Go Back  Quiltingboard Forums > Tutorials
Quilt As You Go (QAYG) Tutorial >

Quilt As You Go (QAYG) Tutorial

Quilt As You Go (QAYG) Tutorial

Old 11-20-2016, 06:44 PM
  #1  
Power Poster
Thread Starter
 
sewbizgirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 25,895
Default Quilt As You Go (QAYG) Tutorial

I was asked by some friends in the Boom group to post a tute on joining blocks, QAYG. This is not original with me, but only one of many ways to do QAYG that can be found online. This is the method I like and prefer.

Quilt all of your blocks with batting and backing fabric, and when you are done trim them, getting rid of the excess batting and backing. Fluffy poly batting is not the best choice for this method. I use 80/20 batting which is thin and easy to seam. The blocks I joined in this tute were all 12.5" blocks that I trimmed to 12 3/8" after quilting. They were all 12 3/8" square, with nice clean, straight edges to work with...

Out of my sashing fabric, I cut 1" wide strips the length of the sides of my blocks, plus a little 'fudge' room to trim off later. I cut 13". You may want to starch your fabric before cutting if it is thin or soft. Those 1" strips are for the BACK of the joins, so you might want to use a different color than on your front. I used the same for both sides, as it worked for my backing fabric too.

Now cut the same number of 13" strips, but cut 1 3/4" wide for the front joins. Iron those, wrong sides together, lengthwise. You will sew them on folded, with the raw edges towards the edge of the block. This is what your strips may look like:


[ATTACH=CONFIG]579890[/ATTACH]


Line up strips on the right edge of your first block of the first row (uppermost lefthand block). Place the 1" strip under the block (right side up towards the backing fabric),and the raw edges of the folded 1 3/4" strip on the top of the block. Line up edges exactly with the quilted block and sew a scant 1/4" seam. Here is when I trim off the excess length so the joining strips are the same length as the block. Do that first before you match up the second block.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579891[/ATTACH]


(My backing is the yellow fabric.)



Now open out the sewn 1" strip on the bottom and let it extend past the seamline. Take block #2 and place it right side down under block #1, lining up the edges of the 1" strip and the second block. Take care that your blocks are EVEN at the top and bottom, or you'll have a messy time joining your rows later. Keeping the first seam out of the way, sew the second block to the back joining strip (the 1" strip).
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579892[/ATTACH]





Now you can open out the two blocks, face up, and gently smooth the batting in the seam allowances with your finger. They should just fit together with no gap and no overlap. Now take the folded top piece and finger press it over, covering the seam. Carefully topstitch close to the edge, using thread that is a really close match if you don't want it to show.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579893[/ATTACH]


And this is what it looks like when done:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579894[/ATTACH]


This is what it looks like on my back:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579897[/ATTACH]




Continue across your rows, joining the blocks side by side from left to right. Remember not to put the strips on the outside edges, as those will have binding once the quilt is all together.

When you have all your rows joined, measure the length of the rows and cut enough strips, 1" times your row length, and also 1 3/4" times your row length. Press your 1 3/4 strips in half lengthwise.

You will start on the bottom edge of your first row, and sew the strips exactly as you did for your vertical joins. It's done the same way but with one major difference: You must line up the vertical joins at the intersections. This will help keep your quilt really square and will look so much better than if you just let them fall where they may. Line them up as you are pinning your strips. In fact, the only place I put pins is at those intersections once I get them lined up.


Two rows joined:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]562532[/ATTACH]


Once you've joined all your blocks you need only bind the quilt and you are Done!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579899[/ATTACH]

I chose to use the same navy strips on the back for contrast, but you could use a different color, or even the same fabric as the backing if you didn't want your strips to show quite as much.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579898[/ATTACH]

**This is my preferred method of QAYG, but there are many other ways to do it. If you don't like the topstitching showing on the face of your quilt, you can still use this method but reverse the strips and sew the folded ones on the back. Then you can hand sew them down on the back of your quilt, as you would your hand sewn quilt bindings.
Attached Thumbnails dsc03079-small-.jpg   tut01-dsc03080-small-.jpg   tut02-dsc03081-small-.jpg   tut03-dsc03082-small-.jpg   tut04-dsc03083-small-.jpg  

tut05-dsc03084-small-.jpg   tut06-dsc03085-small-.jpg   tut09-dsc03091-small-.jpg   tut08-dsc03086-small-.jpg  

Last edited by QuiltnNan; 09-01-2017 at 02:18 PM. Reason: add pics provided by member
sewbizgirl is offline  
Old 11-20-2016, 07:21 PM
  #2  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,573
Default

Thank you you did a great just...nicely explain and very easy t under. I will bookmark for future use. Good job

Judy in Phx, Az
judy363905 is offline  
Old 11-20-2016, 08:53 PM
  #3  
Power Poster
Thread Starter
 
sewbizgirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 25,895
Default

Thanks, Judy!
sewbizgirl is offline  
Old 11-21-2016, 01:32 AM
  #4  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Quilt Dreamland
Posts: 1,601
Default

Thank you so very much for CLEAR instructions!
LavenderBlue is offline  
Old 11-21-2016, 02:46 AM
  #5  
Junior Member
 
Moncia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Poland, Koszalin
Posts: 258
Default

Super, thank you!
Moncia is offline  
Old 11-21-2016, 05:44 AM
  #6  
Power Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 11,276
Default

Thanks so much for posting this. Your instructions are very clear, and I appreciate your emphasis on starting with precisely sized blocks. It makes the process much easier. This is also my preferred method, but when trying to explain it to others, I don't do such a good job!
PaperPrincess is offline  
Old 11-21-2016, 06:22 PM
  #7  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Kentucky live in WV
Posts: 8,482
Default

Nice QAUG sashing tutorial.
ccthomas is offline  
Old 11-22-2016, 09:02 AM
  #8  
Power Poster
Thread Starter
 
sewbizgirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 25,895
Default

Here is my finished quilt, front and back...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]562599[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]562600[/ATTACH]
Attached Thumbnails dsc03086-small-.jpg   dsc03091-small-.jpg  
sewbizgirl is offline  
Old 11-22-2016, 10:24 AM
  #9  
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 199
Default

Thanks for the tutorial!!! One of the ladies in our quilt club showed us how to do this but I didn't write anything down and was trying to remember how. Now I'll just save it!
MOBRIDGE MOM is offline  
Old 11-27-2016, 09:46 AM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
cherylmae's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Valley, Washington
Posts: 487
Default

This is the way I am doing my blocks, except I put 1" on top and 11/2" on bottom. Love this method. It let me play with fhq. I do wish I would of used 1" on bottom tho.
cherylmae is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
craftybear
Links and Resources
7
09-03-2011 10:29 PM
craftybear
Links and Resources
1
09-01-2011 10:38 AM
craftybear
Links and Resources
13
01-25-2011 10:39 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


FREE Quilting Newsletter