Tips When Making The Wensleydale Quilt

 

 

Are you working on or contemplating the Wensleydale Quilt by Jen Kingwell? Have you decided if you will hand piece or machine piece this quilt? Will you be paper foundation piecing? So many decisions. For me, hand piecing is out. Her book Quilt Recipes has templates and complete instructions for making this quilt. I will not be providing those here. What I will provide are tips for what is working well for me and tell you why. There are a multitude of ways to approach this quilt and my way is not the only one. I have chosen to Foundation Paper Piece for accuracy.

This is a list of things you will need to make this block:

Quilting Recipes Book by Jen Kingwell

Foundation Paper packet for the Wensleydale Quilt

Elmer's Washable Glue Stick or glue stick of your choice

Template plastic or clear plastic from folder

Permanent Marker  

Add a Quarter Ruler

An old pair of scissors for cutting the template plastic

Scissors

Rotary Cutter

Rotary Cutting Mat

Old Sewing Machine Needle

New Sewing Machine Needle

Thread and Bobbin

Sewing Machine

Iron and Pressing Mat or Ironing Board

My first recommendation is to get her book. Links have been provided for recommended items. In her book are templates for each of her quilts. Find the Wensleydale templates and make a photo copy of them.

Get yourself some template plastic. You can find this at your local quilt shop, at your local hobby shop, online and if you prefer to save some $$ then just get yourself a clear  plastic folder from The Dollar Store.  You will need a permanent marking pen with a medium tip. Place your clear plastic over the photo copy of her templates in the book and trace them with your permanent marker. TIP: place an arrow to indicate your seam line. This will help you when you are cutting directional fabrics or motifs that you want to align in a certain way.

Take an old pair of scissors and cut out your plastic templates.  

 

 

Now you may ask, why cut out templates when you are Foundation Piecing? I do this to save on fabric and to allow me to make accurate cuts for directional fabrics and special motifs. By using the template, I know I have a piece of fabric cut to the right dimensions and there will be very little waste when trimming. The plastic template is clear and I can see what I am lining up for my cut. The beauty of having a template to use and Foundation Paper Piecing is that you do not have to worry about being on the cross grain of the fabric, it just doesn't matter.

 

 

 

Purchase a package of the Wensleydale Foundation Papers. They come 60 to a package and that is enough to make the quilt. If you want a larger quilt, purchase an additional package.

 

Tear off about 5 sheets of the foundation paper, keeping them lined up. Put an old needle into your sewing machine and remove your thread and bobbin. Now stitch over all of the solid lines on the foundation paper. You don't need to stitch over the very outside lines as these are just the 1/4" seam lines for when you join your blocks. So on one side you will have the solid lines and when you flip the paper over you will see your lines from your needle perforations like the photo below. I only do five sheets at a time so it keeps the perforations crisp.

 

 

 

 

These are the indicator lines that will help you align your fabric, you will stitch on the other side on the solid lines. Now change your needle back to a nice sharp sewing needle, thread your machine and place your bobbin. Get yourself a washable glue stick which you will use to place your first fabric. Using your template A, select your center fabric and cut it out. Use your glue stick to adhere that fabric to the Wrong side of your foundation paper. Spread the glue stick only on that center rectangle area, avoid the perforations. You don't need a ton of glue, just enough to stick your fabric for a bit. 

 

 

 

 

You will notice that your center piece hangs over your perforated lines. This is correct, you want about a 1/4" around as that will be your seam eventually.

 

 

 

 

 Now, selecting your B and C templates, go ahead and cut out your pieces. Line up your pieces for opposite sides, either B or C and pin them in place. Put your pins to the center so they are out of your stitching area. 

 

 

Turn your paper over and stitch on the solid line, starting about 1/4" beyond the line and finishing 1/4" beyond the line. Check and make sure you have not folded back a piece of your fabric when placing it under your needle. Speed is not the object here as much as accuracy. Take your time and you will avoid a date with Jack the Ripper. 

Do the same for the opposite side and then take to the iron and press open.

 

 Repeat this step for your side pieces next.

 

 Don't worry if things look a bit wonkie here. I want you to place your foundation paper with the fabric on the bottom. Carefully, fold back the line that corresponds to the outside of the current area you are working on, this will be your next seamline and we want to trim things up a bit. Don't fret if your paper tears a bit at the intersection of the seams. You will want to use your Add a Quarter ruler to trim back to just a quarter inch. To do this, fold your paper back to the perforated line, lay your ruler on top of the fabric, you will notice there is a ledge that will catch on the paper giving you a perfect 1/4" seam allowance, you will trim any excess fabric beyond the ruler. 

 

 

The rest is a repeat of the instructions above, take your next templates, cut your pieces of fabric and align them with the edges as shown below and turning to the opposite side of the paper, stitch on the corresponding solid lines, press open and place and stitch your next pieces. Press open and then trim as outlined above.

 

Once you have added your final round of pieces, turn to the paper side and trim your block to the very outside solid line. You will have a perfect block. Now repeat that 59 more times...LOL

 

Hope this helps you a bit. It's a beautiful Quilt and there are tons of fabric options for you to choose from. I highly recommend that you watch her video on selecting fabric, then pick out what you love and have at it!