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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Jacob's Ladder Your Way

Do you like to start with a traditional block, then decide for yourself how big to make that block and how to arrange the blocks to make a quilt uniquely your own?

In the last post, Karen showed some layouts of quilts using the Jacob's Ladder pattern. I thought this would be a good opportunity to see how you can use BlockFab to actually determine how much fabric to buy for the blocks in these quilts, and how to cut that fabric in strips to start constructing the blocks. Then, using the companion app, QuiltFab, you can complete the quilt with borders, binding, and backing.

Looking at Karen's pictures, we see that all three layouts are 5 blocks wide and 7 blocks high for a total of 35 blocks: only the rotation of the blocks differ. If we make the blocks 12 inches by 12 inches and add a small border, this makes a nice twin size quilt. BlockFab also tells us this block is based on a 6 x 6 grid, so 12 inches finished size is a good choice.

Using BlackFab (in this case on the iPad), choose the Jacob's Ladder block from the library, and set the number and size of blocks. (While you're at it, you may want to choose a colorway you like for a better preview of how your quilt will look.) Then you can see how much fabric is needed, and how wide to cut the strips:


If you'd like a refresher on how to cut those strips into individual patches, tap on the individual cutting assumptions:





Then, if you really want to complete the quilt, use the companion app, QuiltFab, to see how much fabric is needed for a border, backing, and binding. Here is the resulting email sent from QuiltFab:


Fabric for 60" by 84" quilt (before borders).

Fabric is 40" wide and shrinks 3%, with 2" added to the length requirements for straightening the ends.

Lengthwise Backing: 5 5/8 yards fabric, 4" overhang, final length may be pieced.

Binding: 3/4 yard fabric (cut width 2 1/2")

Borders are mitered and may be pieced.

Border of finished width 2": 3/4 yard fabric.


Thank you for using QuiltFab!



And that's it! Now you can design quilts the way you want them!

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