Last post of 2019

Looking over my posting history, the first year I had this blog, I had posted 24 posts during the year, and not that much since then, except in 2017 with 40!

Just to have 24 posts for 2019, along with a resolution to post every 2 weeks in 2020 - I needed one more post:

Patience, a definition

Patience is a noun but sometimes you need a verb - what to do while being patient!

I prayed on it and got the answer:

Patience = Productive Preparation

To Illustrate the Construction Process of a Quilt

The first post of this quilt is in "Older Posts" below.

You have designed a quilt and made a worksheet.
 Now you want to illustrate how you constructed your quilt.

You can take an image that is drawn and colored on graph paper,
         copy it several times to have images to cut apart
         and paste down to a new piece of paper - or

You can save your image as a metafile (.EMF or .WMF), and
do it digitally.

I use Windows 10, thus save as .EMF - Mac users will save as WMF - 
                       I believe, correct me if I'm wrong. 
I work in Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, but it can be with most photo editing
software, thus I will use the language of that program:

            visual-integrity.com provided me with instructions.

Select the image; right click; save as; and choose the file format
you will work in.

Once your image can be edited (i.e. bits are broken apart and
can be moved around, copied and pasted) you will open it in
your photo editing software.

I place the image on one artboard, then open another artboard
to hold the bits. When I have some of the bits put together,
(showing the construction of bits that will be joined and
made more than once) I can select those bits and "group"
them together, so they can be used as a single unit.

An image being edited. The grey units represent white in the quilt.
The background being white, I needed a contrasting color so it
would show up. The yellow square indicates a unit that has
been moved, for illustration purposes only.

The two parts of a half square triangle have not yet
been joined up, but have been moved to the
new page. The Corner Unit and Star unit
have been joined and grouped.

The Red Border indicates a unit of 3 that can be cut as 1,
saving time and fabric.

Now that you know just a little of all the work that goes into 

creating a pattern, you really won't mind spending all that money on 

a pattern someone has published, will you?

Drafting for the Creative Quilter, by Sally Collins - a Book Review

Front Cover

Drafting for the Creative Quilter

Author, Sally Collins

© 2010 by Sally Collins

Back Cover

C & T Publishing
















Anyone who ever wanted to design their own quilts would benefit
from having Drafting for the Creative Quilter in their library.

Sally approaches drafting from the standpoint of graph paper, aka cross
section paper, pencils, rulers, and other drawing tools. However,
it is a simple transition to drafting digitally in a drawing or quilt
program.

For her beautiful 36" Sedona shown on the back cover, Sally begins
with a classic: Carpenters Wheel. The Lemoyne Star is another of
her choices for creating new blocks from old patterns.

I have been drafting since taking a mechanical/architectural drawing
course in high school - 1961-62. Even so, Sally's instruction has
answered many questions regarding drafting quilt patterns, and enables
me to draw many geometric quilt patterns I see.

The book does not take the place of purchasing a quilt pattern, however.
There is much more to a good published pattern than the picture
of the quilt.

Colonial Comfort

Colonial Comfort

While learning to weave on a floor loom, I was introduced to
Colonial Overshot weaving and loved the geometric simplicity
and the use of only two colors: white linen, and navy blue wool.

It had long been a goal to design a quilt that expressed those
qualities, but was something that lay in the back of my mind.

Putting my blocks "On Point" was the final piece to the puzzle
when I drew my quilt with graph paper and pencil. The design
has more to be done to finesse it - but this is a start. There is no
pattern published as yet - perhaps in the future - meanwhile
if you wish you may take the idea and run with it, provided
that I am given credit for the original drawing, and you do
not sell any reproduction, or publication for profit of my design.

Fire Blossom

This is a quilt I designed in EQ 8 (a new toy). I use Microsoft Excel to plan patterns for folks who don't have EQ 8. My spreadsheet in Excel gets a screen print for sharing. I like the visual "recipe" for the quilt: no shipping, no downloads. The size of the pattern can be changed with borders, or by changing the size of the finished square. Remember that a 3" square is cut 3.5" for a quarter inch seam allowance. How much fabric to buy? Sorry - do the math. Here's how: Divide the width of the fabric by 3.5" to find how many blocks you get out of each strip. Half square triangles require more fabric than a simple square. If paper piecing the HSTs, I print squares on art pad tracing papers that are cut down to 8.5 x 11, and print them on my home printer.

