Award Ceremony Quilt a free pattern from Anna Maria Horner
Award Ceremony Quilt by Anna Maria Horner My Honor Roll fabric collection is inspired by the idea of being good. The prints themselves took cues from the smaller scale and tidy forms that I found in an heirloom collection of handkerchiefs that belonged to my great grandmother. The very use of such a lovely hankie was something that started me thinking of the types of girls we used to be. How generations have changed. How the desire to be good is as vintage as the designs themselves. And of course the failed attempts at being good also inspired some of the print titles like Misguided Gingham and Chatterbox...but back to achievement. What better tribute to a job well done than prize ribbons? This formal arrangement of larger than life ribbons makes up what I named the Award Ceremony Quilt, though you could decorate a quilt background in any number of ways with this spin-off of the Dresden plate. The construction of this quilt is marked by a pieced background with appliqued ribbon tails and appliqued Dresden plates. I used both machine and hand applique techniques and throughout the instructions I will guide you through that process and also point out where you could use an alternate method. While the required materials offered below are for a 60 x72 quilt, you could easily scale it larger or smaller with more or less rows or columns of blocks, just be aware changing scale will require more or less fabric. (Keep in mind also in reading through requirements that this quilt is very layered due to applique, so the yardage is pretty hefty.) Materials needed by design component Honor Roll fabric quantities used in feature quilt Background Fabrics 4 1/2 yards combined (Penmanship in all 3 colorways) 2 1/4 yards of milk 1 1/8 yards each of pistachio & jelly Ribbon Tail Fabrics 1 1/2 yards combined (Misguided Gingham in all 3 colorways) 1/2 yard each of strawberry, citrus & tea Circle Center Fabrics 1 3/4 yards combined (*This requirement does not include enough fabric to create the circles with a backing of same fabric. Please double measurements if you would like to use that method of creating circles.) (Overachiever in all 3 colorways) 1/2 yard of burgundy 1/4 yard each of charcoal & forest *** (Chatterbox in all 3 colorways) 1/4 yard each of pewter, sterling & gilded (*The amount of fabrics recommended for creating the Dresden Blades is a little more than what you will actually need for the quilt. The extra will allow some auditioning of various combinations of fabrics for the blades. In other words, you might make a few more Dresdens than you need, so that you can have extra choices in the final layout.) (Handpicked in all 3 colorways) fat quarter each of ecru, prairie & heather *** (Single File in all 3 colorways) fat quarter each of ground, wind & ocean *** (Cutting Line in all 3 colorways) fat quarter each of coral, mustard & turquoise *** (Balancing Act in all 3 colorways) fat quarter each of caramel, midnight & navy Binding 1 yard of Free Spirit Solid in cherry Backing 4 1/2 yards of Misguided Gingham in Citrus Batting 72 x 90 Dresden Plate Fabrics 3 yards combined Tools water soluble fabric pen straight pins cutting tools (rotary + mat, snips) curved safety pins measuring device (clear quilting ruler) machine thread for piecing hand sewing needle machine thread for applique
Cutting: 1. From the background fabrics (Penmanship), cut fifteen rectangles that measure 12.5 x 18 and five rectangles that measure 12.5 x 20 (these taller five are the top row of blocks). Because this fabric design is directional be sure to cut them tall on the vertical. The fabric requirement allows for more blocks made from the milk colorway. 2. From the ribbon tail fabrics (Misguided Gingham), cut 20 same color pairs of rectangles measuring 3 x 13 (40 total rectangles). 3. Use template B to TRACE 20 circles onto WRONG side of circle center fabrics (Overachiever and Chatterbox). The fabric requirement allows for more made of the Overachiever/burgundy. For now, just trim a square around each of the circles to separate them from one another. If you would like to create the circles by sewing two right sides together, slitting the backing, then flipping through to the right side you will need enough fabric for circle backings. If these are not cut from same fabrics, you might try using a solid fabric in a similar shade. You will not however need to trace anything on the backings. 4. From the Dresden plate fabrics, (Handpicked, Single File, Cutting Line, Balancing Act) use template A to cut a total of 400 blades. To save some time in doing this, you can cut strips of fabric that are as wide as the template is tall, and as long as the width of fabric (or fat quarter width of 22 ). Then layer up 2-3 strips together and cut the vertical edges one next to the other by continuing to flip the Dresden upside down and right side up using the previously cut angle as one side of the next blade. See illustration below. Piecing Dresdens: *Note: it is not yet necessary to plan the arrangement/color of the Dresden Plates only that you prepare each of the individual blades. As noted previously you may want to have more than 400 blades to play around with color assortment. 1. Prepare each of the Dresden blades by first folding them right sides together in half on their length then sewing across the wider short end using a 1/4 seam allowance. 2. Continue to do this with every Dresden blade and if desired also without lifting the presser foot or cutting threads between each piece so that you are chain piecing to save time. 3. Snip the threads into separate blades and carefully trim corners off of sewn ends angled down towards the folded edge as shown in illustration to right. 4. Finger press the seam open, and center it along the length of the blade before flipping through to the right side, making a nice point and pressing with an iron. Continue with all of the blades.
