My First Quilt: Cutting Fabric
Boy, oh boy! I was so nervous to jump into cutting the fabric yardage down into 8.5″ squares, but I did it! It only took me two weekends to cut 121 squares… because I seem to like to start things very late in the evening.
I used an 18″x24″ OLFA cutting mat, a 4″x24″ Omnigrid ruler, and an 8.5″ square Omnigrid template, with my OLFA rotary cutter, of course. And I went SLOW.
I am so happy that I bought extra fabric, beyond what I calculated I would need, because I cut a few strips (yes, three) too narrow. I heard time and time again to measure twice, and cut once but I think my measuring skills are not all there yet. I found the trick to be cutting strips 9″ wide and then using the 8.5″ square Omnigrid template/ruler to cut down the fabric into just the block size I needed. All of the fabrics I used were 45″ WOF (width of fabric – look at me using these quilting acronyms!), and I was able to get five 8.5″ blocks out of each 9″ strip.
Beginner Tip: Cut the strips a little wider than you need, and trim the excess off as you cut out each square block from the strips.
The entire process probably only took about 3 hours, including pressing all 121 squares after cutting them, so it was not bad at all. Cutting squares with a template doesn’t seem like riveting content, but it’s a necessary step in documenting my quilting journey.
I also spent about 15 minutes sorting the squares into their layout, then made stacks of 11 rows of squares, each row containing the 11 squares that will be pieced together (remember, my quilt is 11 squares by 11 squares). My plan of action, thanks to my Grandma, is to sew one row at a time, and then sew all rows together. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was genuinely thinking I was going to have sew each ‘plus’ shape out of 5 squares first, and then sew all the plus “blocks” together. So glad I don’t have to do it that way!
Before I get to piecing, though, I desperately need to brush out the debris and lint from the Bernina and carefully oil the hook (don’t worry, I’ve watched about 6 tutorials on how to do so – just one drop!). I also need to wind a couple of bobbins and get some practice stitches in. I am so excited! I know I write that a lot but it’s really true. I really am so excited.