See also at https://www.bloglovin.com/@elainerutledge/fire-blossom

Designing A Quilt Plan Worksheet

To Make a worksheet

Sunday, December 15, 2019 9:02 AM

Open quilt in EQ 8

Select file/Export Marquee Selection/Copy to Windows Clipboard

Open a prepared Excel Spreadsheet - columns and rows make squares.

Paste the image of the quilt, and size it so the size of the rows match the size of the rows in the spreadsheet.
Go back to the EQ 8.

 Enlarge the quilt to make it easier to see and drag the marquee around the blocks. 

To see exactly which fabrics are used in the current quilt variation, print the yardage page for the printout.

Make a marquee selection of a block and paste it to the Block Count Section to the right of the quilt. 

Adjust the size to fit the square in the spreadsheet. It is easier to make it oversize, and adjust it smaller.

In the case of a half square triangle: do each color combination, but not each block rotation.

Repeat for each block - placing a sample of a block in the header row

With each block represented in the Block Count Section, as illustrated, refine the formatting of the spreadsheet. Count each block in the row.

1. 1. Confirmation that the row is accurate
2. 2. Quilt
3. 3. Block Count Section
4. 4. Auto Sum of Total in Row

NOTE: if you discover an error in the quilt, or the coloring of the blocks - return to quilt in EQ 8, fix the error, make a new marquee selection, copied to the Windows clipboard. Go back to Excel and delete the existing quilt image. Paste and size the corrected quilt image. For example: See the block within

the black rectangle on the illustration.

The Worksheet gives me the assurance of accuracy, and the exact numbers of each block needed in the quilt to allow me

to calculate the number of strips to cut , and the number of blocks to make.

My New Chair Side Hand Sewing Station

A purchased hat box, and a re-purposed table base, it stands 24" high 

and sits next to my favorite chair for having my hand sewing supplies

ready to use.

The lid has a pocket for my pattern.

This is the hat box, empty - showing the plywood stabilizer.

Here it is filled with a current project.

Scrap wood, dowels, an empty spool, tubing, and Epoxy 

were used to make a caddy.

This is the empty spool before drilling, and gluing.

The cardboard hatbox will be replaced with 

a wooden cheese box

that will be sanded, lined and finished.

But - I couldn't wait to use it!

It is a copy of one I bought at an

Arts and Crafts Fair in the 1980s, 

and lost in a move.

How to Sew by Hand

• Thread the needle

If you thread the needle before cutting the thread, 

you know you have the twist of the thread going in the right direction.
The cut end is where you would have a knot, if you had a knot.

• Cut the thread but do not knot it.

A knot is a bump that is subject to friction, and can be worn away.

Instead, take 3 teeny tiny stitches in one spot.

If you plan to remove the thread, for basting: you may knot it 

and enter the fabric a little ways away from where you start to stitch.

A basting stitch is by nature easy to remove.

If I am doing hand appliqué, I bury the end of my thread 

in between the appliqué and the foundation fabric.

My friend Malgorzata J Jenek made the video on hand sewing.

She is a delightful lady in Germany.

Her Etsy Shop is:MJJenekdesigns

• While you sew, the thread becomes twisted. It may look like this:

The solution is to twist the needle between your thumb and finger

 til the thread relaxes and lays straight.

• Finish off with 3 tiny stitches, and either cut the the thread, or bury it, then cut.

Happy Stitching!

By the way: the appliqué pattern I am stitching is from Connie Sue Haidle,
of  ABQConnieSue.

My Preferred Method

For making a Circular Patch

I make 4 "Drunkards Path" blocks at a time using the following method.

To determine the size of the block, including seam allowances:

• Find the radius of the circle. If your Drunkards Path Block is illustrated in actual size, you can find the radius by measuring from the curved line of the circle to the center. It may look like the illustration below from Patterns From History  The diameter of the circle is two times the radius. To draw the circle with a compass, you will set the pencil point the same distance from the compass needle as the radius because the compass is measuring the circle from the center.

