In the previous post, we learned how to use the PosieMaker and WreathMaker tools in EQ8 to design a Haku Lei flower crown block with a pieced border. Part 5 of the post described how to use the Print tools to create a quilt pattern, but this tutorial will dig a little deeper. Follow along step-by-step as we sew our EQ8 design into a quilt.
Prepare the Appliqué Shapes
Appliqué is set on Layer 2 of the quilt design worktable in EQ8. Choose the Layer 2 tab and the Print & Export tab, then click on the wreath to select it. A frame will appear around the appliqué design.
Click on Print Templates. This will provide a template for each posie and flower center. We don’t need twelve copies of each, so you can delete the extras before printing one template for each shape.
Use the templates to prepare the shapes for the appliqué method of your choice. I traced the shapes onto fusible web and cut out the centers to keep the fabric from feeling too stiff. The fusible web shapes were ironed onto the wrong side of the fabric and then cut out on the traced lines.
Now click on Print Block in EQ8. This will provide a layout for the appliqué design so you will know where to position each shape on the background fabric.
The pattern will be tiled over multiple pages. Cut and tape the sheets together to form the appliqué wreath layout.
Appliqué the Wreath
Cut a square of background fabric for the wreath. We can locate the size of the background square a couple ways:
1. On the Layer 1 and Print & Export tabs on the Quilt Worktable, click on the block. The selection appears with the width and height dimensions.
2. On the Layout tab of the Quilt Worktable, we can see the width and height dimensions of the block.
The finished width and height is 15-1/2″, which would mean cutting a 16″ square of fabric to allow for a 1/4″ seam allowance on all sides. But take a look at the thin green edge around the block. Border 1 finishes at 1/4″ (click on the Borders tab and select Border 1), which would mean cutting strips 3/4″ wide and piecing them between the background and Border 2. What if we made Border 1 as a flange around the background instead?
This would mean cutting the green strips 1″ wide, pressing them in half wrong sides together to 1/2″ wide, and sewing them around the outside edges of the background square. It would also mean cutting the background square larger at 16-1/2″ x 16-1/2″. After the 1/4″ seam allowance on all sides, the background would finish at 16″ but 1/4″ around the outside edges would be covered by the flange, leaving 15-1/2″ of background fabric visible.
To position the appliqué, lay the background fabric over the wreath pattern using a lightbox if needed.
I positioned and fused the large green posies first, then positioned the white posies and yellow flower centers by eye using the pattern layout as a guide. I then outlined the appliqué with a machine blanket stitch.
Pieced Border
The pieced border is made from two blocks: a chevron block and a diamond-in-a-square block. Once again, we can click on the block in the Print & Export tab on the Quilt Worktable to see that the block finishes at 2″ x 2″.
The chevron blocks were drawn as four half-square triangles, but that doesn’t mean we have to piece them that way. Because of the way the colors are placed, the block could be pieced as two flying-geese units.
To make it even easier, I used the quick corner triangle method to piece them. For each triangle A, cut a square 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″. For each triangle B, cut a rectangle 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″. Lay a square along one edge of the rectangle, right sides together, and sew a 45-degree diagonal line from corner to corner of fabric A. Trim the fabrics 1/4″ away from the stitching line and press open. Repeat for the second triangle A.
The diamond-in-a-square blocks were constructed in the same way.
With this construction method in mind, prepare a cutting chart.
Sew 16 yellow and 16 white chevron blocks, and 2 yellow and 2 white diamond-in-a-square blocks. Join the yellow and white chevron blocks into pairs so that the points are facing each other. Join four pairs together for each border. Sew a chevron border to the top and the bottom of the flower crown block, making sure that a yellow chevron is on the top left and the bottom right. Sew a diamond-in-the-square block to each end of the remaining two chevron borders, so that a yellow diamond is next to a white chevron and a white diamond is next to a yellow chevron. Sew these borders onto the sides of the flower crown block.
Layer and quilt as desired. Bind the quilt with the same fabric as the flange, to create a quarter-inch frame on either side of the pieced border.
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