Cricut Maker BOTW

Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Week 12 – Quilting the Mini Quilt

December 8, 2017 1 Comment

Getting your quilt top finished doesn’t mean you’re done with your quilt! In the quilting world, we call a finished quilt top a “flimsy.” Which isn’t derogatory at all… it just means the quilt doesn’t have the batting and backing attached to it yet… and it is still, well, flimsy! So, this week I’m going to show you how to quilt your mini quilt. Which is really one of the first times you have options in making this quilt… and you have a lot of them! There are a couple different ways you can baste your layers. I’m going to show you the two most popular ways – spray basting and pin basting. And there are lots of different ways to quilt your quilt. I’m going to show you two different techniques – Walking Foot Quilting and Free Motion Quilting.

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Basting the Quilt

First let’s talk about basting the quilt. “Basting” is a sewing term that basically means to temporarily secure layers together. I have used three different kinds of basting – Pin Basting, Spray Basting, and Thread Basting. I’m going to go over the first two here.

With Pin Basting, you use safety pins to secure the layers together. This is a fairly quick way to baste. Pins are placed at intervals (every 6″ or so is a great number) to hold the layers together. As you quilt through the layers, securing them permanently, you remove any pins that are in your way. Once you’ve finished quilting you remove any pins that have been left behind. The pros of pin basting are that it is inexpensive – safety pins are inexpensive to purchase, and reusable. Once you have a stash of pins for basting, you won’t need to buy them again. Also, pin basting is preferred over spray basting for people who are sensitive to chemicals. However, it can be tedious to pin across a large quilt. And, the quilt is only secured in the pinned spots. It could potentially shift in the spots between the pins. You’ll see me go over Pin Basting in the Walking Foot Quilting video below.

Spray Basting is my go-to method, because it is fast. I can spray baste even a large quilt in less than 30 minutes, and have it ready to quilt. It can be expensive – the cans are more expensive than safety pins, and when they run out you have to buy more. I have used all of the following basting sprays, and they have all worked well: Thermoweb Basting Spray, Dritz Spray Adhesive, 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive, and Sulky KK2000. If you are sensitive to chemicals, you might want to look at the label before using one of these sprays. They should always be used in a well-ventilated area. If I’m gifting the quilt to a baby or small child, I like to pre-wash the quilt before gifting to remove any spray residue.

Walking Foot Quilting

Now that we’ve talked about basting, let’s talk walking foot quilting. If you’ve never quilted a quilt before, this is a great option. You need a different foot for your machine. This foot is called a “walking foot.” With a standard sewing machine foot, the feed dogs on the bottom pull the fabric through the machine. When you have several layers, you want the whole thing (we call this a “quilt sandwich”) to feed through evenly. The walking foot essentially adds a set of feed dogs to the top that pair up with the feed dogs on the bottom. This pulls the whole quilt through evenly and prevents puckers or shifting.

Check out this video which shows you how to pin baste, and shows you how to use a walking foot to quilt your quilt:

Free Motion Quilting

For Free Motion Quilting, you don’t use the feed dogs at all. You move the fabric around under the needle. To do this, you engage the lever that lowers the feed dogs. Also, you use a sewing machine foot that has less drag on the top of the fabric (and more visibility around the needle) like a free motion foot or embroidery foot. It can take a little practice to get even stitches while free motion quilting. You want to sync the speed at which you move the fabric under the needle to the speed at which the needle is moving (which is controlled by how hard you press on the presser foot). I liken this to turning a corner in a car. You want to turn the steering wheel at a speed that is in sync with how fast the car is going – once your foot, hands, and brain are all on the same page, turning corners is no problem!

Check out this video which shows you how to spray baste, and shows you the basics for free motion quilting your quilt:

That was a big week! We basted our layers together and quilted them! Next week we will get the quilt trimmed up and bound – which is the final step!

