Patent Grant
12049718
The embodiments disclosed herein relate to apparatuses and methods for constructing layered textiles and specifically to apparatuses and methods for constructing quilts using fabrics.
Sometimes people who are not skilled in the art of quilt making wish to make a commemorative quilt. Often they intend to use “feature fabrics” which are pieces of cloth (often sentimental) such as old t-shirts, baby clothes or even a combination of small pieces of fabric sewn together. Without additional processing, these fabrics are usually unsuitable for quilts as they frequently have low-intrafabric stability by structure. Knits and t-shirt material are examples of fabrics with low-intrafabric stability. Fabrics vary in their inherent ability to stretch. Woven fabric typically stretches little (high-intrafabric stability), while knitted fabric typically stretches much more than a woven fabric (low intrafabric stability). We will refer to this ability for a fabric to stretch as “intrafabric stability” i.e. the ability of a fabric to be displaced relative to itself.
Occasionally, woven fabrics, which would normally be considered to have high intrafabric stability, may be unsuitable for quilt making because the pieces are so small they cannot be cut following a grain line, or they have deteriorated due to age. The most widely accepted way to control the undesirable characteristics of low-intrafabric stability when using them in a quilt is to apply a woven fusible “stabilizer” to reduce instability and fabric distortion. Products falling into the woven fusible category are currently costly (averaging two to three times the cost of material sold for quilt fabric because they are sold in widths ½ of the width of the average fabric). The stiffness introduced when using multiple layers of fusible stabilizer, as well as extra time and cost often makes it undesirable to do anything with the undecorated area of the sentimental textile but discard it.
Commemorative quilts typically are constructed after a collection of feature fabric can be acquired. This can take years. Keeping track of all that material can discourage a person from making a commemorative quilt. Quilting, by definition, involves the stitching together of multiple layers of fabric. The layers must be kept horizontally registered while stitching for a desirable outcome. However, the process of stitching itself causes layers to slide relative to each other. We refer to this tendency as “interfabric stability” i.e. the tendency of a layer of fabric to be displaced relative to another layer.
Quilts can vary in size. Only a small portion of a large quilt can be sewn at one time without special equipment, and this area will be defined as the “working area” of a quilt.
Interfabric stability is significantly impacted, particularly when using a fabric with a low degree of intrafabric stability, by the weight of any fabric outside the working area when the quilt is not constrained by a mechanism that reduces the force of gravity on the layers of the quilt in the working area. Once stitches are applied to the working area they will maintain any distortion that may have been caused by the impact of gravity and the pulling of any parts of the quilt not constrained during the application of stitches. Hand-basting and pinning are the most frequently used methods of maintaining interfabric stability in the working area of a quilt. These methods require a lot of time. Hoops may also be used to maintain interfabric stability between quilt layers but it is difficult to install all of the layers of a quilt into a hoop, and this method requires frequent repositioning of the hoop.
“Pad stitching” refers to stitches positioned through and permanently holding all layers of material in a quilt together. Pad stitching is visible, can be decorative and is used to promote interfabric stability during regular use and washing of a quilt. There are three basic methods of pad stitching. “Pad-stitching by hand” is the easiest to demonstrate and understand but it is difficult for beginners to produce attractive results and the most time-consuming way to address interfabric instability. Another method of pad stitching is done using a sewing machine, with stitches applied without constraints on the fabric. This pad stitching, which will be labeled “machine pad-stitching,” maintains interfabric stability by use of a mechanism known as a walking foot, which coordinates the movement of the top layer of fabric with the lower layer. This way of pad-stitching is intended to sew straight lines or gentle curves. It produces the best results when the quilt layers are supported in the working area by means of expansion of the “machine bed” (the area of a home sewing machine that supports the fabric as it is sewn). To reduce the impact of gravity on the working area a device known as an extension table may be installed. The cost of an extension table and walking foot, as well as the limited pathway of stitches, may discourage an incidental quilt maker from choosing this method of pad-stitching.
