Tablerunner tutorial from The Recipe Bunny

Found this great tutorial at The Recipe Bunny. Visit the blog, you won't be disapointed
 Ingredients:
* 4 coordinating fabrics (a quarter yard is plenty for the white, red and green fabrics, but it's cutting it really close for the brown - I'd suggest getting 1/3 yard for the brown pattern pieces to be safe)
* batting
* fabric for the back
* binding strips (mine was cut to be 2.25 inches wide, strips sewn together on the diagonal, and pressed in half)

Directions: (final size 14 inches wide by 58 inches long)
Cut the following pieces from coordinating fabrics:
    From the red fabric cut:
    * Five 6.5 inch squares
    * Two 3.5 inch squares

    From the brown fabric cut:
    * Twelve 3.5 inch squares
    * Two 5.5 inch by 2.5 inch rectangles
    * Two 3.5 inch by 2.5 inch rectangles
    * Three 6.5 inch square - cut these in half on the diagonal to make 6 triangles
    * Six 5.5 inch by 1.5 inch rectangles

    From the white fabric cut:
    * Twelve 5.5 inch by 2.5 inch rectangles from white fabric
    * Twelve 3.5 inch by 2.5 inch rectangles from white fabric

    From the green fabric cut:
    * Two 6.5 inch squares - cut these in half on the diagonal to make 4 triangles
    * Four 5.5 inch by 1.5 inch rectangles

Sew the 3.5 inch by 2.5 inch brown rectangle cuts to 3.5 inch red squares. Then sew the 5.5 by 2.5 inch rectangle to the side of the piece you previously formed. You'll form blocks like shown in the pictures below.

Do the same thing with the 3.5 inch squares from the brown print and the small white rectangles. Press seams toward the darker fabric.

Sew each 5.5 by 1.5 brown rectangle to the top of one of the white and brown units you just created. Also sew each green 5.5 by 1.5 rectangle to the top of one of the white units. You will have two white and brown units left over with no top piece. These are used in the end rows.

Lay out the pieces so you know everything is pointing in the right direction.

Here are some pictures for a closer look at the rows:

Rows 1 and 2:

Rows 3 and 4:

Rows 5, 6 and 7:

Here's a link to a PDF that I created for the layout of the table runner. This should allow you to see the blocks/colors used in each row better than the pictures I was able to take as I was sewing. This PDF shows the table runner put together BEFORE trimming off the end pieces. So if it looks a little funny, that's how it should look! :) Christmas Table Runner Layout

Sew the pieces together into the rows as shown. You'll notice on the first and last rows that the triangle on the end is longer than the other pieces. This is OK! You'll be snipping off the excess at the end. You'll want to pin it like this:

See that the right angle of the triangle matches up with the corner of the first block you are sewing it to. You'll have the point sticking out at the top.

For the other end triangles in the middle rows you'll pin like this:

The right angle matches up with the corner and then the point will line up with the long edge of the block.

Press each strip's seams in an alternating pattern. Press the first strip's seams to the right, the second strip's seams to the left, the third strip's seams to the right, so on and so forth. This will make it easier for your blocks and points to match up when you sew the strips together.

Sew the strips together. This is a little goofy since the rows are diagonal. What you want to do is nest the seams of the red fabric pieces, like this:

First and second rows ready to pin together:

Here I have the rows slightly apart so you can see where the pieces match up. The red block will be the only matching seam on most of your rows (the first and last rows will have a couple more seams that match). This is what gives it the zig-zag effect when it's all done - all of those un-matching seams. Once you see one, you'll get the hang of it. Like you did when sewing the blocks into rows, you'll pin the end triangle right to the tip of the row it's joining. So, start pinning from the red blocks in the middle and work your way out to both ends. Then sew them together.

And here are the first two rows sewn together:

Continue until you have all of the rows sewn together. Press the seams flat however you choose to do it. I usually just press the whole thing in one direction, but if you like to press open, go for it!

Trimming up is the last thing to do now! You surely noticed that extra bit on the first and last rows:

And you also probably have some little corners sticking out along the sides from the triangle pieces: (similar to ones you get when you have to trim up half-square triangles)

Well, now we get to make it look all pretty! Take a ruler and chop off the tip of that triangle on the first and last rows. This is going to make it look just like the other side of the runner so it is balanced.

You'll do the same thing with any little corners you have sticking out on the sides. How you pressed your seams will determine how many of those little corner things you have to trim off. Just trim them flush with the side of your runner.

Square in Square Tutorial from National Quilters Circle

The original post is here.

The most efficient and accurate method for piecing a square in a square involves some waste. With this method however, you will be able to easily and accurately make any size square in a square without resorting to a Square in a Square Calculator for the cutting measurements, either online or in some remote reference material. Follow along as I take you through the precision technique basics of piecing a square in a square.

Crunching the Numbers

This method uses a large center square and four small, corner squares. The large center square is cut ½” larger than the finished measurement of the unit. For example if you wanted a 4” finished unit, you would cut the center square 4½” (4 + ½ = 4 ½).

The four smaller squares are cut ½” larger than half the finished measurement of the unit. In the example, you would cut the smaller corner squares 2½” (half of 4 is 2 + ½ =2 ½).

Piecing it Together

Step 1: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each of the four corner squares. Position two corner squares on two opposite corners of the large center square with the drawn lines running across the corner of the large square. Stitch on the drawn line, not on each side as we have been doing for previous units.

