................................................................108 15: BINDINGS 180
Collage quilts ...................................................................110 Bias binding .......................................................................181
Pictorial quilts ..................................................................112 Straight and cross-grain bindings .....................................182
Abstract quilts ..................................................................114 Single-fold and double-fold bindings ................................184
Squaring the quilt and attaching the binding ....................186
10: SASHING AND BORDERS 116 Finishing the binding ..........................................................188
Separating and surrounding .............................................117 Other finishing methods ....................................................190
Plain sashing ....................................................................118
Frame sashing ..................................................................120 Angela Walters ..............................................................192
Sashing with cornerstones ..............................................121 Penny Layman and Kerry Green, Sew Ichigo .................194
Pieced sashing .................................................................122
Lapped borders ................................................................124
Borders with interrupted corners ...................................125
Multiple and pieced borders ............................................126
Borders with mitered corners .........................................127
RESOURCES
11: EMBELLISHMENT 128
Appliqué ...........................................................................129
Embroidery .......................................................................130 GLOSSARY 198
Paint ..................................................................................132 CONTRIBUTORS 200
Trims ................................................................................134 FURTHER READING 202
PHOTO CREDITS 203
Carrie Strine ...............................................................136 INDEX 204
Kajsa Wikman .............................................................138 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 208
5
INTRODUCTION
I vividly remember being 10 years old and absolutely Making a quilt can seem like a daunting prospect, but it
fascinated that my 14-year-old cousin had a sewing is really quite simple. Anyone who has the will to make
machine and could make things. I watched her cut a quilt and is armed with a little knowhow can do this.
the fabric, pin it together, and sew the seams— My goal with this book is to help you get from the idea
entranced the entire time. I knew right then that I of a quilt to the reality of it. I have compiled information
wanted to learn to sew. Three years later, when the on the multiple aspects of quilting and put it together in
opportunity presented itself, along with a lot of this reference manual that will have you designing and
urging from my mother, I took home economics in constructing your own quilts in no time at all.
the seventh grade. I’ve been sewing ever since.
While the book does not include specific quilting
Quilting entered my life relatively recently. Amazed projects, I cover all the basics you need to think about
and inspired by the variety of contemporary quilts when making a quilt. From what fabrics to use, how to
I was seeing on the Internet, I jumped right in. I knew develop your color palette, and different quilting styles
little to nothing about quilting except that the seams and designs, to ways to piece and assemble the layers,
should be ¼" (6 mm). Confident in my sewing ability, it’s all here. I’ve also interviewed a handful of talented
but lacking any real quilting knowledge, I started contemporary quilters whose work will inspire you
a queen-sized bed quilt. As naïve as I was about creatively to keep sewing and to keep quilting.
quilting, I learned a lot working on that first quilt
project, especially from the mistakes I made QuiltEssential will give you the information and the
along the way. As frustrating as those errors were, confidence you need to create your own project from
I successfully finished the quilt and started on the start to finish. It’s my sincere hope that it will also
next one. Again, I was hooked. inspire you to make quilts that will be treasured for
years to come.
Erin Burke Harris
6 QuiltEssential
QUILTING TOOLS
The tools on these pages should get you started. You can then
gradually add to your toolkit as you work through different projects.
SCISSORS
You’ll need one pair of scissors for cutting fabric—
8" (20 cm) dressmaker’s shears are a good choice.
A second pair of scissors should be used when
cutting paper patterns, plastic templates, and the
like. Embroidery scissors or small snips are helpful
for trimming threads close to the fabric.
ROTARY CUTTER
While quilting fabric can certainly be cut with
scissors, using a rotary cutter is faster and more
efficient. These tools have extremely sharp blades,
which makes slicing through fabric easy, but care is
required when using them. Dull blades should be
replaced promptly to avoid injury.
Rotary cutters are available in a wide range of styles,
all with different handles and safety mechanisms.
They also come with blades ranging in size from 18
mm to 60 mm, with 45 mm being the most common.
Larger blades are for more utilitarian cutting, while
smaller blades work well on curves and little pieces.
SELF-HEALING CUTTING MAT
These gridded cutting mats are necessary when
cutting fabric using a rotary cutter. A 24" × 36"
(61 × 91 cm) mat is a good choice to start with—it
will allow you plenty of room to cut large pieces of
fabric, but isn’t so large that it won’t fit on a small
table. Smaller mats are helpful for traveling to
classes, but larger sizes are wonderful if you have
the table space to accommodate them.
8 QuiltEssential
ACRYLIC QUILTER’S RULERS
Also essential for rotary cutting fabric, quilter’s
rulers are manufactured in myriad shapes and sizes.
These gridded rulers are clear acrylic, which allows
you to see through them and line up the fabric for
cutting. The most basic and useful size is a 6" × 24"
(15 × 61 cm) rectangular ruler, which can be used for
almost all your cutting needs. Over time you are
likely to accumulate a collection of different quilting
rulers. Square rulers of different sizes are helpful
when squaring up blocks, and other specialty shapes
may be useful for particular patterns.
PINS
Straight pins are essential for piecing. Sharp, thin
pins with glass heads will easily pierce the fabric
without leaving a large hole and can be ironed
without fear of them melting. Store them in a
pincushion and replace them when they become
dull. Quilter’s safety pins are needed for pin basting.
Their curved side allows you to easily maneuver them
through all layers of the quilt sandwich and back to
the top.
IRON AND IRONING BOARD
A steam iron with multiple heat settings is crucial for
ironing wrinkles from fabrics and pressing seams.
A standing ironing board works well for all ironing
purposes. Table-top and space-saving versions are
great for small workspaces.
SEWING MACHINE
Any machine with straight and zigzag stitches and
good tension will work for piecing a quilt. If you plan
on machine quilting your projects, look for a machine
that can accommodate a walking foot and has free-
motion capability. A 1⁄4" (6 mm) patchwork presser
foot is extremely helpful.
9
