The Lady of Shalott
will stitch to the left of the stay stitching when joining
the pieces together.
Three-Month Block of the Month
6. Stitch for a couple of inches then lift the top fabric,
double check the alignment of the stay stitching and
registration marks, lower the top fabric and continue
stitching.
Ricky Tims
Month Three
Congratulations for making it this far on the Lady of
Shalott BOM! This month the goal is to piece the units
together. However, we all know a quilt is not a quilt
until it’s quilted, so I’m going the extra mile to share
with you my marking technique so you can get started
quilting it as soon as you finish joining it together.
No Pins Precision Curved Piecing.
Not every seam in this quilt is curved, but most are.
The instructions listed here are what you will use to
join all the pieces together. The assembly order will be
shown following the instructions for his piecing technique. Using the “needle-down” feature is very helpful
for this technique.
1. Position the pieces
right sides together.
2. Align the stay stitching
at the beginning of the
seam and stitch two or
three stitches stopping
with the needle in the
down position.
3. Lift the top fabric and
align the stay stitching
on top of the bottom
stay stitching.
4. Check to see how the
next registration marks
will align. If either the
top or bottom fabric
needs a slight tug to
bring the registration
marks into alignment, do
just that.
5. Lower the top fabric
down (aligning the stay
stitching) and stitch a
fraction to the left of the
stay stitching. If you recall the ‘breath’ distance
used when stay stitching
to the right of the edge
of your freezer paper
template used during
Month One, it is that
same distance that you
7. When you reach the end
of the seam, check to make
sure the visible stay stitching
on the two units matches at
the end of the seam. Then
check the beginning of the
seam to make sure the visible stay stitches match on
the two units as well. Then
check the entire length of
the seam to be sure no stay
stitching is visible along
the seam. If any stitching is
showing along the seam, unsew the necessary portion
and resew that part of the seam.
As you piece the project, take great care to match the
registration marks and/or the intersections of seams.
The only place I recommend pinning (an then only if
necessary) is at intersections where units converge.
Pinning prohibits the ability to lift up and peek into
the seam as you are stitching to be sure the stay
stitching is perfectly aligned.
Note: Unlike traditional patchwork where you
align the edges of the fabrics when sewing, you
will instead, align the stay stitching. The edges
of the fabric might not be aligned. While the
goal was to accurately trim slightly less than a quarter
inch, no doubt the seam allowance will vary. The stay
stitching should be the true reference for the seam
you are sewing.
The Piecing Order
1. Join the B units to the E
units. Create four of these.
E
B
2. To B-E units add the D
and DR units. Create four of
these.
E
D
B
DR
3. Join two B-D-DR-E units on top
and bottom of Unit A as shown at
right.
8. Assemble the right border using the
remaining G, H, HR, and two J units.
E
D
B
J
H
DR
G
A
D
B
DR
HR
E
J
4. Join an F and FR onto
each C unit. This will require doing a “Y” seam,
which is essentially a
mitered corner. Make 4.
Note: When
stitching the “Y”
seam, do not
begin stitching at
the edge. Instead,
place the needed in the
corner at the exact spot
of the seam line. Take
one stitch forward, one
stitch back, one stitch
forward (to secure the
stitching) and continue sewing the seam,
matching stay stitching
and registration marks.
9. Join the right border on
the right side of the quilt as
shown at right.
F
FR
C
J
5. Using a G, H,
HR, and two J
units, create the
left border as
shown at right.
HR
G
10. The final seam will join
the left and right portions
of the quilt top.
H
6. Assemble the left portion of the quilt as
shown at right. Note that the
H
C-F-FR units must be joined
J
to each side of the D-DR-B-E
F
unit first. Add the top and
HR
bottom H and HR border
FR
C D
units. Then add the left full
border followed by the right
DR
interior portion that was
E B
G
previously sewn together in
D
Step 3.
DR
H
F
J
HR
C
FR
J
E
B DR
A
B
E
D
7. Join G to H and G to HR
first. Then join the C-F-FR
units to the top and bottom
of the remaining D-DR-B-E
unit. Then join the G-HR
onto the top and the G-H at
the bottom.
Lady of Shalott - BOM - Month 3 of 3 - Ricky Tims
Marking the Quilt for Quilting
The pattern contains the quilting that I used for my
Lady of Shalott quilt. Feel free to do something different if you prefer. However, marking a quilt can be a
real pain. Here is my favorite way to mark a quilt top
very accurately and practice free-motion quilting at
the same time.
1. Copy the quilting design onto Ricky Tims Stable
Stuff Poly. To do this you will need to feed one sheet
at a time. Some quilting designs are larger than the
sheet, so copy on portion on one sheet and the remainder on another sheet
being sure there is some
overlap to the copied design.
