The Herringbone Quilt is a traditional quilt design known for its diagonal "strippy" piecing and sharp angles that form when rows are pieced together. Variations of the Herringbone Quilt are many and include Chevron Quilt, Zig Zag Quilt, and Friendship Braid Quilt designs; all of which I have had on my quilt bucket list for some time.
So when I came across Victoria Findlay's recently released book Modern Quilt Magic I saw it as an opportunity to learn a few parlor tricks, and I was especially keen to learn a simple way to machine piece a Herringbone Quilt.
Just like Victoria, when I first saw (and studied) a Herringbone Strip quilt it bent my mind. How is that pieced together? Well, the magic in the book reveals all, and although the notion of lots - and lots - of part sewn seams can dampen my sewing spirit, the instructions provided in the book were clear and easy to follow.
Furthermore, the good news is that part-seams are easier to sew than Y-seams or insets seams. You just have to remind yourself that you are still just sewing in a straight line. It does however involve a lot of short seam sewing, stopping and starting, adjusting the quilt top to line up the next seam and the next seam. But it is a task I would do again in a heart beat. I love this quilt top!
The fabrics used for this quilt top are all from my "low volume" fabric stash ~ prints of varying designs on a white/light background. I spent much time pulling fabrics from stash, cutting up to four strips from each print, and returning fabric to stash. Many of the fabrics were fussy cut to feature a designs like a flower, text, face, animals etc., and I also paid attention to the orientation of the fabric designs when sewing the quilt top together.
Needless to say, this quilt top took ages to piece together, and there were moments of distress, and more than once I questioned my decision to cut my fabric strips so small. I do love small patchwork pieces and an overall scrappy look, but when trying a technique for the first time it might be worth going with bigger fabric pieces. However, once the quilt top was complete I was super pleased for having persevered, and like I said, I'd do it all again! In fact, I have many fabric strips left over (I prefer to cut too many patchwork pieces for a project, than to have to go back and cut more) and I am planning my next part-seam project.
RELEVANTS LINKS:
The book: Modern Quilt Magic by Victoria Findlay Wolfe
More RPQ Low Volume Quilts:
Modern Half Square Triangle Quilt - May 2016
Low Volume Strip Quilt - September 2013
Low Volume Half Square Triangle Quilt - April 2013
Low Volume Custom Quilt - May 2013
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| A snapshot of my quilt in progress - rows of part sewn patchwork pieces (as pictured on Instagram) |
The fabrics used for this quilt top are all from my "low volume" fabric stash ~ prints of varying designs on a white/light background. I spent much time pulling fabrics from stash, cutting up to four strips from each print, and returning fabric to stash. Many of the fabrics were fussy cut to feature a designs like a flower, text, face, animals etc., and I also paid attention to the orientation of the fabric designs when sewing the quilt top together.
QUILT STATS
Low Volume Herringbone Quilt
Quilt top measures 50 inches x 60 inches.
540 patchwork pieces.
(9 vertical "herringbone" rows - each with 60 fabric strips).
Each fabric strips was cut 2" x 4.5".
180+ different low volume fabrics were used to make this quilt top.
Fabrics Include:
Quilting Cotton, Liberty of London, reclaimed vintage fabrics.
Machine piecing instructions from the book:
Needless to say, this quilt top took ages to piece together, and there were moments of distress, and more than once I questioned my decision to cut my fabric strips so small. I do love small patchwork pieces and an overall scrappy look, but when trying a technique for the first time it might be worth going with bigger fabric pieces. However, once the quilt top was complete I was super pleased for having persevered, and like I said, I'd do it all again! In fact, I have many fabric strips left over (I prefer to cut too many patchwork pieces for a project, than to have to go back and cut more) and I am planning my next part-seam project.
This quilt is ready for basting and quilting. More soon.
Rita
PS Thank you for scrolling though the many photos!
RELEVANTS LINKS:
The book: Modern Quilt Magic by Victoria Findlay Wolfe
More RPQ Low Volume Quilts:
Modern Half Square Triangle Quilt - May 2016
Low Volume Strip Quilt - September 2013
Low Volume Half Square Triangle Quilt - April 2013
Low Volume Custom Quilt - May 2013
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