Category: Tools

Kaleidoscope Quilt Blocks

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Yesterday, I teased you with this image, telling you that it was used in my recent seminar at the University of Kentucky. Probably some folks have already figured this out – either by looking at my Events Calendar, or because you recognized the elements of a Kaleidoscope block from your own work.

For those who don’t know what a Kaleidoscope block is – here’s a very simple explanation: It is a block that works just like the toys we’ve probably all played with at one point or another. One view of a piece of fabric is ‘mirrored’ 8 times to create an octagon of that pattern. And the repeated image gives you a completely different view of the fabric than you had when you looked at the full piece of fabric uncut.

Now, if that sounds frightening to you – don’t worry. As always I have some hints and tips that will make creating such a block MUCH easier for you. And those of you who have made such blocks in the past may want to consider trying these tricks, they will probably save you some serious frustration! And we all want quilting to be more about fun than frustration.

My first suggestion – use a quilt template that is designed for making Kaleidoscope blocks. Yes, there are many triangle templates on the market, and you can probably get away with using one of those – but there is a certain simplicity to the work when the tool you are using is designed for the job you want to do.

I use the Marti Michelle Quilt Sense ruler – called the Triangle Kaleidoscope ruler.

As you can see, it has markings on it for various size blocks and the 90º angle is perfectly designed for the corners of a traditional kaleidoscope.

It’s a bit hard to see in this image, but the lines tell you what size the BLOCK will be, not how tall each triangle will be, so you don’t have to stop and use your calculator (mental or physical) to determine what size triangle you need to cut to create the finished block size you want. This makes preparation so much easier. The blue lines on the bottom of the triangle (as it is facing in this picture) are designed for measuring the width of the strips you will be cutting before you start your triangle cuts that will be sewn on the corners of your block (burgandy fabric).

All in all – a great tool, and a wonderful time saver. As I said earlier, the right tool can make a big difference in your project.

Now, on to the basics of the cuts.

Step one, carefully cut eight strips of your fabric so you can line the design up on each piece of fabric so it lays directly over the one below it. (This way, when you cut your triangles, you will have eight triangles that have the exact same fabric repeat showing.) Lining the repeats up is probably the most time-consuming part of cutting the fabric, but the end results make it well worth the effort.

Step two, now that your fabric is aligned, pin the fabrics together using a flat quilting pin (such as the flat flower pins from Dritz that I mentioned in an earlier post). This will allow your ruler to lay right on top of the pin without rocking because of the pin head (thus making your cuts straight).

Step three, line the template ruler up so you get the proper repeat showing through the ruler, and trim away the excess. After this is done, with the template still in place, cut your triangles. You will now have eight triangles of the same image – just as in the teaser picture I showed you (see top of this post).

Step four, cut your corner blocks – there will be four of these for each kaleidoscope. After you have cut these, you can sew them to your triangles. On the end of for of the repeat triangles, add your corners.

Step five, begin to sew your block together, start by making one half of the block, sewing each triangle into place separately.

Once you have half of the block sewn together, sew another half block together, and then sew the two halves together to create a full block.

And here you see the completed block (not nearly so much yellow in the picture this time), and the paisley block that will be it’s companion in the quilt. I’m very pleased with the way these turned out!

See? It’s really not that difficult when you have a few hints to guide you. If any of you are thinking about purchasing the Kaleidoscope ruler by Marti Michell, I recommend that you take a look at this book as well, it was made as a companion to the ruler – and has some wonderful patterns and eye-candy of the quilt variety!

Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila

DYK (Did You Know) – June Tailor Print Fabrics

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D.Y.K. – Did You Know? icons

You want to personalize your project with pictures and/or words, but what June Tailor product do you buy? There are symbols to help you on the package – In the upper right corner, look for an iron or sewing machine, telling you how the product is applied.

Colorfast Printer Fabrics

  • Some Available Colors/Styles
    • White, 3 sheets (JT-900)
    • Cream, 3 sheets (JT-980)
    • White, 10 sheets (JT-9610
  • 100% Cotton Fabric
  • Sew into project
  • Print on Ink-Jet Printer
  • Great for memory quilting projects because it’s washable

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Computer Printer Fabric

  • Some Available Colors/Styles:
    • White, 4 sheets (JT-901)
    • Cream, 4 sheets (JT-902)
  • Fabric is not as thick as the Colorfast Printer Fabric, more like quilting cotton fabric weight
  • Sew into project
  • Print on Ink-Jet Printer
  • Great for memory quilting projects but it is dry clean only

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Quick Fuse Inkjet Fabric

  • Some Available Colors/Styles:
    • White, 3 sheets (JT-930)
    • Cream, 3 sheets (JT-940)
  • 100% Cotton Fabric
  • Iron-On
  • Great as an embellishment such as on sweatshirts, school bags, purses, etc.
  • Print on Ink-Jet Printer
  • Recommended Care – Hand Wash

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Print ‘n Press – (Transfer Product)

  • Some Available Styles:
    • 3 sheets (JT-908)
    • 10 sheets (JT-909)
  • Iron-on
  • Must mirror image your design
  • Print on Ink-Jet Printer
  • Great for embellishing on clothing, purses, aprons, etc. – it is machine washable

