Quilt as you go without sashing

Quilt as you go projects are just the same quilt that you would make by any other method, but each quilt block is sewn individually on to wadding and backing and then quilted.  When they are all complete, the blocks are joined together to make the quilt.

The benefits are that you are working with small sections of fabric all the time so you can carry them around with you to work on when in the train or anywhere away from home.  Quilting is obviously a lot easier on a small block - whether machine or hand quilting.



There are many different methods for quilt as you go, so over a period of time I will try and make this article into a series on the different methods.

I began by making quilt blocks with wadding extending about 1" from the block all the way round and the backing extending 2".

A word of warning - when quilting make sure that your quilting stops a good 1" from the edge of the block. 



Take 2 of the blocks and fold back the wadding and backing on each one to expose the quilt block itself.  Using a 1/4" seam, sew the 2 quilt block tops together, right sides together.




Place the 2 blocks right side down, fold the backing away and pin the 2 sections of wadding together.  Trim the wadding just above the pins so that the 2 pieces lie flat against each other when you remove the pins.
I actually found this part quite difficult - I had to be very careful not to catch the backing with my scissors.



Handstitch the 2 pieces of wadding together.  This is just to stop them moving around and creating a bump when you sew the backing pieces together.

Lay the backing pieces flat over each other and trim to give about 1" overlap.  Turn under a 1/4" seam on the top one and pin in place.  Stitch down that seam, working from the back.
As you can see, the seam shows up on the front of the blocks, but if I had been using patterned fabric it would have been lost in the pattern. 

An alternative is to handsew the 2 backing pieces together, but for this particular application I feel that machine sewing is stronger to hold the 2 blocks together.

When you have sewn all the blocks together, bind in the normal way.





rose smith
rose@ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk