Filmstrip Quilt Tutorial

So many quilters have asked me questions about how I made my Filmstrip Quilt (I gave it its name based on the width of the strips) that I thought you'd enjoy having a little guidance when you decide to make your own. 

First though, allow me give credit where it's due. My friend Cindy @cbubblesnsews was working on her strippy, scrappy quilt while on our Central Florida MQG retreat in May.

At right is my photograph of Cindy's top.

Cindy is quick to credit our friend Janice for the idea. Below is Janice showing one of several she has made.

I'm happy to share what I know and learned through the making process. The concept and "rules" for this design are straightforward: 

1. All strips are cut 1½" wide, and are pieced end-to-end with a shortened stitch length.
2. Every print wraps around a corner. 
• Choose prints with value contrast. The greater value difference, the better.
• Don't hesitate to add neutral/low volume prints. 
• I did not use any solids in my quilt, though you may!
3. Press each seam - every time - after it has been sewn, to ensure your quilt lays flat.
• To reduce bulk, I pressed open seams because I knew I'd be quilting on my home sewing machine.

When cutting the length of the first 1½"-wide, know this:

The length of the first center strip determines the difference between the length and width of the quilt top.

For example. My center strip is 5½"-long, so my quilt top is 64" X 69" - a difference of 5". 

Another example: For a quilt top that's 52" X 60", start with a 8½"-long center strip.

And another example: For a quilt top that's 60" X 70", start with a 10½"-long center strip.

A ½" is added for the seam allowances. Get it?

• I began with a 1½" X 5½" strip;
• then sewed a 1½" X 1½" yellow print square to the top of the 5½" strip;
• then added a 1½" X 6½" yellow print strip to the right side;
• then added a 2½"-long  aqua print strip to the bottom; 
• then continued with the aqua print on the left side;
• and so on.

I never first measured the length of a side, cut the strip that length, and then sewed it. I always sewed first, then cut off at the end. That's certainly contrary to what we've learned about joining a border to a quilt center but... 

1) I always use the dual feed feature on my Bernina, to ensure both fabrics were piecing as one.

2) When the quilt top was getting larger (about 14" or more to a side), I pinned seams before piecing.

3) I always pressed every seam as I progressed

Janice said she pieced this quilt top differently, measuring each side, then cutting the strip to match. She pinned only at the beginning and end.

So there you go... two different ways to approach piecing. Pick your poison! 

Once you've got a good start, it's easy to continue sewing from a fabric "reel" pieced from strips sewn end-to-end. (See how I'm using film terms to stay with our theme?) 

Not knowing how many strips I would need, my first reel was 35 linear yards of fabric. (Yes, I measured.) When piecing the first reel, I was more included to use shorter strips, some being only 10" long, cut from a layer cake.

My second reel was 40-yards long.

In the two pictures below you can see how I made sure each print wrapped around the corner. No print stops at a corner.

That around-the-corner look is what makes the design effective

After sewing each strip to a side, I stepped to my ironing table to press seams open. 

. 

Sometimes I sprayed the seam allowance with Magic Quilting and Crafting Spray, and sometimes I sprayed Faultless Niagra Spray Starch. One or the other was invaluable for ensuring that the quilt top remained flat while I pieced.

I never did any fabric trimming to straighten the edge of a strip. 

Two very important lessons-learned.

First Lesson

As you're piecing, it's sometimes necessary to remove a strip of fabric from your reel. 

For instance, if a strip you're adding ends at the end of an already-pieced strip, and there isn't enough of same-print strip to wrap around a corner... 

OR

If a strip you're ready to sew to a side is the same fabric that's already pieced to that side... 

Stop. Unpiece that strip from the reel. Sew to join the next strip. Move on. 

What I'm trying to explain is that you'll find that not every strip on your reel is the proper length or correct fabric to add to your top. So expect to pause, unsew the offending strip, and continue with the next piece. You can always join the removed strip later, to another side. 

My 1½" strips were progressively longer as my quilt top got larger. But I never used a full 40"-42" width of fabric. When I cut a 1½" X 40" strip from yardage (as I had to do to get longer strips), I always cut it into two pieces. The dashed line indicates approximately where I cut a strip into two pieces, as I tried to keep strips in random lengths.

In keeping with the scrappy theme, I pieced a backing. It's somewhat similar to the quilt top, though more closely follows the design of a Log Cabin. 

For batting I used Quilter's Dream Cotton Request, my favorite go-to batting.

For quilting on my home machine, I chose one large spiral. In hindsight, this was not a good choice.

Second Lesson

After quilting, I noticed that the quilt center seemed mashed - squashed-out - "cup-py" or "puddily" for lack of better terms. I believe that the "push" created by the presser foot moving in an outward spiral, forced all those straight seams into curves.

Sigh. 

I'll mention though that I loved quilting with Scanfil 30-weight thread! I used the lovely yellow (far right) on top, and Scanfil beige 50-weight in the bobbin. Scanfil quilted beautifully.

 It's my poor choice of a quilting design that spoiled it. Though it looks nice here!

Thinking to ease out some of the puddle-effect, after quilting I washed and blocked the quilt. Washing seemed to help, though I'm really glad I tossed two Carbona Color Grabbers into the machine! Yikes!

I'm a dedicated pre-washer, but for this quilt I used some unwashed layer cake prints - like the tone-on-tone purple and pink prints in the picture below. No doubt those are some of the colors caught in the color grabber sheets.

Binding is a fun, diagonally printed striped.

Being a fabric-tracker, I am delighted to report that making this 63" X 67½" quilt used 7.449 yards of fabric. Isn't it a good scrap-buster?

I hope this tutorial proves useful, and that you have lots of fun and success making your own Filmstrip Quilt. 

I'd love to hear how it goes for you. If you comment, be sure I know your email address. I will reply so you can send me a picture of your quilt. I'd love to see! Linda