Patent Application
20210115608
Aspects relate generally to methods for preparing patchwork components comprised of two or more pieces of fabric joined together by sewing, and in more particular aspects for simultaneously producing a plurality of patchwork components for use in quilting using foundation piecing sewing methods executed by hand or by using sewing machines, software-driven sewing and embroidery machines, and the like.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
As an exemplary sewing product, patchwork quilts are a finished fabric product typically consisting of three layers: the top fabric or quilt top, backing material and batting (filler, sandwiched between the top and backing materials to give the quilt loft). The quilt tops are generally formed by joining together multiple quilt blocks, usually square and often repeated. The quilt blocks typically are assembled from a plurality of smaller pieces of fabric with contrasting colors and/or textures.
For many quilt blocks the pieces of fabric comprising the quilt block are arranged in a geometric pattern which is pleasing to the eye. The history of this approach is known to date back to at least American colonial times where the block-style pieced quilt was a functional solution to the necessity of resource poor early settlers to reuse fabrics which had become worn out in other applications such as blankets and clothing. Using a straight-edge and scissors or other cutting implements these settlers created quantities of fabric pieces having elementary shapes such as squares, rectangles, equal sided right angle triangles, equilateral triangles, rhombuses and the like. These fabric pieces were most efficiently utilized through repetition in geometric patterns, with the desire to create patterns pleasing to the eye a natural corollary.
Over time selected combinations of fabric pieces having elementary geometric shapes have come to be recognized as patchwork components and named in the art due to their repeated appearance in the geometric patterns. In particular there are recognized patchwork components based on triangles which include, but are not limited to, a Half Square Triangle consisting of a square formed by joining two equal right triangles, Pinwheels consisting of four Half Square Triangles arranged in a square with the diagonals meeting in the center and the colors alternating so that they appear to rotate around the square, Chevrons consisting of four half square triangles arranged in a square so that one color forms a ‘v’ shape, Flying Geese components consisting of an equal sided right angle triangle flanked by two smaller equal sided right angle triangles to form a rectangular whole, a Quarter Square Triangle consisting of a square formed by joining four equal sided right angles, and a Triangle In A Square which is similar to a Flying Geese unit but the final shape is square and the largest triangle is not a right angle triangle.
One disadvantage known in the art of patchwork quilt making is the enormous investment of time required to fabricate a quilt by piecing together individual fabric pieces to form the quilt blocks. The number of blocks in a finished quilt typically varies from about 10 to more than 100. A review of the compilation books shows that the number of pieces in a four-patch design can range from as few as 4 to more than 60, while a nine-patch design can range from as few as 9 to more than 80, and so on for other known geometric patterns. Thus, the number of fabric pieces required for constructing a patchwork quilt is typically not less than several hundred and may reach several thousand. It will be appreciated that the preparation of such numbers of individual fabric pieces using a straight-edge and scissors or other cutting implement is time consuming.
A second disadvantage is that it is difficult to prepare quantities of fabric pieces which are identical in their geometric characteristics such as length, width and angles between sides. This is especially true for fabric pieces whose shape incorporates angles other than right angles for which the use of straight-edges must be supplemented by use of angle rulers, rulers with angle markings, or application of geometric knowledge such as knowing that cutting a square on a diagonal will result in a 45° angle. When fabric pieces vary in their geometric characteristics the effect on the aesthetic quality of the finished quilt is deleterious. Though the geometric variations between any two pieces may be difficult to detect, differences can accumulate when assembling many pieces.
A third disadvantage is the difficulty in joining numerous pieces while maintaining a high degree of precision with respect to the geometric pattern being created. When many separate fabric pieces are assembled piece-by-piece errors may occur for any individual join, and small errors which are not noticeable in a single join can accumulate to produce overall errors. Common errors due to these two disadvantages that are recognized to occur include, but are not limited to, loss of symmetry in the overall assembly or portions thereof, points of the visible portion of one or more fabric pieces in an assembly that are cut off (“lost” in a joining sewing sewing), points which “float” in that they leave a gap instead of touching a sewing, two or more points which do not align with each other, and sewings between contiguous pieces not lining up.
In an effort to overcome these deficiencies methods known in the art have been developed which facilitate the preparation of many patchwork components simultaneously. Generally these methods rely on joining larger pieces of fabric into assemblies which comprise multiple patchwork components, and then releasing individual or joined patchwork components by cutting. The advantages generally lie in reducing the number of individual pieces of fabric that need to be prepared and the number of independent joining sewings that need to be executed.
One such method is strip piecing wherein two or more strips of fabric are sewn together along the long edges to form a larger composite strip piece with parallel rows. The composite strip may then be cut across the strips at various angles relative to the longitudinal edge to create square, rectangle, diamond or hexagon patchwork components with each shape comprised of the fabrics used to create the composite strip. One drawback of this method is that it is not suited to the fabrication of patchwork components having triangle shapes. A drawback of this method is that the versatility of utilizing the patchwork components is limited by the fact that they are already assembled in linear arrays A second drawback that it is difficult to sew long strips together in a parallel configuration without small variations in width. Singly and cumulatively, these small geometric variations lead to the errors described above which have a deleterious effect on the aesthetic quality of a finished quilt.
A second method, termed tube piecing, cuts a stripped piecing assemblage across the latitudinal edge at a precise angle and then sews together the opposing longitudinal edges. The result is an extended tube in which the strips of fabric have been reoriented in a diagonal orientation relative to the longitudinal edges. Precise latitudinal cuts perpendicular to the longitudinal edges yield a series of secondary tube strips which are then sewn together along their longitudinal edges to form a new strip piecing assemblage. Depending upon orientation selections made during initial assembly steps the assemblage can be cut apart to yield linear array patchwork components comprised of Half Square Triangles, Pinwheels or Chevron patterns. One drawback of this method is that the versatility of utilizing the patchwork components is limited by the fact that they are strictly assembled in linear arrays. A second drawback is that the range of patchwork components that can be created is limited. A third drawback is that the method has no provision for continuing the process and creating a series of increasingly complex patchwork components. A fourth drawback is that it is difficult to sew long strips together in a parallel configuration without small variations in width. Furthermore, exceptional skills are required to compute strip widths and cut angles so that both the patchwork components can be assembled, and lend themselves to further joining to form quilt blocks or other larger assemblies, on the basis of common seam allowance and joining practices. Therefore it is common when using this method to propagate geometric variations which singly and cumulatively lead to the errors described above which have a deleterious effect on the aesthetic quality of a finished quilt.
A third method is also termed tube strip piecing and consists of placing one strip on top of a second strip with the presentation sides facing each other, and the two strips are sewn together along both longitudinal edges. Half Square Triangles are then cut out of the assembly in alternating directions using an angled ruler.
In a fourth method, termed Magic 8 Half Square Triangles, one square of fabric is placed on top of another with the presentation sides facing each other and pairs of sewings are sewn along the two diagonals of the square. Each pair of sewings is separated by a space equal to two times a desired seam allowance. After the squares are joined cuts are made along the midline of the two pairs of sewings, releasing four half-square triangle patchwork components. These methods together have the drawback that they are limited to the fabrication of Half Square Triangle component pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,995 (Harger) describes a method of constructing a quilt using foldable material specifically shaped to be folded and sewn together to make a quilt that appears to be made with a larger number of pieces than are actually used. However, this prior art is limited to a particular set of quilting patterns known as Log Cabins which consist of repeated strips of fabric surrounding a center patch to form square, rectangle, diamond, triangle or hexagonal quilt blocks or patchwork components.
