[mirium]

Two questions:

1) Seam allowances: I've been chugging along on hand-piecing these flowers for about a decade, when I'm in the mood, and the earliest hexagons have a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Apparently, I soon got nervous and cut the pieces bigger -- more like 1/2 inch. All of them are basted onto paper hexagons. Should I be worried that the 1/4 inch seam allowance motifs will fray? The fabrics all seem stable, they aren't throwing off strands as I whip-stitch, but they seem skimpy compared to the later ones and I'd hate to work on this puppy for decades and have to mend it after a year or so.

2) Attaching motifs: I'd like this project to be mostly portable, so I'm thinking of quilting each "flower" separately and whipstitching them together afterwards -- a single layer of cotton batting. Both sides will have flowers, the "walk" between the flowers will be green on one side (leaves) and brown on the other (stone). But I'm worried about there being dips at the seams, just two layers of fabric with no batting. Is there a well-known (to everyone but me! ) way of dealing with that? So far, I'm planning to have the batting go the absolute edge of each motif so it should butt up against the neighboring one, but is there a better way? And is there a magic trick for making the stitches less visible on the last side to be sewn?

I've had these questions for years, but this project is calling to me and demanding to have my attention this summer. I cheerfully expect it to be a bit lumpy (it is my first quilt) but already love it enough to ask the experts here. When I've been buying fabric at local quilting stores and asked Question 2, they've all politely told me I'm crazy to attempt it, so no offense taken if that's the response here.

 

[Kulsum]

That is not crazy to attempt . I have started the same and it is also my first one , I am using all my different scraps and my project is coming up good, I read some where to finish a twin size quilt I will need approximately 1400 one inch hexy , so good luck to you continue sewing and it will be done

 

[Montana Gramma]

Two questions:

1) Seam allowances: I've been chugging along on hand-piecing these flowers for about a decade, when I'm in the mood, and the earliest hexagons have a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Apparently, I soon got nervous and cut the pieces bigger -- more like 1/2 inch. All of them are basted onto paper hexagons. Should I be worried that the 1/4 inch seam allowance motifs will fray? The fabrics all seem stable, they aren't throwing off strands as I whip-stitch, but they seem skimpy compared to the later ones and I'd hate to work on this puppy for decades and have to mend it after a year or so.

2) Attaching motifs: I'd like this project to be mostly portable, so I'm thinking of quilting each "flower" separately and whipstitching them together afterwards -- a single layer of cotton batting. Both sides will have flowers, the "walk" between the flowers will be green on one side (leaves) and brown on the other (stone). But I'm worried about there being dips at the seams, just two layers of fabric with no batting. Is there a well-known (to everyone but me! ) way of dealing with that? So far, I'm planning to have the batting go the absolute edge of each motif so it should butt up against the neighboring one, but is there a better way? And is there a magic trick for making the stitches less visible on the last side to be sewn?

I've had these questions for years, but this project is calling to me and demanding to have my attention this summer. I cheerfully expect it to be a bit lumpy (it is my first quilt) but already love it enough to ask the experts here. When I've been buying fabric at local quilting stores and asked Question 2, they've all politely told me I'm crazy to attempt it, so no offense taken if that's the response here.

JMO but whip stitching them afterwards is twice the cutting because you need hexs to quilt to, and remember to cut the back ones a tad larger because quilting draws in and you may not have enough to fold over when you finish the back seams. You will have to fold and whip each hex. A ladder stitch like for applique will keep your stitches from showing. It is then too twice the seaming doing the back too. A 1/4 inch seam should be fine if it is cotton and not poly, poly frays a bit easier as being handled that much. You can use spray starch on each one to keep them more stable.
There will be a notable difference if you do not batt the pathways on the back too. And sometimes the seam shows through the fabric so you will likely want them to be the same around each hex.
It is a wonderful old traditional pattern and traditionally is quilted 1/4 inch inside the hex. You could baste the whole pieced quilt and then quilt on a hoop, is quite portable that way in a big bag! Have fun and good luck!

 

[Joan H]

I am not a quilter, but I am also not a naysayer. If you want, you can do, especially with the KP family behind you to help you through the pesky details. I am sure someone will be along shortly, that is a quilter and can answer your question. In the meantime. Dream about your new quilt. Because it will be a reality. Hopefully by fall?

 

[dotcarp2000]

When my mother was 16 years old she stitched by hand a grandmothers flower garden quilt top which she never made into a quilt. She would be 102 today and I have her quilt top. It made mostly made out of flour sack fabric ( 1928) and I would be afraid to try to quilt it now. I imagine that the fabric is too old. The quilt top is 86 years old.