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Copy ‘n Press – (Transfer Product)

  • One Available Style: 3 sheets (JT-907)
  • Great for light colored projects
  • Can be used with color copiers
  • Copy photos, drawings and more

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Art-Wear Design Sheets

  • One Available Style: 3 sheets (JT-903)
  • Print on Color Ink-Jet Printer or can be colored with Markers or Crayons
  • Iron-ON
  • Machine Wash

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You’ve Been Framed

  • Some Available Styles (2 per pack):
    • Sports (JT-886)
    • Hugs/Kisses (JT-887)
    • Rectangle (JT-888)
    • Oval (JT-879)
  • 100% Cotton Fabric
  • Iron-ON
  • Color Inkjet Printer
  • Hand Wash

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Which products produce mirror images? – the transfer products: Print ‘n’ Press and Copy ‘n’ Press. To avoid a backwards image on your final project with these products, have the copier or printer ‘flip’ the image.

Can I print on a Laser Printer? – Laser printers use too much heat for fusible papers and fabrics. Your backing may be activated by the use of a laser printer, jaming the machine or ruining your print-out.

What is the best way to wash Colorfast printer fabric? – Machine wash, gentle cycle, with cold water and fabric softener. The fabric softener will act as a cleaning agent. This will allow the fabric to maintain the coating that protects the printed image.

Does Computer Printer Fabric have to be dry-cleaned? – Yes, the fabric is dry-clean only and is sensative to water, because your ink is a water based ink.

How can I avoid paper jams with Computer Printer Fabric? – load one sheet at a time into the printer.
Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila

Make Your Own Chenille

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Following are the very basic instructions on how to make your own Chenille using the Olfa Chenille Cutter. Are there other options for making your own chenille? Yes, but I much prefer the Olfa cutter for it’s simplicity and ease of use.

If you would like more detail on the Olfa Chenille Cutter, please check out this post.

Fabrics – I find that homespun cottons, flannels, and denim all work very well when making chenille. These fabrics are loosely woven and tend to “bloom” very nicely. I also use challis (rayon) and cotton calicos, for these fabrics I make my channel stitching closer together because it doesn’t “bloom” quite as thick as the other fabrics. Another fabric that is fun to chenille is fleece – when you are working

with fleece you only use two layers of fabric, the channels are cut only into the top fabric.

Layers of Fabric — the number of layers used to make the chenille depends on the final project. If both sides of the project will be visible when finished, I leave two fabrics not cut through. The number of layers that I cut through varies based on use of the project, and the fabrics thickness. Some examples are:

  • Flannel Baby Blanket – 5 layers, cut through 3
  • Homespun fabric if rug, hot pads, place mats, etc – 6 layers, cut through 4.
  • Homespun pillow – 5 layers, cut through 4 (because the back of the chenille would be inside the pillow and no one would see)
  • You will need to make variations depending on your projects.

Suggestion – If working with different colors of fabrics, or a patterned fabric to make your chenille, I suggest taking some 6” squares of the fabric you are planning to use. Stitch your channels, cut the top layers, wash, and dry completely – this will give you a test sample of what the finished fabric will look like. It’s always nicer to make adjustments in the test sample then to spend time making a full project and then be disappointed in the final look.

Layering – When layering fabrics, you lay the first fabric facing down and the rest facing up. If the fabric has a pattern you want to be able to notice when the project is chenilled that you will have to layer the fabrics you will cut through so that pattern in the fabric lay exactly on top of each other. If you don’t care about that than you can layer the fabrics at random (but then the sample piece suggested above is almost a must bef

ore creating chenille for the entire project).

Diagram Stitiching – Channels are stitched on the bias. It doesn’t need to be a true bias but it should be close (see image on the right – channels are shown with dotted lines). What I do is draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner and stitch that line. From that point, I usually move my needle on my machine all the way to the left and just use my right edge of my presser foot as a guide to sew the next ch

annel. Continue all the way across the whole project till the whole thing is channel stitched.

Cutting – Find the foot on the Chenille cutter that fits the best (tightest) in the channels you have sewn. Put the foot over the one or two bottom layers you don’t want to cut through. Slide the Chenille cutter through the channel cutting the fabrics above the foot. Continue across your whole project.

Note: Sometimes I find it helpful to take a scissor and snip in 1” through the top layers I will chenille – then when I use the Chenille tool it is easy to get the foot between the right layers. Better safe than sorry! Grin 5

Squaring the Project – After I cut through the layers to chenille I usually square up or trim up the edges. If the project is going to be cut to a shape such as a oval or a jacket front, this is the time to do that.

Binding – If the project is going to have binding I add that at this point. It is much easier to add when the project is still flat. If I am making a jacket, I would now sew it together, again it is easier to work with before you wash and dry to “bloom” the chenille.

“Blooming” – This is where your project comes to life! If you have sewn your channels on the bias you should simply just need to wash and dry your project. I hav

e found that some fabrics need you to do this step twice depending on how tight the weave of the fabric is. When it come out of the dryer your project is ready to enjoy!

You will have so much fun sewing your own chenille. Here are more posts in this series to enjoy:

Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila