Spooky Part IV - Finishing the Spooky Quilt
This is the continuation and final part of my Spooky Quilt Project (Part 1 - Sewing the Patchwork and Part II - Ice Dye and Part III - Quilting).
It's about completing the quilted fabric sandwich from the previous steps into a cozy blanket.
The remaining steps to finish the quilt require: some courage to trim, as well as some more material and time - and sometimes nerves. Part of it's actually a very relaxing activity, but it includes both one of my favorite and one of my most hated steps. Well, let's go!
Right at the beginning comes the part that I don't like doing at all. But at least it's out of the way right from the start now!
Do you remember the little nubs of thread that I showed in the last article? Unfortunately, every now and then a thread broke while sewing and got tangled on the back without being noticed.
With patience and nimble fingers, I unravel the knots, correct or secure the seams and sew up the remaining thread discreetly.
This looks nicer than a knot and is also more durable.
The threads are simply threaded into a needle that's pierced through the fabric for a short distance. The ends still sticking out are cut off.
I check the back of the quilt for flaws. When a section is completed, I pull out the red threads from the basting. This way I can keep track very easily. The yarn from basting sometimes gets stuck in the quilting seams and breaks when pulling it out. I save longer threads that are still “good” for the next project. (Look for them in the next quilting article!)
After working in the loose ends, now comes the step I mentioned at the beginning, requiring some courage: cutting, or rather trimming the quilt. . .
The quilt sandwich still has unevenly protruding fleece and fabric on the back around all the edges.
You can cut a nice, straight and smooth edge using a rotary cutter and a long ruler.
Now the final addition of some more fabric comes into play, because the edge binding is now made from suitable yardage or leftover strips of fabric with a width of around 6.5cm (or 2.5 inches).
The width can be varied for different outcomes, but this is a fairly common one that gives good results.
I still have some fabric left with the little eye polka dot pattern, which I think will work well.
Widths of woven fabric panels are limited by the weaving machine they are produced on. Several strips must therefore be joined together to fit all around a bigger quilt. A diagonal seam is suitable for this purpose, so that when sewing it to the quilt edge, the seam allowances do not add onto each other all in one place and cause unsightly bulk on the edge.
I make sure that the dot pattern fits together as seamlessly as possible.
A total of seven strips have now been cut and sewn together, which sums up to around 6.5 meters of edging tape.
The required length can easily be determined by measuring all the side edges of the quilt after trimming and adding a bit of length for safety.
I remove the seam allowances from joining the strips and then wind up the tape as a clean roll until further processing.
Piece by piece I pin the binding onto the front of the quilted patchwork, right sides of the printed fabrics together.
The distance from the pins (soon-to-be seam) to the edge of the quilt will determine the width of the binding.
The desired width must be considered when cutting the strips!
For my 6,5cm binding tape, I use about 1,2cm of seam allowance to the very edge of the quilt, which will be 1,2cm of finished binding.
When sewing the tape to the quilt, the diagonal seam allowances of the are kept nice and flat. The entire tape could also be ironed again beforehand. But the roll kept free of wrinkles and for my type of cotton fabric, pressing the seam allowances apart with my fingers was good enough.
I find it most comfortable to start in the middle of one long side of the quilt. On and on we go now, all around the quilt.
The end of sewing on the binding has nearly been reached - it is best to leave around 10 - 15cm of the binding tape unattached at the beginning and also finish the seam about 10 cm before the end of the tape.
The remaining fabric tape can now be fitted to close the gap perfectly. First I hold them flat and fold over the ends to meet in a diagonal, like when making the tape.
After the ends of the binding tape have been joined together, I trim off the excess material. A final piece of machine stitching is now done over the gap in the edge seam that is still open.
After cleaning my sewing machine, because that was the last bit of machine sewing for my project, this now brings us to the final act. It's one of my favorite activities!
The binding tape is now folded over to the back of the quilt, by which it will now cover the previous seam allowance to form a nice, smooth finish, all around the sides of the quilt.
I fold the edges of the fabric tape again, about one centimeter of material inwards to hide the fraying, cut edges. With distances of about 5-10cm, I fasten it tightly to the quilt backing with pins.
Of course, the binding could also be sewn on with a sewing machine, but I have always preferred a hand seam that can practically be made invisible along the edge.
Small stitches of 2 - 4 mm make for a very durable seam. Hand stitching the binding is an almost meditative thing for me. I like to do this in the evenings after work, when I can finally relax for the day.
When the sewing thread runs out, you can easily and discreetly add on a new one piece.
To do this, make a stitch with the thread a little inwards from the actual seam, below the binding tape.
The knot and the thread ends are then covered and hidden by the fabric tape and I can continue without problems, on and on until I meet the start of the seam.
Now the time has come. The quilt is finished!
I've lost track a bit, but I spend at least . . . well, sooo many hours on it. Seriously though, I lost count but the journey is definitely the goal with such a project! I like the result a lot and I'm also very happy about the little added Kisola label on my very first completely self-made quilt - from fabric design to sewing.
And here it is, in all its glory: my finished Spooky Quilt!
I always have trouble deciding whether I want the front or back of a quilt to be prominent in a photo. So instead of one single final image, this article features a little slideshow! I just couldn't decide on a picture.
I'm very happy with the spooky patterns, the spider web quilting and the beautiful hand dyed backing.
The Spooky Quilt has already kept me warm while reading last winter and also helped my partner stay comfy when he was sick, and had to spent some days at home on the sofa. Now that autumn is in full swing again, it's the perfect time to pull out the quilt and snuggle in!
I will happily use more of Erica Jackman's quilt designs for future projects (link to the design I used, her 'Hazel Quilt' below the little quilt mockup).
Thanks to everyone who followed and read all parts of this quilt project through to the end. Maybe I was able to inspire someone to start their own project or give a few tips for someone who is stuck. It definitely won't be my last quilt, two more are already in the works - plus blog articles of course.
I look forward to having you there again next time.
Until then, have fun sewing!
