Quilt as You go Tutorial

Quilting large quilts on a standard sewing machine is back and shoulder breaking work. If you are lucky to have a decent throat space on your machine (Mine has 11″-which is really nice) then quilting a larger quilt is not as hard as on a machine with minimal space. I used to have a machine with less than 6″ of space and that is one of the reasons I shied away from quilting for so long. However, I discovered the quilt as you go method when making my Moda Stitch Pink Quilt back in October 2020.

It was a fun learning experience because not only did it let me quilt a larger quilt on a small machine, but it enabled me to experiment with different kinds of quilting-free motion, straight line etc. My Moda Stitch Pink quilt is a sampler quilt with the 30 different quilt blocks each containing 30 different quilting techniques. You can read more about it here.

In this post I will show you how I quilt as you go. I did this type of quilting for my daughters stylized Pokémon quilt-shown below. Quilting in this method allowed me to really focus on each block without the back breaking work. This quilt is HEAVY! Each block is 24″ square making the whole quilt 72″ .

Quilt as You go Instructions:

Supplies

  • Quilt Blocks
  • Batting
  • Backing
  • Safety Pins or Spray Basting
  • Basic Sewing Machine Supplies-scissors, thread, rotary cutter, rulers, sewing machine etc.
  • 1″ strips for back joining seams (make them the same as the baking fabric for a subtle look or use different fabric for a bolder look)
  • 1 1/2″ strips for front joining seams (make them the same as the background fabric of your blocks for a subtle look or use different fabric for a bolder look)
  • Spray Starch

Below are the step by step instructions for the way I quilt as you go. At the end of this post there is a video with sped up visual footage of what I do when attaching the back and front joining strips. It is done using scraps on a smaller scale.

Begin by layering your quilt block, batting and backing.
Baste your block however you prefer. I like to pin baste.
Quilt your block. When finished quilting, stitch around the entire block 2-3 times about 1/8″ away from the edge. This helps keep the block edges from slipping and flipping when you are sewing the joining strips.
Trim your block.
Fold the 1 1/2″ strip in half and press.
Left: backing 1″ strip Right: 1 1/2″ strip folded and pressed.
Layer your backing strip, quilt block and front strip. The front strip raw edge should line up with the raw edge of the quilt block and backing strip. Pin or clip in place.
I make sure to have an excess of the strips at the beginning and end of each block. This ensure the whole piece is covered.
Another look at the three pieces together.
Sew together using a scant 1/4″ seam.
Press the back strip. You can see in the photo it sticks out from the block. Leave the front strip where it is for now.
Take your next quilt block and pin it to the backing strip of the block you just sewed backing sides together. Sew using a scant 1/4″ seam.
Press from the back and again on the front.
This image shows you the front. The two quilt block just meet up and may overlap slightly. My finger is lifting the front joining strip. Fold over the front joining strip and press.

I do not have a photo showing me sewing the front joining strip down with this particular quilt. To do this step, you need to go very slow. You’ll want to make sure you catch all the layers as well as encase the raw edges of your quilt blocks. Watch the video below for a better idea of what to do.

The finished look of two blocks together.

Repeat these steps to join your blocks into rows as well as joining your rows together to form your quilt. Finally bind your quilt to your liking and you are finished!

The back of the quilt showcasing the lines. If I did the same fabric as the backing it would be more subtle.

Happy Sewing!

Starting to bloom by choosing JOY ~ Julia

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