“Stippling,” a more fluid way of pad stitching using a home sewing machine, is done by disengaging the sewing machine's lower feed mechanism and moving the fabric by hand underneath the needle of the sewing machine as stitches are formed. When stippling the pressure mechanism that usually holds the fabric on the machine bed (the pressure foot) is either discarded or replaced with a foot that does not apply constant downward pressure on the fabric as it is sewn. When using a general purpose, household sewing machine, stippling is fast, accessible, easy to learn, and, if the stitches follow a free-form path, is difficult to do incorrectly. A challenge to stippling using a household machine relates to problems with moving layers of a very large project while trying to maintain intrafabric stability. With large quilts there is a lot of material hanging off the bed of a household sewing machine which could be pulled out of alignment and even distort the area of the quilt in the working area. Some methods of making a quilt explored by a casual quiltmaker require that individual quilt blocks be joined by hand-stitching. This is rarely fast and often produces an unsatisfactory result in terms of appearance since takes a lot of practice to produce stitches of consistent width and distance.
Casual quilt makers who wish to make a commemorative quilt will often construct the front and then find a company or person with a quilting business to install the back. This adds an additional cost ranging on one website from $75.00 to $100.00 for a 5′×7′ quilt.
Accordingly, there is a need for new or improved systems and methods of constructing quilts.
Systems, methods and devices for constructing a quilt from a plurality of quilt blocks are described herein.
According to one broad aspect, a device for constructing a quilt from a plurality of quilt blocks is described herein. The device includes a flat body having a front planar surface and a rear planar surface that contacts a fabric when in use, the flat body including: a back/sash template for measuring and cutting a back piece of each quilt block; and a centering guide for indicating where quilt blocks in different rows of the quilt will align.
In some embodiments, the centering guide includes a joining guide positioned along a center axis of the device.
In some embodiments, the joining guide includes two or more apertures of equal size.
In some embodiments, the apertures are spaced apart from each other by a distance in a range of about 0.02 inches to about 0.5 inches apart.
In some embodiments, the two or more apertures include a top dot for installing marks indicating the beginning and end of stitch lines when joining two or more of the quilt blocks together.
In some embodiments, the top dot is positioned on the device to align quilt blocks with one another.
In some embodiments, the joining guide includes five apertures aligned along the center axis of the device.
In some embodiments, the centering guide includes centering placement guides positioned on either side of the joining guides.
In some embodiments, the centering placement guides include a first group of centering placement guides and a second group of centering placement guides, the first group and the second group being positioned on opposite sides of a center axis of the device.
In some embodiments, each centering placement guide of the first group of centering placement guides has a corresponding centering placement guide in the second group of centering placement guides.
In some embodiments, the first group of centering placement guides includes a plurality of line segments, each line segment being positioned in a range of about 0.02 inches to about 0.75 inches apart from a neighboring line segment.
In some embodiments, the second group of centering placement guides includes a plurality of line segments, each line segment being positioned in a range of about 0.02 inches to about 0.75 inches apart from a neighboring line segment.
In some embodiments, the centering guide is positioned towards in an upper portion of the device.
In some embodiments, the device also includes a co-ordinating stabilizer template for measuring and cutting a stabilizer piece for inserting into each quilt block.
In some embodiments, the device also includes stitch placement guides that indicate where stitches will be placed to join the quilt blocks to one another.
In some embodiments, the stitch placement guides are dashed lines.
In some embodiments, the device also includes channels to provide for marking stitching lines on the fabric.
In some embodiments, each of the quilt blocks has an equiangular shape.
In some embodiments, each of the quilt blocks has a same equiangular shape.
According to another broad aspect, a method of constructing a quilt from from a plurality of quilt blocks is described herein. The method includes using a device for constructing a quilt from a plurality of quilt blocks as described herein.
In some embodiments, a set of templates to determine and/or cut and the parts used to make the back of quilt blocks is described herein. It has a centering guide to help join the quilt blocks together with a sewing machine and requires minimal hand-sewing. Much of the sewing is internal, so many stitches will not be visible when the quilt is complete, making it easier to hide any stitching inconsistencies.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure addresses problems encountered when using fabrics with low-intrafabric stability to construct a quilt by stabilizing the back of the quilt as opposed to the traditional approach of stabilizing the front of the quilt. In this disclosure, if the front of the quilt requires stabilization, it will be addressed by stippling.
