Creative articles about quilting

Swiss Star Quiltalong: Finishing the Quilt

02.05.2024 by 37 Comment now!6,961

Welcome to the last week of the Swiss Star Quiltalong, I’m so excited to share the final steps to making your quilt top. 

The construction of Swiss Star is unique, rather than piecing the quilt top in rows or columns, it is built out from the middle, with the corners as the last addition. 

Trimming the corners might the hardest part, but if you’ve got a long ruler, you’ll be fine. 

Let’s get quilting!

Download  Swiss Star – Quiltd Studios PDF Pattern

Making Diamond Corners

Pin and sew (1) 5” BG half square (K) to the bottom of the diamond units, flipping for the last 4 to create 8 diamond units total.

Pin and sew 1 Fabric A diamond to 1 BG diamond as indicated. There will be a little fabric on both sides of the edges of the top diamond when sewing. Repeat 3 times to create 4 total.

Pin and sew 1 Fabric A diamond to 1 BG diamond, this time on the opposite side. Repeat all steps to create 4 in total.

Filling out the Corners

Align the bottom of 1 diamond set to the right and left of (1) 1.5” x 13.5” BG rectangle (H), pin and sew. Repeat 3 times to create 4 in total. Iron seams flat.

Sew RST (1) 7” Fabric B Half Square (D) to (1) 3” x 9.5” BG rectangle (I), 4 for the left and 4 for the right. Iron seams flat.

Align the bottom flat edges, pin and sew RST the side triangle units to both the right and left side of the center diamonds. Iron seams flat. Repeat 3 more times to create 4 total.

Finishing and Attaching the Corner Units

Mark the centers of 1 diamond corner unit (just created in last steps), (1) 6” x 41” BG strip (R), and 1 Long Strip Unit. Pin (starting from the center) the corner unit RST to the 6″ x 41″ BG strip and sew. Pin and sew 1 Long Strip Unit RST to the BG strip. Iron seams flat.

Repeat 3 more times to finish all 4 corners units

Make sure you have center marks on the corner units and the main quilt (you can do this by folding them in half and finger pressing). Line up the marks, pin and sew RST, each corner unit to the edges of the Center Star, making sure everything is lined up and each corner is centered over every side of the star.

Trimming the Quilt

You’re done sewing the quilt top!! The next part is a bit challenging but you can do it! Gather your rulers and cutting mats, and a large area to lay the quilt completely flat.

Lay the quilt down, smooth flat. Iron any seams that aren’t flat.

First, examine the sides of the quilt, find the seam/triangle that is the shortest, measure about how many inches you’ll need to cut off so that each side and corner is square and even.

Start by squaring the corner using a ruler. From there, using all your rulers, extend out the straight edge in both directions, trimming all of the excess fabric and triangle edges. How much you cut will depend on your seam allowance, but it could be anywhere from .5- 2”

Because everyone has a varying seam allowance and cutting may be inaccurate, your trimming may result in a top that has to be trimmed more or even less. 

My quilt ended up having 1.5” of BG fabric from the corner diamond units. I trimmed around the entire quilt, cutting off all of the triangle edges, right where they met the quilt. 

You can also fold the quilt in half and trim two corners at the same time, trimming from there.

Your Finished Swiss Star

Trim any loose threads. Layer the quilt top, backing, batting, and quilt in chosen method. Join (8) 2.5” x WOF strips to create binding. Attach binding to quilt.

Congrats! You’ve made it! I hope that this pattern was everything that you dreamed it would be.

I had so much fun designing it and making it in collaboration with BERNINA.

Share your beautiful quilt with me! Tag @quiltdstudios on social media using the hashtag #SWISSSTAR or email a picture to [email protected] so I can admire your beautiful quilt. But that is not all… You for sure remember that you can win a BERNINA 570 QE in a final raffle? Here is all information about how to join the raffle:

Give away

Our quilt tops are finished, so it was time for the give away! The winner is already decided, so you cannot enter anymore. Are you excited? I sure am! Who is going to win the BERNINA 570 QE? 

To enter the giveaway you had to take a picture of your finished quilttop. Your quilt is not required to be quilted.

There were two options to participate:
  • Post your picture on Instagram, tag @quiltdstudios and use #SwissstarQAL on that post.
  • Or upload your picture to the community section on the BERNINA blog. When uploading to the BERNINA community section make sure to select “Swiss Star QAL” from the dropdown list.
You were able to enter your picture until Wednesday May the 15th to participate in the raffle.
 
The winner was randomly selected. There is no jury and there are no selection criteria on who’s quilt is ‘the best’. So it does not matter if this is your first or your hundredths quilt. 

We have drawn one random winner from the entries and announce the winner at the end of this post.

Conditions of participation for the raffle

Acceptance of these conditions is a requirement for participation on the BERNINA Blog.

Employees of BERNINA and their dependants are excluded from participation.

The winner will then be notified by e-mail within seven days. We are not liable for the non-receipt or late delivery of the notification.

If the winner is unable or unwilling to accept the prize, we do not guarantee that an alternative prize or substitute can be offered. The prize cannot be paid out in cash and the claim to the prize cannot be assigned.

If there is no response to the email notification of the prize within 7 days, the prize will be cancelled.

The prize will be sent to the winner by post. To make sure that the prize is delivered, the winner must provide correct name and address details after notification. If this is not done, the prize cannot be delivered. The prize will then be cancelled.

We reserve the right to interrupt or terminate this competition at any time or to vary the procedure and rules. Legal action is excluded.


Who won the Grand prize, the B 570 QE?

Out of all entries on the BERNINA Blog and Instagram, one winner was selected. Congrats to Kathrie1620! We will contact you today. This is her finished quilt top:

Thank you for participating in the SwissStar Quilt-Along! I hope you have enjoyed the ride and maybe you have learned a thing or two. Should you already miss being on a quilting journey with everyone, then you won’t have to wait that long. The Between the Lines Quilt-Along with Irene from Sugaridoo will start soon! You can already get your materials ready with the newest article: Between the Lines QAL Fabric Requirements. And to all who missed their chance on the B 570 QE… Irene already has a small Give Away for you to try your luck once more!

02.05.2024 by 37 Comment now!6,961
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Time to Complete: A week or more
Used Products:
BERNINA 570 QE (NEW)
BERNINA 570 QE (NEW)
Reverse Pattern Foot with Clear Sole #34
Reverse Pattern Foot with Clear Sole #34

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