How to Quilt-As-You-Go Your Red Sky at Night Quilt

Quilt-As-You-Go is a method of patchwork or quilt construction that can be done lots of different ways. Perhaps the most common way I've seen is to use pieces of scrap batting as a foundation for sewing strips onto like Rachel's log cabins here. Others I've seen create a mini quilt sandwich for every block, quilt them, and then sew the finished 'quilts' together with strips.

This method I'll show you below borrows a little from both. We'll baste each block individually, but we won't back them. We'll quilt, trim, sew them into a quilt top that has batting already attached, and then add backing and a little more quilting before binding to finish! It's an easy way to use up your scrap batting while also finishing off a current WIP, rather than starting something new. 

This lovely collection of quilt blocks is from my Red Sky at Night Quilt pattern. The machine pieced portion of the pattern has 49 blocks in a quilt, each finishing at 9" with 1 1/2" sashing between them. Instead of adding sashing, like the original, I added a 1 1/4" border to each block. I'll use 1/4" of that in seam allowance, attaching it to the block, and I'll use a 1/2" seam allowance sewing the blocks to each other. That leaves 1/2" around each block, totalling 1" between the blocks, just like the original. 

If you're using scraps, you'll need (1) 1 1/4" Width of Fabric (WOF) strip per block. I didn't want to spend time cutting lots of strips to size, and I knew I would trim the blocks after quilting, so I cut (49) 1 1/4" strips, sewed them end to end, and then sewed the bocks to the strip one after the other. 

You'll need 1 3/4 yards of border fabric, instead of the sashing allowance in the pattern, to QAYG the machine pieced version of the quilt. 

Rather than sewing my strips around the blocks in a clockwise fashion (like a log cabin), I sewed them sides first, and then top and bottom. I did this on purpose because I wanted to create a little woven pattern at the end when I sewed them together. 

After pressing the blocks flat, I laid out my batting scrap on my cutting mat and cut, freehand, around the block, leaving maybe a half inch gap. You could use spray baste or pins here if you wish. I didn't have any spray, and I didn't need the pins for quilting such a small area.

For each block, I quilted simple, straight lines, following the direction of the top and bottom border strips. I didn't quilt densely because I'm going to add a little more after adding the backing. Most of the Red Sky at Night blocks follow the 9-patch construction and have seams that split the block in 3 rows. I followed those seams and quilted either side. I left the top and bottom borders free for quilting later. 

After quilting, I gave each block a press to prepare for trimming.

I trimmed each block to 11". My machine sewing isn't perfect, and some blocks were shy of 11", and some were a little bigger. I've allowed a 1/2" seam allowance though, so I didn't stress if I could see a little batting around my block. This was my chance to make them all even. Blocks with batting quilted to them don't stretch at all, so it makes it really easy to match all those seams.

If your blocks are a little inconsistent like mine, line up the 1" and 10" lines around the inside of the borders the best you can and then trim. That will keep your blocks centred in the border. I recommend using a big square ruler like my 15" one for this job!

I sewed the blocks together in rows, but I used a 1/2" seam allowance, and my quilting foot. I followed the Red Sky at Night Quilt layout of 7x7 blocks, but I didn't need to add extra sashing like the original pattern calls for. 

To create the woven pattern I was after, I alternated the direction of the blocks and their quilting, first horizontal, then vertical, and so on. When I started the next row, I made sure the first block went in the perpendicular direction to the first block of the previous row.

I pressed all my seams OPEN. I usually press all my seams to one side, but here it makes it much too bulky. Some of my batting has scrim (a layer that stops your batting from stretching), and it stuck to my iron. I needed to just use the point of my iron to press the seams open, rather than using the whole iron. Once pressing the seams on the reverse, I flipped the row and pressed the front. 

Next, I sewed the rows together, still with a 1/2" seam allowance. I used pins at the joins and in the middle of each block. When I didn't (I'm notoriously lazy with pins), I found it so much harder to wrangle! These rows are stiff and bulky and hard to manoeuvre at this stage. Sew the rows into pairs first before constructing your quilt top so that the pieces going through the machine are always as small as possible. 

Make sure you keep your seams between the blocks open as you sew them through the machine. 

Press these seams open in the same manner. 

Can you see how my seam intersections create a kind of windmill? It's a small detail, but I love it!

Basting and quilting happens now much like your regular programming. I had a beautiful flannelette sheet I've been saving for the right quilt and this was it! I trimmed it to size, laid it out flat and taped it to the floor, and then laid the quilt top/batting combination out over it. I pinned it in place. 

I quilted 1/4" on each side of the seam lines. I think this is important because it keeps those bulky seams flat and still, but I haven't tried quilt as you go with different quilting. Next, I added a little hand quilting to each block, just 2-3 lines between the machine quilting. I chose hand quilting for this bit because I really only like long straight lines on my machine, and this involved a lot of stopping and starting and turning the quilt around. This quilting fills the gaps between the machine quilting in the sashing, and adds a lovely contrast that I think complements the sweet black floral nicely.

Next, I trimmed the backing in line with the quilt top and bound it in my usual way! 

There are pros and cons to QAYG. The borders, quilting and trimming take longer (though I didn't mind so much because I enjoyed the change of process), but the basting the layers is easier. I much preferred rummaging around on the floor to straighten out just one layer instead of two! It's a little stiffer than I like quilts to be, but the flannel was new and also a little stiff, so I suspect a wash will soften it a lot. I guess what I liked best was the sense of satisfaction that I ate into some of my batting stash, and that the change of process meant this didn't stay a quilt top on my ladder for another year or so! 

Want to make your own Red Sky at Night Quilt? This version is the collection of machine pieced blocks from the e-book, which can be sewn on their own to make a large throw (this one, with the QAYG finished at 72" square), or combined with beautiful EPP blocks for a stunning queen. Check out the listings below!