Because only the back of each quilt block requires stabilization, the methods described herein generally do not add any significant time when constructing a quilt using fabrics with low-intrafabric stability for both the front and the back of the quilt.
Because the back fabric is stabilized, fabric that was previously considered unsuitable for a quilt back and discarded (such as the back of t-shirts) is available for constructing the back of a quilt block. This saves money and time shopping for coordinating textiles to use when making the quilt-back.
In some embodiments, methods described herein provide a way to install new quilt blocks as feature fabrics are acquired. A quilt can be “finished,” and with the removal of a few stitches per block; more quilt blocks can be sewn to the existing quilt without any distinct inconsistencies in the quilt.
In some embodiments, the systems, methods and devices described herein address problems with interfabric stability when pad-stitching. Because the quilt blocks are relatively small, and because the stabilized back acts like an extension table to reduce the impact of gravity on each quilt block, the installation of pad-stitching is simplified.
In some embodiments, the systems, methods and devices described herein install the back of the quilt as part of the process of making a quilt block, eliminating the need for professional assistance to complete a quilt. Using the methods described herein, as the quilt backs are constructed, they are lined by the stabilizer.
In some embodiments, the back/sash template and coordinating stabilizer templates described herein are designed to work together to introduce favoring and eliminate the possibility of the lining/stabilizer being visible when the quilt is complete. In this present disclosure, favoring is automatic, and no trimming or easing is required.
In some embodiments, because the devices described herein use a centering guide to indicate where the quilt blocks will align (as opposed to the traditional method of using the edge of fabric) the quilt can be made with quilt blocks alternating between front-up and front-down, producing a reversible quilt. An alternative reversible quilt can be made by substituting a featured fabric for the back/sash part of the quilt and using one for the front as well.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides for fabric to be left at the tip of the beveled edge, eliminating trimming of the point, and allowing the layers of the quilt to be flat after construction with no weakening of a seam. Leaving the fabric at the tip of the beveled edge is important because it anticipates a quilt maker will expose the tip of the beveled edge if they wish to add more blocks to a “finished” quilt.
In some embodiments, the centering guide provides an opportunity to install multiple marks which direct the placement of temporary stays (e.g., basting or pins) when joining quilt blocks to one another. On certain applications using more than one mark to position temporary stays results in more uniform appearing sashes in the finished quilt. The multiple temporary stays accomplish this by guiding the quilt maker to join quilt blocks to one another without lining up the long edges of the quilt blocks when they are sewn together. Using long edges to align quilt blocks is a problem because inconsistencies in quilt blocks' shapes often lead to pulling or coaxing extra material away from the long edges of quilt blocks as a quilt maker aligns one quilt block's long edges to the long edges of another quilt block. When fabric of the quilt block is manipulated as described the unsewn portion of the quilt blocks being joined together becomes distorted. Small inconsistencies are compounded as more quilt blocks are added. Temporarily holding the quilt blocks together along the center of a beveled edge reduces pulling and distortion of the parts of the quilt block which are not being sewn together. Using this technique also provides an opportunity to install quilt blocks with different width sashes in the same quilt.
Other aspects and features will become apparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon review of the following description of some exemplary embodiments.
The drawings included herewith are for illustrating various examples of articles, methods, and apparatuses of the present specification. In the drawings:
Various apparatuses, methods and compositions are described below to provide an example of an embodiment of each claimed invention. No embodiment described below limits any claimed invention and any claimed invention may cover apparatuses and methods that differ from those described below. The claimed inventions are not limited to apparatuses, methods and compositions having all of the features of any one apparatus, method or composition described below or to features common to multiple or all of the apparatuses, methods or compositions described below. It is possible that an apparatus, method or composition described below is not an embodiment of any claimed invention. Any invention disclosed in an apparatus, method or composition described below that is not claimed in this document may be the subject matter of another protective instrument, for example, a continuing patent application, and the applicant(s), inventor(s) and/or owner(s) do not intend to abandon, disclaim, or dedicate to the public any such invention by its disclosure in this document.
Furthermore, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the example embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the example embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the example embodiments described herein. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the example embodiments described herein.
