Monday 21 October 2013

handkerchief quilt

it's taken me a while to work out the best way to piece my hanky quilts but after weeks of deliberation i have made a decision..i bought the backing fabric today and i've started making a quilt with white hankies although some have a bit of coloured embroidery..i have two hankies i'm using in this quilt that are particularly special to me..one, my mother had at her debut, and the other i bought 10 years ago from the all women monastery of saint stephen at meteora in greece..

this hanky is a bit fiddly to applique because of the irregular lacework

the applique stitching on the back won't be seen

some of the hankies are a bit irregular in shape so it's not possible to get them perfectly square on the backing fabric



my piecing method

~ i measured the largest hanky and i then added enough for a small border and a 1 cm seam allowance which gave a measurement of 36.5 cms square..because i want the quilt to be about 170-180 cms square i'll need 25 hankies and pieces of backing fabric
~ i centred the hanky on the backing fabric, pinned and basted it and using a fine white cotton thread i'm appliqueing the hanky to the backing fabric using small stitches
~ once all 25 are completed i'll join the squares either by hand or machine, add batting and a backing fabric and then quilt it by hand although i haven't quite decided what design i'll use
~ once the quilting is done the binding then needs to be added

i plan to make another two by the way..one with children's vintage hankies, that i mentioned in an earlier post, and the other with vintage floral ones..should keep me busy for a while especially as i have three others on the go as well!


6 comments:

  1. How beautiful Jane :). I am all club fingers when it comes to sewing that even extends to using a machine so I am in eternal envy of people with sewing skills. Can we see the finished articles please? I would imagine they are going to be absolutely gorgeous :).

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  2. Jane, what a big, and GLORIOUS, project! Can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished! x

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    1. thanks celia..it's something i've been wanting to make for a few years..i'd put off starting a new quilt because i'm still struggling to get my daughter's 30th birthday quilt finished..she turned 32 this year! ironic though because now that i've started a new one i felt more inspired to complete my daughter's quilt..x

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  3. This looks so delicate and beautiful Jane!

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  4. thanks jane..one of mrs smith's gifted hankies is already sewn onto its backing fabric! x

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