Joining Pre-Quilted Blocks for the Block of The Month Project

We have been making blocks for half a year now, and some folks are ready to put together a quilt. These pages will show you how.

Remember that these basic instructions are also posted in The Quilt Shop from a previous project, using a different quilt, so you actually have two shots at reviewing and understanding the process. Here is the url for that set of pages:

http://www.treadleon.net/QuiltShop/joiningblocks/joining-edging.htm

 

To begin, here is the finished quilt, in this case a 3 x 4 block layout:

 

Note that the blocks are joined with blue strips and the quilt is bordered with blue. These strips, which appear as sashing, are actually "joining strips", i.e. they are used to join the pre-quilted blocks together.

 

The Joining Process

The concept of joining pre-quilted blocks is not new. Georgia Bonesteel has been teaching it for years. However, her process involves machine sewing only the front, then having to whip stitch the batting together on the back by hand, and finally close the back by hand. It being well known how I detest hand sewing, I had to come up with a way to do this using only the machine. It took a lot of thinking, but I did it. Someone has told me since that they have seen the method published, but since I had to figure it out for myself, and my brain still has the bruises, I will still take credit for it.

Basically, the concept is simple, but it is slippery, and wants to get away from you if you don't do it regularly. In fact, I rather miscalculated on this particular project, as I will comment o later. The process consists of making two sets of "joining strips", one for the front and one for the back. You can sew the front strips on with blind seams, but the back must be sewn on directly, resulting in a second set of visible seams on the front. These appear as rather decorative "railroad tracks". You will see this more clearly as we go.

 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… READ ALL OF THESE DIRECTIONS THROUGH A COUPLE OF TIMES AND BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND AND CAN PICTURE THE PROCESS BEFORE BEGINNING ON THE REAL BLOCKS! Make some scrap blocks in a smaller size and practice on those.

 

Begin by laying out your blocks and determining what your quilt will look like, in what order the blocks and rows will be assembled. Stack your blocks in the rows, as you want them to appear. In the quilt above, I used four rows of three blocks each. I did a bit more arranging after I had my rows assembled, and decided that what I had planned as the top row would be better as row 2, so all of my instructions on row assembly are based on the second row of this quilt. Sorry about that…

 

Cutting Strips

The front strips are cut wider than the back strips. On this quilt, I used 2" wide strips for the front. These result in 1" wide sashing on the front of the quilt. The back strips need to be narrower than the front, and I cut 1 1/2" strips, to produce a finished back strip of 3/4". This is where I miscalculated. That back strip was really too narrow and when I stitched, I "missed" catching the substance of the blocks in a few places, resulting in some ripping and re-stitching. For quilt number two I will cut the back strip to 1 7/8" and will also do my back sewing closer to the edges. I will comment further on this as I go.

Here are two stacks of cut strips for assembling rows. The narrow ones are for the back joining strips and the wide ones for the front. As noted above, I cut them to 1 1/2" and 2". The length is about an inch or two longer than the edge of the blocks.

 

These strips have to be turned into "tape", similar to bias binding tape, but they should not be cut on the fabric bias, since they won't be used on any curves. To turn them into binding tape, take a strip and finger fold it in half, running the crease with a finger or fingernail. Then open them and fold each side in to the center. Finally, close it up and iron it. See the picture below:

Here you see a strip, finger folded in half and then folded again into quarters.

Here the folds have been ironed into the strip.

 

You can fold iron your strips as you go, or do the whole set in advance.

 

My Mistake

Before beginning the actual instruction section, I need to discuss the blocks themselves just a bit.

When I started this project, I intended to join the top of the quilt without strips, i.e. just sew the blocks together, using seam allowances that I had left on the top surface. These seam allowances were larger than the batting area. This method is similar to the one that Georgia Bonesteel uses. I planned to then use the joining strips on the back. However, for me, this did not work, as I found it difficult to control the top seams with half of the feed dogs working on two thicknesses of fabric and two thicknesses of bat, and the other half of the dogs working only on two thicknesses of fabric. I joined a couple of blocks this way and it looked terrible. The seams were crooked and the blocks did not stand out without a contrasting sash.