Solomon's Puzzle Quilt Block Pattern

Note that the curved line of the entire circle is called the diameter.

To Make 1/4th of the circle:

• Cut out the paper pattern and remove the seam allowance along the curve of one piece.
• Attach the two pieces with glue or tape, making sure the outside edges match.

• Make 4 to have a pattern for a complete circle and glue or tape them together matching up the cutting lines of the blocks.

Note that the circle is not a true circle, due to the seam allowances for the Drunkard's Path Blocks.
In order to have a true circle you would remove the seam allowances within the the block.

An easier way to make a simple circle in a square

 is to draw a circle the diameter you want

within a square that is any size you wish and add seam allowance.

How to sew the circle block? 

• The stitching line of the circle is basted, cut out, and the seam allowances are clipped.
• Lay the circle fabric (in this case, white) on the foundation fabric (tan) and pin.
• With the sewing machine set to the blind hem stitch and presser foot: Baste the circle down onto the foundation fabric. Only catch the circle fabric edge with the blind hem stitch.
• Lift the circle fabric. Remove the basting thread that marked the stitching line. Your guide will now be the dots that are visible from the blind hem stitch.
• Machine stitch the circle, using the dots, and pressing crease as your guide.
• Remove all basting and press.
• 
  

  

  The finished Circle in a Square

Another way To make

 a Split Leaf Appliqué

This is posted in support of Connie Sue Haidle's
instructions for QuikPrep Appliqué™

Connie Sue teaches through her YouTube videos
and her closed FaceBook

group titled Apple Blossom Quilts Group.

To draw the template  you will need:

1. Compass: Speeed Bow from Pacific Arc is optional*
2. Cardstock: 12" X 12" allows for extending division lines.
3. Protractor:  Used to divide the circle into 8 sections
4. Pencil or pen

*Pacific Arc Speed Bow Compass is available from: Pacific Arc. 

The deluxe set is under $20.

Two Templates are drawn as one, and cut apart:

Draw a circle the diameter you need on cardstock 

1. Divide the circle into 8 equal parts using a protactor.
2. Divide the circle in half with a line.
3. To one half, add 1/4" seam allowance to the concave curve.
4. To the other half, add 1/4" seam allowance to the convex curve.
5. Cut on the solid lines to make the template. The dashed line is the stitching line.
6. Place the template on a fabric square and draw the cutting line.

To Make the Fabric Patch:

• Cut two pieces of contrasting fabric, using each of the templates. 

          Size should be about 2 inches wider and longer than finished leaf.

• Clip the seam allowance of the concave curve, near but not on the stitching line. You may wish to draw your seam line on the fabric with chalk.
• Pin the two pieces together matching division marks. 

     The piece on the bottom will be flat, while the piece facing you will have  folds radiating from the stitching line, and the seam allowance will spread where clipped.

Stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance and a 1.8 length stitch.

Finish the Patch

1. Press the patch flat.
2. Trim one seam allowance slightly smaller than the other to reduce bulk.

Apply the Patch to the Background

and make the QuikPrep™ Stitch

A pin at the beginning and end of the split leaf seam 

on the pattern 

will indicate the placement of the fabric patch.

Vogue 9167 Misses

A Basic Princess Line Pattern

with options for A, B, C, and D Cup sizes

Those who know  me know that I normally avoid

using an American made commercial pattern.

This may be the exception.  

Notice that it has different sizing for the different size bra cups!

Inspiration from St. John, V.I.

The Virgin Islands are beautiful, but none more so than Cruz Bay, St. John.

My linen wardrobe was ideal.

I've heard of blocking knits,

 but why block woven linen?

I wanted my linen fabric stretched before cutting. 

I cut a piece of brown packing paper as wide as my fabric,

and as long as the amount I needed to cut on the bias.

This is my template. The corners are no longer 

90° - but are 75° in the acute angle.

I covered it with contact paper to protect it from moisture.

