Friday 4 July 2014

Winter Plus Quilt

This weekend I finished up the plus quilt I started a couple of weeks ago.

Winter Plus Quilt 

Simple quilting was the order of the day.

Winter Plus Quilt 

I backed this quilt with waffle fabric my dad bought in Japan.  

Winter Plus Quilt 

I also stitched in the ditch along all the seams as well as cross-hatching.  

Winter Plus Quilt

The waffle fabric gives this quilt great drape and it's lovely and soft and cuddly on the back.  It's also made this quilt slightly crinkly already - I can't wait to wash this quilt and see what happens.

In case anyone else wants to try backing a quilt with waffle fabric, here are my tips:

- pre-wash the waffle fabric. I don't usually pre-wash my fabrics but I read somewhere that waffle shrinks a lot, so I pre-washed this waffle and also ran it through the dryer (I stitched the raw edges together using a long stitch before washing to prevent the whole thing from unravelling during this process). It did shrink a lot so that was very worthwhile.

- baste extra thoroughly. I used pins, which is my usual method of basting. I used more pins to baste than I usually would - two in each 3.5" finished square. I don't spray baste, so I don't have any particular tips there, but I wonder whether the woven texture of the waffle fabric might not be ideal for spray basting (I think it might absorb the glue more readily than more tightly woven fabrics). If someone experiments with spray basting waffle fabric, can they let me know?

- use a walking foot. Frankly, I always use a walking foot for straight line quilting and it is so worth the investment. Because the waffle has texture and is more loosely woven than quilting cotton, you really want to minimise the risk of it shifting around under your quilt and creating lumps or puckers. With a walking foot, your sewing machine feeds the quilt from both the top and the bottom which helps avoid this shifting.

- quilt a little more densely than you might otherwise. The risk with backing a quilt with slightly stretchy fabric like waffle (or minky) is that you can get saggy patches between your quilting lines. By having a smaller gap between the quilting lines, you minimise the amount of fabric that can stretch and create a saggy patch.

Quilt Stats
Pattern: made up as I went along plus quilt pattern
Finished Size: approx 35" by 42"
Fabric: many
Backing: waffle
Binding: unknown (no details on the selvedge)
Pieced and quilted by: me

I'll be linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

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15 comments:

Sweet bamboo said...

Nice quilt! It's a simple beauty!

Kat said...

Cute quilt! Love the soft blues with that pop of red!

Debbie said...

Helpful hints - thanks! Very sweet quilt.

Kay said...

I love it, the plus design is one of my favourites. x

Hettie's Mum said...

Lovely! Your simple quilting is very elegant and compliments the design!

Teresa @ Aurea's Kitchen said...

Oh I've just fall in love. The plus quilt is in my to-do list forever, but I need to finish two quilts, a mini quilt and a lot of small things.

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures said...

Plus designs are one of my favorites. Made one - one ready to design! I like the cross hatch kwilting as well.Will have to try that on my next one!

Jo Jo said...

Beautiful quilt! I love the backing.

Carla said...

Still a favourite block of mine. Very pretty

QuiltCandy said...

Oh this is just adorable! I love the colours and those adorable fabrics. Such a great job!

Nat at Made in Home said...

I love plus quilts, and the addition of the Red Cross is really beautiful. Thanks for the tips about waffle fabric, I have ever used any yet, but I do like the texture it adds - so if I were to find any I would definitely buy some!

Jeanette said...

Very beautiful-I love the fabrics you chose, especially the red plus.

Gretchen Wylegala said...

This is beautiful. I love the colors!

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

I love it, makes me wanna go all Mushy on you and pelt you with roses. The backing is cute too. Great job all around. The colors sing together in perfect harmony.

Ashley Calder said...

Gorgeous! Love that single dark red plus sign. :) And the waffle knit back is just too awesome.