 

[Ronie]

Your hexagons will be fine with that 1/4 inch seam... it is how the pattern was intended to go together.. There is something called 'Fray Check' if there are a few that you are not sure of.. it will keep them from fraying beyond the sew line.. as for doing individual flowers with backing and batting then attaching them try looking up Lap Quilting and see what she has to say.. I have 3 or 4 names floating in my head and just can't remember the lady's name that started it..or at least made it popular in the 80's I found the link.. it was Georgia Bonesteel http://www.georgiabonesteel.com/
I personally would not do it that way.. I have a log cabin that my MIL made that way and I have to seam it back up because her stitching came undone with years of love! I think that piecing the whole top at once then the backing and hand basting it together very close will help you finish it up with out it being pulled or gathered in places.. This sounds like it will be a great quilt when done.. I look forward to seeing it.. I'd love to see in progress pictures. but then I'm addicted to fibers in all forms

 

[Montana Gramma]

When my mother was 16 years old she stitched by hand a grandmothers flower garden quilt top which she never made into a quilt. She would be 102 today and I have her quilt top. It made mostly made out of flour sack fabric ( 1928) and I would be afraid to try to quilt it now. I imagine that the fabric is too old. The quilt top is 86 years old.

Unless the fabric is coming apart as you tug on it, you could re-in force any loose seams, do not stretch really tight and preserve it quilted. I bet it is a looker and quite lovely, a tale to be told with those fabrics. They are pretty tough unless mold or mildew has taken their toll. Our Ladies Club has done several for members and we fared ok. I bought a top in Florida that someone bought in Maine at an estate sale, is almost a King size Grandmother's Flower Garden, and I plan on quilting it, right after the one I bought at a rummage sale for the Veterans. It is so old, cannot find a color to match the apricot in it, so will just stay single size. Can you imagine how many memories we all have packed away? I do want to have a second lifetime with my things to finish!

 

[dotcarp2000]

Montana Gramma, I have a tale to tell. My nephew was getting married in 1990 and I coaxed my mom to make a quilt for him. And then not only a quilt but a king size at which she said oh no that would be too much work. Well I coaxed and she said ok. so she and I pieced that quilt and laid it out to put the inner and outer layers together with it and my mom had a stroke which only effected her memory and judgement. She tried to stitch that quilt but just couldn't do very well. She died and I stitched that quilt and I know she was looking down on me saying,,, you asked for it, girl . We have laughed so often about that. A king size quilt is a big thing to do.

 

[mirium]

Thank you all for your wonderful answers! All my niggling little worries are taken care of and I won't be thinking "I'll figure that out when I get to it" anymore -- you've figured it out for me! I'm doing a lot of this while commuting via bus, so "portable" means "small enough that the person sitting next to me doesn't get crowded" and now most of it will be. The ladder stitch solves the problem that I was most worried about, too.

.... remember to cut the back ones a tad larger because quilting draws in and you may not have enough to fold over when you finish the back seams.

Does this mean make the hexes larger, or that they have larger seam allowances? I'm planning to quilt each flower separately, and quilt the pathways separately, and then ladder stitch them together -- so there won't really be a front and back in the finished quilt. I guess the flower facing me as I quilt would be the "front" of that motif? In the final assembly, half the flowers on each side would be "fronts" and half would be "backs" so any differences would (I hope) even out. Does that sound like a good plan?

This quilt will take forever to make, but I'm enjoying every minute -- thanks again for the expert advice!

 

[Casey47]

I don't think you're crazy but I think you are very ambitious and daring! I quilt and agree that the best way is to piece the whole top and then quilt it. It can still be portable for a long time because you can join flowers to one another until it's too big to carry and then join another section. Look at it like making individual 'blocks' out of the flowers - the blocks to be put together later. I was a sewer before a quilter and I am still not totally comfortable with the quarter inch seam. But your quilting or tying the quilt stabilizes those seams and they aren't getting the movement or stress that a garment gets. Have you ever watched how they do needle turn applique? They turn under less than 1/8 inch. I can't get my head around that and don't see how it could possibly stay together.

 

[Montana Gramma]

Thank you all for your wonderful answers! All my niggling little worries are taken care of and I won't be thinking "I'll figure that out when I get to it" anymore -- you've figured it out for me! I'm doing a lot of this while commuting via bus, so "portable" means "small enough that the person sitting next to me doesn't get crowded" and now most of it will be. The ladder stitch solves the problem that I was most worried about, too.

