QNM Articles & Patterns

Jake's Bow Tie

 Assembly

Step 1

Wash and press fabrics. Note the use of value placement in the quilt photograph. Lighter Bow Ties and light green sashes (E's) are in the center of the quilt.

These directions are for machine piecing that allows you to set in an A patch into the pieced unit. Once you've stitched a few seams, you should be able to sew the rest easily. Make templates for the full-size patches (A, B, C, D/Dr, G, and H), including seam allowances and dots. Use an ice pick, awl, or tiny hole punch to make a hole at each dot. Draw around the templates on the wrong side of fabrics and mark dots on the fabric through each hole on the wrong side of the A-D patches.

Cut the remaining patches listed in the materials and cutting box and shown in the rotary cutting diagrams.

Step 2

To make the Bow Tie, sew 2 bright A's to opposite sides of a B patch, starting and stopping stitching at the dots. It is important to use a precise 1/4" seam allowance throughout. Keeping the seam allowances out of the way, add 2 light A's to the remaining sides of the B, and sew from dot to dot. Fold the unit in half, aligning the side edges of 2 adjacent A's. Starting at the inside dot, sew the A's together and stitch to the outer edge (Fig. 1). Repeat to sew all 4 seams where A's meet, always sewing from the inside dot to the outer edge. Press the seam allowances away from the B.

Continue to make units like this with all the B's.

Join 4 units to make a block, turning units so the bright A's touch in the center. Make 18 blocks.

Referring to the piecing diagram, join a C patch between a D and a Dr patch, and set in an A. Repeat. Join these units with the Bow Tie pieced units to make 10 half blocks. Sew an H to the long side of each half block.

Join A, C, D, and Dr patches to make half of the quarter block. Repeat. Sew a G to the long side of each of these units. Join the 2 units to make a quarter block. Make 4 quarter blocks.

Step 3

Referring to the quilt assembly diagram, arrange blocks, half and quarter blocks, E, and F patches in diagonal rows. Refer to the quilt photo for color placement. Join patches in rows, and join the rows.

Step 4

Sew long peach borders to the sides, stopping stitching 1/4" from the quilt's raw edge. Sew short peach borders to the top and bottom. Miter the corners.

Step 5

Referring to the block diagram, join K patches to make 44 Nine Patches. Note that some of the Nine Patches are made with subtle fabrics to blend with the border and some are made with lighter and brighter fabrics to add contrast.

Step 6

To make a side pieced border, refer to the quilt assembly diagram and join I patches in rows of 4. Continue in this manner, inserting a Nine Patch in place of an I where shown. Join 4 J patches in a row. Repeat.

Insert the 2 rows of J's where shown. These slightly wider patches are necessary for the pieced border to fit the quilt lengthwise. Join 22 rows of patches to make the border. Sew to a side. Repeat for the other side.

Step 7

To make a pieced top border, join I patches in rows of 3, inserting Nine Patches where shown. Join 25 rows of patches to make a border. Sew to the top. Repeat for the bottom.

Layer the quilt backing, batting, and top. Baste. Quilt in-the-ditch around the block patches and along the sashes. Or if you prefer, quilt an overall design of your choice.

Step 8

Bind the quilt to finish. To make curved corners as shown on the quilt, use a saucer to trim each corner in a gentle curve. Cut binding on the bias. Ease the bias binding around the curves.