Hooray! We have made it to the chicken quilt part 5. It’s the final step of the quilt. In this step, I will be showing you how to finish the edges of your quilt and also put a cute flair on your homemade quilt with some embroidery floss. The embroidery floss will serve double-duty to help keep the batting in place.
But first, it’s time to go shopping again!
Chicken Quilt Part Five Supply List:
- Quilt Batting- should be the same size as your finished quilt front.
- Thread
- Scissors
- 2 skeins of Embroidery Floss-color of your choice
- Sewing Needle- large eye
- Double Fold Bias Tape Quilt Binding- 3 packages
- Straight Pins
- Sewing Machine
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| This it the type I like to use. |
First on a flat surface lay your quilt back facing down.
Then lay the quilt batting on top of the back and cut it to match the quilt size.
Next, place the quilt front on top of the batting facing up. Be sure everything is smooth and flat.
Then, pin around the entire perimeter of the quilt. Next, if necessary, trim around all four edges of the quilt to make things even and uniform, like so.
Next sew together all three packages of bias tape. Open up each tape completely, line up the folds and stitch them together. Be sure to place the seam on the inside. My daughter called it one long “snake” once we did this step.
Now onto adding the bias tape to the quilt to finish the raw edges.
Do not start in a corner!
Start on the center of a side, leaving a 5 inch extra strip, a tail if you will, behind where you start sewing. You will sew the bias tape to the BACK of the quilt first.
Begin by opening up one end of the sewn together bias tape, like so and placing it along the edge of the quilt back.
Keep the bias tape even with the edge of the quilt and sew along the bias tape crease that is closest to the edge of the quilt.
Stop about a 1/2 inch from the corner.
With the needle in the fabric, lift the foot up and turn the quilt in the new direction. Take the needle out of the quilt and hold the quilt in place with your hand. Fold the bias tape directly up like so.
Now fold the bias tape back down back towards you, like so to form the corner. (We will finish the corners later after we have sewn the bias tape around the entire quilt. Do not sew the corner at this time.)
With your left hand (or pin), hold the bias tape in place.
Move the sewing machine needle beyond the corner. Now you are going to open up the tape again, line up the edge of the bias tape to the quilt and start sewing again. Start stitching just below the folded corner like so. You may have wriggle the sewing machine foot back up into the bias tape to the starting place of sewing.
Continue all the way around the quilt and repeat every corner as above.
Now when you are a few inches away from where you started, pause with your needle in the fabric. Fold over the beginning bias tape edge like so and place it against the quilt.
Then cut the bias tape so the beginning and the end of the bias tape overlap a couple of inches. Place the “end” bias tape on top of the “beginning” bias tape, lining up the creases and stitch them together. Cut the threads.
Flip the quilt over.
The bias tape will look like this from the front of the quilt side.
Starting in the middle of a side, slowly and carefully, stitch the bias tape all the way around the quilt on the front. Like so and stop right before the first corner.
Stop a few inches from the corner leaving the needle in the fabric and the foot down.
Open up the bias tape in the corner and re-fold it into a mitered corner like so. Check the front and the back to be sure they are mitered, then continue sewing across the corner in a straight line. Then cut the threads and remove the quilt from the machine. Turn the quilt onto the next direction and start sewing from the top of the corner and continue on down the quilt.
The top front quilt corner should look like this.
and here is the back.
Continue sewing the bias tape and corners like so until you reach the end. Cut the thread and remove your quilt from the machine.
Trim any loose threads off the entire quilt.
Now it is time for the final touches. You can machine quilt your quilt or you can add the embroidery floss like so. You will place a stitch in all four corners of each chicken square. Thread the needle with the embroidery floss. Insert the needle in the corner on the top of the quilt and push the needle through to the back. Leave a 2 inch tail of embroidery floss on the top of the quilt. Now bring the needle right back up through the back close to the original needle place of insertion. Tie a knot and trim the string.
Now take a peek at how lovely your quilt turned out. You’ve just completed the chicken quilt part five.
Of course, minus the dog lump under the quilt on the right!
Yep, she was a big helper!
Photo Credits: Tilly’s Nest
I wanted to thank all of you who have joined me on this chicken themed quilt-a-long. THANK YOU! This was such an amazing experience and I am so grateful for each and everyone of you novice and pro that joined us in the amazing adventure! Enjoy you quilts and feel free to share a photo of your finished quilt on my Facebook page.~ xo Melissa
12 thoughts on “Tilly’s Nest Quilt A Long: Sew A Chicken Quilt~Part Five”
I hope everyone submits a photo for the "Chicken Quilt Parade" just in time for us "Spring Chickens"
Me too!
That is a pretty quilt ! Thanks for showing and telling us how to make it wonderful post and photo demo ! Awe look at those ears Radar ! Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !
Thank you! You are so sweet!
love the colors that you used!! My grandmother always put those threads at all the corners as well. She never quilted it. But I remember her sewing all the pieces together using her pedal sewing machine. Also – she used rags which were old clothes that were in the rag bag and not wearable anymore!! I have one old quilt that my mother will point out different pieces of material/squares and say – that was my summer dress in 5th grade, my overalls for farm chores, my sunday school dress on high school, etc!!
What great memories! Thank you for sharing them with me. I love the rag bag quilt idea. They never wasted a thing back then. I can only imagine how special the quilt must be to you.
Is the seam binding crucial? Is it just for a more tailored look or necessary for the durability of the quilt?
No, this is just one way to easily finish the edges of the quilt. If you choose to do so you could research other ways to finish the edges. There are many ways out there.
I'm finally done with my front, I got a late start but I'm working on it. Sidelined making one for Grandbabies dolly.
Congratulations! That is awesome. I love the idea of making one for a dolly. You are such a great Grammie 🙂
I just came across your blog and I am going to try to make this quilt. I'm a novice sewer but this is just adorable and I just got my first little flock of backyard chickens. Can't wait to tell you I've done it! Thank you for your lovely tutorial.