I used 5.3 oz. 46/37 tpi linen - which is 

a medium weight, not tightly woven cloth.

The linen was wetted with a spray water bottle, 

and laid on my template.

I smoothed with the palms of my hands

til the fabric lay along the template edges.

Wet linen relaxes and expands; as it dries

it contracts, so pinning is not recommended,

unless you only pin one side of the cut edge

and one side of the selvedge.

Resources for People Who Sew Clothing

I have spent so much time researching to find solutions

to fitting problems I've been having. Fitting was so easy for 

me when I had the person to be fitted in front of me. 

Now that person is me.

The quest has been fruitful, and I want to 

share with you

the very best of what I have found!

The Fashion Incubator

You really only need this if you intend to work 

in the industry. 

I am retired, I don't need it - but like

attending a reunion of army buddies

I joined for the war stories.

Perfect Fitting

A book written by 

Sarah Veblen

It's the best I have ever seen on the subject.

I bought Kenneth D. King's book, 

but Sarah's is more useful.

Like Kenneth's book, Sarah uses real

people as models, and real situations.

But she takes it further and includes more fitting challenges.

Isn't That Sew

A blog by Ruth Reyes-Loiacano

Ruth is a young entrepreneur in the U.S. world.

She offers pattern blocks and a variety of 

instructional videos.

  Silhouette Patterns

and Fit2Sew PBS show with Peggy Sager

Peggy is a pattern maker, and sewing instructor who 

has excellent videos.

I give all of the above 

The Perfect Bias Cut Linen Shell

Full Bust Adjustment

My favorite summer top of all time is a bias-cut shell,

from the September 1999 issue of Burda magazine, style 111.

When I first made it, around 10 years ago,

 using light-weight linen, the possibility

of having firm, durable fabric

that molds itself to my body was an epiphany.

It pulls on over the head, eliminating any buttons or zips

 and looks good with any shirt I wear open over it.

I’ve since made blouses with sleeves

cut on the bias in linen with similar success.

My body has changed considerably 10 years. 

I noticed the hem getting shorter with the end 

of the dart way above my bust. It was time

to alter the pattern and make a bunch

 of them in different colors.

To understand above-the-waist darts, 

be aware that darts pivot from the largest point of the upper torso.

 This translates to the bust apex on most people. 

Other body types, pregnancy or a medical condition may cause 

the stomach to protrude more than the bust, 

requiring a different procedure for altering the pattern.

My formula for adjusting for a full bust is:

Body Measurement Plus Ease 

Minus Pattern Measurement = Amount to Add

The basic parameters are: Linen fabric - Bias Cut

This procedure may not be suitable for other fabrics

 or straight of grain cutting. 

It might work, I just have not tried it.

I will have established the pattern shoulder ends

 at 7-5/8” from center front.

My body measures 7-1/2” – 

an acceptable difference – no change.

Apex of the bust is 4-1/2” from center front, and 11-1/2” 

from mid shoulder.

It’s indicated by the small cross labeled AB. 

The Apex Line is drawn perpendicular to the center front line.

The shell is often worn under a shirt or cardigan and the

bias cut provides flexibility; therefore,

 I will allow only 1” wearing ease.

My bust: 43” plus ease = 44”

Figure 1. Shell Pattern ready to alter 

Horizontal lines from top: 

Center Front to Shoulder Joint, Apex and Waist

Side seam lines are only drawn from the waist

 to the hem and the underarm to the apex line.

Calculate:

Pattern back width*        21.25

 Plus Apex to Apex           9.00

Total                                30.25

My bust: 42" or 43” (depending on the day) plus ease.

Needed:                    44.00

Less:                         30.25  

Total                         13.75”

13-3/4” divided by 2 = 6-7/8”

Pattern front from apex to side is 6”.

I need to add approximately 1".

 and I spread my pattern by that amount.

Slash from hem to apex line, up to but not through the armhole.

Slash on the the apex line from the side to, but not through the apex.

The dart legs, that have opened by spreading, measure 1-1/8”

I made sure the legs of the dart are equal length.

I covered the dart with clean paper on the illustration,

but made my adjustments on the tracing paper

and drew the new lines on the illustration. 

