Australian Homespun — May 2017

detached chain (lazy daisy)

stitch, pistil stitch

Finished size:

151cm (59^11 ⁄ 2 in) square

Note:Read all the instructions

before starting the quilt. It is

recommended that fabrics be

100% cotton, pre-washed and

well ironed. Requirements are

based on fabrics and fusible

batting 107cm (42in) wide.

Lesley cut Border 2 down the

length of the fabric to avoid

having joins – there will be

a lot of fabric left over.

Alternatively, you can buy 1.1m

(1^1 ⁄ 4 yd) if you’re happy to join

strips cut across the width

of the fabric. Lesley’s

instructions are for strip-

piecing the centre panel, but

you can work with individual

squares if you prefer to have

more control over the fabric

placement. Seam allowances

of^1 ⁄ 4 in are used throughout.

Two strands of embroidery

cotton are used unless

otherwise stated. Instructions

are given for using the printed

Pattern Sheet in the magazine,

but you can also download the

digital patterns from http://www.

homespun.net.au and print

them out.

Cutting

1

From each of the six assorted

print fabrics, cut:

• One strip, 5^1 ⁄ 2 in across the width
  of the fabric and crosscut it to yield
  one strip, 5^1 ⁄ 2 x 18in and one strip,
  51 ⁄ 2 x 24in (centre panel).

2

From each of the three assorted

print fabrics, cut:

• Two strips, 5^1 ⁄ 2 in across the width
  of the fabric and from each strip,
  crosscut one strip, 5^1 ⁄ 2 x 18in and
  one strip, 5^1 ⁄ 2 x 24in (centre panel).
  You should now have a total of 12
  strips of each length. If you prefer
  to work with individual squares, you
  need a total of 81 squares, 5^1 ⁄ 2 in.

3

From the cream tone-on-tone

print fabric, cut:

• Six strips, 3in across the width
  of the fabric (Border 1).

4

From the large-scale floral

print fabric, cut:

• Four strips, 5^1 ⁄ 4 in down the
  length of the fabric and crosscut
  them to measure 5^1 ⁄ 4 x 65in. (If
  you’re joining these borders using
  the smaller amount of fabric, cut
  seven strips, 5^1 ⁄ 4 in across the width
  of the fabric and join them all end
  to end before cutting the four
  lengths) (Border 2).

5

From the green print fabric, cut:

• Eight strips, 2^1 ⁄ 4 in on the bias
  grain of the fabric (binding).

6

From the lightweight fusible

batting, cut:

• Six strips, 3in across the width
  of the batting (embroidery backing).

Centre panel

7

At random, pick up three different

51 ⁄ 2 x 24in strips and sew them

together along the long edges. Press

the seams lightly in one direction.

Repeat to join all the 24in strips in

sets of three.

8

Repeat Step 7 with the 5^1 ⁄ 2 x 18in

assorted strips.

9

Lay the strip sets on the cutting

board in turn. Trim one end at 90

degrees to the seams to straighten the

edge if needed. Then crosscut it into

51 ⁄ 2 in segments. You should get four

segments from the 24in strip sets and

three segments from the 18in strip

sets, making a total of 28 three-strip

segments in total. One will be surplus.

10

Lay out the segments in nine

rows of three, forming a square

panel with nine squares in each

direction. Move the segments around

to avoid having the same fabrics

adjoining – the spare segment comes

in handy here. If you can’t achieve

a layout you’re happy with, unpick

some segments and switch a few

individual squares.

11

Join the segments in rows,

pressing all the seams of the

odd rows to the left and even rows

to the right. Return the rows to the

layout as you go. Then stitch the nine

rows together in order, nesting the

seams at the intersections so they

match exactly. Press all the seams

in one direction.

Borders 1 and 2

12

Cut two of the 3in cream strips

in half. Join a half strip to one

end of each of the other four cream

strips, using a diagonal seam. Trim

the seams and press them open.

13

With right sides together, join a

3in cream strip to a 5^1 ⁄ 4 in floral

print strip along the long edges. (The

cream and floral strips are likely to be

slightly different lengths – trim them

to the same length.) Repeat this step

to make three more border strip sets.

14

Fold the border strips in half

and mark the midpoints on the

cream edge. Fold the centre panel of

the quilt in half and mark the midpoints

of two opposite sides. Repeat this step

for the other two sides.

15

Matching the midpoints, pin

the cream side of a border strip

to one side of the quilt panel, right

sides together. The border strips

will overhang the quilt at each end.

Starting and ending your stitching

(^1) ⁄ 4 in from the edge of the quilt, sew
the strip in place, reversing at both
ends. Press the seam and border
strip outwards.
16
Repeat Step 15 to sew the
other three strips to the edges
of the quilt – there should be the
same amount of border fabric
overhanging at all the corners. Make
sure you don’t catch another border
in the seams.
17
To mitre the first corner, lay
one corner of the quilt on the
ironing board, right side up and borders
pressed outwards. Fold one
of the border strips under itself at a
45-degree angle at the corner so it
matches the adjacent strip at the seams
and outer edge. Check that
the corner is 90 degrees and use your
quilter’s ruler to check the angle of the
fold is 45 degrees. When it’s all correct,
press the fold well and pin it from the
outside to hold it in place.
LESLEY’S JOINING
TIP When stitching the rows
of the quilt together, press all the
seams of the first row to the left,
the second row to the right, and
so on, so that adjoining rows have
their seams pressed in the opposite
directions to each other. This
allows the seams to nest and
ensures they match perfectly.
Homespun 103