Day 7: Joining the quilt top

 

It's time to put our quilt top together!

1. The first thing you need to decide is the layout. And there are different options to choose from. It is up to you to decide how you want to lay your blocks.

Since there are 5 cat designs, you could set each design in one row:

 

Or mix them up, any which way you like. Set some of them upside down, or rotate them to one side:

 

2. Label the blocks: I find it best to lay out all my blocks in the order I want, and then label them, numbering the rows and using letters for each block. For example, 1A would be the first block on the left of row 1. 1B would be the second block in that same row. Using these labels helps me keep the blocks in order as I sew.

 

 

3. Sew on the vertical sashings. These are the ½" x 10½" strips you cut out yesterday. So begin by sewing a sashing strip onto the right side of all the blocks. And sew a sashing strip onto the left side of the first block of each row: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A

 

You will have used half of your sashing strips at this point (30 strips).

4. Now join your rows:

5. Prepare the horizontal sashings: Sew a ½" cornerstone square onto one of the short ends of the remaining ½" x 10½" strips.

 

You should have 6 cornerstones left at this point. Sew those squares onto the other short end of six of the sashing strips.

 

Now join the sashing strips into 6 long strips:

6. Joining the quilt top: sew five of the long horizontal sashing strips to the top of each row of blocks. Sew the sixth sashing strip to the bottom of the last row of blocks. Join all the rows to form the quilt top.

7. Attach the borders in order, sewing on first the side borders, and then the top and bottom borders.

 

YOU'RE DONE!

All that is left now is the quilting and binding. If you normally have a long armer do the quilting for you, you're set to go. But if you prefer quilting your projects yourself, tune in tomorrow for my quilting tips for this project.

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ONCE AGAIN:

Follow me on Instagram @angiesbits and post your progress pics to #blackcatquiltsewalong   OR on Facebook at Angie's Bits 'n Pieces OR, if you prefer, post your pics on my Black Cat Quilt Pinterest Board

Let's see those photos!