Binding and Adding Finishing Touches

The last stage of my quilt was to bind all of the fabric together. I first used a sewing machine to attach the binding material to the top of my quilt. Once the material was sewn to the top layer of my quilt, my mentor and I rolled and pinned the material to the back layer of the quilt. Then I had to hand stitch the binding material to the bottom layer of the quilt. After I completed my stitches, we tied the thread off. After cleaning the quilt and cutting off loose strings, I ironed it. My quilt was then completed. I plan to mail the quilt to my adopted solider sometime during the summer.

Quilting the Stars

In this stage of my quilting process, I quilted stars in all of the middle squares of each block. I first had to trace the stars using a template and a pencil. Once my stars were traced, I had to thread a needle and quilt the stars. I quilted a total of twelve stars. The picture shown displays me quilting a star in one of the middle squares. This stage was the most challenging for me. It was hard because I had to sew by hand. In addition, I had to make sure all of my stitches went through all three layers of fabric.

Making the Sandwich

In the second stage of my quilting process I made the ‘sandwich.’ The ‘sandwich’ refers to quilting all three layers of fabric together. The three fabrics consist of the twelve block top, batting, and the backing. I first pinned all three fabrics together. Then I quilted box knots in all of the corners of the blocks. After quilting the knots, I cut them even with one another. The ‘sandwich’ was then complete and I had all the layers of my quilt together.

Cutting the Squares and Creating my Blocks

I began my quilting process by cutting out all of the squares for my twelve blocks. Each block consists of nine squares. I cut each square using a rotary cutter and a quilting mat. Each square was cut three and one-fourth inches by three and one-fourth inches. Once I had cut out all of my squares, I began to sew them into blocks using a sewing machine. After sewing the squares together to make the blocks, I sewed a border around them to link them together. The picture that is featured shows my mentor teaching me how to cut the squares using a rotary cutter.