Cathedral Window Quilts. Lynne Edwards

with the steam iron, ironing from the outer corner in towards the centre. The two folded edges of fabric being pressed are on the bias and can be shrunk slightly with a steam iron. Restrict the pressing area to a narrow strip between the outer corner and the centre. Leave the rest of the outer folded sides unpressed at this stage (Fig 8). The important thing is to have a really sharp outer corner. Never press from the centre of the square outwards or you will lose those sharp corners. If corners A and B do not reach the centre of the square but seem too short, just pull them – they are bias and will stretch easily.

      Fig 7

      Fig 8

      9 Bring corner C in to the centre. Adjust corner B if necessary so B and C are level with each other. Pinch the outer corner to sharpen it and press in the same way as the first corner. Treat problems in the same way as before (Fig 9). Press, ironing only a narrow strip from the new sharp corner into the centre. If corners A, B and C are not all meeting dead centre, don’t worry too much – it’s sharp outer corners that matter.

      Fig 9

      10 Repeat the process with corner D, making a sharp corner between C and D first, then tackling the corner between D and A (Fig 10).

      Fig 10

      11 Once all the corners are fixed, press the whole block with the steam iron, pressing along the outside edges and then from the outer corners towards the centre.

      Stitching the Folded Square

      1 Open out the folded corners to reveal the centre with its unstitched section. If necessary pull the folded edges together at the centre until they meet.

      2 Using a thread that matches the fabric and a fine sewing needle, knot the end of the thread and pass the needle through the open area into the fabric from front to back at the centre of the folded square (Fig 11). The knot will be hidden under the top layers of fabric. To close the opening in the centre, draw the two edges together and take two tiny stitches to make a cross at the centre through all layers, ending with the needle at the back of the work (Fig 12).

      Fig 11

      Fig 12

      3 Bring the four corners into the centre as previously pressed. Stitch the two opposite corners A and C down with one small stitch though all the layers at the centre. Arrange corners B and D so that they fit snugly alongside A and C, not sitting on top of them. Stitch these two corners down with one stitch through all the layers. The stitches will form a tiny cross at the centre of the folded square. Pull the stitches really firmly and repeat (Fig 13).

      Fig 13

      4 Finish off at the back with two tiny stitches through the back layer only and run the needle into the back layer for about 1in (2.5cm) before cutting off the thread to keep the back looking neat.

      5 Repeat this folding, pressing and stitching on the other 8in × 8in (20.3cm × 20.3cm) square of background fabric.

      Joining Folded Squares by Hand

      1 The folded squares can be joined by hand or machine – see right for machine instructions. To join by hand, place the two folded squares together with folded sides facing. It is important that the corners match exactly. If this presents a problem, try turning the squares round until you find two sides that match. If one of the sides to be stitched is still shorter than the other, place the squares together with the shorter side on top, nearer to you. Match the corners and fix them with a pin (Fig 14). As you hand stitch, the top fabric will stretch slightly and ease to fit the longer bottom edge.

      Fig 14

      ‘Don’t ask why when two identical squares will not fit together: fabric is totally wayward. Most problems in quilt-making are with trying to get badly behaved fabric to do what we want. Never blame yourself, always blame the fabric. . .’

      TIP

      If a corner has lost sharpness, pinch it into shape and pin it about ¹⁄₄in (6mm) from the corner (Fig 15). Keep the pin in position until the folded square has been joined to another.

      Fig 15

      2 Start with a double stitch at the corner, not a knot as this will pop through to the front and show. Oversew the two edges together, spacing the stitches regularly about ¹⁄₁₆in (1.5mm) apart (Fig 16). This stitch is also known as whip-stitching and is used to join together hexagons and other shapes that have been tacked over papers as English patchwork.

      Fig 16

      3 Remove the end pin as you approach it. Finish with two stitches on top of each other and then stitch back a couple of stitches before running the needle through just the bottom layer of fabric for ¹⁄₂in (1.3cm) or so and cutting the thread. Once the two folded units are joined together, move on to Adding the Windows on page 22.

Joining Square Blocks by Machine

      1 Cut and stitch the background squares in the usual way, following steps 1–7 from Making a Cathedral Window Unit on page 18. Do not press the corners into the centre the second time – leave them as in Fig 6 on page 19.

      Marking the Stitching Lines

      2 Measure along each side of the stitched square of fabric. A square that started out as 8in × 8in (20.3cm × 20.3cm) should now measure approximately 5¹⁄₄in (13.3cm) along each side. A square that started out as 6¹⁄₂in (16.5cm) should now measure approximately 4¹⁄₄in (10.8cm) along each side. If your squares are not this measurement, or are slightly different on each side, don’t worry. You just need to find the exact mid-point of each side and mark it lightly with a marking pencil as in Fig 17.

      Fig 17

      3 Join the marked points with a marking pencil, keeping the marking as light as possible, especially in the corners, where the marks may show slightly when the edges are rolled back and stitched later (Fig 18).

      Fig 18

      4 Mark every background square in the same way, keeping the pencil marks really light at all times.

      Tip

      If you are creating an original