Panel Class

Once thought of as “cheater fabric” as a short cut to pieced blocks, panels now are used from small potholder projects to the center of a large quilt.

This class will help you:

• Pick a panel and cooridinated fabric for borders and binders
• Prep the fabric with Best Press or Terial Magic or starch
• Trim and square
• Add borders and/or blocks
• Stabilize the panel for quilting on the home machine
• Choose designs for quilting
• Choose a batting
• Choose a method to mark on the fabric
• Choose thread for quilting
• Decide on a binding
• Decide how to display or hang the finished project.

Pick a panel and fabric

• I made a Christmas panel that did only needed quilting and binding because blocks and borders were included in the panel. Most panels will need at least one border.
• My best advice is to choose several fabrics to audition beside the panel. Use as border and binding. Sometimes my choice for binding changes by the time it is quilted.
• Always get a little more fabric than you think you will need.
• Backing fabric should have as few seams as possible and all seams should be parallel

Prep the fabric

• Spraying the fabric with Best Press or Terial Magic or starch will help keep the fabric from stretching or moving
• My choice is Best Press. Terial Magic is great if you saturate the cloth, but can make splotchy discolored areas if only sprayed on some areas. Starch can attract bugs but is not a problem if you wash after finished.
• I made one sample with Best Press and one with Terial Magic.

Trim and square

• All panels need to be squared. Can not just trim off the white edge.
• Sometimes need to trim off some of the colored areas to make sashing equal

Add borders or blocks

• I have made large quilts with a large center panel by adding blocks and sashing
• Large panels can carry a larger border or multiple border. Audition fabric and sizes.

Stabilize

• Iron the backing fabric and front fabric
• Choose batting that is larger than the front but smaller than the backing
• Spray adhesive on the side of the backing that will touch the batting.
• Lay the batting on the adhesive side and smooth wrinkles
• Spray the batting with adhesive and lay the top on the adhesive side
• Iron front and back of the quilt sandwich
• Stabilize by stitching around the perimeter. Use a machine that has a walking foot or hand stitch.
• Baste across the project with stitches spaced one or two inches apart or use latch pins.

Choose a design for quilting

• You can add as much quilting as you like.
• You can outline features and stitch in the seams with invisible thread and call it done, or you can echo or add background fill of swirls, feathers, or lines.

Choose a batting

• I love to use Quilters Dream batting but other brands work well too.
• Wool batting will add loft to areas that you want to highlight if you also add background fill
• Thin batting (Request) is not my favorite choice.
• Select loft or Deluxe will give support and structure.
• Can use double batting of Select cotton with wool on top for thicker wall hangings.

Marking of your quilt

• Test your fabric if you use an iron erase pen or water soluble marker
• Friction pens are popular but I had one to leave a white mark on dark fabric
• Chalk is always a good choice. Some powder chalk is made to iron away, some to dust away.
• Making a quilting plan is the most important thing. I usually quilt without drawing my plan on the fabric, but I know the features that I need to use.

Thread for quilting

• Invisible thread to outline features and ditch the seams
• Invisible thread or neutral thread color for background fill
• Invisible thread for background will not change the color on multicolored background fabric

Binding

• Traditional hand sewn binding is always nice.
• Flange binding can add a punch of color. Choose flange that pulls out the favorite or smallest amount of color.

Displaying or hanging the quilt

• All projects should lay flat whether it is a wall hanging or a bed quilt or a table runner.
• A hanging sleeve that is hand stitched to the top of the back of a wall hanging keeps the quilt stable. Hanging a quilt with clips or tabs can cause stretching or sagging at those points.

Materials List:

• Panel of your choice
• Fabric for border and backing and binding
• Marking pen or chalk
• Sizing spray: Best Press, Terial Magic, or starch
• Thread: invisible thread and 50 wt thread for quilting
• Your sewing machine and power cords
• Walking foot is useful
• Pins, scissors, rotary cutter, cutting mat, tape measure, ruler, bobbins, thread, embroidery foot.
• Batting
• Paper and pencil for notes and to practice designs
• Patience and a smile

Panel

You can use the same panel that I have or one that you want. For this beginning class, choose one that is not very large and does not have a lot of little pieces.

 Fabric

I used a 1 and ½ inch cut fabric for the only border for the panel. I used about 10 inches, but bought more. The two color flange binding needs enough to go around the perimeter plus 10 inches for both colors. Backing fabric needs to be about four inches wider and longer than the top if you will quilt on the home machine. Backing fabric needs to be 12 inches wider and 12 inches longer than the front if you will quilt on a longarm.

Sewing machine

Clean and oil the machine before class. A walking foot prevents waves in the fabric if stitching straight lines. Embroidery foot will be used for free motion quilting.

Batting

I use cotton or wool Quilters Dream batting. I prefer not to use the thinnest loft, Request. Other brands of batting are fine to use.