The terms “an embodiment,” “embodiment,” “embodiments,” “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the present invention(s)”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
The terms “including”, “comprising”, and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. A listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a”, “an”, and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
The present disclosure describes that the sash/back of a quilt block is lined with a stabilizing material and turned right side out. Unless a quilt maker anticipates this procedure, the lining/stabilizing material will be pulled toward the front and visible after construction. This is a problem because it results in the construction of the quilt appearing sloppy. The tendency for a lining to pull to the outside of a product can be addressed by favoring the back/sash piece of fabric. Favoring, in its recognized form, requires extra work (e.g. trimming and easing). When fabric is sewn to form a beveled edge it is a common practice to cut and remove fabric at the tip of the bevel to permit the completed seam to lay flat. This extra step causes a weakness in the part of the seam where the fabric is removed.
Herein, a “quilt block” refers to a single part of a quilt that includes a front and a back and, frequently, batting therebetween. Quilt blocks are joined together to form a quilt.
Herein, the term “equiangular” describes a form or shape having all equal angles.
Herein, the term “initial geometry” describes an equiangular shape that is chosen to be the desired shape of a quilt block.
Herein, when line segments meet at an angle, and are copied and offset, any line outer points that are positioned perpendicular to the intersection of line segments forming said angle are designated “LAP.”
Further to the above, the term “initial angle” is a small portion of the initial geometry that includes two line segments measuring between ¼″ and 24″ long, meeting at an intersection that forms an angle equal to the initial geometry's angles.
“Line outer points” are the ends of line segments that are not intersecting any other line segment to form an angle. “Outer geometry” describes any area where line segments that meet at an angle are copied and positioned parallel to said angle. If the copied line segments were continued to the intersection of one another, and the resulting lines segments would be longer than the ones copied, they are positioned in the outer geometry.
“Inner geometry” describes any area where line segments that meet at an angle are copied and positioned parallel to said angle. If the copied line segments were reduced to the intersection of one another, and the resulting lines segments would be shorter than the ones copied, they are positioned in the inner geometry.
For the purposes of this disclosure, any line outer points that, after being offset, are positioned perpendicular to the intersection of line segments forming said angle are designated “LAP.”
A “beveled angle” describes two line segments of equal length that intersect at an angle which is determined by doubling the degrees of the initial angle and using this result to determine the angle line segments meet to form the beveled angle (e.g., a sixty-degree initial angle would have a beveled angle of one-hundred twenty degrees).
A “beveled edge” is the shape formed by one or two lines segments which bridge two line segments at their LAPs. Herein, the beveled edge will be determined by altering the beveled angle in the following ways:
1) If the beveled angle is a straight line it will become a slight angle. Using a horizontally positioned beveled angle, locate the center of the line, (or the intersection of the line segments) and place a point “P” perpendicular to the center and above the center of the line. The distance the “P” is placed above the center can vary by 0.02″ to 0.5″ and is determined by the thickness of the material used to make the quilt blocks. The beveled edge is established by attaching the line outer points of the beveled angle (in this case the beveled angle is a straight line) to “P.”
2) If the beveled angle is derived from a triangle a beveled edge is formed by positioning a new point or “P” in the outer geometry of the beveled angle. Point P is positioned along an imaginary line that bisects and extends past the intersection of the beveled angle into the outer geometry. The distance point P is positioned from the intersection of the beveled angle can vary by 0.02″ to 0.5″ and is determined by the thickness of the material used to make the quilt blocks. The beveled edge is established by attaching to the line outer points of the beveled angle to point “P”.
3) If the beveled angle is not derived from a triangle a beveled edge is formed by positioning a new point or “P” in the inner geometry of the beveled angle. Point P is positioned along an imaginary line that bisects the beveled angle. The distance new point P is positioned from the intersection of the beveled angle can vary by 0.02″ to 0.5″ and is determined by the thickness of the material used to make the quilt blocks. The beveled edge is established by attaching the line outer points of the beveled angle to point “P”.
When material for the quilt back is cut, beveled edge refers to the part of the cut goods which was derived from the beveled edges of templates.
