Raw-Edge 2.5 Inch Square Quilts (132, 133)

Welcome back!  I hope everyone in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I was able to visit with a lot of families, and we had a really good time!

I had a few extra scraps from my “Stars and Sparks” quilt, so I decided to use them in some fun baby girl quilts.

These two quilts were made using the same technique and the same fabric, so I don’t blame you for not being able to tell them apart.  I used 2.5-inch squares and sewed them to the fabric during the quilting process, creating a raw edge applique design.  I did it before on this quilt and thought it was time to revisit the technique.  I love the results.

I first create a grid on the quilt using 1-inch masking tape.  I leave 2.5 inches between the two pieces of masking tape in the horizontal and vertical directions. leaving me with 2.5-inch background squares exposed.  I glue the fabric square onto the white background fabric in between the masking tape.

I learned through this process that Lapel Stick adhesive glue works MUCH BETTER than a regular glue stick.  Since I move the quilt around a lot during the quilting process, the quilt with the Lapel Stick was less frustrating to quilt than the quilt where I used the regular glue stick, since the squares did not tend to separate from the background fabric.  Now I know, and maybe I’ll ask for Lapel Sticks for Christmas.  I am not advertising them, just trying to share my experience.

I used a straight-line quilting method.  I removed one direction of tape from between the squares (but left the ends of the tape on the edge of the quilt) so that I could quilt the other direction lines without crossing over the tape.  I then took off those lines of tape, and quilted them in the opposite direction, using the squares themselves and the ends of the tape lines as sewing guides.

The backing was a fabric from the “Silk Road” line, the binding was a small pink flower fabric, not from the line, but it adds a nice soft edge to the quilt.  The quilting left a beautiful grid on the back of the fabric.

This is officially one of my favorite quilts to make.  The sewing and quilting are done at the same time, and it leaves such a lovely quilt design.  Plus, I am a sucker for a baby quilt with raw edges.  I did have to spray baste the quilts beforehand when I normally pin baste, but it was a nice warm 40 degrees outside, so no problem. And, now that I know how well lapel sticks work, maybe I could one day do one of these raw edge quilts in twin size (with larger squares of course).  Who knows!

These quilts are about 39 inches by 39 inches.  Thank you for visiting my blog!