I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long: Setting Tutorial

I can't believe it's already time to reveal my finished quilt top! This quilt along has certainly gone quickly. If you missed it, you can find the last block right here. You can also check out my quilt along page for links to all of the past blocks and information. Remember, all of the block patterns are only free through January 15, 2018.

Before I get to the reveal, I have exciting news to share! Many have asked if we will be doing another quilt along, and the answer is yes. We're thrilled to announce that we will be doing a Fall themed quilt along in 2018! We're still ironing out the details, but we'll let you know more as soon as we do. Announcements about the next quilt along will be made right here on the blog, as well as in the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long Facebook group.

My Setting Choice

For my quilt top, I wanted a setting that was quick, easy, and forgiving. If you've had any trouble with your blocks coming out slightly different sizes, this is the setting for you. After framing the blocks, they each get trimmed to the same size.

Since I used four different background fabrics in my quilt, I decided to use those same four fabrics for the frames. It would also look really nice to use only two framing fabrics so they alternate between blocks.

My quilt top finishes at 48" by 64". If you wanted it larger, you could always add a border or two all the way around.

Setting Tutorial

I will be demonstrating on my Reindeer Games block. The process is the same for every block in the quilt.

For each block, cut two strips of framing fabric 3" by the width of fabric. Remove the selvedge and square up the ends of the strips.

Line up the ends of one strip with the top center of your block. I do this with the strip folded in half to save myself some time.

While holding the strip in place, smooth the fabric along the center of the block. Be gentle so you don't stretch the fabric.

Line up a ruler with the bottom edge of your block. You want to make sure it's square to both the block and the strip that you are about to cut.

Here's a closer look. You can see that the ruler is lined up with the edge of the block, and that the strip is in line with the marks on the ruler. You may have to adjust the strip to get it perfectly straight.

Use your rotary cutter to cut the strip even with the edge of the block. You now have two 3" wide pieces that are the exact height of your block.

Pin the newly cut pieces to the sides of your block. I folded each piece in half to find the center, and pinned it to the center of the block. Then I pinned each end.

Sew with your regular 1/4" seam allowance and press towards the framing fabric.

We will follow the same process to frame the top and bottom of the block. Take your second 3" strip folded in half, and align it across the center of your block horizontally.

Once again, make sure that the ruler is lined up with the edge of the block, and that the strip is in line with the markings on your ruler. You may have to adjust the strip to make this happen.

Use your rotary cutter to remove the excess fabric. You now have two 3" high pieces of fabric that are the same width as your block.

This time, I used five pins per side. Fold each framing strip in half to find the center, and pin to the center of the block. Next, pin the ends at the edge of the block. Finally, pin in between to secure it further.

Sew with your normal 1/4" seam allowance and press towards the framing fabric.

Note - If you are only using two fabrics to frame your blocks, you may want to press towards the framing fabric on all of the blocks that use one fabric, and towards the block on all of the others. This way if your seams align when you put the blocks together, you will be able to nest them (It isn't guaranteed that the seams will align since the individual blocks weren't required to start at exactly the same size).

Finally, trim to 16 1/2" square so the framed block will finish at 16" square in the quilt.

After I framed all of my blocks, I played with the layout until I was happy with it. At that time, I re-pressed some of my framing seams to go towards the block instead of the framing fabric. This allowed the seams between the blocks to nest when they lined up.

I'm really pleased with how my quilt top turned out. If you decide to use this method, I would love to hear about it.

More Setting Ideas

The other 10 ladies that are hosting this quilt along also have finished quilt tops to share! We each came up with our own settings, so the odds are that they're all different. Check them out to get ideas for your own quilt.

Abbie at Sparkle On
April at JANDA Bend Quilts
Becca at Pretty Piney
Bobbi at Snowy Days Quilting <---- That's me!
Diane at Cwilt
Jennifer at The Inquiring Quilter
Karen at Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts
Sandy at SandyStar Designs
Sherry at Powered by Quilting
Vanda at Quilt in Piece

Grand Prize

We have an incredible grand prize package to share with you! To be eligible to win, post a finished quilt top that includes all 12 quilt along blocks by 11:59 pm Eastern on January 15, 2018. It doesn't need to be quilted to enter. You can post your picture in our Facebook group, on Instagram with the hashtag #iwishyouamerryqal, or in the link-up at the bottom of this post.

The grand prize package includes:

Link-Up

I'm so excited to see all of your finished quilt tops in this link-up! I'm really hoping we end up with quite the collection of them.

This link-up is special, because it will appear on all of the hosts' blogs. So, if you link up here, your link will automatically appear everywhere! How cool is that?

Once you've linked up, please take some time to visit the other links and spread the quilty love.

Quilting, Quilt AlongsBobbi BridgemanI Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long, sampler quilt, quilt tutorial, quilt setting tutorial, sampler quilt setting5 Comments