Step 2: Trim the corner ¼” from the stitching line.

Step 3: Press the remaining corner triangle away from the center square.

Step 4: Position the other two corner squares on the open corners of the large center square with the drawn lines running across the corner. Stitch on the drawn line.

Step 5: Trim the corner ¼” from the stitching line.

Step 6: Press the remaining corner triangles away from the center square. Although there is some waste, you will have an accurate square in a square of any size you wish to make.
Step 7: To add corner triangles to a square that does not need to be a specific size, you will first need to determine the unfinished size of the unit. To determine the unfinished size of the unit, multiply the square by 1.414. For example, the house square measures 5½”. Multiply this number by 1.414 to equal 7¾”. The unfinished size of the unit is 7¾”.

Step 8: For the corner triangles, cut two squares half the size of the unfinished unit plus 1”. For the house square, you would divide 7¾” by 2 and add 1” (7¾ divided by 2 = 3.875 + 1 = 4.875, round the number up to 5”). It is better to have them a little larger for trimming down to size. After cutting the two corner squares, cut the squares in half for the four corner triangles.

Step 9: Center the bias edge of two triangles on opposite sides of the center square, right sides together. I like to fold the center square and the triangles in half and give them a little pinch to make a tiny crease for centering the pieces. Stitch along the edge using a scant ¼”. Press the triangles away from the center square.

Step 10: Center the two remaining triangles on the open sides of the center square. Stitch along the edge using a scant ¼”. Press the triangles away from the center square.

Step 11: The square in a square is now ready for trimming. For larger units, use the 12” square up ruler. Align the ¼” line on the ruler along two points on the unit, checking for accurate alignment of the other two points to make sure the unit is square. Trim two sides.

Step 12: Turn the unit around and align the ¼” line on the ruler along the other two points on the unit. Check to make sure the other edges are square. Trim the remaining two sides to complete the project.

In the woods

Halloween Potholder from June Daley

Came across these very cute potholders for Halloween and thought I need to share that with you.
The orginal post you find here

Wondering how you’re going to handle your hot caldron this Halloween? How funny…so was I! Witch, I mean which : ), is what inspired me to design a couple of quilted caldron/pot holders. Follow along for a quick tutorial.   materials: 4 assorted fabrics (9″ x 9″ top; 9″  x 9″ bottom; hat and star according to pattern; 40″ x 2″ binding; 6″ x 2″ loop hanger); batting (3-10″ x 10″ squares); fusible web; iron; sewing machine; thread; needle; embroidery floss. 1. Use my free pattern (click here
 ) to trace the hat bottom, middle band, hat top and star onto the smooth side of the fusible web, leaving a 1/4″ allowance all around each shape. Cut out the shapes just outside the marked lines. Press the hat shapes and star onto the wrong side of each of the chosen fabrics. Cut out the shapes accurately along the marked lines. Iron the shapes to the quilt top.   2. Make a quilt sandwich with the bottom/back fabric, three pieces of batting and finally the top/front of the potholder (a.) Pin together with safety pins. 3. Use a variety of machine stitches to quilt your block together (b.-c.) Use hand stitching to quilt the twirly line connecting the star to the hat. 4. Trim the excess batting from sides to make a perfect square. 5. To make the hanger loop, fold a 6″ x 2″ fabric strip in half lengthwise and press. Open out and fold each raw edge toward the center fold. Stitch along the long edges (d.) Set aside. 6. Cut a 40″ x 2″ strip of fabric for the edge binding. My new favorite way to machine attach binding is courtesy of my quilting instructor, Heather. She has a fabulous picture heavy tutorial here. Attach the loop hanger into the  left hand corner of the binding.

Shadow Box Tutorial by MaDan' s Quilting

Free Tutorial!

A lot of my quilting buddies wanted to know how this was made, and since it's such an easy quilt, I decided to share it as a free tutorial!

You'll need to decide what color you want to use for your shadows and border, and what color you want to use for your background. (I chose black shadows and a white background.)

From your background fabric, cut:

48 squares 1-1/2" x 1-1/2"

5 squares 2" x 2"

28 strips 2" x 9-1/2"

30 strips 2" x 11"

From your shadow fabric, cut:

24 strips 1-1/2" x 7-1/2"

24 strips 1-1/2" x 8-1/2"

(Outside border is cut 4-1/2" wide on my quilt.)

Next, cut 24 squares from all different fabrics @ 8-1/2" x 8-1/2"



Now you'll sew one of your small white squares to your 7-1/2" long shadow strip

for the bottom of each square:

Next you'll sew one of your small white squares to your 8-1/2" shadow strip

for the side of the square:

Sew the bottom strip to the scrappy square, and then the side. It will look like this:

Now you'll add your sashing parts. First, to the bottom of the square above,

you will add one of your 2" x 9-1/2" strips of background fabric.

Then to the left side of the square you will add one of your 2" x 11" strips of

background fabric. Sew 4 blocks together per row, and finish the row with a final

2" x 11" strip of background.

Make 6 rows like that, and sew them together, adding a final set of 9-1/2" background strips with 2" squares of background fabric to your top row, and then your outter border, so that it looks like this:

Your finished quilt will be about 51-1/2" x 72-1/2"

Happy Quilting!

Jean MaDan

MaDan'sQuilting