Friday 29 January 2016

Jane's Quilt

Remember me wittering on in this blog post about wanting to make a quilt for myself? Well I finally found time to make one, and this one's all mine!



I actually finished the quilt top a good few weeks ago, but then Christmas came along and scuppered all my plans. It would probably still be languishing in my sewing pile if temperatures in the UK hadn't started plummeting and galvanised me into action. All I could think about was how cosy I'd be if I had a lovely handmade quilt to wrap myself in whilst watching Silent Witness. So the past week has been quilt week! 


The colours for my quilt were chosen to complement my bedroom walls and chair and comprised various shades of grey, mustard and turquoise. The quilt design is an Easy Bricks pattern by Amy Smart. I was hoping it would be idiot-proof and I wasn't disappointed. The squares and rectangles are a manageable size (I'm far too impatient to be cutting thousands of teeny, tiny pieces), which made it really straight forward to sew up. 


The quilt back is just a simple flat sheet which I bought for £12 - my finished quilt is 63" x 84" and a double flat sheet was plenty big enough. It's also much more economical if you're on a budget - initially I had my eye on some extra-wide fabric which would have cost me £40, but I couldn't really justify the cost. The pale duck-egg colour of the flat sheet blends in perfectly with the patchwork front, so I'm happy I went for the budget option. 

My least favourite part of making a quilt is safety-pinning the layers together - it just seems to take forever. I'm lucky in that I have a very large back room with lots of floor space, so I can actually tape it to the floor to pin it, but still, crawling around on my hands and knees for hours is not my idea of fun. On the plus side it does warm you up, I was boiling by the time I'd finished! I like the sleek look of a patchwork top before it's quilted, but I still prefer the puffy, springy appearance it takes on afterwards.

Pinned and ready to be quilted - doesn't it look sleek?!
After pinning, it took me two long sessions at the sewing machine to quilt it. I brought my sewing machine downstairs and quilted it at the kitchen table, which gave me acres of space. It's only now, working on my fourth quilt, that I realise quilting downstairs is a far more comfortable and spacious option than trying to quilt at my tiny sewing table in the loft. Hindsight is a wonderful thing eh?!

I decided to make my own binding after the wonderful Maryanne (Mrs C) sent me an excellent link on how to bind your own quilt. It takes you through all the steps, from cutting your own binding through to hand stitching it into position (I skipped that bit and machined mine instead!) The colours of my quilt are quite muted so I picked one of the brighter turquoise shades (Adventure Springs from M is of Make) for the binding, which I think frames it nicely.



All the quilts I've made have been photographed on my bed, simply because my bedroom is the lightest room in the house. None of them actually belonged there though….apart from this one! I love this quilt. I love the colours, the patterns in the fabrics, the stitches and the binding. I love how heavy it is and that I can totally wrap myself up in it. This one isn't going anywhere! x

Somebody decided to road test it on the sofa!...



52 comments:

  1. This is quite the most beautiful quilt ever. And it is so you. What kind of wadding did you use? x

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    1. Aw thanks lovely! The wadding was from Badger & Earl, I'll find out which brand it is and report back. x

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    2. So sorry, only just remembered your question. The quilt wadding I used from Badger & Earl is a 50% cotton, 50% bamboo blend from Fiberco. Hope that helps. xx

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  2. Eek! I love it, it looks amazing (and I love that we have the same fabric in our quilts!). You will get so much pleasure from this, it's so beautiful. X

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    1. Yay, quilt twins! That Hemingway grid fabric is lovely, such a gorgeous colour and design. I'm already getting a lot of pleasure from it, I love it! x

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  3. It's beautiful! The colours are really lovely and how fab to have a quilt of your own that matches your bedroom. I really want to make my own but it's the thought of the pinning that totally puts me off too! Great tip about the flat sheet backing - and I second the request to know what wadding you used! If/when I ever make one, I want it to be nice and heavy too!

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    1. Thanks Jo, I'm soooo pleased with it! The pinning is a pain but totally worth gritting your teeth for as it does stop it all slipping around. Will let you know about the wadding as soon as I find out - I don't think it was an especially thick one, it's just that the quilt itself is ginormous! x

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    2. Sorry for the delay, here's an update on your wadding question. The quilt wadding I used from Badger & Earl is a 50% cotton, 50% bamboo blend from Fiberco. Hope that helps. xx

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  4. That's lovely, what gorgeous colours. I'm with you on machine stitching the binding too, not only for quickness but also because I don't trust my hand stitching to be very robust!

