Embellish Your Modern Quilts

Quilt pattern seen here is the Italian Tiles Quilt Pattern!

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Do you have someone in your life that your think is just a little *extra* sometimes? Have you ever wanted to make them a quilt but think it’s just not perfect enough to match their “extra-ness”? I’ve got just the thing for you! I have 2 techniques to share with you for adding embellishments to your quilts. This is the perfect way to add just a little extra pizazz and take your quilts to the next level! Don’t worry though - they are very easy and worth it! 

Quilt pattern seen here is the Italian Tiles Quilt Pattern! 

The first technique I’ll show you is adding bundled fringe trim to the edges of your quilt! This really can be any trim you like, but I chose a bundled fringe trim to demonstrate with! Here are a list of trims that would be perfect for this technique:

Bundled Fringe Trim (this is the type of trim I used!)

• Pom Pom Ball Trim 

• Bundled Fringe Trim

• Fringe Trim

The second technique is adding crocheted lace to the binding! Again, this can be done with any type of trim or lace that works best for your project! You could even use some of the trims from above to add to the binding! Here are some that I think would work best here:

• Scalloped Edge Crochet Lace Trim

• Eyelet Ribbon Lace Trim

• Floral Scalloped Trim

Finishing Your Quilt with Fringed Edges

Aside from the fact that you are going to have some fun fringe on your finished quilt, the cool part about this is NO BINDING! This is especially exciting for me because binding a quilt is in my top 3 things that are just not fun about quilting. So if you are like me, this technique will be right up your alley! 

1. You will need to baste your quilt top and batting together. You can do this with spray or pins - whichever you prefer!   
2. Trim your batting down to the size of the quilt top. You don’t want to have any overhang sticking out!
3. Lay the quilt backing out and place the quilt top/batting sandwich on top. You will use the quilt top/batting sandwich as a template for trimming your backing fabric.
4. With your backing and quilt top/batting sandwich right sides together, pin all layers together to prevent them from sliding around.
5. Add your fringe trim in between the sandwiched layers but make sure the fringes are facing inward! Since we will be flipping the layers inside out, the fringe will need to face the opposite direction before flipping! Place lots of pins here to keep the trim in place.
6. Set your machine to a zig zag stitch. I even shortened the stitch length so that the zig zags were closer together too! The more stitches you have for this part, the more secure your layer’s edges will be!
7. Using your zig zag stitch, sew around the perimeter of the layers of the quilt. Feel free to adjust your trim as you sew to make sure that you aren’t sewing over the fringes! I wanted to make sure that my outermost stitches weren’t right on the edge of my layers. The stitch ended up being somewhere between an ⅛” and ¼” away from the edge for me.    
8. You’ll want to leave an opening in the perimeter stitches that is big enough to pull the entire quilt through when you flip the layers inside out. This will need to be a judgment call on your part. The hole can be surprisingly small compared to the amount of fabric that will need to fit through it.
9. Trim the bulk off of the corners of the layers. Don’t trim too close to the stitches though! It can help if you sew in some extra stitches in the corners for more support. I realized that I actually did a little too close to the stitches here as I added this picture to this blog. Oops… 
10. Now is the fun part - flipping the layers inside out! Stick your hand inside the opening and pull your layers through. This is probably going to take a little time and finagling to get it all through. I typically start with the corner that is farthest away from the opening and work my way closer.
11. Once you have the quilt flipped inside out, fold under your opening edges toward the inside of the quilt. It helps if you use your iron to press this section in place after folding the seam allowance in. Use lots of pins to keep everything in place. Sew along the opening edge to close up the hole.
12. Go back around the perimeter of the quilt with a top stitch to secure the edges. This will help keep the edges from pulling apart with use.
13. From here, you’ll quilt however you prefer! For me, that preference was machine quilting. If you are doing the same, make sure to bury your threads!

That’s it! This super cute embellishment technique is PERFECT for baby quilts! Just a note: Depending on the trim you end up using for this technique, you may need to hand wash your quilt to protect the trim and prevent it from fraying. If your trim is very delicate, this quilt may be best for display only!

Quilt pattern seen here is the Italian Tiles Quilt Pattern!

Quilt pattern seen here is the Italian Tiles Quilt Pattern!

Adding a Crocheted Lace Accent to Your Quilt Binding

I’ve always adored the look of a flange binding. But then I wondered, “Can I create the look of flanged binding with something other than fabric?” And then it hit me - I can sew anything I want under my binding! There are no rules! So here’s how I added a crocheted lace to accent my binding:

1. Since this embellishment is part of the binding, you will need to have your quilt basically almost finished! You are going to start by sewing the binding to the back of your quilt. I know that many people sew it onto the front for a clean look. You can totally do that, but then your lace will show on the back side of your quilt. If you want to show it off, sew your binding to the back first!
2. Fold your binding over to the front and pin it in place. It can even help to iron it down so that the fold lays flat and holds itself in place better! Make sure you are even folding the mitered corners of the binding into place and pinning those too! 
3. Use your scissors to snip off any frayed edges of your crocheted lace so that you can start with a clean edge. Fold the beginning of your lace in half - bottom edge under and to the back. It should look like this:
4. Place the folded lace into the folded mitered corners of the binding and pin it in place. Continue down the length of the lace placing and pinning under the folded binding. 
5. Start sewing your binding down about a ¼” away from the folded mitered corner. The arrow points to the best place to drop your need! Make sure you are sewing with a shortened stitch length to super secure the lace in place!
6. Sew along the binding like normal! Just make sure that your lace is in the correct place before you stitch over it.
7. When you get to the end of the side of the quilt, trim the lace so that it ends right before the next corner of the quilt. This is about how far I trimmed away from the corners:
8. Just like the beginning of the lace, you’ll fold your lace in half - bottom edge under and to the back - and place it under the folded mitered corner of the binding. Finish stitching about ¼” away from the next folded mitered corner.
9. Repeat the steps until all 4 sides of the quilt binding have been stitched in place. 
10. Last step is to go back and stitch down and secure your corners! I dropped my needle where my previous stitches ended and sewed until I met up with the next side’s stitches. 

You should now have a bound quilt with some fancy, crocheted lace peeking through! This embellishment technique would look so good with any quilt pattern. I think it adds a fun pop of color and extra texture to the quilt!