I recently finished my first traditional quilt and, for some reason, decided to make it king sized. This is a quick look at the design process, construction methods, and the ways I managed to wrestle a project far too large for my sewing machine into existence.
I’ve made quilted things before, but never a traditional quilt that was actually meant to live on a bed and function as a blanket. This was the first one.
The design was drafted completely from scratch and built around landscapes from all the places I’ve lived over the years: Niš, Serbia; Sarandë, Albania; Albuquerque, New Mexico and Tacoma, Washington, where the quilt itself was made. I wanted everything to feel simplified and graphic, almost like pop art landscapes instead of realistic scenes.
I used Hatch embroidery software to design the landscape blocks and did echo quilting for the sky sections. The entire thing was sewn on a Brother BQ1350 which honestly did a great job, especially compared to my 70 year old Singer Rocketeer. Still, the actual size of the machine became a problem fast. A king sized quilt on a domestic machine is not particularly enjoyable and I definitely underestimated how difficult it would be to maneuver everything.
The original digital sketch vs. the final piece
At one point during an unusually slow day at work, a coworker started talking to me about Hawaiian quilting and how sections are quilted individually before being assembled together. That conversation pretty much saved this project. There was no way I was hand quilting anything, but the idea of treating each quarter of the quilt as its own separate piece made the entire thing manageable. Instead of fighting the full weight of the quilt the whole time, I only had to wrestle smaller sections through the machine.
Seams on the quilt top, with backing fabric showing
The most surprising part was honestly the cost. Even working at a sewing store and getting discounts on supplies, the materials still ended up costing hundreds of dollars. Costs add up very quickly when your project is large enough to require over 20 yards of fabric.
Details of the landscape blocks
Approximate finished size: 104x104" (260x260 cm)
Far from perfect, but finished, and the perfect souvenir from my time in Tacoma and Quality Sewing.
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