The “Back” is the part of the quilt block that is positioned on the side opposite the sash. A “Sash” is a portion of the fabric cut using the back/sash template which is wrapped from the back of the quilt to the front of the quilt as the quilt blocks are sewn to one another and frames the feature fabric when a quilt block is complete. The side of the quilt with the sash visible is considered the quilt's front.
“Fold absorption” describes when fabric is that is folded a small amount at the crease (from 0.02″ to 0.5″ of the fabric) is absorbed by the process of folding the fabric and any stitches installed in the folded area of the fabric. The amount of fabric absorbed by folding the fabric is determined and will vary by the weight and stiffness of the fabric being folded.
“Favoring allowance” is a small amount of material (between 0.02″-0.5″, and determined by the fabric's weight and stiffness) which is anticipated and pulled, during the construction of a fabric product, towards the wrong side of the product to ensure that no stitching lines, facings, or linings will be visible on the right side of the finished product.
“Depth of back/sash” is the sum of two times the sash width plus seam allowance width plus favoring allowance plus the fold absorption amount.
“Depth of stabilizer” is two times the sash width plus seam allowance, minus any favoring allowance.
A “cutting edge” is the edge of a template used to guide the quilt maker when cutting or tracing a shape needed for constructing the parts of a quilt block's back/sash.
“Templates” are pieces of rigid material (such as acrylic) from 1/16″ to ⅜″ thick that are cut in a specific shape and can be repeatedly traced or rotary-cut without altering the shape of the template.
A “centering guide” is a guide made of transparent material and is not subject to ripping or wrinkling. A centering guide is used to mark top dots and joining guides which are used to temporarily align and stay quilt blocks as they are joined to one another.
A “back/sash template” is a guide used to determine the size and shape of the material used to make a quilt block's back and the sash. Each back/sash template is designed to prepare fabric to make a quilt block with a specific sash width and coordinates with a stabilizer template.
A “stabilizer template” is a guide to create the shape of a stabilizing material used to line and control the quilt back/sash and finish a quilt block's sash edges. Stabilizer templates are limited to one sash width (if a different sash width is required a different stabilizer template is required) and coordinate with a back/sash template.
“Top Dot” describes a method of indicating the meeting of the intersection of two line segments that meet at an angle equal to the initial angle. In this method of constructing a quilt the top dots' location must be transferred to the fabric.
When required for clarity in this specification, the long edges of the quilt block are differentiated assigned letters to each side as follows: With the quilt block front-side up (so the featured fabric is visible) the edge of the quilt block below the narrowest portion of the heart is labeled “B.” Moving clockwise the next side is designated “S.” Continuing in a clockwise motion the part of the quilt block considered above the top of the heart is labeled “J.” The remaining long edge is labeled “D 912 & 914.”
Turning to the FIGs, one embodiment of the template for a quilt block with a ⅝″ sash width is shown in
Angle 102 (
Angle 112 is a beveled edge derived from the initial angles used to establish angle 102, 113 indicates the position of point “P” on the beveled angle.
Lines 110 combined with angle 112 form the cutting edge of the back/sash template and are guides for tracing or rotary cutting. Angle 114 is a copy of the initial angle and the guide used to position this template onto a stabilizer when tracing or rotary cutting the stabilizing layer of material. Lines 116 are copies of the line segments that intersect to form angle 114. The copied line segments are offset in the outer geometry of angle 114 a distance equaling the depth of stabilizer. Lines 116 are shortened at their LAPs an amount equal to that taken away from line 110 at its LAP. Altered ends of line segments 116 that do not intersect angle 102 are still considered LAPs. Lines segments 116 are shortened to intersect angle 102 at the end points not considered LAPs. Lines 116 are considered the long edges of the stabilizer. Angle 118 bridges the shortened LAP points of lines 116, The angle of the line segments forming angle 118 mimic and mirror the angle made by the intersection of line 110 to angle 112. [Line segments 116 plus angle 118 form the cutting edge of the quilt stabilizer part of the template.