Additional related art, known to practitioners in the field as ‘foundation piecing’, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,666 (Burlier) wherein fabric pieces are assembled with the aid of a backing material which includes a pattern having proposed stitching lines. U.S. Pat. No. 8,171,867 (Roche) describes a method for securing a quilt sandwich of top layer fabric, batting and backing fabric in an embroidery hoop and attaching said embroidery hoop to an embroidery machine. The user retrieves a digitized embroidery file that is fed into the embroidery machine. The digitized file instructs the embroidery machine to stitch the quilt layers together according to a predetermined stippling pattern and to stitch an outline for an applique. Further related art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,002 (Gardner) and 8,967,062 (Gardner) which describe a method for creating a quilt block includes securing a backing in an embroidery hoop and attaching the embroidery hoop to an embroidery machine. A block selection is provided to the embroidery machine. The block includes one or more pieces that form the block. Selection of the block also includes a set of instructions for sewing the pieces together to form the block. A placement pattern is sewed on the backing according to the instructions. Each piece of the block is placed on a corresponding portion of the placement pattern. The pieces are then sewed to the backing to form the block. No specific provisions or instructions are provided in these related arts to utilize specific patterns to facilitate the creation of patchwork composites above and beyond.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method to create a sewing guide pattern which facilitates the simultaneous assembly of a plurality of selected patchwork components recognized in the art, and which can be extended by orderly steps to create a series of sewing guide patterns which facilitate the assembly of related and increasingly complex patchwork components heretofore not easily accessible by piecing together individual fabric pieces or by recognized prior art for the preparation of many patchwork components simultaneously. It would be desirable for the patchwork components to be released individually to maximize the esthetic options available when they are incorporated into quilting designs. It would also be desirable for the sewing guide pattern to incorporate sewings which are no longer than approximately 1 to 2 times the dimensions of the patchwork components so as to remove the need to sew long strips together in a parallel configuration with the attendant difficulties in avoiding small geometric variations which lead to errors having a deleterious effect on the aesthetic quality of the patchwork components.
I have discovered a method for the fast and efficient preparation of geometrically related sets of either 2 or 4 patchwork components. The method is based on my discovery of a series of sewing patterns which are prepared by application of a simple set of orderly steps. To use my method, in a first step a user selects a finished patchwork component peripheral shape from among the shapes of a rectangle, a right-angle triangle or an isosceles triangle. In a second step the user selects the desired dimensions for the side of the patchwork component, generally selecting a shortest side of between 2″ and 16″ as is common in assembling patchwork components into quilting blocks. In a third step the user then prepares a rectangular sewing guide pattern which is sized to accommodate multiple congruent instances of the selected patchwork component shape and is either exactly two congruent rectangles sharing a side of equal length, or two congruent right angle triangles sharing a diagonal side, or four congruent rectangles sharing a common corner with adjacent rectangles sharing sides of equal length, or two pairs of congruent isosceles triangles sharing a common apex. In the case of isosceles triangles two of the triangles will be of the selected shape, and the other two will be used to fill in the rectangle. Thus, the final two triangles will share sides of equal length with the selected isosceles triangle shape and have an angle between the base and the shared sides equal to 90 degrees minus the angle between the base and shared sides of the selected isosceles triangle.
In a fourth step the user selects a member of my series based on aesthetic considerations for the finished patchwork component. The first member of the series is prepared by placing a rhombus sewing guide element inside the outer perimeter with the points of the rhombus placed at the midpoints of the sides of the outer perimeter rectangle. In a fifth step the series may be continued by sequentially adding new sewing guide elements, which alternate between rectangles and rhombuses, inside the initial rhombus where in each case the points of each new sewing guide element are placed at the midpoints of the sides of the immediately preceding sewing guide element. Typically the number of additional sewing guide elements placed inside the initial rhombus is between 0 and 4; however, there is no upper limit to the series provided that the innermost sewing element is at least two times the user determined working seam allowance, typically ¼″.