Since the method that I had used previously on Sunbonnet Sue had worked well, i.e. joining strips on both top and back, I decided to unjoin the blocks I had done and start over, using the system I was sure of.

To clarify this situation, here are some pictures and explanations:

 

Here is a view of the block layered with bat and back. You can see that the top, the actual pieced block, has been left approx. 1/4" larger all around than the back and bat. It was my plan to use this as a 1/4" seam to join the blocks on the front.

 

Here is a whole block, quilted. You can clearly see the seam allowance that I built in. However, as described above, this turned out not to work very well.

 

OK, so being faced with this situation, what did I do? If you have gotten this far, you know that I made a 15 1/2" square clear acrylic template, which I used to trim the pieced blocks to a standard size. I took this template to the shop and trimmed 1/2" off of each side, leaving a 14 1/2" template. I could probably have trimmed a bit less off, but I wanted to be sure to allow for any irregularities in the seam allowances I had left on the blocks after ironing.

This unplanned trimming reduced the size of the planned corner contrast pieces on the borders, but as you can see above on the quilt picture, they still worked.

Using the 14 1/2" template, which had the border lines scribed on, I centered and then trimmed, leaving "perfect" 14 1/2" blocks that had the top and back the same size, i.e. no overlap for seam allowances. This left me prepared to use both front and back joining strips as I had done on Sunbonnet Sue.

 

 

Here you see a block after I have trimmed it with the new template. The seam allowances that show in the pictures above are gone and the block is 1" smaller overall.

 

As soon as I get time and get back to making the rest of the blocks (i.e. after the summer TOGA's), I will make all the new blocks in this fashion, and will go back and modify the previous basic instructions accordingly.

I can only apologize to everyone for the confusion I am sure this change in method will cause, but to quote an old cliché, "Them's the breaks…"

 

 

Using a Top Strip To Join Two Blocks

OK, having covered myself in mea culpas, let's get on with the joining.

Step One:

The wider strips you cut are the top joining strips. Pick up your Block #1 and a wide joining strip. Working on the front of the block, open the strip and pin its edge to the edge of the block that will be joined to Block #2. Use plenty of pins. Once pinned, sew a 1/4" seam (this one can be a bit generous) to join the block and the strip.

Here is a front strip, pinned to the block edge and ready to sew.

Here is the same thing in a closer view.

Here is the strip sewn on, close-up view.

Make some practice blocks and try this. Here is a good use for some old left over TOBE blocks!

 

Step Two:

Step Two is where things get just a tiny bit tricky. Lay Block #2 next to Block #1, as you want them joined. Fit them nicely together. Be sure they are properly aligned. You don't want to end up with them appearing to be staggered.

Now, flip Block #1 over so that it is upside down, lying on top of Block #2. Open up the unsewn edge of the strip and align it with the edge of Block #2, then pin it just as you did for Block #1. Finally, sew that seam.

 

Here you are looking at the back of Block #1, which is resting on top of the front of Block #2. The joining strip has been opened and pinned and is ready to sew.

Here is another picture of the joining process. It happens that this is Block 3, rather than Block 2, but no matter. You can see how the block is upside down, resting on the previous block, with the joining strip opened and pinned, ready to sew, as shown to the right.

Having sewn the two seams, you can open up the pieces and this is what you should have… the back view of your first "join".

Here is the front view. The joining strip appears as a blue sash, joining the two blocks. In this picture, the excess length ahs been trimmed off square with the edges of the blocks.

 

Here is an overall picture of the joined blocks:

 

You now have the first two blocks of the first row joined. To add the next block, just repeat the process. Pin and sew a joining strip to the edge of Block #2, then align with Block #3, flip the whole structure over as shown in the second picture up above and sew Block 3 on. Here is the picture again:

Block 3 has had a joining strip added, has been flipped over onto Block 2, the strip has been opened up and pinned, and you are ready to sew the second joining seam.

