How I Fit a Cable to a Border



Yesterday I posted this picture on Instagram showing how I fit a cable on a border and make it wrap around corners evenly.  This has been a question I've been asked repeatedly ever since I posted about machine quilting cables on a home sewing machine.  I thought I would share it with you while it's fresh in my mind, but keep in mind, there is math involved!  It also requires software that allows you to resize an image.  I use Adobe Photoshop.

First, I measure my borders to get precise dimensions.  You need to measure at the seam line where the border is sewn to the quilt, not along the outermost edge of the border.  I never use a plastic tape measure, they are not accurate.  I use the metal type you find in any hardware store.  I place the one-inch measurement on the very corner of the seam line, measure across, then subtract one-inch from the final dimension.  The quilt I am working on measured 42 7/8" by 59 7/16" and I converted these dimensions to decimals--42.875" by 59.4375".

I have a large variety of cable quilt stencils, but rarely do they ever fit the border of a quilt perfectly unless I design a quilt specifically to fit a stencil repeat.  In addition, none were wide enough for this border, which is 7 inches.  I also knew that I wanted the repeats to work out evenly on all four sides so that the cable would wrap each corner.  This meant I had to find a common fraction for the repeat size that would work with both border measurements and would divide evenly.  So rather than get into overly complicated math (from high school classes that I have no memory of!),  I take each border dimension and divide it by 4, 5, 6 and 7 (or whatever numbers are appropriate for the size quilt I am working on) until I get a size that is as close possible for both border dimensions:

You can see that approximately 8.5" is the closest measurement each side shares.  To get a bit more precise, I subtract the difference between the two and then divide by 2:  8.575 - 8.491 = .084, then .084 ➗ 2 = .042.  I subtract the .042 and add .042 as follows:  8.575 - .042 = 8.533 and 8.491 + .042 = 8.533.  This gives me the final measurement of the cable repeat I will need--8.533", knowing that the shorter borders will have five total repeats and the long borders will have seven total repeats.  I also know that I will have to fudge the cables a little to make the repeats meet the corners precisely, due to the slight differences in measurement for the cable repeat for each size border, but I do that as I am drawing them onto the quilt and once they are quilted, it looks seamless.



Next I scan the cable stencil in my scanner with a black piece of cardboard on top of it so that the lines will scan black when I open the image file in Photoshop.  It is critical to lay the stencil as straight as possible on the scanning bed.  I am only concerned with scanning the repeat, not the corner part, at this point.  I use the cropping tool in my scanning software to select the repeat as precisely as I can, scan, and then save the file as a .jpg image.  I then open the file in Photoshop and make sure that the repeat is precisely selected with the Marquee tool, deleting any excess area outside of the cable lines, and crop if necessary.  Then I change the dimensions of the image under the menu Image→Image Size, making sure the Constrain Proportions box is unchecked, and type in the size I want.  In this case I wanted the Document Size to be 7" wide (cable width) and 8.533" (length of repeat) inches high.  I set the Resolution Size to 300 pixels per inch.  I also adjust the brightness and contrast of the image in Image→Adjustments→Brightness/Contrast by setting the brightness and contrast settings to the far right until the background of the image is bright white and the lines are dark black.   After I save the new image, I can print as many repeats as I need, cutting and taping them together to fit the border.  This is where I double-check my math and fudge repeats to fit as necessary if needed.



Next I repeat the same process for the corner cable, selecting just the corner part of the stencil and following the same steps as I did for the repeat, above.  The only difference is, since this is a corner, I want it perfectly square, not rectangular like the repeat above.  Holding down the Shift key while selecting the image will keep the bounding box perfectly square.  For this corner cable, I set the Document Size at 7" by 7" (which is the width of cable itself). 

I print and tape this to one end of the length of the cable.  I now have a complete master of my cable which I trace onto the quilt using a light table and my blue soluble markers.

Hope this gives you a better idea on how to fit cables to your borders.  It sounds complicated, but once you do it, you will be so happy that you can actually make a cable wrap around four corners of a quilt and have it look seamless!  Happy Quilting!

Catching Up & Paducah Photos

How is it that we are already over halfway through May?  It doesn't seem possible that summer is around the corner.  I feel like I've been doing nothing but playing catch up over the last several weeks since we were in Paducah, but then that always seems to be the case after being away!

I have been trying to get several quilt tops quilted and so far, I am only on number two.  And these are little quilts!  Here is a glimpse of this little nine-patch quilt that I've marked with an allover orange peel quilt design.  I've showed this quilting design before on another small quilt I did awhile back.  Several of you asked how I get the lines to curve and line up, so I am showing you here.

I used nothing more than a plastic circle template that I had laying around, part of a set of several different sizes.  You can use pretty much anything that is round as long as the circle is large enough to intersect the corners of the block.  This is a 4" circle over a 3" block.  You can see how I line it up, above.  You want the circle to intersect the block about 1/2" to 3/4" on each of the four sides.  Then I just draw around the edge of the template with a blue water soluble pen four times on each block.  It goes very quickly and it is an easy and effective way to quilt with a walking foot.  Click HERE if you would like to read more on how I do this type of quilting.