Position line
Refer to
In
Trace or rotary-cut the cutting edge (
Take the stabilizer and quilt back/sash material cut according to the template, place them right sides together (the fusing agent is on the wrong side of the stabilizer) match long edges
Pull the back/sash and stabilizer through one of the open beveled edges, positioning the fusing agent of the stabilizer next to the wrong side of the back/sash fabric, and press. This favors and finishes the long edges of the sash. 508 shows the right side of the fusible stabilizer.
After the quilt block's back/sash is pulled right side out the long edges of the quilt block is lined 510 but the beveled edges are still open and unfinished 512.
A centering guide for any equiangular shape can be made following the description for the 90-degree angle centering guide. Since the same description applies to a centering guide made for a 120-degree angle as a 90-degree angle the centering guide
Line or angle
The position of the centering guide is shifted as needed to ensure that the coordinating placement guides are positioned the same distance from the long edges of the stabilized quilt back they parallel. In other words, placement guide
Using the same placement of the centering guide as previously described mark a convenient number of joining guides for a quilt where all sashes appear on the front of the quilt as in illustrations
Add a border, at least 0.375″ wide, in the outer geometry of the initial geometry drawn on the featured fabric. The choice of batting, amount of pad stitching, spacing of pad stitching, and fabric hand are some factors to consider when planning this border because thy all impact changes in the size of the featured fabric that are the result of pad stitching. Cut the featured fabric and any batting desired using this new border. Position any batting next to the right side of the stabilizer in the quilt back/sash and position the featured fabric on top of the batting.
Letters (S, J, D, B) associated with a quilt block's long edges are related to the front of each block and when quilt blocks are flipped the lettering is flipped as well. 914 is an illustration of the back of a quilt block.
Move one quilt block with its front up 1050 so that the sash close to long edge D 1055 is positioned on top of a quilt block 1060 which is turned front down. The quilt blocks should be positioned backs together, so the top dots marked on the beveled edges located at both ends of long edge D 1057 align on both upper and lower quilt blocks. Pull any feature fabric and batting out of the area to be sewn 1020 and sew the quilt blocks to one another between the aligned top dots following a straight line 1022. Side D of the front down quilt block is hidden by the overlapping sash of the front facing quilt block. Continue joining alternating quilt blocks to one another in this fashion until a row is completed (determined by the quiltmaker). This is ROW 1 (In this example ROW 1 has two quilt blocks). The direction the first quilt block in ROW 2 faces is determined by the row above it. If the first quilt block in ROW 1 is front up the first quilt block in ROW 2 is front down. If the first quilt block in ROW 1 is front down the first quilt block in ROW 2 is front up. In this illustration, ROW 2 starts with a quilt block positioned with its front down. Move one quilt block with its front up 1052 so that the sash close to long edge S is positioned on top of a quilt block 1062 which is turned front down (Side S on the lower quilt block is hidden under the overlapping front facing quilt block). The quilt blocks should be positioned backs together, so the top dots marked on the beveled edges located at both ends of long edge S 1057 align on both upper and lower quilt blocks.
Pull any feature fabric and batting out of the area to be sewn 1020 and sew the quilt blocks to one another between the aligned top dots following a straight line 1024. Continue joining alternating quilt blocks to one another in this fashion until a row is completed (determined by the quilt maker). This is ROW 1 (In this example ROW 2 has two quilt blocks).
Side B of the upper row of quilt blocks (ROW 1) will be joined to side J of the lower row of quilt blocks (ROW 2). Position quilt blocks facing front up in ROW 1 so they overlap quilt blocks facing front down in ROW 2. The top dots that are positioned in the beveled edges on each side of long edge B in the upper row (ROW 1) must align with the top dots that are positioned in the beveled edges on each side of long edges J in the lower row (ROW 2). The seam allowances of the all the beveled edges in the intersection of the quilt blocks should be pushed out of the way of the intended stitching path 1028. Sew the quilt blocks positioned front up in ROW 1 to the quilt blocks positioned front down in ROW 2 following a straight line from top dot to top dot 1030.
