Rail Fence Quilt
A Great Beginner's Project
INTRODUCTION
Even if you have never made a quilt before, this is a great and
easy project to start with.
You need at least 3 fabrics for the blocks. If you decide to do
a more scrappy version, you will have more success in maintaining the great
graphic look of this quilt if you limit your self to the three colors. The
two borders can be from the same fabrics or from coordinating or contrasting
fabrics.
I am going to give very basic instructions for this quilt so
that everyone can follow them. If you wish, the Electric Quilt file is in the
Forum ready to download.
The blocks are 10" finished size. This means that before you
join the blocks together they will measure 10 1/2 inches
The quilt with the borders as shown is 50 X 70 inches which is a
nice size for a lap quilt or a large crib quilt.
FABRIC REQUIREMENTS
In addition you will need 3 1/2 yards of backing fabric
Fusible batting (I prefer Hobbs)
ROTARY CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS
ROTARY CUTTING YOUR QUILT
The instructions above are for rotary cutting one block. There
are 24 blocks in the quilt shown.3 3/4 inches wide and cut the width of your
fabric you will be able to cut 4 10 1/2 inch pieces.
Cut 6 strips of your white fabric that are 3 3/4 inches wide.
Cut 6 strips of your blue fabric that are 3 3/4 inches wide
Cut strips of your red fabric that are 3 3/4 inches wide.
Cut 6 strips 1 1/2 inches wide of your narrow border
fabric
Cut 8 strips 4 1/2 inches wide of your outer border fabric
START SEWING
Sew each strip of blue fabric right sides together along the
side of a white strip
Press open, making sure that the seam allowance on the back side
is pressed to the blue side of the piece. This is so that the seam allowance
does not show through your white fabric. You should sew your seam 1/4" from the
raw edge of the fabric. Accurate and consistent seams makes the difference for
success in quilting This is a lot narrower than clothing seam allowances.
Now sew each strip of red to the other side of a set of the
white and blue strips, making sure that your white strip is in the middle.
Press open, making sure the seam allowance on the back is
pressed to the red fabric.
(Press open means to open up the strips that were right sides
together and press them flat with the right sides up. The seam itself stays
closed with both colors getting pressed to one side.)
You should now have six long strata that have a white stripe
down the middle.
CUT AGAIN
Lay all 6 strips on top of each other on your cutting surface.
Line your strips up so the ends are even, you may need to trim a little to
achieve that.
Cut 10 1/2 inch sections cutting all 3 strips at once.
You now have 24 blocks!
Amazing isn't it?
SEW AGAIN
This next technique is called chain piecing. You do not cut your
sewing thread until all your pieces are in pairs.
Stack 12 blocks together on the side of your sewing surface with
the stripes running horizontally.
Stack the other 12 blocks together on the side of your sewing
machine with the stripes running vertically.
Sew your blocks together in pairs, right sides together.
When you finish you will have 12 units all chained together.
Now you can cut the threads in between units.
Press the units open with the seam on the back pressed neatly to
one side.
They will look like this
This is the slightly tricky part. Stack 6 units on the side of
your sewing surface On top of them stack the other 6 units, right sides
together.
In your new combinations a horizontal face up section should
have a vertical section face down on top of it and a vertical face up section
should have a horizonal section face down on top of it.
Sew the 1/4 " seam along either long side. In this case it does
not matter which side. Once again chain stitch your units.
Cut the units apart and press. You will have 6 sections. Each
section should look like this,
Pair up each of these sections with another section, right sides
together.
Be sure that once again a horizontally striped section has a
vertically striped section face down on it, etc.
Sew a 1/4 inch seam. You should be getting good at this by now!
Press the sections open again. Each section should now look like
this . This is starting to get exciting isn't it.
Each section that you now have represents one width of your
quilt.
You will sew the other 2 sections, one to each side of the first
section. Make sure your stripes are still going the correct ways.
The assembled blocks should look like the center of the quilt
you started to make.
Press the whole thing open. and flat.
Make sure all your seams look good and that you did not wander
to one side so that you have an opening in a seam somewhere. This is the time to
fix it if you have a little problem
BACK TO SEWING
Now we are going to add your borders.
Measure horizontally across your quilt somewhere in the middle.
It will be approximately 40 1/2 inches.
Cut your top and bottom narrow borders the same length as you just measured.
If one strip is not long enough, you will have to piece it. Do not just piece a
small section onto the end of your border strip. It will not look right. Instead
cut a separate strip in half and sew each half to one of the strips you were
going to use. Then measure the length and cut it with your seam somewhere in the
middle of the distance. Lay the top border face down along the top edge of your
quilt. Sew your same old 1/4 inch seam along the top edge,
Do the same at the bottom of your quilt.
Press these strips open.
Now measure vertically the length of your quilt including these narrow
borders. It should be approximately 62 1/2 inches. Once again measure in the
middle rather than the sides Sew two of your narrow strips together. Cut the
combined strips the same length of your measurement. Repeat for the other side
of your quilt.
Press all of your narrow inner border open.
Do the same thing for your wider outer border, applying top and bottom first
and then the sides.
Now you have your first quilt top done.
PREPARE THE QUILT BACK
Select a patterned fabric for your first quilt back. It will cover those
little quilting problems you will probably have.
