Creative articles about quilting

BERNINA & ZEN CHIC Quilt-Along: Playing with Triangles – Preparations!

For all our passionate quilters, we have great news!

We will start with a new participatory project for you to join over the next few months: A quilt-along (in other words a project that is presented in small chunks, with work for you to carry out over the course of each month)! This time it will be a very modern project in a classic Zen Chic style. The finished quilt layout is the perfect size for a queen-size bed.

bernina-quilt-along-layout

You are, of course, creative enough to modify this layout according to your own ideas, to sew fewer or smaller blocks and to make a lap quilt, a table runner or individual pillows. Or you could increase the size and turn it into an even bigger bedspread by adding a border. However, only quilts with the quilttop center layout will be eligible to take part in the prize draw.

This quilt-along is obviously all about triangles. Triangles that are simply cut out of fabric, patched triangles, with small applications, with borders – essentially, in each article, a technique will be presented for a “particular triangle” and the method for sewing this triangle will be explained. Sometimes, three or four triangles of this type are required and this is the task for the month. The degree of difficulty gradually increases so that newcomers can build their repertoire during the course of the quilt-along.

The aim is to have enough triangles at the end to sew together the above layout.

The process:

The actual sewing, with a step-by-step guide for each triangle, begins at the beginning of August. I will show you a triangle which is really easy to sew so that even beginners can join in. This triangle is sewn in several fabric variations; sometimes there are three different-coloured versions of a triangle, sometimes four.
Each month, a new triangle is introduced, whereby the degree of difficulty gradually increases and new techniques are explained (for beginners). This allows you to build up your knowledge. A total of 12 triangle variations will be presented. At the end, a detailed instruction will be given on how to sew the triangles together to create the complete quilt. This means that we will be sewing together for 13 months until September 2018.
We hope you will take part again and share your results with us on the forum, and that there will be a lively exchange of photos.

If you are on Instagram, you can use the hashtag #berninazenchicqal for your posts.

There will be a dedicated forum for the quilt-along on the BERNINA blog, where participants can show their progress and exchange ideas. The link to this separate section within the blog community is here: https://blog.bernina.com/en/user-gallery/campaign/playing-with-triangles/

Make sure to select the campaign “Playing with Triangles” when uploading your images:

select-campaign

In addition, there is the share button, which we are happy for you to use on your websites and blogs:

triangles_blogbutton_320x204

https://blog.bernina.com/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/07/triangles_blogbutton_320x204.jpg

Please link to the BERNINA blog: https://blog.bernina.com/en/user-gallery/campaign/playing-with-triangles/

We hope you are as enthusiastic in joining in the Triangle Quilt-Along as you have been with the Medallion Quilt-Along. In this case too, the ambitious sewers who actually complete the quilt have the lure of a prize draw with great prizes at the end.

How does the prize draw work?

  • Anyone who presents their completed quilt-top (quilting is not required) in the community area of the BERNINA blog by 08/31/2018 will be entered into the prize draw.

The rules for participation in the prize draw are as follows:

  • The quilt must contain all 12 of the different triangles. To demonstrate this clearly, please provide a photo of the 12 different triangles (this can also be a collage of them).
  • As long as all 12 different triangles appear at least once in the quilt, the position and distribution of the triangles can be swapped within the layout in any way you wish.
  • The width of the background border can be changed as you like (narrower, wider, an additional border at the top and bottom), but the central section with the triangle layout must remain unchanged.
  • All the prizes will be drawn at random
  • The ideal format for uploading your photos is jpg format with a width of approx. 1000 pixels. If you have any problems uploading your photos, please report it to us by commenting here.
  • You are invited to show the community how your quilt is progressing.  It is nice if you can inspire each other and share ideas with each other.

The prizes

Participants in the quilt-along have the opportunity to win great prizes from BERNINA, Aurifil, Moda Fabrics and Zen Chic in the prize draw.

There is a yarn box with 12 large Aurifil spools, Moda fabric bundles, Zen Chic patterns, and as the main prize of BERNINA, a voucher for a course at the BERNINA Creative Center in Steckborn, Switzerland, including an overnight stay at the See & Park Hotel Feldbach with a total value of CHF 500! This is your chance to win some really great prizes!