Complete joining the rows to one another by positioning quilt blocks facing front up in ROW 2 so they overlap quilt blocks facing front down in ROW1. The top dots that are positioned in the beveled edges on each side of long edge J in the lower row (ROW 2) must align with the top dots that are positioned in the beveled edges on each side of long edges B in the upper row (ROW 1). The backs of the quilt blocks are together where they overlap one another. The seam allowances of the all the beveled edges in the intersection of the quilt blocks should be pushed out of the way of the intended stitching path 1028. Sew the quilt blocks positioned front up in ROW 2 to the quilt blocks positioned front down in ROW 1 following a straight line from top dot to top dot 1030. Trim any extra batting or feature fabric that may get in the way when the sash area of the back/sash gets folded to the front.
Sew each beveled edge closed 1038. Secure the sash to the feature fabric concealing any raw edges of the featured fabric. Here it is accomplished by topstitching through all layers of the quilt 1006, The quilt in
Join the rows of quilt blocks to one another by aligning the joining guides positioned in the beveled edges on either sides of the long edges B of one row of quilt blocks to the joining guides positioned in the beveled edges on either side of the long edges J on the remaining row of quilt blocks, Use a temporary method to hold the quilt blocks aligned as described 1116. Fold any feature fabric and batting out of the stitching line 1105. Push any seam allowances of the beveled edges out of the way of the intended stitching line and sew quilt blocks to each other from top dot to top dot along a straight line at the long edges which are temporarily held in place 1118. Join the remaining rows of quilt blocks to one another following the same procedure 1120.
After the rows are joined to each other remove all the methods of aligning the joining guides. Trim any featured fabric or batting that may interfere with the sashes folding into position.
Close all the beveled edges.
Sew sashes in place covering the batting and the raw edges of the featured fabric in this example. This is accomplished by top-stitching through all layers.
When a quiltmaker wishes to install a row of new quilt blocks, they can remove the stitching holding a row of exterior sashes in place as well as the beveled edges of said sashes. After the stitches are removed the quilt maker can sew more quilt blocks to the sashes, which are no longer held in place with stitches, following the method used to construct the quilt. Adding more quilt blocks to a finished quilt applies to all quilt styles made using this method.
Turning to
The template 100 shown in
Dashed lines 104 are stitch placement guides and indicate where stitches will be placed to join quilt blocks to one another when forming a quilt. The dashed lines 104 also indicate a point of transition from the quilt block back to the quilt block sash.
The template can be formed using transparent or translucent plastic such as but not limited to an acrylic-based plastic. A template can be anywhere from 0.004″ to 0.5″ thick and is generally rigid.
Angle 102 (
Label 120 indicates a width of the sash produced using the template. Elongated openings 103 are installed in the template to position marks for use when folding material to form a beveled edge. Elongated openings 103 also help install a mark two times the distance of the seam allowances' depth from the cut edge.
Dot (e.g. hole or aperture) 105 is also referred to herein as a “top dot.” Top dot 105 provides for the installation of marks indicating the beginning and end of stitch lines when joining quilt blocks to one another. Top dot 105 helps to align quilt blocks to one another and are part of the centering guide. Top dot 105 is installed at the intersection of line segments 104.
Holes 107 are holes considered joining guides. Joining guides 107 always include the top dot 105. Joining guides 107 are positioned along a center axis of the template 1300 and are positioned about 0.02″ to about 0.5″ from the top dot and from each other. It is important to copy the centering guides and position them the same way on all quilt templates when combining quilt blocks of different sash widths.
Aperture 106 is a hole drilled in the template 1300 for hanging the template 1300, for example on a hook.
Line segments 109 positioned on both sides of the joining guides 107 are line segments extending along a top surface of the template 1300. Line segments 109 are also referred to herein as centering placement guides 109. The centering placement guides 109 are line segments that, if they were continued to intersect one another, the angle formed at the intersection of the centering placement guides 109 would be the same angle as the initial angle 102. Each centering placement guide 109 is related to its mirror image on the other side of the joining guides 107 and this relationship must be apparent. In other words, the centering placement guide 109 closest to side 110 on the left of the template 100 is related to (e.g. corresponds to) centering placement guide 109 closest to side 110 on the right side of the template. To indicate this relationship, each centering placement guide 109 should be labelled to correspond with its corresponding centering placement guide 109 on the other side of the template 100, for instance by having a same color, a same number (as shown in
Individual centering placement guides 109 on a same side of the center axis of the template 1300 are parallel to each other, as shown in
The copied line segments are offset in the outer geometry of angle 102 a distance equaling the depth of back/sash, Lines 110 will determine the position of the long edges of the quilt block. For further clarity, line segments 102 are copied and the copies are positioned in the outer geometry of angle 102. The distance the line segments are positioned from line 102 is equal to 2 times the sash depth+favoring+fold absorption+seam allowance (i.e. the depth of back/sash). The yare labelled lines 110.
