Sunday 10 April 2011

How To ......

Sonata:






I can't really , in all honesty , call this a tutorial . Making any quilt , regardless of size , by the paper-piecing method , is foolproof .




Tightrope walking needs skill , balance , confidence and years of practice . All you'll need to make a miniature quilt is patience and a certain degree of accuracy .

There are thousands of patterns you could make , but it might be a good idea to begin with one using squares




Once you've decided which one you're making , you'll need to photocopy squared paper , scaling it up to give the size square you want ( half an inch or more is comfortable to work with ) and cut into separate bits




Then make a cardboard template ( make more than one , actually , since they tend to go AWOL under sofa cushions ) making it large enough for a quarter inch seam allowance which might seem a lot but , believe me , you don't want fraying at this point !





Cut squares , using template . Repeat about 400 times .





Tack each square round a little square of paper to make a patch .Oversew patches to each other





either at random




or according to pattern chosen .

Stop when you've had enough or the quilt is big enough for a doll's house bed or tiny doll .

Unpick the tacking stitches round each square and remove paper . Hold it up to a strong light to find any lurking remaining papers ( there will always be one ) .

Bind the quilt and back it ..... My Aunt June , for instance , does wonderful tutorials about how to finish a quilt , if you don't know how .

Sit back and admire . But beware ! It's addictive .

11 comments:

Martha said...

Thank you so much for this!!!!! I think I may give it a go! I'll keep you posted if I go for it!

June said...

Stop when you've had enough...

I stopped at about "and cut into separate bits." I am an admirer, not a maker.

Suse said...

I made one of those in hexagons when I was about 16 but stopped as it was so hideous (my colour sense was not developed in those days I think). My mother finished it for me decades later as a 'present'.

ps. don't know which of you just left the hilarious comment about the candlelight and chilled rose but thank you. you've given me food for thought. which is good, seeing there isn't a lot of food.

rachel said...

Fabulous! So glad you showed your hand to give a sense of the real tiny-ness of the patches.

Rattling On said...

Ummm, my hand would have given a different scale, I think. Farming stock and all that...
Quite fancy a go at this but may need new glasses to cope. Very impressed with your patience, not least in cutting all the tiny bits.

Liz Hinds said...

I'm with June on this. But I do admire your handiwork.

Mise said...

I'm impressed by the intricacy, and the patience it must require, rather like the tiny portraits which were once so coveted, but with the added serenity of a certain regularity of creation.

Marcheline said...

Just think - if you didn't remove any of the papers, you'd have a flag that needs no breeze!

Jinksy said...

The miniature bit would put me off these days - too fiddly for words! (By the by, I've pposted the Easter bonnet today, just for you!)

Friko said...

If you say so.
I am not keen on acquiring an addiction of this sort, give me chocolate, or films, or blogging, or gardening. . . . .

mountainear said...

I'd love to have a go. A doll's house quilt would satisfy my creativity I think.