Part 8: Assembling your quilt top
with JULIUS ARTHUR
Lesson 22 of 27
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Once each of your blocks has been assembled (or appliquéd), it is time to sew the whole quilt top together. Learn the final steps in patchwork quilting and assemble your quilt top.
From the Lesson Workbook
Part 8 - Assembling Your Quilt Top
Move your panels around and start assembling your quilt composition.
Join Your Panels
- Stitch two panels together on your sewing machine with a 1 cm (7/16 in) seam allowance.
- Place your panels right side together, aligning the edges.
- Grab your iron and press the seams open. This is so that when you come to hand stitching, the seams aren't too bulky to push your needle through. Then reverse the fabric, pressing the other side.
- Repeat the previous steps until you have sewn all the panels together.
Create Larger Quilt From Your Panels
- You can stitch large panels onto one another. This will allow your quilt to grow into a larger quilt.
- A great idea is to share the work with your friends and family and start making a panel each. Bring your various panels together and start sewing something special.
Use the Building Blocks Steps to Complete Your Quilt
- Prepare your quilt backing. It should be 5-10 cm (2-3 15/16 in) larger than your quilt top.
- Lay the right side of the backing fabric on your work surface. Check to make sure the backing fabric is larger than your quilt top.
- Use masking tape to secure the backing at regular intervals. Smooth the fabric down.
Tip: if you are constructing a larger quilt, you might want to put the backing fabric on the floor. If you are managing large pieces of fabric you can roll each of your layers onto a large cardboard roll and unroll them together.
- Using your quilt top as your template, cut your batting (or wadding) at least 5 cm (2 in) wider than your quilt top.
- Centre the piece of batting (or wadding) on top of the backing fabric.
- Trim your quilt top and lay it on top of your batting.
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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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