In a sixth step the contiguous patchwork component shapes contained within the rectangular pattern are moved apart to create a space equal to two times a seam allowance. When the patchwork component shapes are rectangular, or are isosceles right triangles, the direction of movement is orthogonal to the shared sides of the shapes and is equal to two times a seam allowance. When the patchwork component shapes are other types of triangles the direction of movement is parallel to the lines of the added rhombus sewing guide elements which cross the boundary between the patchwork component shapes. Geometric considerations are applied to compute how far the shapes must be moved in order to create a space equal to two times a seam allowance measured orthogonally between the nearest sides of the shapes. As a matter of convenience, to facilitate the assembly of patchwork components by allowing continuous stitching along the lines of the final sewing guide pattern, in a seventh step straight line segments can be added between the endpoints of all lines which were split to again have continuous lines.
Completion of these seven steps yields one of my completed sewing patterns. Any member of my series of sewing patterns is defined by two parameters, the peripheral shape of the finished patchwork component and the number of internal sewing guide elements which are placed inside the outer perimeter rectangular pattern.
Once the sewing pattern is completed it may be used to construct an assembly consisting of a plurality of patchwork components by means known in the art, generally known as foundation piecing, which may be executed using a digital embroidery machine, paper piecing or fabric foundation piecing. Once the assembly of patchwork components has been constructed the individual patchwork components are released by cutting between the spaces that were added in the sixth step, leaving a seam allowance on each patchwork component piece. Depending upon the initial selection of a patchwork component peripheral shape and the subsequent preparation of a rectangular sewing guide the yield is patchwork components consisting of two rectangles (where it is understood that squares are a special instance of rectangles), four rectangles, two right angle triangles, four right angle triangles, or two pairs of isosceles triangles, respectively.
To use my method a user selects a finished component peripheral shape from among the shapes of a rectangle, a right-angle triangle or an isosceles triangle. The user then selects a rectangle which is sized to accommodate multiple congruent instances of the selected patchwork component shape and is either exactly two congruent rectangles sharing a side of equal length, or two congruent right angle triangles sharing a diagonal side, or four congruent rectangles sharing a common corner with adjacent rectangles sharing sides of equal length, or two pairs of congruent isosceles triangles sharing a common apex. The user then selects the number of additional sewing elements to be placed inside the rectangle in consideration of aesthetic objectives for the finished patchwork components. Following the steps above, the user is then able to create a sewing guide pattern and assemble, by methods generally known in the art as foundation piecing, a plurality of selected patchwork components. The sewing guide incorporates seams which are no longer than approximately 1 to 2 times the dimensions of the patchwork components and therefore the cumulative errors which have a deleterious effect on the aesthetic quality of the patchwork components associated with other methods which require sewing long strips together is avoided. The user releases individual patchwork components by cutting around the outer perimeter of my sewing pattern, leaving a seam allowance, and generally through the middle of the spaces that were added between the patchwork component shapes. The finished patchwork components have seam allowances on all sides, and there are no limitations on esthetic options available when the user incorporates the patchwork components into quilt designs.
One object of the present invention is to provide a method of making multiple patchwork components comprised of triangular, rectangular and square shapes simultaneously using only square and rectangular fabric pieces combined with basic sewing skills such as the ability to sew by machine along a marked straight-line or operate an embroidery machine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making multiple patchwork components more rapidly and efficiently than can be done by piecing together elementary fabric pieces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick and easy method of making complex patchwork components comprised of triangular, rectangular and square shapes which were too labor-intensive when constructed by prior techniques to be recognized and named in the art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making complex patchwork components comprised of triangular, rectangular and square shapes which maintains a high degree of precision with respect to their geometric characteristics such as length, width and angles between sides, thereby reducing or eliminating single and cumulative errors which can be deleterious to the aesthetic quality of the patchwork components or larger assemblies of patchwork components such as quilt blocks or whole quilts.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.
Aspects of the invention will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description, as well as illustrative embodiments when the description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The following Reference Numbers may be used in conjunction with one or more of the accompanying
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to selected aspects of prior art.