Line segments 110 are reduced in length starting at their LAPs by an amount between about 0.02″ and 0.375 with the amount of the reduction being determined by the favoring allowance. Altered LAPs of line segments 110 are still considered LAPs.
Angle 112 is a beveled edge derived from the initial angles used to establish angle 102. Position 113 indicates the position of point “P” on the beveled angle.
Lines 110 combined with angle 112 form the cutting edge of the back/sash template and are guides for tracing or rotary cutting, Angle 114 equates to the initial angle 102 and the guide used to position a template at the edges of the initial geometry when establishing the shape of a quilt block's stabilizer (see
Referring now to
Turning to
At a first step shown in
At a first step, as shown in
It should be noted that in this disclosure, the stabilizer 306 and the back/sash piece 708 are sewn to one another after matching their long edges (e.g. right sides) 704, as shown in
In the devices and methods described herein, the stabilizer and the back/sash piece are joined to one another along their long edges, right sides (e.g. outsides) together, and then flipped right sides out, positioning the fusing agent next to the wrong side (e.g. inner side) of the sash/back. After flipping the fabric as previously described, the two pieces are fused together.
The structure pictured in
Beveled edges 807 are raw edges at what will be the beveled edges of the quilt block.
Joining the Quilt Blocks
Referring now to
Changing the direction the featured fabric faces when assembling the quilt blocks into a quilt changes the appearance of the finished product. To clarify this, the long edges of each quilt block shown in
Similarly, in
To make a quilt like the one shown in
With back sides together, position the joining guide marks of template 1300 in the NE beveled edge of block 1-1 (1302) to the joining guide marks in the NW beveled edge of quilt block 1-2 (1304). Temporarily hold the blocks together along the joining guide marks (pinning and basting are shown in
Remove any temporary stays and open the quilt blocks as shown in
Turning to
Remove all temporary stitches. Trim the featured fabric and any batting so it measures the initial geometry plus a border equaling the sash depth minus about 0.125″. Sew each beveled edge closed which completes the sash, Sew the long edges in place in order to conceal any raw edges of the featured fabric and the quilt is complete.
Position quilt block 2-2 to quilt block 2-1 so their edges overlap (as shown in
Then, temporally hold the quilt blocks together at the top dots and install a row of stitching between the top dots in the NE beveled edges and the SE beveled edges of quilt blocks 1-1- and 1-2 (2412). After installing as many quilt blocks as desired in a row, join the rows together. In this example, the quilt block 1-1 is joined to quilt block 2-1 (see
Trim the featured fabric and any batting so it measures the initial geometry plus a border equaling of the sash depth minus about 0.125″. Stitch the beveled edges closed. Sew around the sash holding it to the featured fabric and enclosing all raw edges.
Embodiments described herein should not be construed as limiting, but rather that additions and modifications to what is expressly described herein. Features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in various combinations and permutations, even if such combinations or permutations are not made express herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
While the applicant's teachings described herein are in conjunction with various embodiments for illustrative purposes, it is not intended that the applicant's teachings be limited to such embodiments as the embodiments described herein are intended to be examples. On the contrary, the applicant's teachings described and illustrated herein encompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, without departing from the embodiments described herein, the general scope of which is defined in the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/773,307, filed Nov. 30, 2018, and the entire contents of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/773,307 is hereby incorporated by reference.
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|---|---|---|---|
| 5791062 | Walker | Aug 1998 | A |
| 6021726 | Muraki | Feb 2000 | A |
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| 6696129 | Cotton | Feb 2004 | B1 |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210123175 A1 | Apr 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62773307 | Nov 2018 | US |