 

Here is the first joined row of the quilt, from the front.

 

 

Joining the Back

I have proceeded with a whole row assembly from the front only, at this point. I will now show the back joining process, which is simpler. In actuality, you can "front join" Blocks 1 and 2 and then do their back join, then proceed to add Block 3, finishing each joint both front and back as you go. That's what I did. However, I felt that it would be a bit clearer to get you through one process for a whole row before beginning to describe the other.

On the front, by flipping the pieces as we went and sewing from the "inside" of the joining strips, we produced blind seams, I.e. no visible stitching. Because the pieces are already joined, we can't do the flipping on ;the back. We will have to simply stitch the back strips down. The stitching will be visible on both the back and the front. Here we go…

Here you see the back "join" of two blocks. A back joining strip (the thinner strip) has been pinned down, using the seams that sewed the front strip on as a guide. Remember that the open slit between the two blocks is in the middle of this strip. You want to be sure to solidly catch the edges of both blocks, so sew close to the edge of the strip.

Here you see a larger view of a back strip pinned and ready to sew.

 

Here you can see the back strip sewn down. This is a different block and strip. I used a darker blue thread at this point to make the picture clearer. As I noted above, I actually made these back strips a bit too narrow. In a couple of instances I missed one block edge underneath and had to do some ripping and restitching. For future reference, I will make these strips wider, at least 1 7/8" rather than 1 3/4", and I will stitch closer to the edge.

Here is the front view, after the back strip is sewn on. You can see the stitching that fastened the back stitch down, appearing as two "railroad tracks" on the front. On the finished quilt, this actually appears quite decorative. Note also the pin holes in the center of the strip. These will disappear with washing and handling. I have to use somewhat larger pins than is really desirable as I don't have full feeling in my hands and can't pick up smaller ones.

Here is the same picture of the top row that was shown above. Actually, this is after the back joins have been completed. I don't know if the "railroad track" seams will show up on the web page or not.

 

You have now experienced the whole process of joining pre-quilted blocks. The only additional steps simply involve dealing with bigger pieces.

 

Joining Rows

Once you have assembled your rows, you will have to join them. The process is the same. It simply involves using longer strips. If you can, cut your strips full length from the fabric lengthwise. If you can't, you can join shorter strips to make the length you need. Follow the same procedure as above. Open up a top strip and pin it to one edge, sew it down, then attach the next row. Turn the work over and add the back strip.

Here is my quilt, with the four rows joined and set together. You'll note that I made a change in the order of the rows. I decided that the tow blocks with bright orange in them should be on opposite corners. Hence, the row I used in the examples as Row 1 is now Row 2.

Here is the quilt with the rows joined to make the whole top. I think the railroad track effect shows up pretty well here, for an overall picture.

 

 

Borders

The bordering process for a pre-quilted block quilt is actually just a variation of the joining process. There are two ways to do it.

First, if you want multiple borders in different colors, or a border plus a binding strip of a different color, and second if you want a single border/binding strip. I used a single border/binding strip, and I will describe that process first, then explain how to do multiple borders.

I wanted my border to be the same color/material as my binding strips, as shown in this picture of the completed quilt:

 

To make the border strips, I first determined the width I wanted, which was 2 1/2", doubled that and then added 2" to allow for two folded in 1/2" seams. That measurement worked out to 7". I cut full length strips to that size:

Here you see a 7" strip. I finger folded it in half and laid on a 2 1/2" strip of fusible batting. I folded the strip over the batting and ironed it…

Here you see the ironed, or fused, border. I have stitched a seam down the outside edge, both to hold the batting and to build on the decorative theme of the "railroad tracks" in the joining strips.

 

I made all of my border strips at once, making them several inches longer than the sides they would go on. When assembling, do the sides first, then the top and bottom. That will minimize length of seams.

