Heirloom Baby Quilt: a Beginner’S Project Designed by Sue Pennington Stewart

Heirloom Baby Quilt: A Beginner’s Project Designed by Sue Pennington Stewart

TECHNIQUE: Beginning Heirloom Sew- and most traditional fabric with which ing, Part I of a Continuing Series MATERIALS (FOR ENTIRE QUILT) (Finished quilt is approximately 37-1/2 inches to work. The fabric should almost wide by 45 inches long.) Anyone with basic sewing knowledge always be starched and pressed before and a zigzag sewing machine can cre- NOTE: All materials will be purchased/collected and it is sewn. In terms of thread, regular ate an heirloom baby quilt. Whether all cutting will be done according to instructions polyester or cotton-covered polyester in this first article. This will ensure that adequate sewing thread is simply too stiff and you’re brand new to this sewing genre amounts of materials are available. Stock numbers or simply feel the need to brush up on listed are from Martha Pullen Company, and most heavy to give good results. Instead, the basics, our approach will let you other supplies are also available. look for Madeira Tanne 80, a very soft, Fabric fine thread for embellishment work. A focus on the task at hand without being • 3 yds Victorian batiste in white for quilt top overwhelmed by a large heirloom-sew- and underlining second choice would be Mettler 60, a ing project. With the exception of this • 1 yd Victorian batiste in ivory slightly heavier thread that is still suit- introductory article – which includes • 1-1/2 yds bleached muslin or other white able, and a littler easier for both you and quilt fabric for backing your machine to manipulate. The thread cutting instructions and a single block • White quilt batting – crib quilt size design – each issue will feature two new Lace and Trim should match the color of the lace. The blocks. Assembly and quilting instruc- • 5/8 yd Victorian embroidered insertion fine thread warrants a small needle. For #L-27740 this quilt, use a new size 70 Universal tions will complete the series. • 1-1/4 yds ecru Swiss entredeux #S-ENT/E The finished quilt, as featured, is in • 7 yds ecru French lace insertion needle, and make sure your machine white Victorian batiste, kissed with #L-176/965E is clean, oiled, and running smoothly. • 1-1/4 yds ecru lace beading #L-2/6208E (Also see “Sue Says…” on page 30 for ecru. Once complete it will be perfect • 2/3 yd ecru rickrack, 1/8 inch wide to display in a nursery, to use as part of a • 1 yd gimp cord a discussion of other recommended christening ensemble or to wrap up baby • 5/8 yd white silk satin ribbon, 1/8 inch wide sewing room supplies.) during any special occasion. Over the Thread The stitch settings provided are not • Ecru Tanne 80 or Madeira 60 cotton thread absolutes. Different machines stitch out course of several issues, you will learn • Ecru rayon machine embroidery thread a variety of beginning heirloom sewing (Sulky 1082) differently. Use the settings as starting by machine techniques, including lace- • Clear nylon monofilament thread points, adjust up or down as needed, and (YLI suggested) for quilting use what works best for you. to-lace, lace-to-entredeux, entredeux- • White 50 wt cotton thread for quilting to-fabric, lace-to-fabric (roll and whip), Supplies The finished blocks for the quilt will lace-to-fabric (three-step super-strong • 3- x 11-inch piece of water-soluble stabilizer be 8 x 10 inches. You will be working • 4-inch square of lightweight tear-away stabilizer with blocks a little larger than that, method), entredeux-to-gathered fab- • Size 70 Universal machine needle ric, curved and mitered lace insertion • Size 80 Universal machine needle because the embellishments often (diamond, heart, oval and scallops), • Size 1.6/80 Twin machine needle “shrink” the fabric a little. We will trim straight pintucks, shaped pintucks, • Ruler (gridded quilter’s ruler preferred) them all down to the correct size before • Blue wash-out marker assembling the quilt top. cross-hatched pintucks, folded tucks, • Water-soluble glue or glue stick shadow appliqué, gimpwork, rickrack • Spray starch, iron, and ironing board bridging, straight puffing, shark’s teeth, • Glass-head pins CUTTING • Good, sharp scissors (Refer to cutting layout on page 74.) inserting embellished fabric inside a lace • Small safety pin or bodkin shape and turned-edge appliqué using • Large safety pins for basting quilt layers 1. From a torn, crossgrain edge of water-soluble thread. Whew! Let’s together white batiste, measure along the selvage get started! 50 inches and make a 1-inch cut; tear GENERAL INFORMATION fabric from selvage to selvage. This piece IN THE ARTICLE These techniques work best on very of fabric will be used for underlining the • Materials List • Cutting Instructions lightweight, natural-fiber fabrics. Ba- quilt top. Label this piece and set aside • Quilt Block #1 Instructions tiste in 100 percent cotton is the easiest for later.

22” 9” 3” 18”

Unused 9” 11” 1 2 3 4

11” 5 6 7 8 40” 11” 3”3”11” 9

Entredeux 1/8” Satin Embroidered Lace-to-lace Entredeux-to-fabric Unused ribbon insertion White batiste Lace insertion Lace beading Lace-to-fabric Entredeux-to-lace Cutting layout Photo 1

2. Measure along selvage from torn BLOCK #1 identification. Refer to this photo during edge 18 inches, make a cut and tear While making this block you will learn construction. across to the other selvage. Measure the basic, heirloom sewing by machine 1. Spray starch and press dry the two along torn edge from selvage 22 inches, techniques of lace-to-lace, lace-to-en- 3- x 11-inch rectangles, and also lightly and cut along lengthwise grain (don’t tredeux, entredeux-to-fabric, and lace- starch and press the strip of Victorian tear) to form a rectangle 18 x 22 inches to-fabric (roll and whip). You will make embroidered insertion. for plain center rectangle. Label and set a “fancy band” strip, a part of which will 2. Trim Victorian embroidered inser- aside. be set aside for another block. tion to 2 inches wide, centering em- 3. From remainder of 18-inch strip, broidery. You will trim about 1/4 inch cut a block 9 x 18 inches for shark’s teeth MATERIALS FOR BLOCK #1 off each long edge, including heavily block. Label this also and set aside. • Victorian embroidered insertion stitched edge. The easiest way to do this • Ecru lace insertion is with a rotary cutter and long quilter’s 4. From remaining fabric from the • Ecru lace beading 18-inch strip, tear one strip 3-1/2 inches • Ecru entredeux ruler. wide for puffing. Label and set aside. • 1/8-inch white satin ribbon 3. Cut a 45-inch length each of ecru 5. Cut nine blocks of fabric measuring lace insertion and ecru lace beading. 9 x 11 inches. Label and set these aside Construction Press lace without stretching if it is also. NOTE: Step photos show general technique wrinkled. NOTE: I do not usually starch 6. From unused fabric, cut two blocks steps, and are not intended to represent the the lace. 3 x 11 inches to be used in Block #1. The appearance of this particular block. Photo 4. Set up machine with new size 70 remaining pieces of fabric will be cut as 1 shows the “anatomy” of Block #1, with needle and fine ecru cotton thread in you go along. components and techniques labeled for easy both needle and bobbin.

Photo 4 Photo 5

5. Lace-to-lace: Place laces (one inser- side up. Place one lace strip right side to fabric on both sides. Refer to photo 1. tion, one beading) side by side, right down on top of embroidered strip, with 7. Press little rolled hems toward fab- sides up (if you can tell a right side!) edge of beading 1/8 inch in from raw edge ric. NOTE: This next step is optional, but I with headings butted together (photo of embroidered fabric (photo 4). Zigzag (L use it almost all the time, as it gives a much 2). Zigzag (L = 1.0; W = 2.5) laces = 1.0; W = 4.5) so that one needle swing neater look, and keeps the little rolled seam together, so that one needle swing goes stitches over the lace heading, and the from folding back under the lace. From over the heading of one of the laces, other needle swing goes just off the fabric right side, zigzag (L = 1.0; W = 1.0) with and the other needle swing goes over edge. After a few stitches, the fabric raw a very tiny stitch so that one needle swing the heading of the other lace (photo 3). edge should start rolling in toward and stitches over the folded-under fabric edge Press this joined strip of lace; cut lace covering the lace heading (photo 5). If into the lace, and the other needle swing strip in half. it doesn’t, try increasing needle tension just catches the fabric. 6. Lace-to-fabric (roll and whip): Place slightly. Stitch lace strips to both sides of 8. Press this lace-embroidery strip starched, embroidered insertion strip right embroidered insertion, with beading next again. Cut off an 11-inch length for

Photo 8 Photo 9

this block, and set aside remainder for that side; entredeux will not ravel (photo white fabric right sides together with raw later. 6). Cut this length of entredeux in half. edges even (photo 9). With entredeux 9. Cut 22 inches of entredeux. Starch With lace and entredeux both right sides on top, use a straight stitch (L = 2.0) to well and press dry. This is important, up, butt trimmed edge of entredeux up to stitch-in-the-ditch right along entredeux because it helps to pre-shrink entredeux. heading of lace insertion (photo 7). Zig- “ladder” (photo 10). Stitch again 1/8 inch If this step is omitted, when the piece zag (L = 1.0; W = 2.5 – 3.0) together so away and trim seam allowance (photo with the entredeux stitched into it is that one needle swing stitches over lace 11). Roll and whip seam allowance by washed, the entredeux will shrink and heading, and the other needle swing goes zigzagging (L = 1.0; W = 4.5) so that pucker the fabric. into the entredeux holes (photo 8). Stitch one needle swing goes into fabric right 10. Lace-to-entredeux: Trim batiste entredeux to both sides of lace/embroi- along previous straight stitching, and the edge off one side of entredeux right dery strip (photo 1). other needle swing goes off the edge of next to heavily embroidered “ladder.” 11. Entredeux-to-fabric: Place entre- the fabric rolling the seam allowance There should be no fabric remaining on deux and the 3- x 11-inch rectangles of (photo 12). NOTE: I usually do this second

76 Sew Beautiful ©2005 Sew Beautiful Magazine Photo 10 Photo 11 Photo 12 roll-and-whip stitching with entredeux on to the entredeux “ladder” and the a safety pin or a bodkin, weave ribbon the bottom. other needle swing just catches the through holes in lace beading. -SB

12. Press this little rolled hem away fabric fold. About the Designer from entredeux. Just as in Step 6, 13. Starch and press block one more Sue Pennington Stewart is a primary designer for all Martha Pullen Company endeavors, including Sew Beautiful magazine stitch a tiny zigzag (L and W = 1.0) time. and Martha’s Sewing Room for PBS. She is a popular teacher at from right side so that one needle 14. Cut the 1/8-inch white satin Martha Pullen schools, and is a published author. Sue owns an heirloom design business, Fit for a Princess. See the Shopping swing goes into the “ditch” right next ribbon into two equal lengths. Using Guide on page 85 for more information.