Row Quilt 2009 Seminole

Row Quilt 2009 - Row 5!

This technique is called Seminole patchwork. If you use Google images and search Seminole patchwork, you'll see some great examples of other things you can do with it.

You've got two choices for strip size this month. If you're making the 36 inch wide quilt, you'll probably want to make the small size, so your quilt doesn't get too long.

If you're doing the 60 or 72 inch quilt, you will probably want to do the taller, wider strip, but it's up to you.

I'm doing both, but only because I had to test each size! I may end up with a LONG twin size quilt... :D

Your accent color will be a little skinnier than the white in my big strip - by the time I noticed mine was kinda wide, it was too late for me to take a quarter inch off unless I unsewed a bunch. I fixed it for the chart.

The accent color can be either dark OR light.

First, cut some strips according to the chart above. The number of strips you have to cut will depend on how wide your quilt is. I'd cut one center strip, two accent strips, and two edge strips, to start.

Next, sew your strip-sets. Press strips away from the center color, out to either side. That way, seams will nest when you sew them together.

Subcut the strips you just sewed, as I did in the picture above.

The LARGE version needs slices cut 1¾ wide.

The SMALL version needs strips cut 1¼ inches wide.

Now you need to sew them together. See where my ballpoint pen is pointing? That's what you match... the bottom of your LEFT center fabric square, with the top of your RIGHT center fabric square.

If you ironed them away from the center, one seam will be going down, and the other will be going up.

Sew FIVE of your strips together, then move down to the next picture for a neat trick I learned.

First, I trimmed the upper and lower edges of my 5 segment strip, cutting the triangle points off.

You want an ODD number of segments, so the center where you cut has a diamond of fabric to line up your ruler.

Cut right through the center of the strip. See how I bisected that center brown diamond corner to corner?

The cut you just made will be the outer ends of your strip, at the edges of your quilt.

Keep adding segments to the slanted ends of the two strips until together they get long enough for your quilt.

You can measure from your straight edge through the center of your diamonds (where mine are brown) to get an idea of how long it's getting.

Keep matching the points of the center diamonds as you add segments.

I like to trim the triangle bits on the edges as I go, you can do however you want. :)

When your two ends - added together - get long enough for the width of your quilt, rotate one strip, match the center diamond, and sew the two strips together.

The ends should already be square, without wasting fabric trimming a partial strip on both ends.

Once you trim your edge triangles, the LARGE strip should measure 4½ inches wide, unfinished. Once sewn into your quilt, it will be 4 inches.

The SMALLER strip should be trimmed to 2½ inches wide, unfinished, and will be 2 inches wide when sewn into a quilt.

That was easy, wasn't it?

Here's what my two strips will look like.

I was only going to offer the skinny strip, but was worried that it might not look good in some of your fabrics.

Plus, I know that not everyone likes sewing with the little pieces, like I do!

That thin accent stripe in the smaller Seminole strip needs to be a fabric that reads as a solid, a large or even medium print probably won't look nice there.

I almost wish I'd tilted one of my Seminole strips the other way, had one leaning to the right, and the other leaning left, but too late now!

Here's one colored in red, black and white. What will YOUR strip look like?

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