Quilt Square Sweatshirt Tutorial

I have about 3987 things on my list of things I desire to make and I think I will magically accomplish within the next few weeks. The list just moves through time with me and never really widdles down, it only grows.

Which is why I was rather enthused when my sister suggested we do one of the things on my list as a project for our Annual Sisters Weekend.

If you know me at all… you will know I rather dread being away from home and whatever passion project I am working on. It literally feels like my insides have been left at home and I will not start breathing again until I am back at it.

So a sister weekend AND I get to do my stuff? A dream.

I learned 2 things.

I CANNOT focus on my stuff with others around. It was kind of torturous. Bless my dear sisters’ hearts becuase they were not the problem - it’s me. I am the problem.

I live in my head and it is hard to be outside of it and make things too.

The second thing I learned was all the ways NOT to make a Quilt Square Sweatshirt. That’s the beauty of so many sisters… we tried all the ways and the best way finally emerged. And now you get to do it the easy way.

SUPPLIES;

• Sweatshirt

• Quilt square. Mine is 12”. I used this TUTORIAL to make an Ohio star.

• Cotton fabric for backing

• Children’s Glue Stick.

• Sewing Machine

• Sew your quilt block. There are a gazillion tutorials on the web for these. I stuck with a 12” block, but a smaller one would be lovely and maybe even better for your sweatshirt. I was honestly too lazy to do the math to make it smaller, so I stuck with the 12”.

• Can we take a moment to gush over the Liberty Fabrics? Only 2 are Liberty (the yellow centre and the blue star points). My heart sings every time I see them - I DREAM of visiting the real thing someday.

• Also… you can see how imperfect my edges are. I am that kind of sewist. Never perfect and guess what? It still works. Just in case you need encouragement…

• Cut a piece of cotton fabric the same size are your block, mine was 12.5”.

• Layer the two squares with right sides together. Secure with pins.

• Sew around the edge using a 1/4” seam allowance. Leave a 3” gap for turning right side out.

• Trim the edges and corners.

• Turn right side out and press. Press the gap to match the seam allowance.

• Time to quilt the block. Secure the block with pins. Typically one would use safety pins to save oneself from unwanted pricks, but I would have had to walk into another room to get them, so I used regular pins instead. I admit defeat quickly…

• Starting with the seams closest to the centre, stitch in the ditch.. It is a small block, so the die hard rules of proper quilting technique really do not have much sway here. I stitched all of my block seams.

Here is where things can get tricky. Attaching it to a stretchy sweatshirt…

I learned years ago that the BEST adhesive when sewing is… a CHILDREN’S CRAFT GLUE STICK. We did not have this precious commodity on the Sister Weekend and quite honestly my brain wasn't really processing as we were figuring out the steps to make out sweatshirts. As soon as I was alone, the glue stick popped into my head like an angel. When I say this changes EVERYTHING, I really mean it. I seam ripped the first sweatshirt on the sisters’ weekend to smithereens and still ended up with a crooked appliqué.

• Centre the quilt block on the sweatshirt. Make sure the sweatshirt is smooth, not stretched in any way.

• Temporarily secure with pins and try it on for fit. Do this until you like the placement on the sweatshirt.

• Glue the block onto the sweatshirt. Focus on the edges.

• Secure with pins.

• Sew around the edge of the quilt block, ensuring the sweatshirt and block are staying securing and one layer is not stretching. You can check your progress at each pin, it should be smooth - adjust as you go, if needed.

• HOT TIP… when sewing on a stretchy fabric use a zig zag stitch that is barely a zigzag. I set my machine to a zigzag at just about the lowest setting and a 3.5 - 4 stitch length. Too short of a stitch length will bunch the layers.

• Throw into the wash to mesh the quilt block and sweatshirt into one glorious pair.