March 03, 2002
This quickie Mystery Quilt should prove to be a fun project that results in a decorative wallhanging that will look great for any season, but looks best when displayed for St. Patrick's Day. The finished size is approximately 24" x 24" and this wallhanging fits nicely when hung from your front door. When it comes time to quilt, you will find that there are going to be some fantastic little areas to showcase your quilting... giving you the opportunity to either show off your talent, or to learn the art of quilting. And as if this isn't all, there is also going to be the option to add a new quilting technique to this little mystery that I have never before incorporated into a Mystery Quilt, but one that you will find useful throughout your quilting years... and one that is so easy that it'll amaze you. With that said, it's also a technique that, at first, second, and third glance, looks like you have spent hours putting this finishing touch on the quilt... when, in reality, it only takes a very short time. So, is your curiosity getting the best of you? Without further ado, let's begin!
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While making this Mystery Quilt, it is important to keep your seems consistent. It is best to sew with a scant 1/4" seam, which simply means that the seam is a couple of threads short of being 1/4". This gives the seam "room" when it is turned and pressed. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that a couple of threads could ever make a difference, but when you stop to think about how many seams are in an entire quilt, a couple of threads "off" in each seam can throw the entire quilt out of whack when finished. Someone of you may have found this out first-hand (like me). That is why I think it is important to use a scant seam, versus an accurate seam. The best test is to sew several seams, join the pieces together, then compare what the size of the total piece should be with what it actually is. The answer may surprise you!
Using the 12 - 3.5" squares from the Light Green fabric and the 12- 3.5" squares from the Dark Green fabric, sew 24 HST using your favorite HST method. The unfinished size for these HST should be trimmed to an accurate 2.5" x 2.5". Using 3.5" squares to begin these ensures that you have more than enough to work with and room to trim accurately when finished. If you do not have a favorite HST method, refer to the HST Tutorial on the Quilting Passion Web site. When finished, each of these 24 HST should look similar to this:
Using 12 of the HST made in step 1, you are going to make four (4) rows, using three (3) HST in each row. Sew three of the HST together to form a row, so that the lightest fabric is on the bottom left sides of the HST. Refer to the illustration below to see how this should look when assembled:
Press the seams in the rows sewn in step 2 to the darkest fabric.
Using the remaining 12 HST made in step 1, you are going to make four (4) more rows, using three (3) HST in each row. Sew three of the HST together to form a row, so that the lightest fabric is on the bottom right sides of the HST. Refer to the illustration below to see how this should look when assembled:
Press the seams in the rows sewn in step 2 to the darkest fabric.
Using one (1) of the four (4) squares that measure 6.5" x 6.5", sew a strip of three HST made in step 2 to the one side of the square. Press the seam toward the large square. When finished, it should resemble this sample:
Repeat step 6 three more times until you have used all four of the 6.5" squares and have four of the units shown in step 6.
Using one of the 2.5" squares of the dark green, and one of the remaining HST strips, sew it to the end of the strip so that it is in the same placement layout as this illustration:
Press the seam sewn in step 8 to the solid dark green square.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 three more times, using the remaining three HST strips. You should how have four of the HST strip units illustrated in step 8.
Attach the step 8 units to the step 6 units by sewing them together, being careful to pin so that the seams match. Refer to the following illustration to see what the finished unit should look like.
Press toward the large square.
Repeat steps 11 and 12 with each of the units, ending up with four of the units shown in step 11.
ACCURACY CHECK: You should have four of these units:
Using the 2.5" strips of the white print, assemble the top unit by following the illustration below:
Note: Make sure that the green blocks are in the correct placement. For those of you that are experienced, you recognize this block as the "Bear's Paw".Press the top unit assembled in step 15 so that the seams go toward the white print strips. Typically, seams are pressed away from light fabrics, not to them, but in this case, we are pressing away from the blocks to lighten the bulk of the seam allowances.
Using the 2.5" strips of the white print, assemble the bottom unit by following the illustration below. Again, be careful to get the correct placement of the direction of the blocks and press toward the white print.
Next, we are going to finish the quilt top by adding the top, middle, and bottom sashing rows. There are several different methods for doing this, so choose your favorite. If you do not have a favorite and need instructions, then continue to step 19. If you use your own method, then refer to the illustration in step 23 to see what the quilt top should resemble at this point.
Measure the distance across the tops and bottoms of EACH green block in the top unit assembled in step 15 above, then cut pieces to these lengths from the 2.5" strips of white print. You should end up with four short strips that fit along the tops and bottoms of these two blocks (top of the left block, top of the right block, bottom of the left block, bottom of the right block). If you need a visual of what this looks like, refer to the illustration in step 23.
Measure the distance across the bottoms of EACH green block in the bottom unit assembled in step 17 above, then cut pieces to these lengths from the 2.5" strips of white print. You should end up with two short strips that fit along the bottoms of these two blocks (bottom of the left block and bottom of the right block). If you need a visual of this, refer to the illustration in step 23.
Using the nine (9) 2.5" squares of the light green that you cut, assemble three rows, with each row looking like this:
Press the seams toward the white print (or whichever direction feels more natural at this point).
It it now time to assemble the top by sewing the sashing strips assembled in step 21 to the top and bottom units. Refer to the illustration below to see how this should look (does it kind of remind you of a four leaf clover?). Be careful with the placement of the rows as you sew. Press in the direction that seems more natural, or if one isn't obvious, then press toward the white print (just to be consistent).
