60-Degree Quilt Tutorial - Part 3

It's time to put the blocks together!  If you missed the first parts of the tutorial, you can find all the posts by clicking on the thumbnail on my sidebar, or click here.  If you have any questions, any tips you can share for making this quilt, or any pictures to share, shoot me an e-mail.  If you post tips or photos, I'd love to share the link on the tutorial page.

As you can see, none of my triangles are the same size.  I thought this would be a problem, but it actually turned out to be a bonus.  You'll see why later. 

Sort your triangle blocks by size, beginning with the largest, and ending with the smallest. 

I sewed the blocks together in rows, beginning with my two largest blocks. You'll have decisions to make about how you arrange the blocks.  Since the block on the right is smaller, something will need to be chopped off from the block on the left.  I like to keep intact as many of the true triangles as possible.  I chose to sacrifice the point of the light fabric next to the green arrow, since this piece wasn't a triangle to begin with.  The gold triangle on top (red arrow) will stay intact.  When I add another block, I'll trim the corner of the floral fabric next to the blue arrow. 

I recommend pinning the blocks together, since all the pieces have bias edges.  Starching my fabrics before cutting really helped to keep the blocks from stretching out of shape.  Sew the first two blocks together, and press the seam allowances in the direction they naturally want to go. 

After you press the blocks open, you'll end up with a weird little extended corner on the largest block. 

Place the 60-degree line of the ruler (highlighted in yellow) along the seam you just sewed, line up the edge of the ruler with the edge of the block, and trim away the weird extension.

I found it helpful to trim the points of the blocks that align with the other straight edges.  I hope this makes sense.  Here's a photo of a trimmed block -- see the bottom point?  I used a 60-degree ruler to do this.  It isn't necessary, but it helps.  I don't have to guess about how far the point needs to extend to get a good quarter-inch seam allowance. 

Add your next largest block.  My new block is on the right, but you can add it to either side.  I had already decided to sacrifice the point of the pink floral (blue arrow).  I wanted to keep the large green triangle intact, as well as the tiny orange triangle, so I arranged the new block so that the pink fabric (green arrow) will be trimmed after sewing another block to it later. 

Sew the blocks together and press the seam allowances in either direction.  Trim off the extended point. 

Decide how wide you want your quilt to be.  Continue adding blocks to the row, using the next largest block every time you add one, until the measurement between the imaginary lines (below) is close to your desired width.  You'll trim off the parts that extend beyond the lines to square up the row.    

To square off the ends of the row, place a horizontal line of your ruler along the bottom edge of the row.  Trim off the excess part of the row and save this piece for later. 

Rotate the row so the other end is on the right.  Square up this end of the row.

You'll end up with this.  My first row is about 55" long, and 12 1/2" wide.  The height of the row will depend on the height of your first triangle block.  Look closely at the blocks.  Since the blocks are different sizes, it's difficult to tell where one block ends and another begins.  I think it makes the quilt look more complex than it really is. 

Begin your second row the same as the first, with your largest block.  This row won't be the same height as the first row, because your blocks will get progressively smaller.  You can alternate wide and narrow rows when you put your quilt together.  Continue adding blocks to your second row until the row is almost as long as the desired width of your quilt.  Using one of the leftover half-triangle pieces you trimmed from the first row, sew the leftover piece to the beginning of the second row, and press the seam allowances.

 Since the first row is larger, when you sew the leftover half triangle to the second row, you'll have plenty of fabric to cover the end of the row.  You'll need to trim the extended point.

Line up the edge of the ruler with the bottom of the row, and trim.

I used most of my filler strips to construct the blocks, but you can use them to extend the length of the rows to avoid adding an entire extra triangle.  You may or may not need to add the half-triangle leftover piece to the right edge of the row, but it may be just enough to fill out the row to make it the length you need.  You'll want to trim the second row, and all subsequent rows, so that they're the same length as the first row.  This will be the width of your quilt.  Just keep adding rows until the quilt is as long as you want it to be.

I thought I had enough triangles, but I made the quilt a little wider than I intended, so I'll need to make another couple of rows to finish.  I'll show you the whole quilt later.  It's going to be much bigger than I thought!  Fortunately, I always have plenty of help.

Hope you have a great week!

Kim

Has it really been that long?

It was never my intention to take such a long break from here.  I've been working on a big project, while still working at what Sinta calls my "big-girl job."  The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and people began e-mailing to ask, "Where are you?!!"  Thank you so much to all of you who have e-mailed or called.  If I haven't responded to your e-mail yet or haven't visited you to see what you've been up to, it won't be long, I promise.  Things are almost back to normal, or at least as normal as things can get.

I'm working on class sample blocks this weekend for the Quilt Symposium of Alabama next week.  If you're there, please stop by for a visit.  I'm dying to check out the quilt show.  

And when I get back, I'll give you an update on my progress with these.

And maybe my plans for this little fat eight bundle of Lucy's Crab Shack.  Such perfect beachy prints by Sweetwater.  I'm smitten with the tiny T-shirts.  

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Kim

60-Degree Quilt Tutorial - Part 1

Stuff to Know

This quilt is super easy to make. The difficult part is explaining how to put it together. I'm using lots of scraps, anywhere from (and this is a guess) 1" strips to 5" strips, or chunks of leftover fabric. All the units are different, and I haven't made two the same size yet.  There isn't a pattern -- it's one of those make-it-up-as-you-go quilts.  I'll show you how I piece a block, then show you some different ways to fill in areas. Once you know how it works, you can just sew like crazy. I'll show you how to put the quilt together in a later post. (Mine is still in pieces on the wall.)  The important thing to remember is that every seam is a 60-degree angle. Another important thing to remember is that, when you use a strip of fabric, it should be a consistent width, i.e., if your strip is 2" wide on one end, and 3" wide on the other end, you won't maintain the 60-degree angle throughout the quilt.  You can sew with a wonky strip, but you'll need to trim it afterwards.

