I'm proud to say that I have a finish to report this week. I finished the Cuddle Row by Row for my son. It turned out really well and he loves it, but I hope I never make another one of these.
First, the fabric sheds like crazy. Just look at my cutting mat after cutting the binding strips.
It wouldn't have bothered me so much except I had just cleaned the house really well before beginning the project. I ended up plugging in my vacuum and parking it just outside the door of my sewing room. I vacuumed myself off every time I left the room so that I didn't track the stuff all over the house.
Just look at the edge of my basting table after squaring up before sewing on the binding! I had the window open and it just blew all over the place upstairs.
The only way to piece this thing without going totally insane is to use spray baste. I bought the strips pre-cut in a kit. (I was so glad I didn't have to cut all those strips because of the mess it creates!) The kit contained an instruction sheet and a website address with a video to watch about piecing the project. It is just a quilt-as-you-go row quilt, but the video showed how to assemble the top using the spray baste. It was about 10 minutes long and worth watching. I would have started at one end and just sewn one strip at a time until done. The video showed to find the center, spray baste the center strip in place and then take two strips to the machine to sew on either side of the center. This saved time and trips up and down the stairs for me. You have to spray baste down each strip after you have sewn it before attaching the next one. For me, this meant I had to take the quilt upstairs, lay it out on my basting table, spray, then carry it back downstairs with the next two strips for sewing.
Of course, spray baste means sticky fingers.
This quilt is so heavy!! The fabric is fuzzy, like minky. It does not slide easily underneath the needle of the sewing machine because it is fuzzy and heavy. It is essential to use a walking foot for this project, in my opinion. My shoulders and neck were aching after getting this thing pieced because it is so heavy. I couldn't sew the binding on until the next day.
It turned out great though.
The backing and binding are solid black.
It measures about 60" by 72" and the boy absolutely loves it. I had to wash it right after finishing it because of all the spray baste and fuzz. It washed up great! I was worried that the fabric might lose some of its softness after washing, but it didn't. And there was surprisingly little lint in the trap of my dryer.
Not everyone would classify this project as a UFO. I hadn't started sewing on it but had purchased everything for it some time ago. I had planned to make this for my son for Christmas, but then I decided to do a quilt for my dad and didn't have time to do two big projects in December. It was taking up a lot of space in my sewing room so I'm really glad to have it finished and out of my room.
Hop over to Susan's to see what the other Little Green Quilters have been up to this week.
First, the fabric sheds like crazy. Just look at my cutting mat after cutting the binding strips.
It wouldn't have bothered me so much except I had just cleaned the house really well before beginning the project. I ended up plugging in my vacuum and parking it just outside the door of my sewing room. I vacuumed myself off every time I left the room so that I didn't track the stuff all over the house.
Just look at the edge of my basting table after squaring up before sewing on the binding! I had the window open and it just blew all over the place upstairs.
The only way to piece this thing without going totally insane is to use spray baste. I bought the strips pre-cut in a kit. (I was so glad I didn't have to cut all those strips because of the mess it creates!) The kit contained an instruction sheet and a website address with a video to watch about piecing the project. It is just a quilt-as-you-go row quilt, but the video showed how to assemble the top using the spray baste. It was about 10 minutes long and worth watching. I would have started at one end and just sewn one strip at a time until done. The video showed to find the center, spray baste the center strip in place and then take two strips to the machine to sew on either side of the center. This saved time and trips up and down the stairs for me. You have to spray baste down each strip after you have sewn it before attaching the next one. For me, this meant I had to take the quilt upstairs, lay it out on my basting table, spray, then carry it back downstairs with the next two strips for sewing.
Of course, spray baste means sticky fingers.
This quilt is so heavy!! The fabric is fuzzy, like minky. It does not slide easily underneath the needle of the sewing machine because it is fuzzy and heavy. It is essential to use a walking foot for this project, in my opinion. My shoulders and neck were aching after getting this thing pieced because it is so heavy. I couldn't sew the binding on until the next day.
It turned out great though.
The backing and binding are solid black.
It measures about 60" by 72" and the boy absolutely loves it. I had to wash it right after finishing it because of all the spray baste and fuzz. It washed up great! I was worried that the fabric might lose some of its softness after washing, but it didn't. And there was surprisingly little lint in the trap of my dryer.
Not everyone would classify this project as a UFO. I hadn't started sewing on it but had purchased everything for it some time ago. I had planned to make this for my son for Christmas, but then I decided to do a quilt for my dad and didn't have time to do two big projects in December. It was taking up a lot of space in my sewing room so I'm really glad to have it finished and out of my room.
Hop over to Susan's to see what the other Little Green Quilters have been up to this week.
5 comments:
Really sounds like a cutting and sewing nightmare, but it turned out great. I love it. Congrats on the bust.
Great finish! This does look very cuddly! I've never heard of that technique before. Sounds daunting :) I posted a finish today too! Yay for us!
Well, it certainly looks beautiful and cuddly! I hope all the fuzz didn't mess up your machine. Hopefully, your son just falls in love with it and makes it all worthwhile!
What a jazzy quilt and cheers that your son is happy with it! Way to go!
What type fabric is it made of? As Deb said, the fuzz could mess up your machine. I've made 4 flannel quilts and had to remove the throat plate to clean around in and inside the bobbin, clean around the needle, and clean under the feed dogs after each flannel quilt.
No UFO progress for me in weeks so I need to get back in gear.
WOW - that quilt looks just wonderful. Your son is a happy young man! I used similar stuff for the backing of my husband's quilt, and it was quilted by a longarm quilter. So I "only" had to attach the binding - but boy, that working with that fabric is really wrestling with the beast. So, respect for sewing a whole quilt out of it!
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