Quilt As You Go

This Quick & Easy Charity Quilt uses the quilt-as-you-go method of construction.  QAYG means that you sew the quilt pieces together on top of the batting and backing so the quilting and piecing are done at the same time.  Using this method, it took me about 3 hours to complete the quilt.  Because the quilt is loosely quilted it is very soft and flexible.  Perfect for snuggling.

To make this quilt you will need:
A piece of backing fabric.  Mine was 44 x 62.
Eight inch wide strips of fabric.  I used eight.
And batting.

You can use any size strip you would like - the smaller the strip width, the more you will need.  Make sure the strips are no wider than the maximum quilting distance required by your batting.  My batting said that it needed to be quilted every 9 inches.  So I chose to use an 8 inch strip.

Place your batting on the table or ground and smooth out all of the wrinkles.  It is a good idea to tape down the edges in a few places to keep it from shifting.

 Spray the batting with spray adhesive.

Lay the backing over the batting.  Smooth out any wrinkles and spray more adhesive along the edges if they aren't stuck down properly.

Trim off the batting that extends beyond the edges of the fabric.
Roll up the batting/backing so it is easier to manage.
Place your strips in the order you want them to go on the quilt.

 Lay your first strip of fabric along the bottom of the batting right side up.

 Lay the second piece of fabric right side down on top of the first piece.
Pin along the edges.

 Stitch along the edge using a walking foot and generous 1/4 inch seam.  You may even want to use a 1/2 inch seam.  (I started out with a regular foot but switched it out for a walking foot almost immediately.)

Remove the pins and open the fabric.  Iron.

Pin the next strip of fabric face down onto the second strip.  Stitch. 

 Repeat until you come to the end of the backing/batting.
At this point I top stitched a few pieces of rickrack along the seams.  I love rickrack!

 

Square up the quilt and bind.

You are done!

A super cute quilt finished in an afternoon.  

It doesn't get much better than that!