The post of Wednesday, June 26 covers 

folding in the dart.

I'll end the dart with the point 3” from my bust apex.

You will need to determine where your side bust dart will end.

Consider a cone, if you start sewing at the widest part, 

it ends at the point of the cone, which lies somewhere

between the side seam, and the apex of your bust.

Sarah Veblen explains how to find 

where your dart should end in the 

Q & A section of ThreadsMagazine, issue 181,

 Oct/Nov 2015 (Threads Archive 1985 – 2018). 

I extend my apex line, and make a new dart

that is balanced on the apex line.

The pattern is folded from the new dart end to the hem.

The dart is folded closed with the upper half  
of the dart folded down.

The pattern is smoothed flat putting a fold from the

dart end to the shoulder.

The side seam line is drawn, connecting the line

from the underarm to the waist.

Now to cut it out and sew it up…

Back in a bit to report the results!

Nico - Moving the dart for Women of a Certain Age

The Naked Nico

A delightful pattern from 

fabrics-store.com

This technical rendition of the front of the Nico pattern

shows how the darts are on the diagonal, starting at the bust 

and ending just above the waist. 

The diagonal front dart is very flattering in most cases.

However, I don't like ironing. 

When my dress comes from the

dryer, the darts are puckered, because they are cut on

neither the straight grain, nor the

true bias. Only ironing or heavy handed 

finger pressing smooths them out.

To fix the problem, I want my darts on the true bias, 

meaning they are balanced, and the darts legs

(the dart seam-line)

are both the same angle.

I also have other problems - such as a large bra cup size,

 and saggy boobs. It happens at my age. The Saggy

Boob Club has a lot of members, and we don't 

want a spotlight on it. When that particular

characteristic blends into the whole body image, 

we can maintain the dignity only achieved

by reaching a beautiful old age. 

But here, I will address one thing at a time:

First, move the dart. To do that, we must find 

where the dart needs to be.

The singular purpose of a dart is to provide shaping 

to allow fitting the highest point.

Therefore that point is referred to as the Apex, 

and is often, not always, the location of the nipple.

It is the highest point of the bust 

whether shaped like a cone

or a balloon.

That point established, darts 

on the front of  a garment from the

neck to the waist all radiate from those 2 points:

The high point of each breast, the Apex.

I measured with the tape on my bra strap, 

from my shoulder to my apex: 11.5" and drew

a line perpendicular to the center front.

Then I measured the distance between

 the apex of each breast, the apex width: 9"

and marked the half pattern 4.5" from center front.

The dart point lies between the side seam and the apex.

That point is addressed in the next post.

Step one: Using 20 lb Bond Plotter Paper 

(sold through Amazon)

I traced my one half the pattern 

(from center front), and drew the dart seam lines, 

removed all seam allowance, and cut it out, removing

the paper within the dart (the dart gap).

Step 2:  Isolate the placement of the dart, 

and indicate the correct placement.

The red lines have the dart in a box. 

Where the green horizontal line meets 

the green vertical line is within one-fourth 

inch of my personal bust apex.

Horizontal lines have been drawn 

90 degrees from the center front.

Vertical lines are parallel to the center front.

Step 3: Cut out the box containing the original 

dart and shift it down till the red horizontal 

line meets the green horizontal line.

I have extended my green apex line to make it easier to line up. 

The dart has shifted down, but the box remains parallel 

to the center front. 

Step 4: Tape the dart box in position, and tape a paper scrap

in the open space above the dart. Draw fold line #1

from the dart point to the hem. Fold on that line.

Step 5: With pattern folded on line #1, close the dart, 

and crease the pattern where it folds to lie flat - #2.

It has been drawn only to indicate the approximate location.

This illustrates how the pattern looks with the dart closed, 

and the seam line corrected.

Step 6: Open the pattern and trace it again on a clean sheet of paper

that is wide enough to draw both halves, to make 

a complete front pattern for laying on the bias.

You only need the seam lines, notches and open dart 

if lowering the dart was all you needed. 

Now I know where I want the dart  - I will move it from

the diagonal to be centered on the apex line.