Windmills at Night Lap Quilt - Suzy`s Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

Windmills at Night Lap Quilt
Finished size- 40” x 52”
http://suzyssitcom.com
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Windmills at Night Lap Quilt
Kit Contains:
• One Jelly Roll pack (20 strips of 2.5” wide fabric) Black and White various patterned
strips
• One Jelly Roll pack (20 strips of 2.5” wide fabric) Reds
• 2” wide black 100% cotton strips for binding
You will also need:
• 2 yards of 100% cotton fabric for backing
• Batting
• Rotary Cutter
• Ruler
• Sewing Machine and thread
• Iron
In order to prepare to make the blocks in
Illustration 1, you will need to cut the following
lengths from your Jelly Rolls (if you do not have
jelly rolls, simply cut to the measurements below):






White (36 ea) 6 ½” x 2 ½”
White (32 ea) 4 ½” x 2 ½”
Black (36 ea) 6 ½” x 2 ½”
Black (32 ea) 4 ½” x 2 ½”
Red (24 ea) 6 ½” x 2 ½”
Red (32 ea) 4 ½” x 2 ½”
Illustration 1
Helpful Tip:
You will be sewing ¼” seams. In order to get even
seams, I suggest that you place a marker on your sewing
machine. I used a strip of paper and taped it down ¼” to
the right of the needle. If you follow this marker as you
sew, you should have perfect ¼” seams.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Each 12 ½” block consists of 4 smaller blocks as illustrated above. The windmill design is
accomplished by turning the individual blocks when sewing them together.
To begin, select two 4 ½” long pieces of contrasting fabric for the block that you are choosing
to start with. Place them right sides together at right angles to each other as shown above.
Use a ruler to draw a sewing line diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right
corner. (Use a pencil for light fabrics, a white colored pencil or chalk for dark fabrics).
Sew along the drawn line, and clip off the corner about ¼” from the seam line.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Open it up, and you should now have one 6 ½” x 2 ½” strip in two colors. Press your new strip,
then sew a strip on either side, using the colors of your chosen block.
It is a good idea at this point to be sure your block is squared- 6 ½” x 6 ½”.
Create four 6 ½” blocks of the same color scheme and arrange them as shown above. Sew the
top two blocks together with ¼” seams, and then the bottom two blocks together. Matching
the center, sew the top two blocks to the bottom two, to create your 12 ½” block.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Repeat the instructions above to create (12 ea.) 12 ½” x 12 ½” blocks, using the color chart in
illustration 1 for guidance.
You can choose to lay out your blocks in any order that you would like. Two examples are
above. Note that both have alternations between black and white backgrounds. I found that
is the most pleasing to look at.
Sew three blocks from each row across together; then sew each of the rows together,
matching corners in order to complete the piecing of the quilt top. For sashing on the sides, I
used some of the leftover strips of red. The long sides require that you sew two strips
together in order to be the full length of the side.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Quilting
Cut a piece of fabric for your backing that is at least 2” wider on each side than your quilt top.
Discount Sewing Supply offers a matching pre-cut piece of backing for a small additional
charge). Pictures of the fabric are available on their website.
Lay backing fabric right-side down. Place a layer of batting over top, and then the quilt (right
side up) on top. Baste all three layers together to prepare for quilting. (I generally hand baste
with very long (6”) stitches, diagonally, horizontally and vertically across the quilt through all
three layers.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Look carefully here and you can see the basting stitches. For more beginner details on basting
and quilting see my on-line tutorial at: http://suzyssitcom/2011/08/summer-beginner-quiltingseries-lesson-three.html
For this pattern, we are “quilting in the ditch”. In other words, we are quilting in the seams.
Start in the center of your quilt and work out to the edges. This is important as quilting causes
the fabric to draw up and you want it to be evenly distributed. Increase your stitch length on
your machine. Sew forward two stitches, back two stitches and then sew forward again. This
will lock your thread in place. When you get to the end of a row, sew back and forth again to
lock the thread before clipping it.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
When quilt has all been quilted, the back should look something like this. At this point, clip all
the excess threads and then clip and pull out your basting stitches.
Your kit from Discount Sewing Supplies will also contain 2” strips of fabric for your binding.
Binding the quilt is a simple task. Begin by trimming the edges of the backing and batting so
that they are not more than one inch wider than the quilt top all around. Place one of your
strips of fabric along the edge of the top of the quilt, right sides together and sew the length of
the strip onto the quilt top through all three layers.
Repeat with the strips on the other three sides, being sure to fold the last strip out as you go
so that all right sides are together.
To sew the binding to the back, start in the center of one side and fold the binding over to the
back of the quilt, rolling under about ¼”. Hand-sew the binding down along the sewing
machine seam line for the front of the binding.
To go around a corner, fold the binding on the upcoming edge at 90 degrees, then fold it over,
turning under ¼”. Sew into place.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Matching Pillow
Create a 12 ½” block of your choice from any of the blocks shown in illustration 1.
Cut a piece of 12 ½” square backing material.
Place the backing and the pillow front right sides together and sew a 1/4” seam all the way
around, starting in the middle of one side and ending about 4” from your starting point. Turn
the pillow right side out. Use the opening left in the side of the pillow to firmly stuff it with
Fiberfill. Be sure to push the stuffing into the corners of the pillow. Finish by hand sewing the
opening shut.
©2013
Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom