Quilting Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PUFF QUILT

Make a simple biscuit quilt or cushion
Biscuit quilts were so named because they reminded women of something familiar; warm biscuits fresh from the oven. In much the same way, lightly puffed quilts call to mind a sense of well-being & warmth. Like baking biscuits, stitching biscuit quilts is an old-fashioned skill that is easy to master. Both kind of biscuits are made from a few simple ingredients; both are easy enough to teach children; both are appreciated by the whole family. Homemade Biscuits includes patterns & directions for several biscuit projects as well as recipes for Southern Biscuits with variations.
a fun quilt is made from individual biscuits filled with polyester stuffing. Pick your favorite colors, arrange the biscuits any way you like, and make your own puff quilt

They are comfort, maybe it's the little pillows that make up the top that attract us to them. Maybe it's the extra layer of stuffing that makes them so soft and fun to curl up in. Whatever your reasons, I hope you enjoy this pattern. You can make a small one or a chair cushion to start with

Puff Quilts are really easy to make. You construct "puffs" or "biscuits" of fabric squares one at a time, and join them to make a whole. Most often there is no added backing or finish quilting required.
A good size for each puff is between 3 and 6 inches square. For uniformity, select a "backing" fabric to use as one side of each puff you construct. You'll also need a lot of cotton or poly fiberfill, or leftover scraps of batting for stuffing.
The most simples method is to take two squares of the same size, place them right sides together and sew around the edges as if you were making a little pillow --because that is exactly what you are doing. They don't even have to be squares. Use rectangles or circles if you want. Turn the puff inside out, stuff it loosely, and whip-stitch the open edge. Your first puff. Make some more, and whipstitch them together along their edges to make the top. Arrange them in checkerboard style, in concentric rings of color, or a random pattern.
The second method is a little more involved. You still cut two squares for each puff, but this time you'll make one about 1.5 inches larger than the other. Place them right sides together, with the larger square on top. Gather the edges of the larger square and pin them in place so that it can be sewn to the smaller piece. You'll need to take pleats in each side to take up the extra 1.5 inches. Two pleats is probably enough, make them near the middle of the square. This method gives you a little more volume to puff up when it is completed.
Sew around the edges and leave your opening to turn it right side out. It might help to sew up one pleat on the open side, because sewing two shut by hand is going to be a bit tricky. Stuff your biscuit and form any remaining fabric into the second pleat. Sew shut by hand. You'll have a thicker puff with a flat bottom. Join the puffs to each other with whip-stitching.
For a more finished look you can add a backing layer to the puff quilt. If you do this you will need to add a binding and either quilt along the lines between the puffs, or tie off each corner to hold the backing on. It's not necessary to add another layer of batting under the puffs.

Yo-yo's are easy and fun to make. The technique of gathering circles of fabric into "yo-yo's dates back to pre-Victorian times. Yo-yo quilts were generally used as decorative spreads and had no backing. Attaching them to a foundation backing of white cotton gives the quilt or cushion an interesting look; it also makes it durable. -Best loved quilt patterns

Yo-yo's are decorative flower forms that create a textural effect. They are made from fabric circles that are hemmed and gathered into small rosettes. Yo-yo's can be stitched together to make a bedcover or a vest or appliquéd as an embellishment.

Yo-yo quilts were very popular as scrap quilts in the 1930'sThere are no batting or backing involved, so you may want to try this as a first project.

You can use a selection of Christmas fabric as I did and create something beautiful for the holidays.

Quilting Instructions

for "Yo-yo" quilts or Coverlet

To make a yo-yo, draw a circle for a pattern at least twice the size of the finished yo-yo onto cardboard, and cut it out. The end of a large spool of thread makes a good pattern for a small yo-yo.

Trace the circular shape onto the right side of the fabric, and cut out the fabric 1/4 inch from the line.

Since the thread will have to support the tension of the fabric, use quilting thread or regular sewing thread doubled. Holding the circle wring side up in your hand, turn in the edges of the circular piece on the line so you see it appears as you stitch. Make sure the hem falls over the wrong side of the fabric. When you begin stitching, bring your needle up from the underside of the 1/4 inch seam allowance so the knot will be hidden when the yo-yo is completed. using a short running stitch, sew on the folded edge all the way around. Your stitching must be continuous, with no backstitches.

the yo-yo is formed when you pull on the thread forcing the edges of the circle to pull together and leaving a hole in the middle. Stitch evenly around the perimeter and then pull smoothly to gather the circle into a yo-yo. If the hole is too big, try taking larger stitch

To make the yo-yo's into a quilt or a vest they need to be accurate for joining into even rows. Join the circles together in strips or blocks in the desired color sequence by holding the circles with their gathered sides together and taking several overcast sewing stitches close together. Open this unit flat and add another yo-yo to the opposite side. Continue in this manner to make a row of yo-yos. When the row is the desired length, add the yo-yos to the other side.

Arrange the folds evenly and fasten with a few backstitches. Finger press and primp the yo-yo's to flatten it. The yo-yo can now be appliquéd or sewn together with others.

APPLIQUÉ YO-YOS

Yo-yo's of any size can be used as appliqués. They can be grouped together as berries, used as flowers on a stem, put into an appliqué basket, or stacked in various sizes with buttons for embellishment.

Appliqués. the yo-yo's with a hidden stitch, a decorative blanket stitch, or a featherstitch. Use embroidery floss or pearl cotton (size 5 or 8) when attaching the yo-yos with the blanket or feather stitch

Blanket Stitch. Bring the thread up from the underside of the background fabric. The tip of the needle should come out exactly at the edge of the yo-yo. Insert th4e needle down 1/4 inch into the yo-yo. bring the needle back up through the base fabric 1/4 inch away from the first stitch. The needle should come out at the edge of the yo-yo over the thread. Pull up the stitch to form a loop, and repeat around the yo-yo.

Feather Stitch. Work these stitches with the left half of the stitches placed on the yo-yo and the right half of the stitches placed on the background fabric. Bring the needle out at the top center. going off the yo-yo. Hold the thread down with the left thumb and insert the needle a little to the right on the same level and into the yo-yo. Take a small stitch down to the center keeping the thread under the needle point. Next insert the needle a little to the left on the same level and take a stitch to the center, keeping the thread under the needle point. Work these two movements alternately.

Biscuit or Pillow Quilt

Sometimes called puff quilt

Biscuit quilting, or puff quilting, is a form of patchwork in which a piece of fabric is sewn to a form a biscuit shape . The origin of biscuit quilting is unknown, but a few
examples have been located dating back about 150 years. Usually made for warmth rather than beauty,, these quilts were used and worn out, so it's rare to find an antique biscuit quilt.

Biscuits are made with two squares of fabric, one of which is 1/2 inch larger than the other. The smaller backing piece does not show in the finished quilt. A good size for a quilts a 4 inch top square and a 31/2 inch square for the backing. The finished biscuit will be a 3 inch square.

You should establish a layout or color plan on graph paper before you begin so you can determine how many biscuits you need of each color. Keep your biscuits in rows as you stitch them.

Step 1. Match the four corners of each biscuit and backing fabric, placing wrong sides together. Use a 1/8 seam allowance and sew around three sides, stitching a pleat in each side to take up the extra fullness. Without breaking the thread, pick up another pair of squares and again sew around three sides. Continue until the first row of blocks has been sewn.

Step 2. Stuff each block with a soft. good quality fiberfill. Note that too much filling will make it difficult to sew the blocks together. Begin with a small handful so that the biscuit puffs up but is not too firm. Experiment until you get a feel for the right amount.

Step 3 Sew the fourth sides together, pleating again and using a 1/8 inch seam allowance. do not stop to break the thread between blocks, and do not cut them apart until you are ready to sew the blocks together.

Step 4. Working on one row at a time, cut the blocks apart. Sew pairs of blocks together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance and having right sides together.

Step 5. Sew the rows together, matching seam allowances to complete the quilt top. The direction of the seam allowances should alternate from row to row.

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Double Wedding Ring

Many quilt historians believe this beautiful pattern came into being in the mid-to-late 19th century. whatever its origin, there's no doubt that Double Wedding Ring is one of the most cherished of all quilt patterns. It may be the most often-pieces pattern in the whole collection of American quilt patterns. -Best loved quilt patterns

Block patchwork patterns go by more than a dozen different names, including Tumbling Blocks, Baby Blocks, Building Blocks, Steps to the Altar, Pandora's Box, and Golden Cubes. In 1882, at age 10, President Calvin Coolidge pieced a Baby Block quilt. And as a boy, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, with his brothers, helped his mother make a Tumbling Blocks quilt. These quilts are displayed in the presidents' respective home-places. Best loved quilt patterns

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