Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Facing a Quilt--Facing Method II

FACING METHOD II

A little while back, I posted "FACING METHOD I" as it was taught to me by Marti Plager. I promised I'd post "FACING METHOD II." Well, it has taken me a bit longer to get it posted than I thought it would, but here it is.

Marti Plager spent a day teaching me two different methods of facing quilts. You can find Method I by clicking on the link. You can check out Marti's quilts on her website at http://www.martiplager.com/. While you are there, take a close look at the corners of her quilts. They all look great. I owe her a big thanks for so generously sharing her time and knowledge with me.

First, here is a bit of information you need to know.
  • Marti says this facing method makes a corner that is a bit more square than when using "FACING METHOD I," but there may be more bulk to deal with in the corners. 
  • I used a walking foot to put the facing strips on my quilt.
  • For this method, sew the top and bottom facings on first.

METHOD II
1)   Square up the quilt.

2)   Cut facing strips 2 ½” wide. They should be cut the same length as the top and bottom measurement. You can either cut them to the correct length to start with or you can sew the strip on and then cut it to the correct length.

3)  Pin and stitch the top and bottom facing strips using a 3/8” seam allowance. The picture shows the facing strip cut to length and already sewn to the bottom of the quilt. The top facing strip has been sewn on and the left side has been cut to the correct length. I still need to cut the right side to the proper length. (This particular quilt has a horizontal alignment.)
4)  Press the top and bottom strips away from the quilt. 
  (This photo shows one of the strips pressed away from the front of the quilt.)

5)  Edge stitch the top and bottom facing strips approximately 1/8" from the seam with the right side of the quilt up as described in Method I. (Photo #10 shows what edge stitching on a facing strip looks like.)

6)  Press the long raw edge under approximately ½”. (You can see that I have done that in Photo #4.)

7)  Once you have top stitched the top and bottom facing strips, press both strips to the back of the quilt and pin. Be sure none of the facing strip shows on the front of the quilt.
8)  Cut the side facing strips so that they extend about an inch off both sides of the quilt. (See Photo #9.)

9)  Pin and stitch to the sides using a 3/8” seam allowance.
 This picture shows the side facing strips after they have been cut, stitched, and pressed away from the quilt.

10) Iron these facing strips away from the front.  Turn the quilt over so that the right side is facing you and edge stitch 1/8" from the seam like you did in #5.
 (This picture shows a facing that has been pressed away from the quilt and edge stitched 1/8" away from the edge of the seam.)

11)  Press the long raw edge under approximately ½”. (Like you did in #6.)

12)  Turn the facing strips to the back of the quilt (top and bottom pressed in first) and press so none of the facing strip fabric shows on the front.
 (In this picture, I have pressed the top and bottom strips to the back. I have also pressed the right-hand side strip to the back. I have yet to press the left-hand side strip to the back.)

13) If you find that you have more than about an inch of fabric extending off the strips, trim those to approximately an inch now. Turn the extended edges of the side strips (You can see those clearly in Photo #12.) under till they are even with the edge of the quilt. Pin. (You can trim a bit of the corner away if there is too much bulk. If you do that, though, be VERY careful not to cut the facing strip—that is easy to do—ask me how I know!)
 (This photo shows how the edge might be trimmed if necessary.)
(This photo shows the side facing strips after they have been pressed to the back and the short edges have been turned under and pinned.)

14)  Hand stitch the facing strip to the back of the quilt. Be sure your stitches do not go through to the front of the quilt.
 (This is the finished quilt.)

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