Monday, August 22, 2011

Snug as a Bug!!

I have been doing some more baking!! (and it is so much fun!!!)

 Introducing . . .  Snug As A Bug :)


This quilt is a variation of a stacked coin quilt with some wonky thrown in for fun and some applique added for cute!!  It is a super easy quilt to put together and goes really fast (like in a day or two).  Which makes it a perfect little project to whip up for yourself or someone you know who might be having their own little "bug".


And now that this Moda Bake Shop Tutorial has been published for a while, I can now post it here on my blog for your convenience ;)   So just follow along below for the full step-by-step tutorial.  And if you love it, you can get the printer friendly version here :)  






QUILT TOP
2 Oops-a-Daisy Charm Packs by Keiki
1 1/4 Yards Bella Solid White
Heat N Bond cut into 5" squares.
    
BINDING
   1/2 Yard of your choice of a Coordinating Binding Print - I used 32485-11 

BACKING
   1 1/4 Yard of your choice of Coordinating Backing Print -I used  32480-12  





STEP 1 - CUTTING

We will get started with cutting the sashing needed from our white yardage.  Layout your white yardage along your mat, aligning the folded edge along the 0 Horizontal line of your mat.  Align your ruler along the last line of your mat and trim a straight edge. Measure in 5", align your ruler along the mark on the top and bottom of your mat and cut.  Without moving your fabric, slide your ruler over another 5"  and cut and continue repeating until you have four 5" strips.  Set your remaining yardage aside.  Trim the selvage edge off of the top of the strips.  


Layout the remaining yardage the same as before (aligning your last cut edge along the straight edge of your mat).  Using the same method, cut 5 strips that are 1 1/2" wide. Set your remaining yardage aside and don't move your fabric strips.  Now we are going to subcut those 5 strips horizontally.  Align your ruler along the horizontal mat line at 16 1/2 inches. If you don't have a 16 1/2" line on your mat, line your 1/2 mark on your ruler with the 16" line on your mat. This should make your ruler edge now at 16 1/2". Cut across all 5 strips.  When unfolded you will have five 33" x 1 1/2" strips.   Now slide your ruler up the 21 1/2" line and align as directed before and cut.  This will give you an additional ten 5"x1 1/2" strips.  


Lastly, we need to cut a whole stack of 1 1/2" x 5" strips.  So for the last time, align your remaining white yardage along the side of your mat.  The amount of sashing will vary depending on the desired "wonkiness" but I found about 9 strips to be just right.  Cut 9 more 1 1/2" strips and set the remaining yardage aside for scrap.  Now we need to subcut those 9 strips into 5" pieces.  The easiest way to do this is to cut along the horizontal 21" line.  This will give you a starting point and trim the selvage edge.  Now measure down 5" to the 16" horizontal line, align your ruler and cut.  Continue this process cutting every 5" down to the 1" line.  You should  now have an additional 64 1 1/2" x 5" strips.


Now that the sashing is done, we can move onto cutting up your charm pack.  Once again, the exact amount of pieces needed will vary depending on your wonkiness but I found 44 charms to be just about right.  I started by removing the doubles in my 2 charm packs and pulling aside any prints in particular that I wanted to use for applique.  Then I selected 37 random charms.

Now cutting the charms is the fun part.  There is no set measurement.  You can make it as wonky as you like.  I used measurements varying from 1 1/2" down to 3 1/2" down and everything in between. I didn't want to go smaller than the sashing so that is why I stuck to those measurements but you can do what you like.   So just pick a size for that particular charm pack, measure down (or up, it really doesn't matter) that said measurement and cut.  Switch it up within your charms so that you end up with a stack of completely different sized charms.  (*NOTE* I found while sewing that some of my charms ended up just being a stem or something that I didn't necessarily like the look of... in those cases I would set that aside and just cut a new charm to replace it :)


And that is the entire cutting.  To review, you should have four 5" x WOF Strips, five 1 1/2" x 33" strips, 74ish 1 1/2" x 5" strips, and 74ish 1 1/2" to 3 1/2" x 5" charms.  Are you there?  Great, lets move on :)


STEP 2 - MAKING THE ROWS

Now that everything is cut, you are ready to start sewing.  Grab a cut charm piece and a white 1 1/2" x 5" sashing piece.  Align them right sides together along the top or bottom (either way works) .  You will want to watch here that if you have a directional print you are aligning them all the same direction.  So always add sashing on either the top or bottom :)   Sew a 1/4" seam along your aligned edge.  


Just keep aligning your pieces and chain stitching them.   Meaning, don't cut your threads between each pieced set, just keep feeding them through your machine until you have sewn all 74ish sets together.


Now you have a large pile of pieced sets.  Go ahead now and clip your threads between each pieced set.  You can press them now but it isn't necessary.  I just finger press for a while :)


Now you are ready to start sewing your rows together.  You will be repeating the following process 6 times to make 6 rows.  (Or if you are confident, you can chain stitch 6 sets to make all 6 rows as once :)   Grab 2 pieced sets.  (try not to worry to much about what you grab, just keep it random :)   Align them as follows so that the white sashing is next to a charm print.  This is where I do a little finger pressing to make it easier to work with my pieces.


Lay the top pieced set onto the bottom pieced set with right sides together and then sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.


Finger press your seam open.  It should look like the bottom.  Now grab another pieced set, you are going to add this the same was as before.


Lay your pieced set onto your now sewn together pieced sets with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Now repeat, repeat, repeat :)


Continue adding pieced sets until your strip measures more than 33" when laid out.  Make sure to pull it tight when you measure since you haven't been pressing.


