How to Use Vilene Quilter’s Grid
During the last couple of months I’ve been touring the country with the Knitting& Stitching Shows, working on the Vilene stand to share some of my makes, offer up some stitching advice and to demonstrate just some of the amazing things that can be made with the range of Vilene products.
Whether you’re new to sewing or have been stitching for years, Vilene is probably a brand name that you’ll be pretty familiar with. In a nutshell, Vilene create a wide (trust me, it’s a colossal!) range of interlinings, fusible products and waddings that are used in many sewing projects from dressmaking and quilting, through to craft makes and even textile art.
The range of items that can be used for patchwork and quilting projects seems to really get folks attending the show excited, so I thought that I’d share some tips for using Vilene Quilter’s Grid
Quilter’s Grid is a sheet of fusible interling that is printed with a 1 inch grid. This can be used for so many different makes, from fabric mosaics and watercolour designs to quick-make scrappy quilts. Whatever the project, the basic principle for using it is the same. The grid is used to make the placement of the fabrics easy and the fusible qualities allow the pieces to be secured (without pins or tacking) before stitching.
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Here I have used the Quilter’s Grid as the foundation for making a really quick and easy scrappy cot quilt – and when I say quick, what I mean is super quick! The grid is used for really accurate placement of the fabrics and then stitching, so that all of the areas where the seams intersect, will come together neatly each and every time! This basic Guide to Using Quilter’s Grid will get you started with the basic principles for using this amazing sewing product, allowing to create a whole host of exciting designs and projects.
[image error]The first step in the process to to cut the fabrics to the required size. In order to use the grid with ease, these should be cut in 1 inch increments. As these pieces are squares, I like to use a rotary cutter, ruler and mat to ensure that all the fabrics are cut to the same size with neat crisp edges.
[image error]Once the pieces of fabric have been cut, place the sheet of Quilter’s Grid with the fusible side uppermost. Working with the brown printed grid lines, place the fabrics, with the right sides uppermost, into a chosen arrangement. Once the fabrics are neatly positioned, with the raw edges all flush to the grid lines, fuse in place by pressing with a hot iron.
When fusing the fabrics to the sheet of Quilter’s Grid, think more positioning the iron onto the fabrics and holding it there for a few seconds to allow the heat to activate the adhesive and bond the fabrics – if you woosh and slide the iron about, as though you were pressing the wrinkles out of a frock, this can cause the fabrics to shift and slide about before they have been fully bonded and they may end up not being secured directly in line with the grid.
Once all of the fabrics have been bonded into place onto the Quilter’s Grid, you’re about ready to start stitching! The stitching is worked on the wrong side of the project. To position the seams, fold the project over so that the right sides are facing (touching each other) at the position where the raw edges of the two fabric pieces touch. With the fold being positioned over the raw edges the grid will be located along the top of the fold – this is the perfect guide for checking that the seam will be neat and straight.
Position the fold of the fabric into the machine ready to sew, align the folded edge with the relevant marker – I like to work a 1/4″ seam – and use this folded edge as a guide for working the seam. The seam will run along the wrong side of the project, with nothing but a neat join with no visible stitching on the front and the raw edges of fabric being hidden away (in an almost French seam style) inside the fold.
The seams are worked by completing all those that lie in one direction – from the top to the bottom – then in the other direction – the left to the right.
Once all the seams have been folded and stitched – both the horizontal and the vertical – there will be a neat grid of stitched tucked seams along the back of the project. While Quilter’s Grid is incredibly lightweight and soft, the simple fact that where the seams intersect there is a lot of fabric will create bulk. This can be easily reduced by snipping away the fabric where the seams meet – being super careful not to slice through any of the stiches of the seams!
Turn the project to the right side and press to neaten, as the seams and the folds will be neatly pressed flat on the wrong side. On the right side of the project, the fabrics will all be neatly aligned and all of the seams will match up accurately. Super quick, super neat and totally stress free!
[image error]Using Quilter’s Grid to create a quick and easy scrappy quit, once the seams have been stitched and pressed the quilt top is complete and ready to layer with wadding and backing and transformed into a baby quilt and finished with neat binding – too easy!
There are so many different applications for using Quilter’s Grid – just working on this simple quilt design has me itching to work on a whole heap of new and exciting makes – so, what will you create with Quilter’s Grid?
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