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    1. Yes, I'm agreed on both points: it's quicker AND more robust! I love the colours too, the pictures don't really do them justice, they're lovely. x

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  5. Fantastic quilt! Gorgeous. Love the colour combination.

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    1. Thank you, I just love those colours! x

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  6. I want one! You have every right to be completely happy with this gorgeous quilt!

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    1. You should make one! I'm VERY happy with it! x

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  7. Such a pretty quilt and great choice on the binding (my favouite bit!)

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    1. Thanks Kate! That binding fabric is gorgeous, it really finishes it off perfectly! x

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  8. It is gorgeous! I've made a few quilts but all really small in comparison to this, but I know what a lot of effort and work goes into them! It's lovely to have your own home made one for your bedroom. One day I will get around to making a proper big one for our bed! Well done x

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    1. Thank you so much! Yes, a big double quilt is much more time consuming than the ones I've made for my kids, but totally worth all the hard work! x

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    1. Thank you! I think so too, but I'm biased! x

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  10. A great quilt - and all yours!

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  11. Wow! I can see why you love this quilt! I love it, too. Such great sewing work; and the colours are wonderful.

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  12. Looks like it passed its toughest test! Lovely.

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    1. Thanks! Yes I think it passed with flying colours! x

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  13. What a fab make Jane! I absolutely love this, well worth all your efforts.

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  14. Oh it's lovely, Jane. Well done you! And your young "road tester" looks very cosy & comfortable indeed! :)

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    1. Thank you! My road tester give it a good seal of approval! x

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  15. It looks really elegant - love the subtle colourways and the bright border. My cousin visited at Christmas and was really delighted that she had finished the quilt she had been making for her son since he was 15 - he is now 43! On the basis, it appears you are speedy AND skilled at quilt-making. Have a lovely weekend x

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    1. Thank you! That made me laugh about your cousin's quilt! I hope her son thought it was worth the wait! x

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  16. Oh wow! It looks amazing - i really like your colour choices.

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    1. Aw thank you, I love the colours too! x

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  17. Swoon I love the subtle but modern colours and design. This is perfect. Well done.

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    1. Thanks Louise, I'm so pleased with it! x

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  18. Love this! It looks great!

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  19. Fantastic quilt! I have been working on mine for 3 years, in my defence it is fully hand quilted- which is a huge mistake! I should have machined the beast. Again with hind sight! Your colour combinations are lovely! Such a cold day today, perfect for snuggling!!

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    1. Hand quilting doesn't even make it onto my radar, I even machine the binding! I'm full of admiration, it will be worth it in the end! x

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  20. It looks lovely, I really like the colour scheme and fabric you chose. I don't have the patience (or space!) so make such a big quilt!

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    1. Thanks Katie, I was thinking of you when I was frantically 'speed quilting'! x

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  21. What a gorgeous quilt - and so perfect in your bedroom. I really love the little sailing boats. Well done, and I'm sure you are glad to actually get to keep this one for yourself!!

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    1. Oh yes, this one's definitely mine! Although it's actually big enough for the whole family to get under on the sofa! x

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  22. Your quilt looks so good Jane, and so cosy! Thanks for the link to that video, I'll need to watch it when I get home as I'm currently working on my first quilt and have no idea what I'm doing!

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    1. Thanks Kathryn! I still don't really know what I'm doing, I've been half making it up as I go along until now! Have a look at the post I wrote when I made my first quilt (http://www.handmadejane.co.uk/2013/01/my-first-foray-into-quilting.html) - there are some good tips and links in it. If you don't want to make your own binding there's a link for binding a quilt with shop bought bias binding, which is how I've always bound quilts until now. Probably an easier option first time round! Good luck. x

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    2. Whoops, just checked my first quilt post and the quilting blog I linked to no longer exists. I used the same binding method in my Chequerboard Baby Blanket tutorial though, if you were interested? http://www.handmadejane.co.uk/2015/05/chequerboard-baby-blanket-tutorial.html

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  23. Your quilt is lovely, and what a good idea to use a sheet as the backing.

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    1. Thanks Lynne! I've used sheets for the last three quilts I've made, it works out so much cheaper! x

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  24. Wow, this is so beautiful! I love love love it!

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  25. Lovely quilt
    love the colours
    well done

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