If you’d rather not bind the quilt, you can skip to Week 14. This is a bonus video that shows you how to turn the quilt top into a lovely large pillow, instead of a mini quilt!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Week 11 – Adding Borders

December 1, 2017 Leave a Comment

Welcome to week 11 of the Cricut Maker Block of the Week! This week we’re going to finish the quilt top by adding the borders that we cut in Week 1: Intro. Adding the borders means that the quilt top is complete, but our quilt isn’t finished yet. Next week I’ll show you how to quilt your quilt top, and the next week I’ll show you the final step: Binding. I promised you 14 weeks of making this quilt. In week 1 I shared both the into and the first block because I knew you wouldn’t want to wait to start sewing. So in the final week, I’ll share a fun bonus project with you!

If you have just found this series, start by going to the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page. That has all the links and videos to get you started from the very beginning.

You can follow the written steps below, or you can watch this video as I show you how to put on the borders:

Start by laying out the borders. There are two long strips and two short strips.

Stitch the short borders to the top and bottom of the quilt top. In the video I show you how to pin the strip to the quilt top to keep them even. Here are the basic steps:

Place the border piece on top of the quilt. Line up the top edge and corners. Pin at the corners.

Find the middle of the border and quilt edge. Add a crease if needed. Pin to secure the centers together.

Add more pins as needed on each side. Often, either the quilt is slightly bigger than the border, or the border is slightly bigger than the quilt. Pinning allows you to ease the extra fabric into the seam without ripples or puckers.

Press. The seam allowance should go towards the border.

Now it is time to add the other borders.

Follow the same steps to pin the borders to the quilt. Press again, and your quilt is complete!

Come back next week as I show you how to quilt the quilt top!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Week 10 – Adding Sashing

November 24, 2017 2 Comments

We’re up to week TEN of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week! I’m so excited!! This week we get to put all those quilt blocks together into a quilt top, using the sashing that we cut in Week 1: Intro. So, we will have no actual cutting today! Just sewing and pressing as we add the sashing pieces and make our mini quilt top for our Cricut Maker Block of the Week quilt!

If you’re just finding this series, start by going to the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page. That has all the links and videos to get you started from the very beginning.

Cricut Maker Block of the Week - Week 10 - Adding Sashing to your quilt

Let’s get started on adding the sashing! No cut file this week, since we cut the sashing at the very beginning. The reason we cut the sashing first, even though we didn’t need it until now, was because there are such large sashing pieces. We want to cut these larger pieces first, and then our smaller pieces after. If we cut the smaller pieces first, there might not be enough room on our fabric to cut the larger pieces later.

If you’d like to watch the video, you can watch it here. Or you can follow along in the step-by-step photos below.

Note: In the video, I show you how to square up blocks. Ideally, your quilt blocks are all exactly the right size. When I stitched the version seen in the photos below, they were very accurate. The blocks I stitched for the video were less accurate (not surprising since I had my head off to an angle to keep it out of the camera frame, and my mind was focused on talking and filming instead of just sewing).

Grab thoe sashing pieces that we set aside. Leave the border pieces. We’ll be using the border pieces next week.

Lay out all nine blocks, and the sashing pieces. You don’t have to use the same layout I did. Depending on the fabrics you chose, your quilt might look better with a different layout. And even if you chose the exact same fabrics, you might like a different layout than mine. There are no wrong choices here.

lay out quilt top

If you’ve been following along, you know that each step builds on the previous steps. This step builds on past steps. Because this part of the quilt looks remarkably like something else we have done before…

lay out the block

That’s right! The nine patch! Putting together this quilt top is just like a nine patch… but with adding the sashing pieces between the blocks. Which is easy.

Start by stitching your sashing and blocks into rows. Press the seams towards the sashing strips.

press rows

Lay the quilt back out.

finished rows

Now stitch the sashing to the top and middle rows. It helps to pin the sashing on each end, and then in the middle. This ensures that the sashing is even along the length of the whole row. Press the seam allowance towards the sashing.

sashing on rows

I don’t have photos of this step, but you can watch in the video. What we want to do here is line up each vertical sashing strip with the sashing strip above/below it. That would be easy to do with seam allowances. But the horizontal sashing doesn’t have seam allowances. Use a ruler (or any straight edge – the edge of your mat will do) and your blue water-soluble marking pen from the Cricut machine to extend the seam allowance lines down across the back of your sashing pieces. Then match up the rows, pinning where the seam allowance from the bottom row matches up with the line that you’ve drawn. Then stitch the rows together.

finished sashings

Press all the seam allowances towards the sashing, and you’re all done!