2. Trim each sheet to about a
half-inch overlap.
© 2014 Ricky Tims, All rights reserved 2
3. Using a glue stick, join
them together and trim
the design on the exact
edge of the template
(seam line).
4. Position this copied
design on the BACK of
the quilt top. The seams
should be facing you. DO
NOT PUT THIS ON THE
QUILT TOP - PUT IT ON
THE BACK OF THE QUILT
TOP.
5. Secure with glue stick
or spray baste aligning
the edges of the copied
design with the seams
on the quilt.
6. Put water-soluble thread in the top and bobbin of
your machine.
7. Use a free-motion
quilting foot and freemotion quilt on the
copied lines of the quilting design. The watersoluble bobbin thread
will mark the quilt top.
Tip: On the larger Unit
A quilting design, after
it is somewhat secured
with the glue stick,
consider stitching it in
place along the seam
lines to stabilize it on
the quilt top. Naturally,
the goal is to make the
design fit exactly into the
strips of fabric for this
unit. Stitching along the
seams allows you to see
how close you are to the
exact position. When I
did mine, it was slightly
off - but not too much.
I continued marking the
quilt by stitching on the
copied lines knowing
that on the front the
design would be slightly
out of position. I could
see that it was close enough that I could visually make
the adjustment when I did the actual quilting on the
quilt. Remember the
water-soluble thread will
go away completely, so
if you are not stitching
exactly ON those thread
lines it will be okay.
Lady of Shalott - BOM - Month 3 of 3 - Ricky Tims
Finishing the Quilt
After the quilt has been
marked, sandwich it
together and quilt it. The
Stable Stuff stays inside
the quilt. I did all my
main quilting motifs first
and then went back and
filled in the open areas
with a small stipple.
Stitch all the way around the quilt with a large and
fairly open zigzag stitch catching the edges in the
stitching.
Immerse the quilt in water to dissolve the water-soluble threads. I do this by placing it in my washing machine on a Rinse/Spin cycle. There is also the option of
just filling the tub - soaking it - and then spinning it.
Place the quilt on a floor or table and block it as
square as possible to dry. I often find it is helpful to
have two people so the quilt can be tugged flat and
square. Use your rulers or cutting mats to help find
the perfect 90˚ angles for the corners and slightly tug
the edges so they are as straight as possible. Let air
dry.
After the quilt is dry, use your rotary cutter and
ruler to slightly trim any edges that are not perfectly
straight. Trim only what is necessary.
Binding the Quilt
For this quilt I used 1 3/4” non-bias strips joined at
45˚ angles and created a traditional single fabric layer
1.4” small binding. This width does not allow for a
folded double layer binding. My binding was sewn
onto the front of the quilt with a quarter-inch seam.
The corners were mitered per the usual method for
traditional bindings. The binding was turned to the
back, folded under, and hand stitched down.
If you have a different binding method that you would
prefer to use, be sure you have enough of the binding
fabric to use that technique.
After my quilt was bound, I once again put it through
a Rinse/Spin cycle in my washing machine, blocked it
square, and let it air dry to complete the quilt.
A Note About Bleeding Fabric
Any fabric, whether it is hand-dyed
or commercial has the possibility of
bleeding. Our hand-dyed fabrics have
been washed and rinsed twice. However, the chemical content of water in
different areas could cause a fabric to
‘bleed’ when it is wet. Since my preferred method for blocking is to get
the quilt wet, I am always prepared
for fabric bleeding. It doesn’t happen often, but it has
happened.
© 2014 Ricky Tims, All rights reserved 3
What to do? First, let me say that typical over-thecounter products are left on the counter. I don’t use
color catchers or anything found in the local grocery
store. I use Synthrapol. Synthrapol is a highly concentrated detergent formulated specifically to gobble up
any non-bonded dye particles. Bleeding is the visual
effect of non-bonded dye particles seeping over onto
a lighter fabric where they are annoyingly (and often
dishearteningly) visible. Mix a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part Synthrapol and spray the problem areas
as a pre-soak for 15 minutes prior to washing. Then,
wash the quilt in hot water with 2 Tablespoons of Synthrapol - yes, it’s that concentrated! Rinse and spin.
Since the problem areas are not bonded dye particles,
the Synthrapol will remove all of the bleeding and
your quilt will look beautiful. Remember this tip for
any future quilt with fabric bleeding issues.
Synthrapol can be obtain at many quilt shops, but
is also available online at ProChemical Company or
Dharma Trading Company. A few ounces should last
you quite a while.
The Lady of Shalott
Lady of Shalott - BOM - Month 3 of 3 - Ricky Tims
© 2014 Ricky Tims, All rights reserved 4