Since I am so behind on blogging, I am going to jump right in and share some photos from the AQS Paducah Quilt Show.  Hopefully this won't be an overload for most of you!

We stopped over in Chattanooga, Tennessee on our way to Paducah.  Of course we had to check out the antique malls across the street from our hotel.  This beauty was in one shop.  I didn't buy it, but I definitely lusted after it!  Don't you love the scrappiness and the mix of colors together?

Here are a few antique quilts that were part of a patriotic quilt exhibit at the Rotary Center in Paducah.  I apologize for not getting more details on each quilt.

This one was made entirely of yo-yos.

The following quilts were in the AQS Paducah 2016 show and are in no particular order.

Eternal by Kazuko Noto

Yumemi by Maiko Ogawa

Yumemi (detail)

Summer Stars by Cindy Behrens

Bodacious by Claudia Clark Myers & Marilyn Badger

Bodacious (detail) by Claudia Clark Myers & Marilyn Badger

Arabella by Deborah France

Arabella (detail)

Sunburst by Sherry Durbin

Sunburst (detail)

Extraneous Female:  Escapement Mechanism by Beckey Prior

Extraneous Female:  Escapement Mechanism (detail)

Arandano by Marilyn Badger--Best of Show Winner

Arandano (detail)

Ben's Midnight Garden by Barbara Korengold

Victory by Colette Dumont

Oscar the Great by Nancy Sterett Martin & Kristin Sistek

Oscar the Great (detail)

Sparkling by Mitsuko Hashimoto

Sparkling (detail)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Linda Neal & Jackie Brown

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (detail)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (detail)

In a Spring Breeze by Rumiko Ooiwa

In a Spring Breeze (detail)

A Garden for Your Peace of Mind by Kazuko Yamada

A Garden for Your Peace of Mind (detail)

Plates on Lace Napkins by Dawn Larsen

Plates on Lace Napkins (detail)

Supernova by Anapolis Quilt Guild

Tulips in a Vase by Betty Sweet

Tulips in a Vase (detail)

That brings me to the end of the first portion of my quilt photos.  Hopefully some of these inspired you!  I have more photos to share, including some of the wall size quilts, which I will post next time around. Have a fabulous week and Happy Quilting!

Instant Gratification

Well, I'm off porch cushions and back onto quilting for a bit!  I'm sure most of you are relieved!  Here are several pictures of a simple 25-patch quilt I finished up this week.  I am gearing up to machine quilt a top that will require a substantial amount of time, so I needed something to do quickly to get back in the groove. 

I had pieced the top back in April when I was on a mission to use up a bunch of leftover scraps laying around from another quilt.  I am considering this to be a "fall" quilt for me since I really don't care for the color orange in our house (but yet I LOVE Halloween, go figure!) and this is probably as close as I will get to a fall-looking quilt.

Here is the top prior to quilting.  The small squares finish out at an odd size at 1 1/8".  Since I was using up leftovers, it didn't matter to me since this is an easy pattern to adjust accordingly.  Sorry if the lighting varies from photo to photo, they were all taken at different times and in different rooms.

This is after I have marked the entire top and am pin-basting the layers together.  And yes, I do mark every single line.  I want my quilting to be even and uniform and following the lines exactly is the only way I can get that look.

And here I've completed all of the quilting.  I approached this very simply, quilting vertical lines through the entire quilt at about 7/8" apart from one end to the next, all with my walking foot.  The quilt is small, at approximately 50" by 60", so the quilting process went very quickly. 

Next I quilted a grid in the opposite direction, but only in the 25-patch blocks.  I did this by free-motion quilting the lines.  I started at the far left side of each block, traveling down the first line, then over to the next line by quilting in the ditch, then back up the second line, then over to the third line by quilting in the ditch, down the third line, etc.  I could actually travel from block to block within each row with this method without having to stop and start.  (In the photo above, the free-motion lines I am referring to are horizontal in the picture.) 

I used Wonderfil Invisafil for the top thread and Mettler Metrosene in the bobbin, both of which are polyester and very, very fine at 100 weight. 

So now that I feel like I finished a project and got a sense of instant gratification, I am ready to tackle my next machine quilting project.  I have been laboring over what to do on the quilt you see below for three years now.  I am finally ready to get on with it!  I have a couple of deadlines rapidly approaching so this is as good a time as any to tackle a couple of tops that have been in "waiting" mode.  Here is a peek of what I will be working on, below.  The half-inch grid stencil is from The Stencil Company and I am using fine-tipped blue water soluble marking pens to mark the quilt.

I may disappear for a bit so I can focus on getting this quilt finished, but don't worry, once this quilt is completed, I will share plenty of pictures!  Until then. . . .enjoy the rest of your summer and Happy Quilting!