When you reach more than 33" you are ready to press :)  I found it easiest to press my white edges out :)  Press as you are most comfortable :)


Now, just one more trim.  Align the edge of your strip along the 0 vertical line of your mat.  Now you are going to trim your strip down to 32".  Make sure when trimming this that you are trimming through a charm block.  You want to have a charm strip, and not a sashing strip, at the top and bottom of your strip.  If you are going to be cutting through a sashing, trim the top a bit to adjust.  (If you didn't chain stitch, repeat the process 5 more times so you have 6 rows total).


STEP 3 - SEWING THE ROWS TOGETHER

Grab your 6 pieced rows and your five 33" sashings and lay them out as follows.  Play around with your row alignment until you have a look that is pleasing to the eye.


We will start with sewing the sashings onto the pieced rows.  Lay your 5 sashings onto the 5 rows to the left of the sashings.  No need to pin, you can just align as you go. Sew a 1/4" seam down the aligned sides, trim the excess sashing and press.


Now that your sashings are attached you are ready to start sewing your rows together (this is just like piecing the rows but on a much larger scale).  Lay your first row onto your second row aligning the edge.  This time you will want to pin to make sure your tops and bottoms are aligned properly.   Sew a 1/4 seam along your pinned edge (and remember to remove pins as you sew. Press your seam.


Lay your third row onto your new sewn together first and second row. Pin to align the edges, sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and press. Continue this process until you have sewn all of your rows together :)



STEP 4 - ADDING BORDERS

You will start with the top and bottom border.  As these are WOF they will be a little long but no worries.


Lay your top and borders onto the top and bottom of your quilt top and align the edges.  Once again, no need to pin, just align as you sew.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.


Now, using your quilt as a guide, trim the excess sashing.  (Make sure your quilt is completely flat when doing this so you get a nice straight edge).  Press your seams.


Add the side borders.  You will use the same method that you used to add the top and bottom border.


And your piecing is complete!!  Isn't it just adorable?  Now onto making it super cute with some applique :)  (Note . . . If you are not a fan of applique you can skip the next step and finish your quilt top like this :)


STEP 5 - ADDING APPLIQUE

Grab the charms that you set aside earlier for applique.  Using the manufacture's directions, iron a 5" square of Heat N Bond to the wrong side of your charm square.  Now using the templates from the "Printer Friendly Version" of this tutorial, trace the desired applique onto the paper side of the Heat n Bond.  (Make sure to do the letters backwards, as you can see, I forgot that when I took this picture :)  Cut out the traced applique.  Repeat this process until you have cut out all of your applique pieces.


Play with the layout of your applique until you get a design you like.  This is my layout.  Once you have a layout you like, it is best to take a picture to refer to as you will be moving your quilt around to iron it and so will have to replace your applique.


I like to do one set of applique at a time.  This just keeps it from starting to come off when you are moving the fabric around so much in your machine while stitching it :)  I started with the letters.  I use my ruler as a guide to make sure that I am aligning them straight :)  Once again, using the manufacturer's directions, press your applique to your quilt top fusing it to the top.


Stitch around your applique to secure it.  I choose to use brown thread for my applique and did a blanket stitch around the entire applique.


In the center details, I did a very close zig-zag stitch to give the details dimension.


Repeat this process until you have secured all of your applique :)  And your quilt top is done!!


STEP 6 - FINISHING YOUR QUILT


So now it is time to turn that finished quilt top into a finished Quilt ;)  Time to  Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind It!!!  Which is a whole lot in one little sentence.  If you are new to quilting, you can see my Finishing Your Quilt Series of video tutorials that will walk you through Basting, Quilting, and Binding step by step ;)





One super adorable 41 x 41 baby quilt ready to be loved by a little one in your life :)



I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and if you make your own Snug as a Bug Quilt I would love to see it!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  or or add it to my flickr group here ;)  I can't wait to see your Snug as a Bug Quilts!!!
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20 comments:

  1. C.U.T.E!!! I just love this one!! So sweet! Congrats on ANOTHER beautiful baking project!! :)

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  2. Oh yes, I saw this over at MBS this morning and it is so stinking cute! I love the wonky coins and the words! The little appliqué flowers and bugs are a nice touch too. Another wonderful project and so nice of you to share!

    MGM

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  3. Oh. My. Gosh. that is soooo adorable!

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  4. This is just so sweet! I love it!

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  5. Melissa your niece is just so cute . Perfect model for a lovely little quilt.

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  6. saw this on moda bake shop this morning and I was so happy for you! It's adorable!!

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  7. Oh how adorable is that little cutie on that awesome quilt.

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  8. Super cute! Love that baby too!

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  9. Your niece and the quilt are both adorable!

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  10. I just love this! I call my little grandbabies "buglets". It started out with calling my granddaughter ladybug, and then when the little brother was born, it became buglets. How cute this would be for them! I might have to change it to "Snug as a buglet"! LOL Love, love it!

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  11. Really, really cute Melissa...almost makes me wish I were young enough to have babies again. Almost. :) blessings, marlene

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  12. I love baby quilts. This one is so cute.

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  13. This is really very cute. I love it.

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  14. Melissa, I absolutely LOVE your quilt!! This is a must to make quilt for me. I was so excited when I saw your quilt and had to text my best friend to make sure she saw it. This is so adorable!!

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  15. Just adorable (the quilt and the baby!) - I'm going to bookmark this for future projects!

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  16. Hi, this quilt is so clever and cute... I have been looking for a quilt that uses charm packs for a baby. I have two great nieces that just turned 1. I would love to make this for them but unfortunately the link for the PDF file no longer works... can you send me the PDF, please?

    Thank you for sharing your talents.

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  17. Would live to make this got my almost here grandy but the pdf link no longer works. Any chance you could share the pattern please?

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa