Part 3: Simple curves
with JULIUS ARTHUR
Lesson 17 of 27
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Curves have a reputation for being almost impossible to sew. Watch as Julius demonstrates how to quilt a simple curve to add interest to your quilt.
From the Lesson Workbook
Part 3 - Simple Curves
In this lesson you will need:
- Batting
- Quilt top
- Quilter's pins
- Thread
- No 8 Cotton Pearl thread
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Pressing mat
- Scrap fabric for your binding
- Rotary cutter
- Scissors
- Tailor's chalk
Steps:
- Find two pieces of fabric of similar size. Overlap them so the right side of both pieces is facing you, and the wrong side is facing down.
- Draw a very slight curve using tailor's chalk. Mark a few lines across the lines you've just drawn. These will act as registration marks/notches.
- Using a rotary cutter, follow the line you have marked, making sure you are cutting through your notches.
- Separate out all the fabric pieces. To create two blocks, match the inner curve of one colour with the outer curve of the other colour.
- With your tailor's chalk, draw a series of registration marks across the curves. This will make sure the curves match up on both pieces of fabric.
- Right sides facing, pin the two fabrics together and line up the notches.
- Stitch the two pieces of fabric together on your sewing machine with a 0.5 cm seam allowance, taking the pins out as you go. You should use a 0.5 cm seam to prevent the fabric panel from distorting from the curve and to ensure it lies flat. Use your hands to guide your fabric but don't pull or drag your fabric in the sewing machine. Keep your curved seams flat. Once your patchwork is complete, trim any uneven edges.
- Grab your iron and press the curve the way it naturally likes to fall. Then reverse the fabric, pressing the other side.
- Line the edge of your ruler with the edge of your fabric block and cutting mat. Use your rotary cutter to remove any excess.
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Your Instructor
Julius Arthur
British textile artist specialising in handmade quilts and unique textile objects for the home.
Julius Arthur is a textiles designer specialising in quilts and unique objects for the home. His design practice, House of Quinn, creates small-batch homeware using traditional and age-old craft techniques and practices to cultivate contemporary design narratives onto familiar objects. His work is grounded in uncomplicated - often repurposed - materials and inspired by an abstract view of the places and things around us. Growing up in Cornwall, memories of childhood and a sense of home and belonging intersect in Julius' work. Quilts have become a staple motif in Julius' work - a way of combining materials, connecting through stitch and exploring shape, form and line - and the subject of his book Modern Quilting.
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