Mister DJ - A New MBS Tutorial

Today I am so excited to share a new Moda Bake Shop Tutorial.  The tutorial actually went up a few days ago but there was a bit of a scheduling mix up and I am just being able to post about it today.   Anyhow , The design for this quilt was inspired by music equalizers (those little bars you see when watching music that jump up and down) .  So I decided to call the quilt Mister DJ.  It is a super easy quilt to put together, in fact, I never used a pin :) 

This quilt is made with 2 jelly rolls and 2 yards of Bella Solids.  The fabric I used was Sphere by Zen Chic.  I loved how easy I could use Low Volume and High Volume contrasts which really was a huge part of the design.  It also has such a fun modern vibe and this quilt was being made for a certain someone who thought it was "awesome".

You see, my oldest son is the only person in the family that did not have a homemade bedspread.  It has been put on hold because he was insistent that he wanted to have one made of "cool" fabrics. When I showed him Sphere, I was given the go ahead approval. As mentioned, the design was based on a music theme and I choose that because my son loves music (of all varieties and volume)  He is super excited to finally have his homemade bedspread and I am super happy to check that off the list :)

 

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 :)  

So let's get going!!! 

To make a twin sized 70" x 89" Mister DJ quilt you will need:
2 Sphere Jelly Rolls
2 Yards of Bella Solid Grass
5 1/2 Yards of Backing

STEP 1 - CUTTING

Begin by separating your jelly roll strips into 2 piles, one of Low Volume (or light) prints and one of High Volume (or dark) prints.

From the High Volume Strips cut 21 of each of the following strip sizes:
2 1/2" x 11"        2 1/2" x 10"          2 1/2" x 9"        2 1/2" x 8"           2 1/2" x 7"
2 1/2" x 6"          2 1/2" x 5"            2 1/2" x 4"        2 1/2" x 3"           2 1/2" x 2"
I found the easiest way to do this is to stack up 4-5 jelly rolls and cut all the even sizes from each strip and  repeat the process for 21 strips so you have a total of 21 pieces of each even size.  Then do the same for the odd sizes.  (You will have to cut a few from the scraps as you will have 40 strips and not 42)

From the Low Volume Strips cut 21 of each of the following strip sizes:
2 1/2" x 11 1/2"        2 1/2" x 10 1/2"          2 1/2" x 9 1/2"        2 1/2" x 8 1/2"           2 1/2" x 7 1/2"
2 1/2" x 6 1/2"          2 1/2" x 5 1/2"            2 1/2" x 4 1/2"        2 1/2" x 3 1/2"           2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Once again,  stack up 4-5 jelly rolls and cut all the even sizes from each strip and repeat the process for 21 strips so you have a total of 21 pieces of each even size.  Then do the same for the odd sizes.

Now, pair each High Volume piece with the opposite size Low Volume strip.  So the 11 1/2" goes with the 2" and the 10 1/2" goes with the 3" and so on down the line.  Set these aside for the moment.

From the Bella Solid Grass yardage cut the following:
(9) 2 1/2" x wof (width of fabric) strips to be used for binding
(10) 1 1/2" x wof strips - Trim the selvage and sew 2 strips end to end to create (5) 1 1/2" x 84 strips.
(210) 2" x 2 1/2" rectangles

STEP 2 - ASSEMBLING THE STRIPS

Now with the cutting done you are ready to start assembling the blocks.   Grab the first set of your grouped fabric strips  (The 11 /2" Low Volumes and 2" High Volumes).  You will be sewing these into a row by first sewing the Solid Grass rectangle to the Low Volume strip and then second, adding the print strip to the Solid Grass Rectangle.

The easiest way to do this is by chain stitching.  (Meaning, not clipping your threads after each strip but continually feeding strips through the machine until you are done with your pile.)  Start by placing the Grass rectangle onto the Low Volume strip with right sides together.  Chain stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge of all 21 of your sets.  Clip the threads between your strips.

Now, you can add the High Volume strip.  Place the High Volume strip onto the Grass rectangle with right sides together and again chain stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge of all 21 strips.  Clip your threads.

Now repeat this process for each of your (10) grouped sets of 21 strips.  In the end you will have 210 pieced strips total.  You want the Low Volume print to always be on the top.   Press your strip sets.

STEP 3 - ASSEMBLING THE BLOCKS

With your strips all set, you are ready to start sewing your blocks together.  So take all of your strip sets and mix them up in a large pile.

Now, grab 2 random strips and place them right sides together taking care that the Low Volume print in both strips is on the top and the High Volume print is on the bottom.  Sew 1/4" seam along the side of the strip, aligning the edges as you sew.  Chain stitch 30 of these to make 30 strip sets of 2.  Clip the threads between the 30 sets.

Now, you are going to add a third strip to the sets of 2.  Align another randomly chosen strip along the side of the second strip with the Low Volume prints on top and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge, aligning as you go.  If you happen to have randomly chosen a strip where the Grass Rectangle is in the same spot as the strip set, take care to match the seams.  You can just align these with your fingers as shown.   Chain stitch all 30 sets.

Clip your threads between your sets and you are ready to add a fourth row.  Continue this process until you have added a total of 7 rows in each set.    Clip the threads between sets.

So now you will have 30 blocks each consisting of 7 vertical rows that have the Low Volume prints on top and the High Volume prints on the bottom.

Press the seams in the blocks to one direction.  They should now measure 14 1/2" square.

STEP 4 - ASSEMBLING QUILT TOP

And now you can put your quilt top together!   Layout 6 rows of 5 blocks.  Play with the layout until it is pleasing to the eye.  Once you have layout complete mark the blocks so you remember which row is which :)  Now, sew the blocks into rows.  To do this, just place the second block onto the first with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  The place the third block onto the now sewn together first and second block with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Continue in this fashion until all 5 blocks in the row are sewn together.  Repeat for all 6 rows.

Now place a Grass Sashing Strip that you made clear at the beginning onto to the top of rows 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge aligning the fabric as you sew.

Press all of the seams towards the sashing.  Trim the excess sashing at the end of each row.

Now sew the rows together.  This is just like making the rows only on a larger scale.  Place row 1 onto row 2 with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Press the seam towards the sashing.   Now place row 3 onto the now sewn together row 1 and 2 with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Press the seam.  Continue in this fashion until all the rows are sewn together.

And your quilt top is complete!!!  Great job!!!

STEP 5 - FINISHING

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 ;)  

When it came time to quilt mine, I quilted this up with a fun "firework" all over design.  It is a little hard to see in the pictures as the grey thread really blends, but just think along the lines of the "pow" and "smash" graphics from the old batman series and you are pretty close :)  It was a super fun design to quilt and really matches the overall theme of the quilt.

You will use the 9 strips you cut and set aside at the beginning to do the binding.

STEP 6 - ENJOY

And you are done, and have one ultra modern, High/Low Volume  70" x 89" Mister DJ twin sized quilt. Mister DJ measures 70" x 89", perfect for a twin size bed with some wonderful overhang.  So if you have a young tween who might like a little pizazz in their room, maybe it will be the perfect fit, it certainly was for my little guy :)

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and if you make your own Mister DJ 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 Mister DJ Quilts!!!

Linking up to Sarah's, Amanda's, and Fort Worth Fabric Studio's :)