Bargello Quilt

Materials:

seven different fabric selections (3/8 yard each)
border fabric (3/4 yard)
rotary blade and mat
seam ripper
scissors
ruler

Steps:

Selecting fabrics
Select either one-color family, all blue, or choose two color families, and select a light, medium and dark shade. Colors of the rainbow would work well for a child's quilt. A variety of patterns is great, however, this design does not do well in stripes. Polka dots work, but cabbage rose patterns don 't. Keep in mind the fabric needs to flow from one color to the other (figure A).

Pre-washing fabric
Pre-wash or not? The experts say it all depends. If working with red color fabrics, it's probably best to pre-wash the fabric. It's a sad day when the color runs all over a beautiful quilt.

Making a chart
Make a chart that shows the fabrics to be used in this quilt design (figure B). This will keep you and the fabric organized. Each fabric will be numbered. Fabric swatches do not need to be very large, just enough to know which fabric is which.

Cutting strips
All strips are cut 3-1/2-inches by the width of the fabric , from selvage to selvage. Place the fabric with the fold towards you and cut 2-1 /2 strips of each fabric. For the most accurate cut, cut only one fabric at a time.

Sewing strips
Stitch the fabric strips together, using a 1/4-inch seam allowance and 15 stitches to the inch. Press seams. If the sewing machine foot is not exactly 1/4-inch, that's okay. Just be consistent with the size of the seam allowance throughout the quilt. Once all of the strips have been sewn together, one side will be relatively straight, while the other side will be somewhat jagged. It's okay. This is due to not all fabrics are the same width.

Pressing
Always press in one definite direction, from the lowest number towards the highest numbered fabric. Warm the seam first. This is known as setting the seam (figure C). Then open the fabric and press the seam (figure D). This will eliminate a crease being formed in the fabric along the seam line.

Cutting strip units
For more accurate cuts, cut single thickness (figure E). Cut two strips at 3-1/2-inches. The first cut could measure four or five inches, depending on what design is desired. Cut the next two strips at three inches and so on.

Looping and de-looping
To loop, begin with two 3-1/2-inch strip units , with right sides together, and using the 1/4-inch seam allowance, stitch the units together at both ends to create a loop. The seams should be pointing or have been pressed in the same direction. Do this to all strip units. An easy way to keep organized is to keep feeding the units through to create a chain of looped fabric (figure F).

To de-loop, pick two fabric numbers that are next to each other on the fabric chart . Only open the loop once! Using the seam ripper, open the seam connecting the two fabrics that was chosen. Because the stitch is about 14 stitches per inch, if every fourth stitch is torn, the seam should open quicker. Also, the sharper the point is on the seam ripper, the better. Where the strip units were joined, just do a quick finger press to that seam to have the seam lie flat. This will be done twice.

Design board
With seams going in a downward direction, place the first strip on the design board. Next, decide if the design should go up or down. In this sample, the design will be going up.

The next strip unit will need to match the fabric of the first strip unit, only the next size down. Taking the next size strip unit, fold the matched fabric in half with right sides together and, with scissors, cut along the fold (figure G). Place this strip unit on the design board and notice this strip is a half-drop (figure H). Also notice that the first strip has its seam allowance, whereas, the second strip does not. Either the seam is opened or cut, the process alternates. It is preferred to have the opened seams on the outside edge.

What's nice about this design is there's a goof factor. Mistakes stand out (figure I) so you'll know before hand if there's an error being made. You'll also know when the design is correct (figure J) because the seams will all be going in the same direction. Sew the strips into segments and then stitch the segments together. Set the seams and press the seams either to the left or right, but always in the same direction.

"Cut" strip units tip
The strip units where the cut was made in the middle, from the top of the strip go down about every third to forth square down and cut a very tiny notch on both sides (figure K). Remember, there's only the 1/4-inch seam allowance, so don't go crazy on the size of notch. This creates only a reference point. Line up the "cut" strip unit with the top of the open strip unit, and press down the 1/4-inch seam allowance (figure L). The notch will line up with the seams of the first strip unit and will keep the stitching straight .

When the quilt top is complete it's time to decide on borders. The first border should be in a fabric that is not represented in the quilt top. This will stop the design. If a fabric is duplicated, the design tends to "bleed" into the border. Add as many borders as desired. The quilt design is the focal point and the border should not be a distraction.