You will have to piece your quilt back unless you purchased one of the quilt
back fabrics that is extra side.
Cut your backing fabric into 2 - 55 inch lengths. Remove the selvedges
(those thin areas along the sides that look different.)
Sew your two pieces together right sides together along the long sides.
Press very well. You will find the following steps easier if you spray starch
this back. Then go back and spray starch and iron the quilt top.
PUTTING THE "SANDWICH" TOGETHER
I will give you directions for using fusible backing. Your library or a
search on the internet you return directions for using other battinngs, The very
best directions I know of for putting your layers together without fusible
batting. Are in Harriet Hargrave's book Heirloom Machine Quilting. She has a
number of editions of this book. The third edition adds the great preparation
instructions. I personally like fusible batting because I have medical
conditions that limit my physical movements and because I choose the easy way
when possible if it makes no difference in the results.
Fortunately, my favorite batting comes in a fusible form. I prefer batting
that is mostly cotton. That said there are definitely times when I choose a
different type. That is a different subject. Here I am recommending Hobbs
fusible Heirloom batting.
For this assembly of the quilt sandwich you need a fill size ironing board or
ironing surface and a steam iron.
Spread the batting out flat. Do not iron! check to be sure that the end of
the batting is square to one side of the batting. This means that the side is
perpendicular to the end. It only matters for one side and one end. You can trim
this with scissors or with a rotary cutter.
Lay the quilt top face down on your ironing board with top running along the
length of your ironing board and the majority of the quilt hanging right in
front of you.
Spread you batting out on top of this. Line up the corner that you have
squared up so that the top and side of this corner extend out about 2 inches
further than the quilt edges.
Line up the top of the quilt all the way across.
Put your backing down on top of this stack with the squared up corner of the
batting lined up with the corner of the backing. You want both the backing and
the batting to be about 2" larger on each side than the quilt top.
When you have the backing all smoothed out along the top with most of the
quilt hanging off the ironing board right in front of you,
Start ironing with a hot iron with steam, continually smoothing the layers as
you go. after you have about 18 inches. Pick the sandwich up by the top and
shake it gently to let it hang evenly together, lay it back down and continue
ironing.
If the width of the quilt is longer than the length of your board, then only
do half at a time.
Continue ironing for the width (or half width) of the quilt until you have
ironed the backing completely on.
If you have only done half the width adjust the position on the ironing
boards and do the other half.
When the back is completely ironed on, then turn your sandwich over.
You will probably have some tucks and wrinkles to straighten out. Gently pull
the area of the top that needs straightening free of the batting and then smooth
and re-iron.
I usually put a few safety pins in at this point, perhaps one at each corner
and one or two in the middle of each side.
QUILTING YOUR QUILT
You are ready to start quilting. I am going to tell you a rather unusual way
to quilt this Rail Fence Quilt.
If you have a walking foot, put that on your machine. Thread your machine
with thread that is about 50 weight (this is a personal preference issue. My
suggestion for this quilt it that you wind Bottom Line from Superior on the
bobbin and Use Superior's MasterPiece or So Fine in the top.
For convenience I am going to refer to the quilt patterns as zigzags.
See how the white zigzag runs kind of diagonally across your quilt? Let's start
with one of the shorted diagonals of white. Line the right edge of your walking
foot up with the right edge of the white zuigzag. Start sewing along the white
zigzag. You will be stitching a bit more than 1/2 inch from the edge depending
on your walking foot.
When you come to a bend, leave the needle in the quilt and pivot the fabric
so that you keep following the zigzag. Be sure to keep the edge of your walking
foot moving right along at the edge of the stripe. When you finish that zigzag,
go to the next white stripe;
This is the plan. With your walking foot edge at the edge of the the stripes,
go down the right side of all the white zig zags. Then come back and do the same
for the other stripes. When you have gone down the right side of all the
stripes, do the same for the left hand side of the stripes
At this point you may need to re-straighten the borders a bit, do so if you
need to and then reiron to re-
Using an edge of the walking foot as a guide again, stitch down the middle of
the narrow border.
For the outer border, we will do some free motion quilting.
Don't panic. It is like you are using a pencil and drawing on paper, but
instead the needle and thread are your pencil and you need to move the fabric to
draw. Pick a comfortable speed with your sewing machine so that you can
maintain an even speed.
Quilt the wide border by going back and forth like this
BINDING YOUR QUILT
I could spend time describing how to bInd your quilt, but
quilterscache.com has excellent directions and I would like to direct you there.
http://www.quilterscache.com/StartQuiltingPages/startquiltingfive.html
Perhaps while you are there you will find a design you like for your next quilt.
WASHING YOUR QUILT
Unless it is an art quilt with unusual materials, I wash my
quilts when I am finished. I use Orvus soap which you can get at quilt shops or
I go to the feed store and get a container of Orvus which is a lot cheaper and
which will last you forever. I fill the washing machine with cold water and a
couple of tablespoons full of Orvus. Then I wash the quilt about 2 or 3 minutes
on the gentle cycle. I very carefully take it out of the washing machine so that
the quilting thread will not be overstretched and snap. I put it in the dryer
also on the gentle cycle. After 20 minutes I check to see how dry it is and
rearrange it in the basket of the dryer. Repeat again every 20 minutes until it
is dry.
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