The nature of a seam allowance is shown in
4E illustrate another sequence for creating a plurality of the specific patchwork component termed a Half Square Triangle. Per
5H illustrate a sequence for creating a plurality of linear arrays (rows) of Half Square Triangle and selected other patchwork components using a particular variation of the prior art of strip piecing, also termed tube piecing. In
In one variation of this technique two primary tubes 503 are prepared as mirror images of each other with respect to the angle of the strips of fabric. Secondary tubes 505 are again cut from the primary tubes. Per
One drawback of this method is that the versatility of utilizing the patchwork components in assembly of quilt blocks and quilts is limited by the fact that they are already assembled in linear arrays. A second drawback is that the method does not provide orderly steps to create a series of increasingly complex patchwork components of the same shape, thereby limiting the scope of aesthetic objectives for the user. A third drawback of this method is that it is difficult to sew long strips together in a parallel configuration without small variations in width. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that the technique requires that this be done several times. The cumulative small variations cause a loss of precision in the geometric patterns of the patchwork components which are cut from the strip piecing composite, leading to the errors previously discussed.
Turning now to my invention, for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of my invention reference will now be made to certain embodiments and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended with respect to alterations, further modifications and applications of the principles of the invention as described herein as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this invention relates.
The invention generally relates to a method for preparing a series of related sewing guide patterns suitable for constructing groups of patchwork components. A user familiar with the invention will select two parameters, a number of internal sewing guide elements placed inside an outer rectangle perimeter and a cutting scheme which will be applied to release the patchwork components. The role of these two parameters are explained below. The user selects the number of internal sewing guide elements based on aesthetic considerations for the complexity and appearance of the patchwork components. The user selects a shape and size of the patchwork component which will conform to anticipated incorporation into a larger assembly such as a quilt block or quilt.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
distance shapes must be moved apart=two times the seam allowance/cosine(c°)
Referring to
In completing the sixth step it is understood that the space is also added to the additional internal elements depicted in
Furthermore, as a matter of convenience, in a seventh step, for each side of the rectangular base pattern or added internal pattern elements gaps that are orthogonal to the sides of the patchwork component shapes where the space is added, a straight line segment may be added between the endpoints on either side of the separation to bridge the space. This facilitates the assembly of patchwork components by allowing continuous stitching along the lines of the final sewing guide pattern; however, stitching may be stopped and restarted on either side of the added space without deleterious effect on the patchwork component assembly.
An example of the concepts of the sixth and seventh steps is shown in
It will be understood that completion of these steps results in a related series of final sewing guide patterns for constructing a plurality of patchwork components.
By using one of my inventive sewing guide patterns a user is able to assemble, by methods generally known in the art as foundation piecing, a plurality of selected patchwork components.
In this example a user wishes to create finished patchwork components with a peripheral shape of a square 602 with sides of size 6″. According to the invention a rectangular pattern 606 is then prepared, in this case a square with sides of 12″. In this example the user further elects to add three additional pattern elements 701, 703 and 704 inside the rectangular pattern based on aesthetic considerations for the finished patchwork component. These selections correspond to illustrative patchwork components 1101. Following the additional steps of adding space between the contiguous patchwork component shapes and internal pattern elements, and as a matter of convenience adding a straight line segment to bridge the space for each side of the rectangular base pattern or added internal pattern elements gaps that are orthogonal to the sides of the patchwork component shapes, one arrives at the finished sewing guide pattern 1002. To construct the patchwork components by a means known as foundation piecing executed using a digital embroidery machine the user enters the final sewing guide pattern 1002 as a digitized file to an embroidery machine. As a matter of convenience additional elements consisting of fabric placement guides may also be entered into the embroidery machine at this time.
To assemble the patchwork components from the pattern the user first secures a stabilizer substrate in an embroidery hoop where the stabilizer is of a body and weight which can be easily penetrated by a sewing machine. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
For the purposes of promoting a further understanding of the invention and its preferred features and advantages, reference will now be made to how the preceding specific example of one of my inventive patterns can be used to assemble exemplary patchwork components 1101 using the art of paper piecing. It will be understood that this example is given by way of illustration and is not restrictive of the invention. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The disclosed embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the inventions as disclosed by the claims.
