To Quilt: Part Deux

Yesterday I took the chance to work on the second step of making a quilt. The mathematics.

Ugh.

Okay, so bear with me while I try to explain this.... math is not my strong point so explaining it might be a little harder.

First I took my basic layout and used it as a guide for what I wanted. Since I made this somewhat to scale (ie 8x10 when my quilt will be around 80x100) I knew that in the end what I was going to want was a quilt 5 blocks long by 4 blocks wide.

So.... if I know my quilt is 105 inches long and that I need 5 squares I can then divide that and come out with 21. I did the same with the width (81/4) and since that didn't come out even I just rounded up. Making my squares 21 x 21 inches.

Following me? We're still in the elementary education system here.

Then I had to make my master pattern.

Master Plan- Notice how it's color coded?
This helped me keep track of what sections would be sewn together.

 This was accomplished with a lot of aspirin and some help from my math loving roommate.

I had to divide my square into five increasingly smaller squares that were sectioned off like I described in Part One. Essentially what I needed to know was how large each strip of fabric needed to be (21in/5sections=4.2in/2halves of each section=2.1in on each side of my square).  Each was about 2 inches wide and increased in length by roughly 4 inches per strip--the longest one being 21 x 2; the smallest, center piece being 4x4.

That part is the high school math.

This took about an hour... maybe more but once I was done I could then create my pattern pieces.

Pattern Pieces

To make my pattern pieces I added a seam allowance of 1/4 inch to each side. So I had to add 1/2 inch to the length and the width of my strips. Then I cut them out and marked each piece with the information I needed to remember.

Whew! Are you still with me? I'm not sure I am.

Okay, once I had this done I could start considering how much fabric I needed. When you buy fabric it generally comes by the yard in widths of either 45 inches or 60 inches (I've only ever once bought 60 inch fabric... it's ALOT of fabric). Now that I knew how big my strips were and how many I was going to need--forty strips of 21x2 being the largest-- I could start estimating how much fabric I would need.

I usually am terrible at this part and tend to overcompensate and buy WAY too much.

My sewing friendly other roommate and I decided on a yard of each fabric, which would be 3 ft x 45 inches of each color. Note: This is just for the top of the blanket, not the bottom.

I took Vicbowin down to Hobby Lobby and she picked out these fabrics.

I've Got Suuuuunshine!

The Mischievite then broke an $8 fairy figurine and I hustled everyone home where I threw my bag on my desk and dropped into an exhausted heap on my bed--never to be seen or heard from again.

And that's the hardest part of making a quilt.

Any questions?