Thread: Machine Stitched Cathedral Window Tutorial

Thanks. I am going to go cut my squares and sew up the sides like you said and come back. I have sew much denim sitting around the house and have wanted to do this for such a long time. Time to begin!

Originally Posted by someguysquilt2

BEAUTIFUL QUILT! I was wondering how you made attached the borders since (a) the CW quilt does not use batting or backing and, obviously, the borders do use them and (b) the CW quilt (squares) do not leave a 1/4" seam allowance to join the border to.

I have the same question.

I just finished the "windows" part of a lap-size Cathedral Windows quilt using Eddie's method (great method, great tutorial!), but I'm struggling with how to finish it. I've tried folding in those triangle edges and tacking them down, but they're not perfectly aligned and the net effect is messy. I've also tried sewing the window curves into them, but it doesn't help the look. Would a binding cover that up - or make it look worse? A border might help solve the problem, but I share someguysquilt2's question as to how to proceed. I sure hope those of you who've solved this problem will share your wisdom!

FWIW, I have a couple of tips to pass along to others who try Eddie's method.

1) Unless you're a very skilled machine sewer, use as dark a background fabric color (and thread) as possible. If you're relatively inexperienced (like me), you may find that your points aren't perfect and a fair amount of thread will accumulate at them (especially if you tack them, as Eddie recommends and I second). If your background fabric and thread color are very dark, no one will see this. (My CW quilt was made for an Arizona native. The background fabric and thread are "sandy tan." Every bit of thread accumulation is visible.)

2) Because I was making this quilt for an elderly person who finds Arizona uncomfortably cold in January, I added some extra "insulation" to my quilt by backing each piece of "glass" with a same-size piece of fleece. I used Dritz spray adhesive on both the fleece square and the "glass" square, placing them in their "window" (with a pin for extra security) before taking them to the sewing machine. That worked spectacularly well! While CW quilts are naturally heavy by virtue of their many layers of fabric, fleece is so light that it adds more warmth without adding much weight.

I'll post photos if I can. In the meantime, I hope some of you will help me with my finishing dilemna!

Thanks!!!

Sushi

Originally Posted by Eddie

36. That's pretty much it. You can join rows to rows in the same way that you joined blocks to blocks, and then fill in those newly created windows with glass in the same way. At the edges of the quilt you can use 1/2 a glass fabric, or use no glass at all and just turn the frame there and stitch it down. After the quilt is done, just do a binding like you normally would any quilt.

That's it! Enjoy!

Terrific tutorial. Thank you.
I would like to make a full or queen sized bed quilt using this method. Based on your experience, does it become difficult to manage the bulk when several rows are joined. I'm trying to imagine how it would be to turn the corners stitching down the windows when the quilt gets big. What was your experience as the quilt got bigger and bigger?
Thanks!

Here's how I treated the sides. I didn't have a king-size bed to display it. I think you can get an idea. I had no pattern, just took Eddie's tutorial and played with it.

Beautiful quilt!! After several rows were complete, did the quilt get difficult to manage? How did you support the bulk as you worked? Did you work on a large kitchen table? Thanks.

OMG. This is brilliant.