You'll need a ruler with a 60-degree line marking.  My ruler has two markings that go in opposite directions.  I'm using a 12" x 6" ruler, and sometimes a 24" x 6" ruler.  A 60-degree triangle ruler comes in handy for cutting triangles, but it isn't necessary. 

Even though you can use triangles to build your blocks, this isn't really a triangle quilt.  I sew random pieces together, then trim, and most of the triangles just appear accidentally.  I don't worry about it, but if you want to know how to get a point, look for the * below.

I press my scraps before sewing so that I don't have to do a lot of pressing after I sew.  Because a lot of the edges are on the bias, I don't want to press any more than necessary.  If you ever thought about using starch before you sew, now might be a good time to try it. 

The picture follows the instruction above it.  I made the pictures a little smaller so the page won't take forever to load if you don't have a fast connection, but you can click on each picture to enlarge.

Cut A Few "Starter Pieces"

Begin by cutting a few 60-degree shapes from your strips.  Not necessary, but it gives you a place to start.  The size of the strips doesn't matter.  Use an assortment so you'll have a variety of shapes.  Place the 60-degree line of the ruler along the bottom edge of the strip, and the right edge of the ruler on the bottom corner of the strip.  (I've highlighted the 60-degree line in yellow so you won't have to look for it.)  Trim.

Place the 60-degree line of the ruler along the bottom edge of the strip, then trim the other side.  I used the whole piece of fabric for this one, but you could make two shapes if you like, or even make a diamond shape. 

Now make a few triangles.  Again, the size doesn't matter.  You'll end up chopping off a lot of the points anyway.  I just find it easier sometimes to use triangles rather than bigger chunks of fabric.  Make lots of sizes.  And don't worry if you chop off some points -- the 60-degree angle is what matters.  Place the 60-degree line of the ruler along the bottom edge of the strip.  Trim. 

Rotate the strip so the trimmed edge is on the left.  Place the 60-degree line of the ruler along the top of the strip, and the edge of the ruler at the bottom of the strip.  Cut to make a triangle.

To continue cutting triangles, place the 60-degree line of the ruler along the bottom edge of the strip and the edge of the ruler at the top of the strip.  Cut to make another triangle.  You can continue cutting triangles, or you can save the leftover piece for later -- it already has a 60-degree angle, and you'll find something to attach it to later.

Here's an example of some 60-degree shapes and triangles.

Let's Put Some Segments Together!

Below is an example of how I might construct a unit. Since you'll be working with different sizes of strips, don't worry if yours doesn't look like this one.   Start with one of your 60-degree shapes or a triangle, and sew a strip of fabric to it.  Press in either direction.  Place the 60-degree line of the ruler along the bottom of the triangle or shape.  * Now I'm going for a point at the bottom of the green fabric.  Make sure the quarter-inch line on the ruler intersects with the seam about a quarter of an inch from the bottom of the triangle.  (Hope that makes sense.)  I've marked a yellow X below where the ruler marking and seam should intersect. 

.

Leave the 60-degree line along the bottom of the triangle, but slide the ruler over so that the left edge is even with the left side of the triangle.  Trim off the green strip.  (If you have trouble cutting at this angle, rotate so that the piece you're trimming is on the right.)

Sew a triangle or chunk of fabric to the bottom right corner.  60-degree line on the bottom; trim on the right.

Rotate so the yellow triangle is on top.  60-degree line on the bottom; trim on the right.  And now you have a little segement.  I like to make lots of segements to combine in different ways. 

Let's do another one!  Sew a couple of rectangles together.  Place the 60-degree line of the ruler on the seam line, and the edge of the ruler at the bottom corner.  Trim.

Now trim the other side.  (I'll stop telling you now where to place the 60-degree line -- just make sure's it's on an edge or on a seam.)

Add a strip (green here). Trim the right.

Rotate so the strip is on the bottom.  Trim the other end of the strip. 

Sew a strip to the left side of the unit.  Trim.

Rotate so the strip is on the bottom. Trim.

How we have two segments.  But they're not quite the same size.  No worries.  Just decide which of the points on the largest triangle unit you'd like to sacrifice.  I decided to sacrifice the green on the left since the strip is wider. 

Sew the triangle units together, maching the bottom corners.  You'll have excess fabric on the top.    Trim off the excess. 

Now sew something big (a large strip or a large triangle) to the right side of the unit.  Trim.

Rotate so the bottom of the unit is on the right. Trim

To finish out the point, add a little piece of fabric.  Trim.

Rotate so the bottom of the unit is on the right.  Trim.

I had a 60-degree shape already cut, so I added it to the top.  Trim the right side.

Rotate, and trim the other side. 

To finish out the point, add a small chunk of fabric.  Trim on the right.

Rotate, and trim on the left.

Now you have a finished triangle unit.  Just keep making triangles and don't worry about the size.  I'll be back later to show you some filler units and how to make it all fit together.

 To keep from having to post another hundred pictures, I made a collage showing the progression of a different block.  Maybe it will help to see it put together step by step.  Pictures are shown before trimming and after trimming.   

Hope you'll give it a try.  It's so much fun!  I'll be back later with more. 

Kim