Next week we’ll add the borders. And the week after we’ll get to my favorite part… quilting!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 9 – Mother’s Dream

November 17, 2017 2 Comments

The final block in our Cricut Maker Block of the week! Today we’re making Block 9, the Mother’s Dream. But don’t worry, we won’t be stopping here! Next week I’ll show you how to put the blocks together with the sashing we cut in Week 1: Intro, then we’ll add borders, quilt our mini quilt, and I’ll show you how to bind and finish the quilt!

If you’re just getting started, head over to the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page. There you’ll be able to start from the very beginning, with all the videos and links to get you started in making the quilt!

This post contains affiliate links which help support this site at no additional cost to you.

If you’d like to watch this week’s video, I’ll show you step-by-step how to put the block together. I’ll also show you a slightly different way to piece this block in the step-by-step photos and instructions that you can find by scrolling down a little further.

Start by cutting out all the pieces. Here is the Mother’s Dream Quilt Block Design Space File. Lay out all the pieces like this:

Yes, we’re laying out the pieces in diagonal rows. But before we can put the rows together, we have to stitch the two rectangles together to make squares. Sew each set together, and press towards the dark.

Now we can start stitching our rows. Sew the three pieces in row 2 together. And the three pieces in row 4. In row 3, go ahead and just stitch together the three center pieces.

For rows 2 and 4, press the seams out. For row 3, press the seams in. This will allow everything to nest beautifully when you stitch the rows together.

Stitch row 1 to row 2, and row 4 to row 5.

Then stitch these sides to the middle. Press.

All that is left is to stitch on the other corners.

Go ahead and clip off the dog-ears now. Your quilt block is finished! Next week we’ll combine it with the other 8!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 8 – Whirligig

November 10, 2017 Leave a Comment

It is time for Block 8 of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week! Just one more block, and then we will start to put the whole quilt together! WHEE! I can’t wait! I will be showing you every step of the quilting process, all the way through binding the quilt. When we finish, you will have a completed quilt that you made yourself! This week, for Blcok 8, we are making the Whirligig block! This block is different than other blocks we have done in the past, because the units that make up the block are not square. We are making triangular units, then stitching those together.

If you’re just joining in, check out the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page. It has everything you need to make this quilt from the very beginning, so you can get all caught up!

This post contains affiliate links which help support this site at no extra cost to you.

You can watch the video as I take you through the steps of making this fun block, or you can read below for written instructions and step-by-step photos.

Start by opening the Whirligig Block file in Cricut Design Space. Cut out the pieces and lay them out so you can visualize the block.

Place the triangle right-sides-together with the larger piece.

Stitch the triangles onto the larger pieces to make larger triangles.

Press.

Lay the pieces back out. Stitch pairs together to make two halves. Press.

Stitch the two halves together to make a whole. Press.

One more block to go!!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 7 – Shoo Fly

November 3, 2017 Leave a Comment

Week 7 of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week marks the halfway point of our series! We’re making our 7th block, the Shoo Fly Quilt block! And it is another variation on my favorite – the nine patch! You’ll find lots of quilt blocks are variations on four-patches and nine-patches. Once you visualize how to break down a quilt block into smaller units, the entire world of quilting opens up to you!

If you’re just jumping in, check out the entire Cricut Maker Block of the Week series so that you can start from week 1!

This post contains affiliate links which help support this site at no additional cost to you.

If you’d like to watch the step-by-step video, you can watch it here. Or follow along with the photos and written instructions below.

Start by opening up the Shoo Fly Block file in Cricut Design Space, and cutting the pieces. Then lay them out to form the block.

Stitch your half-square triangles, just as we have done in the past.

Press the half-square-triangles towards the dark side. Then stitch the pieces into rows.

Press the top and bottom rows in, and the center row out. In my case, this presses the pieces towards the dark. But even if your lighter color is where my greys are, you will want to press this way to reduce the bulk from the triangles.

Stitch the rows together, taking care to nest the seams.

