Week 6 of the Birch Gnomes Quilt Along has us sewing the rows of the quilt top together!
Now that you’ve completed the rows you made in Week 5, you’ll be able to get started sewing the rows together to complete your quilt top.
Honestly, it won’t take long to sew the rows to each other so if you have a few more blocks to finish off or rows to sew together yet this week yet you’ll still be able to get your quilt top finished off!
Let’s talk about sharing our progress and projects! Post any questions or share pics of your progress on my Fb page! If you have a questions I’m sure others so too so let’s all chat about it in one spot on Fb!!
And…post pictures of your blocks on Instagram! Tag @lakegirlquilts with #birchgnomesqal to be eligible for prizes!!
I’m so excited to be pairing with Fabric Shack for this quilt along! They have donated some really cute Charm Packs for prizes and I’m donating digital quilt patterns! I’ll randomly choose winners at the end of the week!!
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Pin and Sew the Rows Together for Week 6 of the Birch Gnomes Quilt Along!
Pin ROW 1 to ROW 2, pinning all nested seams in place. Sew ROWS 1 and 2 together, removing pins as you come to them. Repeat until all rows are sewn to each other, in order, and the quilt top is completed!
Press the seams connecting each of the rowsupward toward ROW 1.
Or if you’re feeling it, you can press the seams of each row open. Either way is just fine for the smoothness of your quilt top!
Tips and Next Steps for Finishing Your Quilt…
Now that your quilt top is being finished up, the next steps are to get it quilted!!
The first step will be to select fabric for the quilt back and binding. The pattern indicates the yardages of fabrics needed for each of these.
If you’re sending your quilt off to a long-arm quilter you don’t need to worry about basting or quilting your project. Sometimes that’s the easiest route to take to getting your quilt finished up!! Check with your local quilt shop for long-arm quilters in your area!
Basting the Layers of Your Quilt Together
You’ll need a large area to lay out the layers of your quilt. A clean floor or two tables pushed together work well.
You can either spray baste your quilt layers or pin them together with 1 1/2” stainless pins. Place pins around the entire quilt every 4-5 inches so the three layers don’t move around when you’re machine quilting this project. Again, make sure all wrinkles are smoothed out. Adjust basting if needed to remove any wrinkles.
“Quilting” the Quilt
Use whatever free-motion stitch you’d like.
You need a darning foot to free-motion quilt on your domestic sewing machine, and you’ll need to either be able to lower the feed dogs on the machine or place a special cover over them.
If you’re using a straight stitch to machine quilt you’ll need a walking foot to allow the layers to move smoothly through the sewing machine without bunching up. Hand-quilt or tie the quilt to secure the layers together, whichever you prefer.
Binding the Quilt
I’ve got several videos on how to get your quilt layers binded together. View “How to Make an Easy Quilt Binding” to get started!
My second video is “How to Make a Mitered Corner”. View it here!
My last binding video is “How to Connect the Ends of the Binding. View that one here!!
Add a label to the back of your quilt with, at a minimum, your name and the date the quilt was finished! This heirloom will stand the test of time and someday others will want to know who made it and when!
Enjoy your beautiful B I R C H G N O M E S quilt!!!
Share Your Progress!!
Follow lakegirlquilts on Instagram! Post a pic of your quilt top to Instagram! Mention @lakegirlquilts and use #birchgnomesqal to be eligible to win prizes for Week 2!
Follow the lakegirlquilts page on Facebook! We can all chat about the Birch Gnomes QAL there!! Folks can post questions and I’ll answer them for everyone. If you’re wondering about something it’s likely someone else is too!! And, you can also email me a question if you’d prefer.
I hope you’ve enjoyed participating in the Birch Gnomes Quilt Along. Make sure to view all the videos and refer to all the posts again if you need to. And they’ll be available whenever you need them!
