Quilters Dream Green & Summer Star Quilt [pic heavy]

About a year ago I took a class on Y-seams at my local quilt shop.  We used the Tumbling Blocks Table Runner pattern from the 2012 book Friendship Strips & Scraps from Laundry Basket Quilts by Edyta Sitar.  Its been awhile since I worked with Y-seams and I had a great shamrock green batik that I thought would make a lovely background (and its March, so why not make a green quilt). I decided to make the Summer Star Quilt this time around.

Edyta is all about pulling from your stash.  Grabbing random fabric, all color tones and textures - even ones that don't match - and stripping piecing them together to create a whole new 'fabric'.  My first table runner turned out great using this technique so I thought I would give it another try using the shamrock green batik.

First you cut your fabric in varying widths sewing them together. Make sure all your seams are facing in the same direction.

Strips ready to be sewn together

My scrappy stripped 'fabric'.

Next, using the template provided in the book, cut diamonds from your striped 'fabric'.

After cutting all the diamonds, don't throw away your scraps, Edyta gives instructions in the front of the book for how to piece the left over edge triangles into usable pieces.  

After you have cut the diamond (in my case 96!), mark the diamonds with a 1/4" seam allowance on all four points.  This aids in knowing when to stop sewing when creating Y-seams.

Then cut squares and triangles from the background fabric and mark a 1/4" seam allowance on those as well.

Next, sew!  Be sure to stop at the point where the two 1/4" marking meet.  If done properly, the seam should just fold open when flipped right side up.  Even one stitch too many and you will get a puckered look.

Sew the background squares and triangles onto your scrappy star. And voile!  One block done.

Front View

Back View, look at those seams! Yeah :)

I don't know if i love the look of the green batik background against my scrappy star.  So I decided to quilt one block and see if a bit of quilting improved the overall look.

I used Quilters Dream Green batting.  Its a mid loft poly batting made from recycled plastic bottles (think 7-Up and Sprite) lending a pale green hue to the batting.  It quilts up and washed just like Quilters Dream Poly Select.  Having just used Poly Select in another project I wanted to see how the two finished projects compared.

It quilted up beautifully, I love the texture the Dream Green poly batting adds and its green!  Perfect for a St. Patrick's Day quilt.  Still don't know if I'm married to the green batik background.  What do you think?

Interested in giving Quilters Dream Green a try?  Give us a call at 1-888-268-8664 to receive a free sample.

Batting University (Part 2) Dream Green and Dream Orient Batting

This week we are delighted to continue Batting University with a look at Quilters Dream Green and Quilters Dream Orient battings!  We hope you enjoy a closer look at what makes each batting unique. If you have any questions or you would like free samples, call us toll free, 1-888-268-8664, or email: QuiltersDreamBatting@juno.com 

QUILTERS DREAM GREEN BATTING

Dream Green batting is a soft, cozy, and cuddly batting that is 100% made from recycled bottles.  Each pound of Dream Green rescues 10 bottles that could be added to the landfills! The polyester microfibers are indistinguishable from virgin poly fibers, so it has all the advantages of Dream Poly with added environmental benefits.

Dream Green Batting
The green coloring comes from the recycled bottles - there must be a lot of Mt. Dew drinkers!

Advantages:

• Made 100% from recycled bottles for the environmentally sensitive quilter
  
• Needlepunched poly microfibers mimic cotton fibers, so you get the look and feel of cotton
  
• No shrinkage, so quilting will look the same after washing
  
• Excellent for both hand and machine quilting
  
• Will not hold a crease, even if it is folded up for months
  
• Does not absorb moisture, so it dries very quickly and will not hold a stain
  
• Breathable – there are no scrims or other barriers that would inhibit airflow
  
• Fine denier microfibers bend when in contact with fabric, so they resist bearding

Disadvantages:

• Green in color, so test when using under white or very light colored fabrics
  
• Does not shrink, so you will get no puckering
  
• Does not wick moisture away from the body like cotton
  
• Is not a natural fiber (man-made)

QUILTERS DREAM ORIENT BATTING

Dream Orient is the softest, drapiest batting available! East meets West with this elegant blend of sustainable bamboo, luxurious silk, botanic Tencel® and strong, stable cotton. One touch and you will be hooked!

Freshly quilted Dream Orient Batting. Lovely drape that begs to be fondled.

Teal quilted pinwheel block is a single layers of Dream Orient Batting. Purple quilted pinwheel is a double layer of Dream Orient batting - even doubled it keeps a wonderful drape.

Advantages:

• The very softest and best draping batting there is, even when stitched very closely
  
• Slight shrinkage (1-3%) upon washing/drying for the slightly puckered look
  
• Excellent for both hand and machine quilting
  
• Wicks moisture away from the body to keep you cool in the summer
  
• Breathable – there are no scims or other barriers that would inhibit airflow
  
• Fine denier fibers bend when in contact with fabric, so they resist bearding

Disadvantages:

• Slight Shrinkage (1-3%) after washing
  
• Cost compared with other battings
  
• Not recommended for tied quilts
  
• Bamboo fibers are short, so can be a bit linty if over-handled
  
• Fibers are not 100% from the USA, however, Dream Orient (like all Dream Battings) is made in the USA!

Please come back next week for part 3 of our Month Long Series: Batting University.  We will continue with Dream Angel (flame retardant batting) and Dream Blend for Machines!

 

Happy Quilting!

Batting made from recycled bottles??!!

 Have you heard of Quilters Dream Green batting?  If not, you won’t believe that is being made from plastic bottles!  Dream Green batting is soft, cozy, and cuddly and is 100% made from recycled bottles – which is why it has such an unusual green color (there must be a lot of Mt. Dew drinkers out there).  You wouldn’t think anything this soft could come from those stiff plastic bottles, but it is true!

 

The plastic bottles are washed and cut into chips, then melted and extruded into fine denier poly microfibers.  Other than the color, these fibers are indistinguishable from virgin polyester fibers.  It is wonderful any time we have the opportunity to recycle and reuse plastic, and this use is just amazing.  Each pound of Dream Green rescues 10 bottles that could be added to the landfills.

 

But why would someone want to use polyester batting?  Dream Green and Dream Poly battings are not the same polyester as you may remember from years ago – the new microfibers mimic the cotton fibers in being breathable, soft and drapeable.  The fibers are so fine that they bend when coming in contact with the fabrics so, like cotton fibers, they also resist bearding.  There is no scrim, glues, or binders that cause resistance to the needle, and the fibers are long enough to provide enough structure for easy machine quilting.

 




Gidget lounging in the Dream Green fibers before it is processed!

Dream Green and Dream Poly battings are becoming more popular with modern quilters for a number of reasons:

·         The poly fibers do not hold moisture so it washes and dries very quickly in the machine or on the line

·         There is no shrinkage, so the quilt will have the same look after washing a hundred times as it did when it was first quilted

·         Dream Poly and Dream Green do not hold a crease – fold and store the quilt (or ship it to a show) and shake it out flat with no worries of fold lines or wrinkles.

·         The fibers are needle-punched so you get the right amount of loft – not too puffy and just lofty enough to show off the stitches

 

Give the friendly “Dream Team” at Quilters Dream Batting a call (888-268-8664) or email quiltersdreambatting@juno.comfor a free sample square of the Dream Green, and a mini sample of all the lovely battings made by Quilters Dream!  (We’ve stocked up on samples so there are plenty to go around!)

 

Happy Quilting!

 ~The Dream Team