Press your final seams, and your block is complete!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 6 – Hourglass Block

October 27, 2017 6 Comments

We are on Week 6 of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week! Almost halfway through this series, and I’m so excited!! Today I’m showing you the Hourglass Block. We have made half square triangles before, and we have made a 9-patch before, so you will find that this block goes together easily.

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If you are just joining in, you’ll want to head over to the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page. There you’ll find all the links, files, and information you need to make the quilt – all in chronological order.

You can follow the photos and instructions below, or you can watch this step-by-step video where I show you how to make the Hourglass Quilt Block.

To make this week’s block, you will need the Hourglass Cut File for Design Space. Remember that you have to download this on a Laptop or Desktop computer, then you can save it to Design Space. Once you have saved it to your Design Space files, you can use any device you’re logged into Design Space to cut the file.

Once you have cut the pieces, lay them out.

It looks a lot like a 9-patch, but with different corners. Two of the corners are half-square-triangles, and two are a different fabric.

Start by stitching the half square triangles.

Press the seams to the darker side. Clip off the dog ears.

Stitch the pieces together into rows.

Press the seams on the top row in towards the center. This spreads the bulk of the seam from the half-square-triangle. The center row is then pressed out. And the bottom row is pressed in.

And now you can stitch the rows together to make your block! As you put your rows together, be sure to “nest” the seams. You can feel with your fingers where those two seam allowances line up.

Press the final seams in, and your block is complete!

Be sure to come back next week… I can’t wait to show you Block 7!!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 5 – Economy Patch

October 20, 2017 Leave a Comment

Today for Week 5 of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week, we’re going to be making the Economy Patch block! And, I have a surprise for you! I’m showing you two different ways that you can make this same block! I love teaching new quilters. To me, teaching new quilters means breaking down the process of quilting into manageable steps while introducing new quilters to tips and techniques. You don’t have to know how to execute every quilting technique to be successful. But knowing about the different techniques out there will help you explore new projects you might want to try next. And knowing which technique to use, and why, is always helpful!

That’s why I’m showing you how to make the Economy Patch Quilt Block with both traditional piecing as well as using Foundation Piecing (also known as Foundation Paper Piecing, but NOT to be confused with English Paper Piecing, which is a whole different technique). I have two videos that will take you through each step-by-step process, as well as step by step photos below for the traditional pieced method for the Economy Patch Block.

Cricut Maker Block of the Week - Week 5 - Economy Patch Block

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If you’re just joining in, make sure you check out the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page. You can start from the very beginning and follow along there.

If you would like to learn the traditional way to piece this block, you can watch this video, or follow the steps below.

If you would like to learn about foundation piecing this block, you can watch this week’s bonus video.

The new products in the video include Thermoweb Foundation Papers or Traditional Foundation Paper, the Cricut Bright Pad (buy it on the Cricut site or on Amazon), the Fabric Glue Stick, and the Finger Presser or Finger Iron.

To make the block, start by cutting out all the pieces on the Maker, just as we have in the past weeks. Use the Cricut Maker Economy Patch Design Space File. If you’re making the Foundation Pieced block, you’ll also want the Cricut Maker Economy Patch Foundation Paper Design Space File.

Lay out the pieces.

lay out pieces

This block might look a little like the diamond in a square. That’s because it is! The size is different, and it has an extra border of triangles around the outside. So this is a square in a diamond in a square! And we’ll be making it the same way we made the diamond in a square.

Start with your middle piece. Stitch on the two opposite sides.

add sides

Press. Then add the other two sides.

Cut off the dog ears.

cut dog ears

Press.

finished first layer

Fold the second layer triangles in half to make sure the placement is correct.

fold to find center

Stitch in place.

add sefond layer

Add the triangle on the opposite side. Press.

Keep going, adding the third and then the last piece.

third piece

Press one last time – you’re done!

add last sides

finished economy patch

Come back next week to make week 6 of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week!

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 4 – Broken Dishes

October 13, 2017 2 Comments

I’m so excited to share week 4 of our Cricut Maker Block of the Week with you! Today’s quilt block is called Broken Dishes. I’ll show you step-by-step how to make this quilt block. And, if you watch the video, I’ll show you how a quick twist turns Broken dishes into a Pinwheel block! Two blocks using the same simple steps!

