Thursday, February 21, 2008

Facings for Quilts

This past week I had the pleasure of teaching two workshops on facing a quilt. The usual methods of applying facings are very bulky at the corners and require a lot of handling of the quilt, so I came up with an easier method. For those who missed it, here is the Jeririgged method of facings for rectangular quilts:
1. Quilt your quilt as desired. Square the edges.
2. Cut 4 strips, 2 1/2 inches wide, one for each side of the quilt, a bit longer than the length of each side of the quilt.
3. Press under 1/4 inch on the long side of each strip. If you want, also cut a strip 1/2 inch wide X the length of each strip out of Wonder Under, and fuse it ( keeping the paper on) atop each folded side on each strip.
4. Choose 2 sides to be the "corner" sides ( opposite each other) and pin strips to quilt matching raw edges. Sew the short edge, starting at the crease , turn the corner with a single stitch on the diagonal, then sew the long edge, gently pulling the strip as you sew to take in some of the stretch of the fabric. If you cut these two strips beforehand, make them 1/4 inch shorter than the width of the quilt and ease it while you sew so they match. Sew to 1/4 inch before the corner, turn at the corner and continue sewing down the short length, stopping just at the fold crease. Trim the facing strip even with the quilt top.




6. Now lay long edges with raw edges aligned, overlapping the first strip only as far as to cover the turned under edge of the first strip. Sew this strip to the side, continuing the line of stitching, 1/4 inch from the edge of the quilt. This leaves the corner with only a single layer, and overlaps the strips an inch down the sides where the bulk will be unobtrusive.Repeat for both pairs of strips, then Clip corners. Now, turn the whole shebang to the back, pushing out the corners to make a sharp edge, and iron them flat. If you used Wonder Under, now remove the paper strips, and fuse the facing in place. You might have to iron carefully to get everything lined up, but the turned edges hide the raw edges of the facings, and the fusable holds it in place until you can slip stitch the edge to finish permanently.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeri...what a great concept. I will definitely try this on my next piece. Thanks for sharing.

Christine Thresh said...

Thank you so much for posting your Jeririgged technique. I'm going to try to do a little sample quilt using your method.

Melody Johnson said...

This is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

lizzieb said...

What a great idea, Jeri! thanks for sharing this!

TB said...

Thank you, thank you! I'm going to my work table and trying this NOW. Thanks to Melanie for leading me to this webpage!

Karen said...

Wonderful tutorial...I can do this and it looks so nice...thank you bunches.

Terri Stegmiller said...

Hi, just wanted to tell you that I tried out your faced finish on a quilt and am very pleased with my results. Thank you for sharing your technique.

Anonymous said...

Jeri
Thank you for sharing your ingenious method of dealing with bulk in the corners. You can see my variation (using double layered facing strips and extra pressing steps) on my blog.

Jaye said...

Tried your technique yesterday. Very fast and with a few tweaks, it worked great. Thanks for sharing.

Wen Redmond said...

Very slick binding. I used to do this years ago but you have certainly evolved the technique!

108karen said...

I tried it....works fabulous.. and looks fabulous. Thank you for posting.

Liz said...

I usually do mitred facings instead of bindings on my hangings. This method has worked really well with particularly sharp corners. Thanks.
Liz Stroud, UK.
www.lizbrookeward.com

Lynne said...

Great way to finish off an art quilt. Thanks for the good directions.

sharon ramsay said...

Jeri, How do you add a hanging sleeve with your method of quilt facing??

sharon on the north coast
sramsayeast@roadrunner.com

Jeri said...

Hi Sharon:
You add a sleeve by making a tube of fabric, pressing it so there is 1/2 inch extra fabric on the front side, and sewing the back side 1/2 inch down from the top of the back of the quilt, using hand stitching on the top edge and the bottom edge ( and the sides of the back) of the sleeve. Side view looks like a "D" with the curved edge sticking away from the quilt back surface so there is some slack for the rod to go.
I'm sure there are better explanations somewhere on line, but that is how I do it.

Anonymous said...

Great technique! Thank you for taking the time to put it all together and share it with us. I will be using this on my next little art quilt.

MrsGreen said...

Jeri, I first learned of facing as a finish to quilts when doing a quilt in "Just Can't cut it." Speaking with friends yesterday, because I am going to use it for a table runner, they asked how to do it. I rushed tutorial on what I had done was given, and promise of a more detailed account. So I went searching the net, and found yours. A bit more complicated, but looks like it will be even more finished. I can's wait to get home from the grocery store and give it a try.

MrsGreen said...

Jeri, I have made one quilt with the facing technique, following directions in "Just Can't Cut It". Love the look. I think I might like your method better and can't wait to give it a try on a table runner I have waiting to have the edges finished. Thanks for the infomation. Veronica

Jeri said...

Thanks, Veronica. The best advantage of my method is no bulky lump in the corners of the quilt. Enjoy!

MrsGreen said...

Jeri, I've just finished using your method to face a practice free motion square. I love the technique. The corners aren't perfect, but they look great. Thank you so much. After lunch, it's the table runner's turn. Veronica

Jennifer said...

Hi Jeri - I just used your method for facing a quilt after a class with Terry Kramzar, and it was so easy! This is only my second faced quilt, but I love this method! One question - if you use the wonder under, do you still go back and stitch down the facing or does it turn out to be strong enough? Thanks for the great tutorial!

Jeri said...

Thanks, Jennifer, glad you enjoyed the method. I do go back and slip stitch the edge even after using the Wonder Under, as I like the finish cleaner and I usually don't get the WU right up to the edge. Also, if adding a sleeve, you would want the slip stitched edge just to be stronger. Belt and suspenders, maybe, but it doesn't take long.