A Word About Walking Feet

Raise your hand if you want to know more about walking feet! You're at the right place then :) New quilters often have questions such as "What is a Walking Foot and What is it Used for?" and "Which Walking Foot Should I Buy?" So to answer a few of those questions:

WHAT IS A WALKING FOOT

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A walking foot is a sewing machine part used to help feed thick fabric through a machine. It has an extra set of feed-dogs on the bottom of the foot to help guide layers of fabric through evenly.

WHAT IS A WALKING FOOT USED FOR?

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A walking foot is a quilter's best friend. It is used for 2 steps in the quilting process:

1. Straight line machine quilting.

The walking foot is a cousin to the darning foot (the darning foot is used for free motion quilting that is not for straight lines) The walking foot makes the thick *quilt-sandwich feed through the machine more smoothly. 

2. Binding.

A walking foot is used when machine attaching a quilt binding. The walking foot helps the *quilt-sandwich run through the machine in an efficient manner when sewing on the pesky binding. Kidding about that pesky part but not about the efficiency ;)

*A quilt sandwich consists of three basted (aka safety-pinned) layers: the pieced quilt top, batting, and backing fabric.

WHICH WALKING FOOT SHOULD I BUY?
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The real question here is what walking foot should you NOT buy. The number one rule is DO NOT buy a walking foot with a plastic hook that attaches to your screw, buy a metal one. (Does anyone have a name for that thingamajig?!) Both of our plastic walking feet jammed on the first day of use. The metal foot has been our best friend through it all!

Another suggestion is to buy a walking foot with a guide. This helps to keep your lines straight. It's kinda important...just sayin'

Note: Please ignore the plastic hooky-thing we know we just discussed (Rule number one is still in force). This is the only picture we had of the guide...so just go with it :)

Rule number three is pretty easy. Make sure to buy a foot that works for your brand of sewing machine. Most walking feet are universal so don't sweat it too much. And have fun with your new gizmo!

Equilateral Triangle Quilt Tutorial

This is a tutorial for an easy Equilateral Triangle Quilt, with triangles cut using a rotary cutter. No template required. Finished quilt is a crib size, measuring approximately 40" x 60".

For this quilt you will need:

8- 1/4 yard prints

1/2 yard white fabric

1. Cut all of your 1/4 yard prints into perfect 9'' strips. (1/4 yards aren't cut evenly when you buy them). Cut 2- 9'' strips from the white fabric.

2. Line up your 60 degree line on your ruler with the top of your 9 inch strip as shown above. (The top left side of the picture is cut off, but line up the point of your ruler with the point of your fabric.) Cut with your rotary cutter, as indicated by the red dash lines.

3. Line up your 60 degree line along the line you just barely cut. Now cut as indicated by the red dash line above.

4. Each 1/4 yard printed fabric strip should yield 7 equilateral triangles. Repeat for all 8- 1/4 yds until you have a total of 56 colored triangles. The white fabric will yield 14 white triangles. This quilt requires 70 total triangles.

5. Layout your triangles in 7 rows of 10 triangles each. Sew together. Be careful when sewing to match the triangle points together. Square up the edges if desired.

Scrappy Squares Quilt Tutorial

Ready for the easiest quilt tutorial of your life? Brace yourself :) Finished quilt measures 45" x 60".

For one block you will need the following:

Layout your pieces as shown below:

Sew the middle row together, then sew all three rows together to complete the block. The block should measure 8" square. (Once sewn into the quilt, the blocks will measure 7.5".)

Make 48 total blocks. Sew the blocks in 8 rows of 6 each. 

Told you it was easy :)

P.S. For more pictures of this quilt go here.
P.P.S. Man, now we want to make another scrappy squares quilt.

Granny Squares Quilt Tutorial

Today we would like to share with you how to make a scrappy granny square block. The finished blocks will measure 9" before sewn into a quilt top. The finished quilt will be twin sized, about 68" x 85".

For one quilt block you will need:

13- 2.5" white squares

12- 2.5" scrap squares

Layout your squares in rows, as shown above.

Sew your squares together into rows. Press.

Square up your block to 9". There should be roughly 1/4" space between the tips of your granny squares and the edge of your block (pictured below):

Note:  Squaring these blocks is a little tricky. Be careful when you are squaring, because sewing can be difficult. Little notches can equal holes, and we wouldn't want that :)

 

Make 80 blocks total. Layout your blocks in 10 rows of 8 blocks each. Sew. Then run outside and do a happy dance :)

Snowball Quilt Tutorial

The Snowball quilt block has been around forever and is one of our favorites. It is a super easy block that even a beginner can tackle! Finished quilt measures 49.5" x 55".

Materials Needed:
10 Fat Quarters (We used 5 different fabrics, 2 fq's each)
1 yard white fabric
3/8 yard binding fabric
Batting
Backing Fabric

From each Fat Quarter, cut 9- 6" squares, yielding a total of 90- 6" squares. From the white fabric, cut 18- 2" strips. Sub-cut the 2" strips into 2" squares, yielding 360- 2" squares.

For each snowball block, you will need 4- 2" squares and 1- 6" square. Draw a diagonal line to mark all of the white squares.

Place a white square in one corner of the 6" square and sew along the drawn line.

Trim away the excess, creating a 1/4" seam allowance.

Repeat in all four corners.

Iron your seams flat and you are done!

Sew the snowball blocks in 10 rows of 9 blocks.

Button Pillow Tutorial

(FYI: Coral fabric from JoAnn, buttons from Hancock, long pillow from Home Goods)

Button pillows are everywhere these days. Everywhere except at home :( So we decided to make our own and save us the $17 they cost. Ouch! Here is a tutorial for how to make a button pillow.

Materials Needed for one Button Pillow measuring 20" x 20":

• 3/4 yd. fabric (at least 44" wide)
• 1 button
• Thread to match the pillow
• Thread to match the button (not pictured)
• Down Pillow form 20" x 20"

1. From your fabric cut one square measuring 21". This will be your back, so set it aside for now.

 

2. Cut another piece measuring 21" x 22". This will become the front of your pillow.

3. From your piece measuring 21" x 22" measure and cut 7.5" down the longer side. This creates two pieces, we will call them piece "A" and "B".

 

4. From the remaining original fabric cut a 1.5" strip. The length doesn't really matter, but make it at least six inches long.

 

5. Iron your 1.5" strip in half lengthwise creating a crease. Open up the strip so it still measures 1.5" but now has a crease in the center.
 

6. Iron both sides into the center crease.

 7. Fold and iron in half. You should now have a nicely finished 1/4" cord.

8. Sew your cord as close as you can along the unfinished edge. 

9. Your cord should be completely finished now.

 10. Cut your cord into 2- 1.5" strips.

11. Find the middle of Piece B. Place your cord strips on either side of the middle mark. Maybe about an 1/8" apart.

 12. Pin Piece A to Piece B, Right sides together. Make sure to pin your cords down to keep them in place.

13. Using a 1/2" seam allowance, reattach Piece A to Piece B.

 14. Iron up your seam.

15. Top stitch using a scant 1/2'' seam allowance.

16. Tack down your cords, sewing along the bottom edge.

17. Sew your button on, hiding your cords and creating a foe loophole.

18. Now find your backing piece (measuring 21" square). Pin the front of the pillow to the back piece, right sides together. Sew 1/2" around 3 sides of the pillow. The side you don't sew should be the bottom of your pillow!

 19. Turn your pillow right sides out and stuff in your pillow form. Pin the bottom.

20. Sew as close to the edge as you dare!

Ta da! You are finished. Shoot us an email with any questions, trust us this tutorial sounds harder than it really is! Enjoy!