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If you’re just joining in, you can start from the beginning by going to the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Reference Page.

You can follow along the photos and written instructions below, or you can watch this week’s video:

You’ll start by cutting the fabric, just as we have in weeks past. You’ll want to start by opening up the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Broken Dishes file. Note that you can only open this on a laptop or desktop computer, clicking the link from a tablet or mobile device doesn’t work. However, once you’ve opened it, you can save it to Cricut Design Space, and open it on any device that you can log in to Design Space on.

If you feel super comfortable with your 1/4″ seam at this point, you can turn off the pen using the little toggle switch on the left. I’ll be keeping mine on, though.

Lay out your pieces.

Grab two triangles (which make a square – that’s where the term “Half Square Triangle” comes from), and stitch them together along the longest edge.

Repeat for the other 3 sets of triangles. Press all the seams towards the dark side.

Lay out your block again. Now we have a four-patch made of half-square triangles.

Stitch the top to half-square-triangles together, and the bottom two together. Press the seam allowance towards the darker side. This will automatically make the top seam allowance go in the opposite direction of the bottom seam allowance.

Put your top row on your bottom row. “Nest” the center seam – this means that you feel with your fingers so that the seam allowances butt up against each other. When your seams are nested, your points will match perfectly.

Turn the block over. You’ll see that the two seam allowances are going in opposite directions. In this case, they go clockwise. Press the other two seams so that they follow. In my case this would mean all my seams are going in a clockwise direction. On your block, it might mean that all the seams go in a counter-clockwise direction. Either way is just fine.

When you do this, you’ll be able to swirl the center, where all the seams come together. Swirling the center means there will be less bulk in the middle – which you’ll appreciate when it comes time to quilt!

Press the swirl flat, and your quilt block is complete!

I want to add a little comment here that will help out the new quilters. See how the points match, but thy are not all the way on the edge of the fabric? At first glance, you might think that is wrong. That nothing lined up the way it was supposed to. But fear not! You should have 1/4″ between the points and the edge of the fabric. This is your seam allowance for when you put the block into the quilt.

To make sure you’re doing it right, just flip your block over. You’ll see that your points line up with the blue seam allowance line on the back.

That is it for this week’s Broken Dishes block! Next week we’ll be on to block 5!

Save

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Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt: Block 3 – Diamond in a Square

October 5, 2017 1 Comment

This week in our Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt, we’re working on Block 3, the Diamond in a Square! You’re going to be so excited by how easily this block stitches up. There are a couple new things I’m showing you this week. The first is the bias on triangles. The second is using Snap Mat to conserve fabric.

If you’re just joining in, let me help you catch up! I’ve designed a small quilt that is cut entirely on the Cricut Maker. I’m showing you start-to-finish how to make the quilt, teaching you a new step each week. At the end, you’ll have a completed quilt, and learned all the steps for making your quilt! To get started from the beginning, check out the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Quilt Resource Page.

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To make the Diamond in a Square, start by opening up the Cricut Maker Block of the Week Diamond in a Square file in Cricut Design Space. If you use a mobile device to connect to your Cricut Maker, you will first need to log in to Design Space on a laptop or desktop computer, then click on the file, then save the file to your Design Space files. From there, you can open it up on your mobile device or tablet.

You can watch the step-by-step video here, or follow the instructions below.

Cut out the pieces, just like we have been doing on the last 2 blocks. To conserve fabric, select mat 2 (the mat with the 4 triangles), and move the triangles over to the right. In the video, I show you how to use Snap Mat to do this.

Lay out your pieces.

Your triangles are going to look WAY bigger than your square. This is the way it should look. I promise. You are doing it right.

When stitching triangles, you want to be extra careful that you don’t stretch the fabric. Triangles always have at least one edge that is cut “on the bias.” “On the bias” means that the fabric is cut at an angle. This cuts across all the threads, which makes that side much more stretchy. We want our fabric to keep its shape, so try not to stretch any of the sides.

Place one triangle on top of the square, with the long side of the triangle lined up with the square. The blue lines on top should line up with the blue lines on the bottom. If you need another reference point, you can fold the square and triangle in half to line up the midpoints.