Shine Quilt Sew Along: Week 7: Finish Quilt Top

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt

Quilters, you made it! Week 7 is the final week in our Shine sew along. Give yourself a pat on the back, an extra piece of leftover Halloween candy and any other fun treats you can think of – you deserve it!

This post is filled with sash-sewing tips, so if sewing blocks together with sashing is nothing new to you, consider this review. However, if you are new to quilting and this is your first time sewing sashing (that's the technical term for the background fabric we piece between blocks) you don't want to miss what I've got for you!

Sew Along Schedule

Rainbow Shine Quilt Kit Info

If you're interested in making a rainbow quilt like mine, you can purchase a quilt kit here.

Shine Sew Along Week 7 Tasks

In this final week we assemble our blocks by sewing sashing between them and then finishing the quilt top off with borders on all four sides. Ready from some tips that will make your quilt top go from good to great?

Tip #1: Lay out all of your blocks.

Before you start sewing strips to blocks, lay them all out and double check for two things:

Trending patterns!

  1. That your blocks are making that fun windmill design (each group of four blocks should be rotated in a way to resemble a windmill).
  2. That your light and dark fabrics are evenly spaced. While you're at it, double check that your colors are nicely spaced too. 😉

Tip #2: Pick up your blocks by vertical rows.

What I mean by that is after you have your layout solidified, start in the top left corner and pick up the entire left row of blocks. If you're making the throw, that would be four blocks.

Keeping them in order, take the stack to your sewing machine. This will save you from going back and forth and back and forth PLUS it will allow you to do the next tip...

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt

Tip #3: Chain piece whenever possible.

If you sew your side sashing pieces to an entire row at a time, this allows you to chain piece an entire row.

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquiltpattern
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt

Tip #4: Pin!

Even though this is #4 it's actually my #ONE tip for sewing sashing and borders. PIN! You've made it this far and you're almost finished. If you don't pin your fabric your quilt top will most likely look wavy and distorted and definitely not square. Here's why...

The pressure of your sewing machine feed dogs and your presser foot are not exactly the same. When sewing something small, that difference isn't a huge deal, but once you start sewing something long, and if you don't have pins to keep your fabric on the right track, one layer will stretch out while the other stays in place.

Think of a boat. A boat sails a couple degrees off course but only needs to travel from one dock to the next in the same harbor. No big deal! The captain doesn't need to adjust course because the distance is so short.

However, if that same boat is sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a New York destination, without adjusting properly and keeping the boat on course, it will end up in Virginia. Savvy?

So pin. Pin a lot.

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #quilting

Tip #5: Sew with the seams up.

If you're having trouble with seams flipping or getting bunched up, there's an easy solution. Sew with the sashing strip down and the back of the block facing up. This way you can direct the seams under your presser foot to make sure none of them get wonky.

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt

Tip #6: Use your tailor's clapper (even on the sashing!)

After I've sewn sashing strips to my blocks, I take them four at a time again to my ironing board and press. And yes, even when sewing sashing and borders I use a tailor's clapper.

Have you ever had someone say to you, "You'll never regret exercising." Well, even though I do agree with that, the same is true for using your tailor's clapper. You won't regret it!

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilting

Tip #7: Trimming the sashing is optional before sewing the rows together.

Shhhh. This is our little secret. The pattern tells you to trim the long sashing pieces before sewing the rows together; however, if you like shortcuts, just line the rows up well with each other and you don't have to trim the sashing overhang.

Once your rows are pieced, trim all of the excess at once!

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #quilting
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #quilting
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #quilt

The Week 7 Sponsor & Prize

And the grand prize for finishing your Shine quilt top is....

...a full Shine quilt kit including backing and binding!! Fabric Stork curated the prettiest quilt kit based on earthy tones and bohemian prints. See the full quilt below.

So now that you finished one Shine quilt, it's time to make another!

The Shine quilt along is a 7-week online community sewing event focused on making the throw Shine quilt pattern. In week 1 we pick fabric. suzyquilts.com #qal #quiltpattern

How to Win

  • Post a pic to Instagram. The photo prompt for Instagram this week is to post a picture of your FINISHED Shine quilt top. Use #ShineQuiltSA in the caption.
  • You must have a public Instagram profile to participate.
  • Each photo posted is an entry and you can enter as many times as you want in a single week.
  • Your photo must be posted between 12:00 a.m. CT on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 and 1:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
  • This prize is not open internationally. Only residents with postal addresses in the USA can win.
  • The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #quilt

And here is my finished Shine quilt! The longarm quilting was done by Lavender Fields Co. Isn't it yummy?

The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt
The Shine quilt sew along includes lots of added tips and videos to help you make this modern quilt pattern. This fat quarter quilt pattern is beginner friendly and focuses on improv sewing. suzyquilts.com #fatquarterpattern #improvquilt

7 thoughts on “Shine Quilt Sew Along: Week 7: Finish Quilt Top

  1. Rosanne says:

    Hi! I purchased the pattern a while ago, but just starting to gather fabrics now (January 2021.) I am wondering if anyone has done this as a “quilt as you go”? Quilting the blocks first, then joining with the sashing? Also, I love your sneakers in the week 7 post, did you design those?

    • Suzy Quilts says:

      I don’t know of anyone who has done the quilt as you go technique with this quilt, but it would be a fabulous candidate! And thank you! I didn’t design them but they sure are fun!

  2. Megan Menton says:

    Do you have any tips for making sure all the sashing in between the blocks (the columns if you will) line up when making the Shibe quilt? I’m sure this has to do with not sewing on the horizontal sashing between rows correctly causing it to come out wonky in places. I just sewed the first two rows together, but I have several more to go and wanted to correct it if I could. I’m trying not to obsess where its wrong but fix it as I go along.

    • Laura Hopper says:

      Hi Megan! Keeping your seam allowance consistent will be very helpful. But also, as you sew all your rows together, you’ll be able to check that the sashing and blocks line up and you can adjust how you pin the rows together to help make sure they’re in line. Also, the great thing about sashing is that once the whole top is sewn together, it will be hard to spot any areas where it doesn’t line up, so it can be very forgiving with a pattern like Shine. I hope that helps!

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