Piecing Dresdens continued: 5. The first step to creating the Dresden plates for your quilt is making sets of 20. For most of my plates, I paired two fabrics together, and sewed them alternately. So each plate would need 10 blades of one fabric and 10 blades of another fabric. In some cases I just used one fabric and tried to arrange them in a pleasing manner depending on how they were cut. Create 20 piles of 20 blades (or more) each in your desired combinations before going onto the next step. 6. With right sides together and using 1/4 seam allowances, sew the long edge of one blade to the long edge of another blade, and then continue by adding a third blade and so on, until you've created a 20-blade plate. You can then sew the first blade to the last to enclose the circle. Be sure that the folded edges of the points are lined up nicely before sewing together. The line up of raw edges at the other end will matter less because they will be hidden underneath the appliqued circles. 7. Once all 20 Dresden plates are assembled, press their seam allowances open or all in one direction. If your plates are not laying flat once they are pressed, you might need to adjust some of the seams to ensure that they are a consistent 1/4 deep. A little inconsistency will be tolerated in the final assembly of the quilt, so don't fret! Set plates aside. Center Circles Prep: *Note: To create a smooth circle for the center of each Dresden Plate I recommend one of two methods: - Follow my Super Circles tutorial on my blog to get a perfect smooth press edge on a single layer circle that can be appliqued by machine or hand. You will want to use template B to trace the cardboard form from, and also trim the fabric about 3/8 away from the traced circle. If you do so, replace the following Step 1 with that process. Here is the url: annamariahorner.blogspot.com/2007/02/super-circles.html - Or you can use a backing for your traced circle of the same fabric or fabric that is close in color. This is the method that I used for this quilt and what is described here, simply because I found it helpful to have all the circles ready to go and did not have to worry about loosing the crease on the edge if it took a while to get all of them appliqued. 1. With right sides together sew traced circle together with backing fabric stitching right onto the traced line. Trim seam allowance to about 1/4-3/8 away from stitch line. Notch clip seam allowance around entire perimeter. Carefully make a slit in the center of the backing about 1.5 long (this should be the side you want hidden). Then flip through slit to be right side out, smooth with fingers along the inside of entire seam, and press well. Continue with remaining 19 circle centers. Set circles aside. Ribbon Tails Prep: 1. Divide 20 ribbon rectangles into matching pairs. Lay one rectangle pair with right side facing up. Make an angled fold with right sides together so that short bottom edge is in line with long side edge. Pin in place. Sew the side edge in place with 1/4 seam allowance. Repeat with other rectangle but fold up in opposite direction so that the points created are a mirror image. Trim seam allowance corner at an opposite angle.
