When using the quilt as you go method, quilting between blocks and between rows is something that I’ve always left till the end and then quilted those small sections on the huge, bulky quilt. What an idiot I am! I’ve just worked out something that you probably worked out a long time ago.
What is quilt as you go?
I have made a quilt from 20″ blocks using quilt as you go. Using this technique, you add the wadding and backing fabric to each block and quilt one block at a time. You have to leave 1″ or 2″ not quilted all round the edge of each block so that you can sew the seams joining the blocks. You can find out more about this technique here.
Quilting between blocks
As I would with any other quilt, I sew the blocks together across each row first and then sew the rows to each other. The difference this time is that after I had sewn the blocks together across each row I realised that I could then set about quilting between blocks at this stage rather than waiting till I had completed the quilt. You still need to leave 1″ or 2″ unquilted at the top and bottom of the seam – this is so that you can sew the seams to join the rows. However you can quilt over most of that seam, giving you both unformity of quilting design as well as strengthening the seam line – and you’re only working with one row rather than a big quilt.
Quilting between rows
You can now employ the same method when joining the rows: join two rows and then quilt along the length of the seam line joining the rows before you add another row.
You need to leave the first and last couple of inches of the rows unquilted if you are planning on adding a border.
You may feel that I am making something out of nothing, but I feel ridiculously pleased with myself for having worked out an easier way of completing the quilting between blocks in a quilt as you go project. I hope it will help you.
This is the completed quilt – a wedding gift for my niece. Her wedding celebrations are the weekend after next. In case you’re wondering, I’ve used the chain and knot quilt pattern.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
I hope to see you again soon.
Rose
Here’s the video: