Who can resist a nice mystery… especially with a warm fire on a blustery winter night? Well, certainly not Treadleonians… So Treadle On offers this mystery quilt for your amusement this winter. It will come in six installments. Section One will be posted in early to mid-December of 1998 and be left up for a month, since it involves all that long, boring stuff like shopping for fabric, washing, ironing, planning, cutting, and in this case, making a rather numbing batch of triangle squares. So, here we go:

 This is a fairly simple quilt. The final appearance will become an interpretation of two traditional quilt designs. One, the background in our instructions, is a very exact interpretation. The other, the more visible and striking in appearance…well we fudged a little, but you'll like it.

Two sharply contrasting color values are required. These can be any light solid color or very small print for the background, and either scraps or a contrasting color/print for the favored design. The background will actually form one traditional pattern, and the "favored design" another. It is easily possible to reverse the values and end up with a quilt that appears quite different. However, for purposes of clarity, I will assume that everyone will be working with what I term "Background A" and "Foreground B".

If you feel a little rebellious, and you feel you can keep it straight in your head, feel free to reverse the negative, in photographic terms. It will affect the instructions only in that wherever a background, or A , fabric is specified, you will use a B fabric, and vice versa. You will end up with a different appearing, but still lovely and interesting, quilt. The best way I can describe this, without giving the design away, is that if you use the AB approach, people who see the quilt will say, "Oh, that's almost like a _________ design!" If you use BA, they will say, "Oh, that's almost like a _________ design", but name a totally different pattern. (Actually, while traditional, the pattern that results for the BA approach is much less well known, and they may say, "What is it?")

As I said, two color values are involved. One possibility would be the traditional two color quilt. This would be quite striking as a red and white or green and white, with solid colors only. It would also be great in white and a variety of blue scraps, particularly in the AB version, producing a nice delft quilt. Scraps would also be very appropriate. You could use a white or light background and bright scraps, or either a white or very pale background and the 1930's reproduction prints. I would say that any large prints, unless you are taking the bright scraps approach, should be avoided. The pieces will not be large enough to let them show up well other than as color. I have neither made nor seen a finished quilt using the BA approach, but I did "build" one in EQ3 and verified that it would be a most effective quilt in a two color solid, like a red and white.

There are two possible "sets" for the quilt, which I will discuss when we reach the point of having blocks. However, I do want to alert you now to the fact that there is one variation of this project that would be especially effective, using an alternate set, as a very large quilt, say queen size. It would take a minimum of 55 blocks, rather than the 48 required in the specified version. If you're ambitious, you could go for this one from the start. There is also a smaller alternate set version that requires only 33 blocks. This alternate set is especially effective in very rich fabrics, in the AB version. I would suggest something along the lines of a rich yellow/cream background, possibly in a very small print, and a very rich primary fabric… deep blues and reds or purples.

For the record, in my own quilt I used a white background and 1930's repro fabrics, in the AB approach, with the color fabrics used as scraps. In the instructions, if you are using the two color solid approach, just realize that whenever I say "scraps", you will be using your dark solid.

This quilt is not really difficult, but it does require a lot of patience. It involves a lot of triangle squares (sometimes called half-square triangles). There are several techniques for making these. Some are fast, mass production approaches where you make whole sheets of them at once, others take a more methodical approach. I favor methodical. In this design, the final appearance is going to depend very much on nice matching of triangle points.

I suggest you get out your books and cheat sheets and brush up on the triangle square. Just for the record, here is my favored method for making these. Approved theory is that making a pair of triangle squares takes two contrasting squares 3/8" larger than you want the finished half square triangles to be. That's all well and good, but I usually find I end up throwing some away because they just don't come out quite up to measurement. Instead, I start with two squares at least 3/4" to 1" larger than I want the finished piece to be. Lay the two pieces (one dark, one light) together, good sides to the inside. Draw a line from one corner to another. Sew a seam 1/4" to either side of the line, then roller cut on the line. Press the seams to the dark side. Now, using a square roller cutting ruler, place the ruler's 45 degree line on the seam, and true two edges… I usually work on the upper and right edges first. Next, reverse the piece, and again placing the 45 degree line on the seam, put your true corner, which should now be lower left, on the intersection providing the actual measurement you want. Trim the upper and right again, and you should end up with a perfect triangle square. In this quilt, I used 3 1/2" plain squares cut the finished triangle squares down to 2 1/2"… a bit wasteful, but it let me work quite fast without being finicky.

Obviously, you can speed this up by doing each step in batches. You can also draw out the squares in sheets, rather than working with individual pieces. However, I do recommend making them oversize and trimming them one by one. It's tedious, but the end result is worth it.

These instructions will be based on producing a quilt top of 48" x 64". Adding a 4" border would make a finished quilt of 54" x 72". That's a nice size quilt. A 6" border was pictured on the picture that attracted me to the design, and that looked good too. The block size is 8" and you will need 48 blocks (I always make at least 10% extra blocks, so I can select the best and truest for the quilt top.)

You will need plain square pieces as well as the triangle squares discussed above. These can be cut from 2 1/2" strips, to produce 2 1/2" squares. Based on the instruction quilt size, the triangle squares you make should also have a finished size of 2 1/2".

Obviously, you can make the quilt larger by scaling to a larger square, or smaller by making smaller squares. However, the setting of the blocks is such that enlarging by adding blocks may require a fair sized enlargement to maintain a balanced look.

Yardage is estimated for 44" fabric, pre-washed.

You will need:

Scraps in mixed colors, or a dark solid if that is the option you choose. To be honest, I can't estimate scraps, so just be sure to have about a three yard equivalent, minimum

2 yards of white or unbleached muslin for background

Border and binding fabric to your specifications

Backing to your specification, but unbleached muslin is fine

Batting to your specification… I generally use Hancock's name brand, but any will do fine.

Recommendation… since these directions are not going to be designed for absolutely exact cutting to the most economical possibility, don't be bashful about getting extra fabric!

(Further note… after several people have actually made this, they tell me I am actually quite high on the fabric estimates… with me, it's deliberate, but if you want to buy less, it looks like you could probably get away with quite a bit less. I would rather be high and know I wasn't going to run short…)

This quilt will be a bit of an experience in old time quilt making. My instructions will be to make all the necessary squares, both plain and triangle squares, rather than using strip quilting. That's going to make your first section of work the biggest part of the job, and somewhat boring. However, there is method to this madness. Most of the quilts made will probably be scrap projects, and the approach of making lots of individual squares, rather than sewing strips together and then cross cutting them, will insure the greatest degree of randomness in the assembly. Since the triangle squares will mostly be combined with plain squares, the opportunity for major time saving by strip quilting is somewhat limited in any event. Just think… grandma would have marked all the individual pieces with a template and cut them all with scissors! Also, this quilt is going to look traditional, and will benefit from a very traditional quilting pattern, so simply quilting all the squares is an easy approach.

PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT! Actually, this is such a neat "old time" quilt, I would encourage you to make it on a treadle! :o)

OK, your first assignment is to get your fabric and get it washed and ironed.

Next, you are going to produce A LOT of 2 1/2" squares… in three types (see picture below):

That's it for your first section… it's a lot of cutting and fussing, but from here on in it's fun.

 Any questions or problems, email me, or call me at 206 784-0883.

 Thanks for your participation, and I hope you have a ball with it.

Dick Wightman

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