Your border strip has two loose edges at this point. Finger fold them in half and then iron the fold in. These folds will be used exactly as the seam edges on the joining strips were.

Here the border strip has been laid onto the top edge of the quilt and pinned. Note how I used the pins to hold back the other loose edge… I am going to sew in a considerably larger than 1/4" seam, as you can see from the position of the foot. Sew this seam, then turn the quilt over.

Here is the back of the quilt and border, with the border back edge folded under and pinned. The seam immediately above the pins is the blind seam that fastened the front on. As with the joining strips, we cannot do the back seam as a blind seam, so we will simply stitch it down.

 

Here you have the attached border, from the back. This series of pictures had to be re-taken after the quilt was washed, hence the wrinkled appearance. You can see tha in addition to the outside edge row of stitching, and the inside seam that attached the back, I have added an additional second row to the inside, to again carry out the railroad track appearance.

 

Here is the same area, from the front.

 

Once you have added the borders to the two sides, repeat across the top and bottom. Of course, your border strips here will need to be as wide as the quilt, plus the side borders. The corners will require some special treatment.

 

Treating the Corners

As noted, I detest hand stitching. Therefor I machine treated the corners as follows:

Here I have pinned a corner. I cut the border piece about 1/2" too long, then folded it in on itself. Since the front was already stitched to the end, the folding in was done on the back. Then I pinned it as shown.

(Note: on this particular piece, I did not sew the edge seam in before the joining, but did it afterwards.)

Here is a finished corner, from the back. Compare it to the side border photos above. You can see how the edge seam and the "railroad track" seams have been carried through the corner structure.

Here is a corner from the front. Again, this picture was taken after washing the finished quilt.

 

 

A Second Way to Border

 

When we started, I mentioned that there was a second way to add borders, more useful when you want multiple borders, or a border with a separate binding. I did not do mine this way, but I will describe it.

The process is simple, perhaps even simpler than the one I used. You determine the width of the border you want to add. Cut two strips that wide, plus one strip of batting, fusible or otherwise, that wide. Actually, you might want to cut your strips about 1/2" wider than you want, and then roller trim them to exact measurement. Once you have the strip made, cut joining strips exactly as for joining blocks, only use them to join the border on, doing the sides first, then across the top. When you make the top borders, you will need to add corner pieces to the border strip, using joining strips just as you did for the quilt blocks. Sunbonnet Sue was done this way. Study that quilt at:

http://www.treadleon.net/QuiltShop/SunbonnetSue's/SunbonnetSue.htm

The only problem with using this method is that you end up with a quilt edge that still needs to be bound. Of course, if you are going to add a second border, no problem… just repeat the process, but sooner or later, you will reach an edge that needs binding. You can do this two ways. You can simply make a binding, as you did for the joining strips, i.e. cut a strip, fold it in half and then fold the sides in to the center. Blind stitch it onto the back, fold it over the front and top stitch the edge down. Voila! Binding…

Alternatively, you can make the border strip with a bottom layer 1 1/2" wider than the top and the batting strips. Quilt or fuse them together and join the even edge of the strip to the quilt as described above, then fold the 1 1/2" unbatted edge over on itself, then over the edge of the quilt and topstitch it down, producing a 3/4" binding edge, which can be of either the same material as the border or of a contrasting material, if you made the layer of the border of the contrasting material.

Once again, I would remind you that instructions on joining pre-quilted blocks were previously posted after the Sunbonnet Sue project. These instructions are still up at this writing, and can provide a whole second pass at the process. You can find them at:

http://www.treadleon.net/QuiltShop/joiningblocks/joining-edging.htm

 

 

Well, that's it. If you have waded through all of this material and understood it, you know how to join, and border, pre-quilted blocks. I do recommend playing with the system a bit before attacking your quilt. As with any new process, it is one thing to learn it and another to experience it. It really works very well, once you are familiar with it.

Good luck!

Dick Wightman

The Captain