Conditions of participation in the prize draw

The same conditions apply to this quilt-along as for the medallion project:

  • Acceptance of the above sewing rules is a prerequisite for participation in the Zen Chic Triangle Quilt-Along prize draw.
  • To be entered into the prize draw, participants must have uploaded images of their finished triangle quilt-top and the 12 triangles (sewn in accordance with the instructions provided during the Zen Chic Triangle Quilt-Along, including the 12 different triangles) in the community area of the BERNINA blog by 08/31/2018. ADD: Further information on why the date has changed, can be found here.
  • Participation is open to all readers of the English BERNINA blog as well as to the readers of the German BERNINA blog, but BERNINA employees and their relatives are not eligible to enter.
  • The prize winners will be drawn at random from the participants. The prize draw will take place earlier. ADD: The date has changed, further information can be found here.
  • The winners will be notified by email within seven days. We are not liable for non-receipt or late delivery of the notification.
  • If, for any reason, the winner is not able or is otherwise not entitled to accept the prize, we cannot guarantee that an alternative prize or replacement will be offered. The prize cannot be paid in cash and the claim to the prize is non-transferable.
  • If no response to the notification is received within 7 days, the prize will be forfeited. If no response is received within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn immediately.
  • In order to ensure that the prizes can be delivered, the winners must give their correct name and address details following notification of their win. If they do not provide their details, it will not be possible to deliver the prize and a new winner will be drawn immediately.

Today we are providing you with a first overview of the fabrics you will need for this quilt-along.

Materials (for a final size of approx. 2 m x 2 m):

  • 10 printed fabrics in coordinating colours, 25 cm of each print. These are used to make all the triangles. You can also go with 10 different coordinating Fat Quarters. People who love to have a bit of extra fabric in case of a mistake better go with 35 cm per print.
  • 25 cm plain, contrasting fabric for the accent colour triangles
  • 3.75 m of a subtle solid-shade background material – this amount includes the required triangles made from the background material that appear inside the central section of the quilt. If you wish to sew the binding in the same fabric as the background, you can add 0.60 m more of this colour, so you would buy 4.35 m.

Below is an illustration to give you an approximate idea of how much fabric is needed to cut out the pieces. Don’t worry, this is not the actual pattern. You will get a detailed pattern when we get started. This is just a rough overview.

 

Materialien für den Bernina Triangle Quilt Along

We have used the following fabrics for our suggested quilt:

  • The 10 fabric prints range from light blue to dark blue and are from the TRUE BLUE range by Zen Chic. I have been asked several times where you can buy these fabrics. There are a few shops in UK that stock TRUE BLUE, and as I do not want to favour any particular one by naming it, I would simply suggest searching for this term on Google.
  • For the accent colour, we have used the solid-shade fabric “American Made Brand Dark Rust”
  • For the background, we have used the fabric Moda Bella Solids Zen Chic Grey

Alternative options

A tip for selecting your fabrics: basically you are completely free to choose whatever fabrics you want. The choice of your fabric doesn’t affect your chance for winning a prize.
When choosing your fabrics, my advice would be to go with a mix of just a few colors in a wide range from light to dark. If you like blue, you can also use the beautiful blue AUBADE fabrics by Janet Clare, for example, which goes well with an interior in cream hues.

Janet-clare-aubade-song-to-the-down

These fabrics by Sweetwater and Basic Grey are also very suitable, with their mixture of light and dark colours.

Basic Grey Persimmon

Sweetwater Authentic

These are just a few suggestions to give you some ideas. I am already very curious to see what layouts and materials you will use!

ADD: As we have communicated in April 2018, there is a new date for the raffle. We have copied the relevant information here:

New date for the raffle

You will be entered into the competition if you have uploaded pictures of your finished triangle quilt top (including unquilted tops) and the 12 triangles (sewn in accordance with the instructions for the Zen Chic Triangle Quilt Along, including the 12 different triangles) to the Community section of the BERNINA blog or on Instagram by 08/31/2018.

This leaves you with about four months, including the summer holidays, to complete everything. I think it is a good solution to ensure that we don’t lose sight of the raffle, the project is not too long, and to sustain the motivation to bring everything to completion. Even those who are not so far along should be able to do it easily!

 

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  • Linda Hungerford EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    Shouldn’t this blog post be updated? Especially for those of us who are still participating in the quilt-along. Didn’t I understand that the previous January 15, 2019 deadline has been changed? Is it now August 31, 2018? Please change this post to reflect current (July 12, 2018) information. Thank you!

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