Week Four Craft: Quilt!

Quilting has always been something I've admired, but have been a little wary of trying myself.  My friend and I took a beginner class at Joann Fabric, and we both really enjoyed it.  Armed with my new found "talent" I searched Pinterest for my next project.

This pillow tutorial from Janome really caught my eye.  The illusion of the circle is awesome, and it is such an easy to follow tutorial.

Soooo....I thought why not enlarge it and make a lap quilt.  After all, it is just a matter of making it bigger and piecing together straight lines...what could go wrong?

Step 1. Decide how much larger you want your quilt to be.  I wanted a lap quilt, so I decided I wanted it three times larger than the pillow.

Step 2. Subtract your seam allowance before doing your multiplying.  This is a CRITICAL step (as you will see later on in my post).

Step 3.  Multiply each measurement by three (or whatever multiple you decide to enlarge this design by).

Step 4.  Add the half inch seam allowance back into your measurements.

Step 5.  Follow the tutorial (Janome's tutorial really is great). 

Step 6.  Because I made a lap quilt instead of a pillow I added a binding.

Step 7.  Step back and admire your beautiful quilt; don't forget to pat yourself on the back for the great job you did.  Aren't you clever for for figuring out how to enlarge a quilt pattern on the second quilt you have ever made in your life?

Step 8.  Wait....what's wrong with your quilt?  Step 1 - check.  Step 2 -che.....wait....

AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

I was so busy being pleased with myself for even thinking about removing the seam allowance before I enlarged each piece top to bottom that

 I COMPLETELY FORGOT to do the same thing side to side.  My quilt ended up not being square, and is wider than it is long.  It still kinda has the "circle" effect that I found so appealing in the pillow, but not as dramatic.  

Don't get me wrong, I'm still in love with my quilt....I'm just not IN LOVE with my quilt.  If you're a perfectionist like me, you get it.

Here's a website that walks you through how to enlarge a quilt pattern.