Great Granny Square continued

Well I hope you have all completed your centre Great Granny Square block and are ready to continue on and get the front of your cushion cover completed.  This next stage is quick and easy.  First off lets add a border to our block.  I chose a 4 inch border but the size of your border really depends on the size of the cushion that you would like.  I added the border fabrics to opposite sides first using a 1/4 inch seam then trimmed the excess fabric and then added the remaining two sides, trimming the excess at the end.  I now have a completed cushion block.

Lets make a quilt sandwich.  Lay your backing fabric down ( right side facing down) then your wadding and finally your complete quilt block.  Your backing and wadding need to be at least 2 inches bigger all round than the front block.  Pin or bast and we are now ready to quilt.  

Don't be afraid of quilting please you have 3 choices now and all of them are great.  You can hand quilt, straight-line quilt with a walking foot or free motion quilt.  I choose to free motion quilt.  I lowered the feed dogs in my machine. changed my foot to a darning foot and off I went trying to keep a consistent flow.  

I then trimmed off the excess wadding and backing fabric.  I like to add a 1/8 inch seam around the edge just to keep everything where it should be, you don't have to do this it's up to you.  

Next time we will be making the backing to our cushion make sure you wash your backing fabric for this stage.  Happy sewing.

Great Granny Square block

Hi everyone.  I hope you have al your supplies together and and are ready to start.  If not don't worry I am sure you can catch up this is a quick project for sure.  This is what I have done so far.  If you have any questions please ask I am sure I will have left some things out.
First off lets get the fabrics for the central block cut.  You will need 25 2 1/2 inch squares of print fabrics and 12 plain 2 1/2 inch squares and 4 2 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch rectangles.

Arrange your blocks into a pleasing pattern.

Sew your rows together using a 1/4 inch seam.  You can pin together if you wish.

Once you have all your rows sewn start joining them together using a 1/4 inch seam.  Press each row as you go and line up your seams.

Now add on the remaining end rectangles.

Give another press and then trim up.  Line up your ruler 1/4 inch from the points of the print fabrics.

Tha da your centre block is complete.  

Next time we will add the sashing and do our quilt sandwich. Have fun and I will see you in a few days.

Sew Along Come and Join in.

I'm hosting my very first sew along.  Come and join in.  We will be working through the process of making a Great Granny patchwork cushion cover.  They are great beginners projects.  So quick and easy.  Let start by getting our supplies organised.

You will need to have the following

Self healing mat
Rotary cutter
quilting ruler ( I use a 6 1/2 inch x 24 inch)
pins
pencil.
iron.
ironing board.
sewing machine.
1/4 inch sewing foot.

Walking foot ( or free motion foot if you are going to do free motion quilting)  If you have neither don't worry hand quilting is a great option for a cushion and the small size means it will come together  quickly.

Good quality cotton sewn thread. I use Aurifil 50 weight.

Approx 1 metre of quality cotton for the backing and background.

 24 inch square piece of cotton wadding.

5 inches width of fabric for binding.

and assortment of 2 1/2 inch squares of quality cotton prints in a co ordination scheme ( I am going to use a charm pack of Honky tonk fabric square and cut them in quarter)

Hand sewing needle.

I think that is it.  Get your supplies together and we can get started the week after next.  If you are struggling to get everything you need let me know and I might be able to make up some kits.

Wordless Wednesday