Stained Glass Quilt

 

I have always loved stained glass and I thought I would try to make a quilt that had that look. I had recently taken an online class by Caralina Oneto called Curves and Transparencies. It is a great class if you want to check it out.  So in this class, I learned a technique using Freezer paper to draw your patterns. You draw the pattern on the non-shiny side and then you cut out the pieces after numbering them. I also took pictures before I cut out the templates so I would not get too confused about where the pieces went in the quilt. This is one of my patterns that I drew out. I used plates to draw my circles and rulers for lines. 

Then, I cut out all of my templates from the freezer paper. I ironed the templates on the right sides of my fabric. Then, by using a ruler to add a quarter inch around each side of the piece of fabric, I cut pieces using my rotary cutter. I have learned that for curves, it is much easier to use a smaller rotary cutter 28mm. 

The piecing is a bit intuitive. Although you can kind of go row by row, you have to anticipate what is coming up to see how best to piece them. 

After I pieced everything, I added a 1/4" fusible bias tape to all of the seams to give it more of the stained glass look. You iron it on the the areas you want and then sew it down. This was a challenge to get the seams straight. I tried my best to have a seam going down both sides of the tape to tack it down good. I just learned yesterday that someone actually suggested using a double sewing needle so that you can sew both lines at the same time. This is something I will have to try. I also plan to use a wider tape next time. 

In keeping with the stained glass look, I added first a black border. Then I used a simple rectangle block border alternating the colors with black. Then added another black border. I decided on a black binding as well. This piece was actually inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright who was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator.