Well your photo memory quilt is done.  I hope you have enjoyed making it as much as I have enjoyed helping you.   Please drop me a note if you make one, and let me know how it turned out and what the recipient thought about it.  I would also like to see photos of it if you would care to share them.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to write me.  Just make sure you put memory quilt in your subject line so I know it is a legitimate question or comment and not spam.  Also, if you would love to have a quilt but just don’t have to time, I am taking orders for photo memory quilts.  E-mail me  with your phone number and the best time to call, I will call you and get the information about your quilt.  Price is based on several factors:  number of photos, if I purchase the materials, ect.  I can be emailed at the following address:  makingwarmmemories@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you all and seeing your beautiful creations!

Keep on making warm memories,

Billie

Congratulations on getting to this point!  It isn’t that I didn’t think you could do it, no, not at all.  The congratulations comes of from the fact that you are just one step away from having created a lasting heirloom.

When it comes to tying a quilt, anything can be used.   Years ago, string was used, then yarn, and embroidery floss.  I use  six strand embroidery floss, but feel free to use what you prefer.  The first step is secure your quilt in some fashion.   Quilting frames are nice but if you don’t have don’t panic.  If you have some place that you can hang your quilt from, this works also.  If you are planning to make a lot of quilts, or hand quilting your photo memory quilt you may want to invest in a quilting frame.

After finding some where to hang your quilt, thread all six strands of your embroidery floss through a large eye needle.  When you have your needle threaded, start at a square located toward the center of your quilt and at the corner of your starting picture  as close to the colored square as you can, insert your needle through all your layers.  Leave about three to four inches hanging from the front.  Reinsert your needle through the back about an eighth to a quarter inch from where it came through the back.  As you insert your needle be watchful that your needle does not enter into your photo, but comes out about an eighth to a quarter inch from the other thread.  Clip your embroidery floss to the same length as the other, and tie three knots pulling tight enough to close the small gap but not enough to pucker the quilt.  If you notice it puckering, just don’t pull so tight as you are knotting, or make you enter and exit holes with the needle as close as possible.

Continue knotting your quilt making sure to knot at each corner of every photo.  You do not need to knot the edge of your quilt since your binding will keep the quilt in place.  After you have your quilt knotted, go back and trim all of your embroidery floss threads to about a half inch to three quarter inch long.  You can also do this as you are tying your quilt, it seems to save a little bit of time.

For those of you who don’t know, blanket binding is the silky edging on a blanket.  It comes in a variety of colors.  So when you choose your binding, make it complimentary to your photo memory quilt.  It is usually about two inches wide, which makes it nice to work with.

After using the adhesive and letting it dry, unroll your binding.  If the binding does not have a square cut on one end, make one.  The binding is not folded evenly.  There is a reason for this.  When you look at the binding you will see one side is just slightly smaller than the other one.  This is the side you want to sew on.  The reason being, you won’t have to worry about not catching the other side, if you sew on the narrow side.

Starting in the upper right corner and coming down the right side, (if you are right handed, if left handed then start in the upper left corner) start pinning the binding making sure to go through all four layers.  The memory quilt top, batting, backing, and finally the blanket binding on the back.  As you come to a corner fold the binding around the corner, and then fold and pin the binding so that it lays flat and points to the corner you just rounded.  Remember to fold and pin the back side of the binding at the corner also.

After going all around the blanket with the binding when you get to the corner you started on, cut the binding even or a bit longer than the side of the quilt and fold the raw edges under neatly making this corner look like the other three.  You can also wait to do that last corner after you have sewn the binding on three and a half sides.  I’ve done it both ways, so which ever you find easiest.

When you get that all done, and are satisfied that no one on earth, could have ever made a more beautiful photo memory quilt, you will realize that you are just one step away from a finished quilt.

Next lets get tying!

For this next step you will need a craft spray adhesive, quilt batting, and a quilt back.  The  spray adhesive is a very sticky substance that works well when sprayed on the batting.  The quilt batting comes in varying thickness that allows the quilter to decide the loft to their quilt. The quilt backing can be any material that washes well.  I use micro fleece simply because I like the soft feel it gives the quilt, and it doesn’t pill like some fleece.  Some other choices might be flannel, cotton (pre-washed), denim, or even a flat sheet that coordinates with your colored blocks.  Find what you need with  Free Shipping at Joann.com on orders of $35 or more (Code: SEPTFSA835)

You can now start to see just what all this hard work was for.  On the back side of your quilt top, press  your seams open where possible.  After you have all your seams pressed, lay your quilt top on a flat surface.  Unroll your quilt batting and lay it on top of your quilt top.  Cut off the excess batting.  Take your quilt back and lay it down on top of your batting and quilt top.  Cut your quilt backing to fit your quilt top and batting.

Next take all you layers off your quilt top.  Just a word of caution, this spray adhesive is very sticky or tacky which ever you chose to call it.  If you have some disposable latex gloves, now would be a good time to put them on.  Spray the adhesive on one side of your batting, and  according to the instruction on the adhesive, spray the back of the quilt top.  Being very careful lay your batting down on your quilt top.  Next spray the other side of the batting and then spray the wrong side of your quilt backing.  Now lay your quilt backing down on top of your batting.  Work quickly, the adhesive sets fairly fast.  You now have what I like to call a “Quilt Sandwich.”

Next we will work on the blanket binding.

Lay your squares out either on the floor or your table in the pattern you want your finished photo memory quilt to look like.   Keep in mind not only alternating the colors, but also the way the photo is on the block.  Try to arrange you squares with portrait (where the photo goes up and down), and landscape (where your photo goes left to right) in a pleasing manner.

When it comes to sewing machines the sky is the limit.  You can get as many bells and whistles as you want.  I hand tie my photo memory quilts, but if you prefer to machine quilt them that is ok too.  Singer makes  nice sewing machines.  But so does Brothers.  Their sewing machines are easy to operate also.  Then there is White, Sew-Pro, and Shark just to name a few.

When you are ready to start sewing your blocks together start at the upper left of your quilt layout and take the first two squares, put right side together and pin them in place.  Sew a seam down the right side of the block.  Making sure that the first square you pick up (the one in the very far upper left corner) is on the bottom,before you sew your seam. Open it up, you should have two squares with the photos in the correct position, and alternating color squares.  Now take your next square in that same row lay it on top of your square you just sewed onto the first square, right sides together, pin then sew a seam down the right side again.  You will continue in this manner until you have sewn all your horizontal (left to right) rows together.  Make sure you keep your seams the same width so that your squares will all line up correctly.

Now you are ready to sew your vertical (up and down) rows together.  Take you first row that you sewed, and the next row.  We will call this your second row.  Lay your first row down, take your second row lay it directly under it.  Now take the second row, holding onto the bottom edge and lay it on top of the first row.  Right sides together.  Making sure you match up the edges of each rowPin then sew this row.  Continue in this manner matching the bottom of the row you just did, with the top of the next row.  You may have to “ease” a square into the next one, if your squares were not truly square or if your seams were off just a tad.  Don’t worry about this.  I look at it  as proof that it was hand made, therefore making it invaluable to the recipient of the quilt.  When you are all done, you will finally have your quilt top!!  Yeah for you!!

Next we will work on the batting and the back of your quilt.sewing machines

After you have all of your photo transfers ironed onto your white squares, you are ready to start assembling your squares.  Take one of your white squares and center it on one of your colored squares.  Using straight pins, pin your whit square to your colored square.  Sew your white square onto your colored square.   Sew about 1/4 of an inch from the edge of the photo.  Trim any white material away from your square after you have it sewn onto your colored square.  Do this to all of your white squares, remembering to alternate between your two colors of squares.

You can now take some trim of some sort and sew it on top of your stitch line from before,after pinning it in place.   Adjusting it as needed to not cover up your photo.  Any kind of trim will work.  I have used one inch eyelet lace, narrow ribbon about a quarter of an inch wide, and even rickrack.  Which ever looks best to you.  Remember to use the same color of thread as your trim, so your stitch line won’t be so noticable.   If you decide against using a trim that is ok too.  You may want to fold and pin your white square under at the edges before you sew it on so there will be no raw edges on your white square.  Next sewing your colored squares together.

Check to see what your iron setting should be.  It is very important that you follow the instructions to the ” T “.  Most transfer sheets have to be cooled completely, before you can remove the ironing sheet.  There are several different makers of transfer sheets available.  I have found that June Taylor has an excellent product.  But I have also had good results with Avery transfer sheets.  Once you have your photos ready to print, insert the transfer paper into your printer.  Make sure you know whether your printer prints on the top or the bottom of the paper so you can insert the transfer paper correctly into your printer.   I usually will print a test photo, so I know the colors are true, and the image doesn’t need to be “flipped.

When you are ready to apply your transfer to your white fabric make sure that you have the right side of the fabric facing  up so you will apply your transfer to the correct side of fabric.  To tell if you have the right side, just look at it.  The right side should look smoother and not as rough as the wrong side of the fabric.  You may need to compare it to another square of your white material to see the difference.

As I said earlier make sure you follow the instructions for ironing the transfer.  The heat temperature and the movement of the iron is very important.  Don’t just guess at how long you have had the iron on the transfer, use an egg timer or something so you know exactly how long you have been applying heat.

Also be aware of how long it has been cooling off.  Some transfers need to be completly cooled, and some need to still be warm when you go to pull the paper backing off.  I usually use a rolled up wash cloth to slid over the transfer while it is cooling to help pull some of the heat out.  If you have or can find one a chalk board eraser works great.

When it is time, start pulling the transfer off according to the instructions.  If you incurr any problems, refer back to the instructions on the transfer package.  The next entry will deal with putting the white square onto your colored square

When I make a memory quilt I start by cutting my material into 12″ squares.  You can either use scissors or a cutting mat and rotary cutter.  I prefer a cutting mat and rotary cutter simply because I find it easier to cut a straight line, than with scissors.  But any curves to be cut I use regular scissors.  For your quilt to line up right when you start to sew it together, it is essential that your squares be square.   I find making a template for my square size extremely helpful.   You will need two templates.  One for your colored squares and one for your white squares.   You can use any stiff material, old cardboard works great.  Just cut to the desired size for your square.  If your colored material square is twelve inches, then I would make my template for the white squares eight inches.  This way you will have a four inch border around your photo square.   All this is based of course on your square being twelve inches.  If your square is a different size, no problem just be sure to make your white square template smaller than your colored square templates.

Cut one square for each photo.  If you are using two different colors of material, divide your photos in half, so you will have the equal numbers of squares.  After you are done with your colored material, then cut one square of your white material for each photo.  If you will be washing and drying your memory quilt from time to time, pre-wash your material before you cut your squares.  You will probably need to iron your material after it is dried, to make it as wrinkle free as possible.  Iron your white material especially since this is the square your photo will be add to.

The next section will deal with pressing your photo onto your white material.