>Part 2: Cathedral Windows Quilt Tutorial

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cathedral windows quilt  tutorial

There are two traditional  places to add color to the traditional cathedral windows quilts. The first is shown above which is traditional. The second spot places colored fabric in the long white oval openings as seen in the photo above. But there is actually a third spot to add color which is the background that can be more than one color adding more variety to the blocks.

Quick Traditional method: Easiest
  1. cut 2 1/2 inch squares two for every piece of white fabric you have cut.
  2. place on space where two squares come together pin in place
  3. fold over edges pin in place
  4. sew with sewing machine
  5. repeat till done
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Optional Steps
I will start with the optional steps method then move on to traditional version 1 and version 2 and version 3.
This will place color inside the spaces that are white in the photo above. This of course is twice as much work if you do it the first way listed below. The second way is faster but not as thick or as warm of a quilt depends on your final goal. These steps that are optional are added to the traditional method not instead of it.
Optional steps if you want more color you can skip this step as I did in the above photo which will make your quilt go tons faster.
Traditional version 1 : Hardest to make
most work but a much warmer quilt (tons more work than traditional)
repeat steps 1-6 (from how to construct block)but in color and with a 6 1/2 inch square you will end up with a square that will fit under your flaps of your fabric ruffly 4 1/2 inch square. Stitch corners together by hand and stitch 1 or 2 stitches through the color fabric piece to tack it in place for now.
Traditional version 2: Medium
a little more work than traditional and a little warmer
cut 5 inch color squares of fabric also cut a 4 1/2 inch card stock template. Lay cardstock template over each color square and fold over the 1/4 inch seam allowance on all sides and press in place pull out cardstock and repeat for every 5 inch color square
Traditional version 3: Easy
a tiny bit more work than the traditional and a little warmer
Just cut 4 1/2 inch squares the same number you cut of white squares and place below flaps. Stitch corners together by hand and stitch 1 or 2 stitches through the color fabric piece to tack it in place for now.

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Tutorial parts

Part 1 cathedral windows ( background)
Part 2 Cathedral windows ( color filler squares) this post

>Part 1:tutorial Cathedral Windows background

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cathedral windows quilt tests

After trying about five different ways to assemble this block I think I found the one that works best for my style and personality by using aspects of all the different ways I have tried. So I will do a little tutorial here in case someone else likes this style, then they can use it too. You can use this technique with either machine or hand piecing techniques, or you can do a combination of both.

Supplies:

  • Fabric for back ground and for color swatches
  • Scissors and/or rotary cutter and mat ( I like olfa mats and cutters, but use what you like)
  • Square ruler (9 1/2 inch square and a 2 1/2 inch square) and long ruler if using rotary system ( I like omnigrid for these items, but use what you like)
  • Sewing machine and supplies for it and/or needle and thread
  • Iron and ironing board
  • Glass head pins (so you don’t melt the heads when ironing)
How To:
  1. Cut starting background block; mine are 9 1/2 inches square. I have an 9 1/2 by 9 1/2 omni grid ruler that is those exact measurements, so it’s easy to cut a 9 1/2 inch wide strip out of yardage then use my square to cut the blocks. I cut them four thicknesses at one time. Cut all you need for the quilt so you if this takes you years to complete you do not run out of the same dye lot of fabric. If you keep all your seams accurate, your finished block is 4 1/2 inches and four together are 9 inches square. I am telling you this to help you figure out how many blocks you need to cut. For square layout, divide finished size of quilt by 4 1/2; for on-point layout, divide finished measurements by 6 for how many blocks you will need.
  2. Fold in half and sew both ends with a 1/4 inch seam allowance; this can be done on machine or by hand. I do this in assembly-line style; that way I do all of one side then all of the other.
  3. Open, match center seams, and pin .Sew this seam leaving about 1 to 1 1/2 inch opening for turning; this will not need to be sewn closed in the future because it will be hidden under another fold of fabric. I do this is assembly line fashion, also. Just pick up the needle and slide it over the spot to be left open, then go on with a long chain of blocks. This step can be done by hand, too; just place a knot at the start and stop of the stitching, two per block. No long chain system in hand piecing.
  4. Turn right side out by pulling entire block through the opening left; as you can tell, I have my children helping with this part (a 7- and 9-year-old turned most of my blocks. I did a few as well as my 11-year-old; it is a family thing here).Nnow all seams are inside the block; it is fine to leave the opening open.Pull out corners to a nice point. This is where having children is good; pass this part on to them to do this step. My 11-year-old and I did this part with the needle. I thought it might hurt the 7-year-old.
  5. Press blocks flat. You may not be able to tell in the photo, but I am using steam setting on my iron to do this faster. As you notice, I said press (not iron) because pressing is an up-and-down motion and fabric doesn’t move; ironing is a side-to-side motion that moves the fabric and can make your blocks crooked. Do all blocks in assembly line; it is faster.
  6. Fold points to middle and pin. Notice my opening is still there and will be concealed as soon as I fold that flap down.and press blocks flat. Once again I am using a steam setting. You can skip this step of pinning if you want to stand at the iron and fold the corners down and iron instantly. This will save the time of pinning, but you have to be extra careful not to burn your fingers, especially if you are using steam. Either way works, just a personal preference thing.Do blocks in assembly line; it is faster. Check your blocks after pressing; they should measure 4 1/2 inches square if you have done everything correctly to this point. If you make sure you have all of these done before assembling, assembly goes faster.
  7. Now that you have everything nice and pressed,match up two blocks and match points. Pin these two points together (pointing at fold which is also the sewing line). Sew in pairs; I use a tiny stitch and I back stitch at the beginning and end of a rowthen sew in strips. For on-point (this picture shows six strips all laid out): If doing block/square layout, sew in sets of four to form squares: (This picture shows four sets of four.)

When you have a few rows sewn together, you can start filling in with color. In the next tutorial I will explain how to and where you can place color and how to fold and sew it.

DO NOT USE THIS PATTERN TO MAKE THINGS TO SELL FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY!!!!

update part two isn’t up yet ( update Aug 5 2010) Quilt is still packed and in a storage unit so second part is not done yet sorry.