Now, is decision time! As I see it, you have three options to choose from, at this time: A) Layer this top with your backing so that the right side of the top is on top and the right side of the backing is facing down (away from the batting)... in other words, the wrong sides of the top and backing should be facing the batting, then quilt it, and finally finish with a binding, or B) Place the top and the backing right sides together and sew around the edges, being careful to leave enough room to turn it inside out. This method is described in more detail on MQ6 in step 20, or C) Continue with step 25 for an alternate method of finishing this, using the 40 squares that you cut. Whichever way you choose, the end result should still look spectacular!
OPTION: The option that I have in mind is one that is called Prairie Points. These are very easy to make, fairly easy to add to a quilt, yet look fabulous and give the impression that you spent hours making them. So, if you are new to quilting, you may be wondering what Prairie Points are. The best way to tell you is to just show you! Below is a picture of my finished MQ7. It is important to note that I did not use the nine squares in the sashings to form the cornerstones. I used plain sashings. Also, do not look too closely at my HST! This was one of the first wallhangings I designed, back in 1995, and I obviously didn't pay close attention to my layout! :)
Making Prairie Points is simple. Take a single square from your stack of 40. Fold it in half, so that the right sides are on the outside. It is easiest to explain how to do this if you lay the folded square in front of you now with the fold at the top and the raw edges at the bottom. Picking up the right, top corner, fold this corner down until it is flush (even) with the bottom raw edges. Press in place (either with an iron or finger-press). Next, pick up the left, top corner and fold it down so that the corner is flush with the bottom raw edges. Here is what you should now have: A folded triangle, with all of the raw edges at the bottom. If it doesn't resemble a triangle or if all of the raw edges aren't at the bottom, re-read these instructions and try again. In case you need a visual, here's a close-up of a prairie point. Notice that in this quilt, I chose to put the folds in the Prairie Points facing the back of the quilt. I felt there was already enough movement and texture on the front. How you place them is up to you, though.
Repeat step 26 until you have made all 40 Prairie Points.
Press the Prairie Points flat.
Lay your quilt top on a flat surface. Since the top has four sides and you have 40 Prairie Points, then you are going to use 10 Prairie Points for each side, so sort them into stacks of 10 and place the stacks (4 of them) by each side of the top.
Next, we are going to work on one side of the top. It is best to perfect one side, then do the other three, rather than try to tackle all four sides at once. With this in mind, take one stack of 10 Prairie Points and begin laying them on the edge of one side of the top, making sure that the raw edges of the Prairie Points are flush with the raw edge of the top. This may seem backwards, but trust me, it isn't. Now, you're probably wondering, "Well, which direction should the Prairie Points be facing; with the folds showing up or with the folds hidden, facing down?". This really a personal choice and depends on what you want to see from the front side of your quilt. Do you want to see the folds in the Prairie Points from the front? Or do you want them facing the back, so that the Prairie Points look "solid" from the front? The basic rule is this: When you lay the Prairie Points on the right side of the quilt top, raw edges to raw edge, whatever you see facing you is going to end up on the back side of the quilt. Weird, huh? Personal Note: Frankly, I like the folds on the front of my quilts if I want more "texture", so when I lay them out, I make sure that the solid side is up and the folded sides are directly facing the quilt top.
Work with the spacing of the 10 Prairie Points so that they are spaced relatively evenly across the edge of the quilt. Be very careful not to go too far toward the corners, because if you do, the Prairie Point won't have anywhere to go and will look silly. My basic rule for this is: I usually lay a Prairie Point in the corner so that I know where my boundary is. You do not want the Prairie Points to go beyond the edges of the quilt! It is important to note that the Prairie Points will overlap. This is good! How much you overlap them is up to you. In fact, you may decide to either not use all 40 or to add a few more. With more experience, you will discover your preferences for adding these nifty little Prairie Points.
Once you have one side finished, you can do one of three things: A) Pin them in place, B) Use spray adhesive to stick them in place, or C) Baste them in place. I usually choose option A). Whichever you choose, do that at this point, then continue placing the Prairie Points on the other three sides. Personal Note: Once I pin mine in place, I usually quickly baste all the way around the edges of the quilt top, catching the Prairie Points in place. I baste with a large stitch, and sew it at about 1/8". If you do this, be sure to sew with a seam that is less than 1/4", or else it will show when you turn your quilt.
At this point, you should have the Prairie Points attached to the quilt top, so that the quilt top is facing up. Adding Prairie Points, to me, is similar to assembling a pillow top.
Next, lay the backing on top of the quilt top/Prairie Points, so that right side is facing the right side of the quilt top. Line it up carefully. Also, make absolutely sure that each Prairie Point is pointing toward the inside of the quilt! You don't want any hanger-offers! Notice in the picture below how the corners are left alone?
Once you have the backing lined up with the front, then pin it in place, then carefully sew 1/4" around the quilt, being careful to leave an opening large enough to turn the quilt.
Turning the quilt, adding batting, quilting the quilt, and finishing the last seam is described in MQ6, beginning with step 20. If you are not sure how to go about finishing this, please refer to MQ6.
This concludes the construction of MQ7! All that you need to do now is to add a label to the back, then document this little quilt in your quilt journal, and lastly, take a picture and send it to me. :)
Congratulations!!! I hope you enjoyed making this one. As you can see from the finished quilt, you could place the blocks in any direction you want, giving you a different look with each layout.
I loved making this wallhanging. I very rarely hand-quilt, but this one just screamed for it. I used the areas in the large squares to show off a pattern that I found and did some echo quilting in the HST. I have added a few more pictures below to give you a better idea of the overall look and feel of this little quilt.
Use your imagination!
© February 2002, RiverMOO, Inc.
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