Joining String or Crazy Blocks Tutorial

I recommend you read the whole tutorial before proceeding on your own lovely project.

Over the summer, a few questions came in and I've decided that I will put these questions into a tutorial. First, was from Sharon who won the Crazy Quilting Club Kit in late July. That parcel has found her home and this is the next step for helping many of you to learn how I sew the finished crazy or string blocks into a whole quilt of crazy or string blocks.

Joining Crazy Or String Quilt Blocks Tutorial

This method assumes your blocks are already machine or hand quilted and that you have a Walking Foot for your machine. Its essential for great results!

I think I just adapted this joining procedure when I became a All Round Quilt As You Go quilter.

So if you are just starting out with Crazy or a String block, this will surely help you make your first whole Crazy or String  quilt.

Make sure that all your blocks are of equal size, meaning that you must decide this before you start this procedure. So squaring off each block to be the same size as your smallest block. Once that is done, move on to step 2.

Cut 2 strips the WOB by length of block + 1 in., now if your block was 10 x 10 in., then each sashing should be 11 inches long by 1 1/4 inch wide. I encourage you to keep  your sashings at least  1/2 inch longer because you will sew these down by machine and sometimes this causes some stretch.

3. Press 1/4 inch fold over on one side of each of your sashing pieces.

4. Lay each pressed sash with good sides facing each other like the photo below. Notice that each side of the block has a sashing with the fold over facing up! Pin copiously along whole seam, checking on backside to be sure nothing is out of place. 

5. Sew a 1/4 in. seam just like any other seam in quilting. I use my machine's walking foot for this part. I recommend it.

6. Press the sewn seams down once more on each side. Then flip each sashing and press again. 

7. Align the nieghbour block into the space you've created inside the fold-over of the sashing and make sure both blocks are straight and square against each other. Pin copiously again, checking the back side to remove anything that will cause a bump or scrump on the back side.  This needs to exact or otherwise you'll have to trim off part of one of more blocks to make it fit. (This causes sad faces when some lovely stitching has to be cut!! Ugh!)

8. With your walking foot, its easy to join blocks like this. You can use this method for strip quilting as you go and many other ideas I'm sure you'll think of as you go. 

9. Once you have a more than two blocks sewn together in this method, you measure the long sashing required in the same manner as explained in the previous blocks.

This how I achieve machine quilted blocks being joined to finish a whole quilt yourself.

I use this same method to join crazy quilt blocks. I apologize that the blocks are not crazy quilting blocks, but this strip pieced blocks work just as well to promote joinging of blocks, crazy or not.

Thanks for reading and using this tutorial.

Happy Quilting!