2. Flip corners to the right side, and press the sewn and folded edges. When pressing, continue the fold from the seam line all the way up the long edge of the ribbon to create a 1/4 deep crease. Repeat with other ribbon. Now continue steps 1 and 2 with all pairs of ribbon tails. Set aside. Marking Background Rectangles: 1. Every background rectangle will get marked the same way in order to establish the placement for sewing on the ribbon tails. Begin by folding the rectangle in half lengthwise, and finger press to create a center crease. Use template C (30 degree triangle) provided and set the point on the center fold and the bottom edge of triangle at the bottom edge of the block. Mark the fabric by drawing a line from one ribbon marking up to the top point of triangle and then down again to the other ribbon marking. Repeat with all of the background rectangles, making sure to mark from the bottom edge. Appliqueing Ribbon Tails: *Note: The elements for this quilt are built in three layers. The first is the ribbon tails which can be appliqued to each of the background blocks individually. I did this in an assorted fashion with no real rhyme or reason to which color tails I put on which color backgrounds. The shorter sides of the tails (that are not already creased) will be considered the inner edges. 1. With one ribbon tail lay it right sides together against a background block with it's shorter inner edge aligned with the lefthand marking of the triangle. Make the bottom edge of the ribbon meet the bottom edge of the marking and pin in place. Sew the inner edge of ribbon tail using a 1/4 seam allowance. 2. Flip the sewn tail back to reveal its right side and press the seam from the previous step. Now layer its pair into place with the shorter inner edge along the righthand marked line and overlapping the first ribbon tail. Be sure bottom inner point meets where marking stops. Repeat sewing step to secure second ribbon tail in place. Now fold the second tail back to reveal its right side and press well. 3. Continue Steps 1 and 2 on all remaining background blocks and tails. You can then choose to hand applique the outer and bottom open edges of the tails down to the background with a blind stitch or machine applique them down. I chose to hand applique.
Block Assembly: *Note: The assembly for this quilt is not the final step of sewing. Rather sewing the background blocks together has to happen before the Dresden plates are appliqued. The Dresden plates are appliqued onto each block in a manner that has a portion of them overlapping a seam between the background blocks. 1. Arrange the background blocks in any manner that you see fit for color balance, but be sure that the quilt top is 5 blocks wide and 4 blocks high and that all of the 20 tall blocks are on the top row. Once you have decided on an arrangement, begin with the top row and sew one block to the next with right sides together and using a 1/4 seam allowance. Repeat this with all rows and press seam allowances on each row either open or in alternate directions (one row pressed to the left, the next row pressed to the right and so on). 2. Once all rows are pressed, sew one to the next with right sides together, using a 1/4 seam allowance and also being sure that the seam intersections between rows match up. Continue until all rows are complete then press seam allowances either all in one direction or open. *Note: In making my quilt, I decided to take the top at this stage (with only the ribbon tails appliqued to the background) and layer it up with batting and backing then machine quilted it with a very regular geometric diamond pattern. I used the same steep 30 degree angle from the ribbon tails to draw water soluble lines on the top for easy reference while using my Janome to machine quilt. Quilting the layers together at this stage, allows the subsequently appliqued Dresden plates to really stand out in texture compared to the background. Do consider how you will apply the Dresden plates and their center circles to help make your quilting plan. Appliqueing Dresden plates: 1. Begin arranging Dresden plates onto each block, matching them up with ribbon tail pairs as you wish and loosely pin in place until you have a layout that you are happy with. The specific placement of the Dresden plate is shown at the right. As you can see, the points of four of the blades extend above the top horizontal seam line between background blocks. And they are centered between left and right seams. The top row of Dresden plates, however, simply floats on the background and their points are close to the top edge, but no closer than about 1/2-5/8 away from it. 2. Once you have decided on placement, you can begin the work of appliqueing the Dresden plates in place, either by hand or by machine. Keep in mind if you have already quilted the background, that machine quilting the Dresdens will also show on the back side. I chose to hand applique the Dresdens in place. If you do the same, just be sure to avoid your blind stitches going through to the back side. 3. Choose the arrangement of the center circles however you wish, considering the individual combinations of ribbon tails/dresdens/circles as well as the overall balance of color and light and dark. Center the circles over the opening in the Dresden blades and with the slit side facing down. Just as with the Dresdens, you can choose to applique by hand or machine. I used a wide, chicken foot style stitch on my Janome to machine applique the circles in place. Finishing: If you have not quilted the top yet, piece together your backing material so that it is about 12 larger in each direction than the quilt top. Layer the wrong sides of backing and quilt top against the batting in the center, before quilting and binding your quilt as you wish. Congratulations, you just won 20 first place ribbons! ;-P