Does this mean make the hexes larger, or that they have larger seam allowances? I'm planning to quilt each flower separately, and quilt the pathways separately, and then ladder stitch them together -- so there won't really be a front and back in the finished quilt. I guess the flower facing me as I quilt would be the "front" of that motif? In the final assembly, half the flowers on each side would be "fronts" and half would be "backs" so any differences would (I hope) even out. Does that sound like a good plan?

This quilt will take forever to make, but I'm enjoying every minute -- thanks again for the expert advice!

What you use for the back of each hex can be cut larger to accommodate the drawing in as you quilt them. The top ones you have already got the size on the template so cannot change now. You will sew the top ones together first, after you quilt them, all seams then as you turn over and do the backside seams you can trim to size you need and this is folded over or in your case to be the same as the front, press the width you need on all sides, trim to your 1/4 inch or seam you have been using and ladder stitch together. On a big square quilt I have always folded the fabric over the other square and stitched, would be a real challenge with the hexes time and nice corner wise. If you want the flowers on both sides your pathways will be wider and narrower if you do not make the same amount for each side and co- ordinate as you put them together. And my friends think my 1 inch Postage Stamp quilt is off the beaten path or at least I am! Cannot throw out the scraps! Takes over 8,000 to do a small quilt. Hope you can " see" what I mean, check out Georgia Bonnsteel.

 

[mirium]

Ah, now I get it. Happily, I've been cutting-basting-piecing in batches and still have plenty of uncut fabric, and haven't quilted any yet, so it'll be easy to adjust the sizes for "backside" motifs. And Georgia's lessons are definitely going to help keep me out of trouble, looked at a few and will be going back for more. Thanks again!

And your Postage Stamp quilt has me in awe. 8,000 pieces? Wow.

 

[CindyMB]

I would love to see a pic of what sounds like a beautiful quilt.

 

[mdok]

As said before, 1/4" is a typical seam allowance for quilts. Whipstitching individual flowers together is ok. When I make a Grandmother's flower Garden quilt, I wait until all of the flower units have been joined, then I add the batting and backing to the quilt. Backing and batting are usually cut At least 6-8" wider and longer than the finished quilt top, to allow fir quilting and the batting extending to the edges of the quilt after quilting is finished. After the quilting is finished, you trim the excess batting and batting even with the edges of the quilt. Then binding is added to the edges of the quilt.

 

[mirium]

It's going to be a long time before there's anything to take a picture of for the quilt I'm working on! I'm still basting onto paper templates and whipstitching flowers.

Thanks for the step-by-step on the usual way to put a quilt together, especially the amount of "extra" for the batting and backing. It'll be a big help as I do some refiguring...

 

[Kulsum]

I am in the same position working on my flowers every night , I read some where for a twin size quilt you need approximately 1400.00 hexy I am finished about 500.0 keep posting so we can inspire each other

 

[mirium]

Inspiring each other sounds good! Although expect me to go in spurts and stops, which is how my life is -- sorry for the slow response, there was a spurt in the non-crafty stuff.

I have no idea how many hexes I've basted; I cut a bunch, basted a bunch, and have whipped about a dozen flowers. About a grocery store bag full of quilt-to-be bits!

For the paper templates, I used MS Word to make a hexagon the size I wanted, then copy/pasted enough to fill a page and saved it. Whenever I need more, I print the page and cut them out. When I get bored with one thing, I switch to another, so I'll probably still be cutting paper templates after I start quilting flowers. Are you more organized than I am, finishing one step before you start the next one?

 

[Kulsum]

Hi I do the same , I am using all my scraps of fabric I also have other projects on the go so when I get bored I work on other projects , I joined up a few flower and now I have more so I will join them and start cutting more please keep me informed about your progress

 

[mirium]

I took a day off from work, intending to catch up on housework and other virtuous things, and instead spent the whole day piecing flowers -- finished THREE of them! And I feel wonderful. How're you doing?

 

[Ronie]

Ok I understand your worries.. I have had them too... if its a problem for you to work with the 1/4 inch seam then cutting them larger is not a problem when working with paper piecing. It is if you are sewing them together on your machine and they are not paper pieced. But in your case you are fine.. the 1/4 inch seam should hold. take small stitches and it should be fine.

for the larger motifs I would have a thin batting between the two sides and all the way out to the edge. you can trim it later but you don't want to have to fuss with the smaller piece.

I don't know how you plan on piecing the whole top together. It sounds like you have many enjoyable evenings of hand work ahead of you It will be beautiful when you are done.. it is a great pattern and your ideas sound pretty good..