Background fabric by border

[Barbara B.]

In Sarah's Introduction and Fabric Requirements document she says she has provided a breakdown of BACKGROUND FABRICS by the 5 specific borders. She did not. Enough of you have begged for it so I did it.

Be sure you use her sketch of the 5 various border sections so you know what I am describing. She names them DIFFERENTLY here than she named them on the Show.

These are exact measurements for cutting Width of Fabric--you want extra for shrinkage or unhappy cuts.

BORDER 1 Center of quilt 19"--get 5/8 yard minimum Months 1 and 2

BORDER 2 HST border 33"-- get 1 yard min. Months 5 and 6 NOTE: in month 6 you will make ALL the star blocks for the remaining quilt, some are used in BORDERS 4 and 5

BORDER 3 Wide border with Birds 38.5"--get 1 1/4 yard min. Month 7

BORDER 4 HST border 28"--get 1 yard min. Month 10

BORDER 5 Outer pieced border 28.5"--get 1 yard min. Months 11 and 12--remember. the stars were made in Month 6--if you want ALL the background fabric the same in the outer border you will need a half yard more.

I hope this satisfies those who want to PLAN their backgrounds to be different fabrics.

I will not be providing more "advance" instructions. You will just have to be patient--it is a Block of the Month.

[Karla W.]

Hope you are feeling better, Barbara! SEW sorry to hear about your power walk accident! Take care and best in 2023! A quilting friend from Maryland, Karla

[Barbara B.]

Thank you, feeling better, not 100% yet.

[Judith A.]

Dear Barbara,
Just read that your knees were hurt. I hope you get well soon so you can get back to doing the things you love.

[Azenath W.]

Kit purchased. Does the kit have wiggle room for background and other fabrics. Don't want to cut wrong and not have enough.

[Barbara B.]

Yes, there is some wiggle room.

[Donna M.]

For those of us (me) who are worried they will mess up the 5 1/4 yds of Confetti Party Squares, would it be safe to make the first cuts in these increments? I know I should not worry because doing the math you have 4 7/8 yds of fabric listed and we have been granted 5 1/4 yds. 3/8 yd extra should cover any mis-cuts. Right??? :|

[Barbara B.]

For those of us (me) who are worried they will mess up the 5 1/4 yds of Confetti Party Squares, would it be safe to make the first cuts in these increments? I know I should not worry because doing the math you have 4 7/8 yds of fabric listed and we have been granted 5 1/4 yds. 3/8 yd extra should cover any mis-cuts. Right??? :|

NO, do not precut anything now based on these numbers. There are alternatives you may want to consider, month by month. You have enough fabric extra, as you noted, just take each month as it comes and you will be fine.

AND one more good reason not to cut background now, as we get farther along you will have extra fabric left from previous months and may not need some of the additional cuts. If you cut now all that is wasted. It is such beautiful fabric I would want to save as much as possible and use all that I have cut previously.

Cutting them ahead can be a disaster and was one of the reasons I did not want to give out this info but bowed to several requests from those who want to use their stash and need to know how much they need by border area.

[Kathie M.]

I noticed when I made the center square and connecting pieces for month 1 the background fabric shrank up more than the surrounding fabrics. I decided to preshrink the rest of the background. It actually shrank about 7 inches after washing drying and adding starch. Now what! Will I have enough fabric to complete my quilt?

[Myra T.]

Hi Barbara: when breaking down the border measurements you gave the centre square as 19”. Could you please explain this. The hollyhock squares are 10”, the cone flowers are 6”, which adds up to 26”.

[Barbara B.]

I noticed when I made the center square and connecting pieces for month 1 the background fabric shrank up more than the surrounding fabrics. I decided to preshrink the rest of the background. It actually shrank about 7 inches after washing drying and adding starch. Now what! Will I have enough fabric to complete my quilt?

Yes, there is extra background fabric in the kit.

[Patricia Greytak.]

Hi Barbara, thankyou for this page...Background fabric by the border. Very helpful. My confettie fabric should be here within a few days. I always prewash, so I still will, & now I'll only cut it Mo by Mo as you say. Good to know. And I'm glad to see the approximates on the following mos. Later. Oh, I did buy 6 yds...I'm sure I heard you suggested it. Oh, would you divide your 6 yds fabric for washing? Or just wash it all in 1 piece? TY.

[Barbara B.]

I would wash it a one piece, opening it like a big sheet. I only use Express Wash for new fabric, as it's not dirty. It wouldn't matter if you cut it in half and washed as two pieces, 3 yards each. I bought 6 yards because I like whole numbers and I like the gray I bought so having extra isn't a problem.

[Gopa R.]

Hope you are feeling better Barbara. Thank you so much for the breakdown of BACKGROUND FABRICS requirements , it is so helpful. x

[Barbara B.]

Hi Barbara: when breaking down the border measurements you gave the centre square as 19”. Could you please explain this. The hollyhock squares are 10”, the cone flowers are 6”, which adds up to 26”.

I gave the background cut measurements for months 1 and 2 that create the center. The patterns say strips are cut 6.5”, 2”, and 10.5”.

This is why I hesitate to provide information the designer doesn’t provide.

Simply follow the monthly instructions and don’t try to work ahead.

[BarbaraByron]

THANK YOU..... now I know I might change backgrounds if I want since don't have one yet and have used what I'm finding in my stash for now; but might be able to work with the parts done so far-lots of fun so far... House came out the correct size!! Thanks!!