Quiltingboard Forums - Cathedral Window

Quiltingboard Forums (https://www.quiltingboard.com/)

- Main (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/)

- - Cathedral Window - by hand? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/cathedral-window-hand-t131875.html)

I am working on one also, never thought of useing the fancy stitches on my machine to join. Thanks, think I will look into that.

Any quilt can be done by hand. It is my understanding that Jinny Beyer does all her quilts by hand. She is an exceptional quilter. There was a lady on one of the Alex Anderson "Simply Quilts" shows who didn't own a sewing machine. Her quilts were beautiful! I am fortunate enough to own 2 quilts that my grandmother made (probably in the 30s) that were all hand made. One is a scrappy Lone Star. The other scrappy DWR. A lot of people do hand work as a take along project, or setting in front of the TV evenings. Hope you enjoy doing your CW.

Typed "Eddie's Tutorial" into Search on this board and found it....yeah!...but, only part one. Couldn't find part two anywhere....IS there a part two for the colored portion???? Help!!! First part was GREAT!

I had an aunt (who has passed away) that made a Cathedral Quilt by hand and she sold it for $1000.00.

I'm still working on mine over a year later and still not complete, but I do love it.

I have one started by hand. I put the blocks together with
a backstitch before I tack down the points. That way the seam holding the background together is inside. I don't know if that makes it stronger or not, but I like the way it looks better than a whip stitch.
I use a tiny slip stitch on the curved edge of each frame and a satin tacking in the points that form the corners. I'm doing sections so it isn't quite so heavy when I work on the frames.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbaillie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellie'sNana

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbaillie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellie'sNana

I looked at Eddie's turorial on the Cathedral Window (fantastic tute!). While not reading every single post under it, I am wondering if anyone here has made this quilt by hand. I am curious as to the type of stitch to join the squares, and the points of the squares in the center of each block. Any tips on construction, etc? Thanks in advance for any tips/ideas/advice!

OH Ellie have you lost your mind!!!!!I am in the middle (i use that term loosly) of one now. I love it, but it is very time consuming. I hand stitched the top with a wip stitch, however I have a fancy stitch on my sewing machine that I'm using to join the blocks. I really do love this, just dont plan on it being done quickly. I have a picture I'll have to post so you can see my joining stich

Yes I must be a little bit nutty to think about doing this by hand, but I do love hand work and I'm looking for something I can carry with me at different times. Whip stitching the top, I think I hear you saying the 'curve' part? Can you see the stitching around the curve? How about on the back of the quilt, are you going straight through. I've got a few blocks but and pressed, I guess I'll practice a bit to get a feel for this. Thanks for your help. I look forward to seeing the picture of your quilt.

Oh - I love your picture. I can't wait til I can put a few blocks together like this. Did you use a whip stitch for the curves around the window or running?

I made one years ago but I sewed the blocks together by machine but I used a whip stitch to sew the top pieces. I find when I move it much the stitching can come out and I am constantly re-doing some of it. I think it would be hard to use a machine to do all the blocks but it would probably be more "sturdy" if you could. I loved this quilt but it does take a long time to finish. AND its very heavy when its finished. My favorite quilt I have!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pamabla

I've been working on my cathedral window by hand for years and also finished one by machine for a lady. By machine is MUCH faster, of course, but I still like the portability of handwork.
The squares are joined with a tiny whip stitch, but join them wrong sides together; this way the whipped stitches are later covered by the "window fabric". The corners are tacked to form a cross (tack stitch two opposite corners, then tack the opposite two). When you sew the curves, use a blind hem stitch (like for hand applique), going through all layers. This leaves stitches on the back of the quilt, which makes it more beautiful, I think. I have also made CW ornaments, even some in miniature, which are beautiful too. This is not a quick project, but so worth all the time.

Thank for your tip on whip stitching on the inside. I've put the first two blocks together by whipstitching on the back and I don't like it. My hand stitching skills need to be improved, but I don't want to practice on stitching that shows. I will have to practice the blind hem stitch through the layers as I was hoping to have a little something on the back of the quilt. I very much appreciate you taking the time to share this with me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wonnie

Here is the link for Eddie's tutorial:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-35742-1.htm

Actually, I don't know how to make this a link, but if you type in the above it will take you to the entire tutorial. Enjoy!