Bubble Up Pattern Release
My Bubble Up pattern is released and available for purchase on my newly opened Etsy shop!
In today’s blog post I want to share some background on the design, as well as some tips that may help with the making if you have purchased the pattern.
I originally designed this quilt for the NJMQG Community Outreach quilt for QuiltCon Together 2021. The Guild members made individual blocks and Bubble Up was part of the virtual exhibition. I continued to build on my original design with some minor corrections in the layout, and a different palette and color placement, and submitted it to QuiltCon 2022. I was overjoyed when it was accepted in the category Modern Traditionalism. I named it Bubbles, both a nod to the design elements as well as a reflection of how the word bubbles took on a whole new meaning during the pandemic. The pattern is released under the original name Bubble Up, since Bubbles has been used for patterns before. The design is based on the Drunkard’s Path block, using both a traditional and modern version, each in three different sizes. It’s a downloadable PDF pattern for a quilt finishing at 60"W x 84"H. The pattern includes detailed instructions and templates to print at home, cutting and construction diagrams, and a coloring grid to help select your own colors.
Below are some tips for making the Bubble Up quilt. These are in addition to the instructions and tips in the pattern. Please read those first when you’re making this quilt. I’m sure I haven’t covered every possible question and it was not my intention to do so. If you get stuck somewhere making this pattern please contact me and I’ll try to help as best as I can.
Color choices
This quilt will look great in many different color combinations. The pattern is designed for 5 colors and all instructions and fabric requirements are based on that. You can of course adjust for your own preferences; the combinations are infinite. In order to get the best palette for your quilt, pay attention to values and ensure you select a combination of dark, medium and light fabrics. If you’re unsure, take a photo on your phone of your fabric selection and convert it to black & white to see the grayscale. Having good contrast between your colors will make for a great palette regardless of the colors you’re using.
Cutting your fabric
The pattern uses WOF strips to subcut the templates from. I’ve found it helpful to use a mechanical pencil to trace my paper templates on the strips before cutting out the templates, thus avoiding to accidentally slice a piece off the paper when cutting. I cut the curve freehand over the pencil line and use a ruler for the straight cuts. For the small curves I like to use my 28mm rotary cutter; I find I have more control than with a larger blade. Some find it helpful to starch their fabric before cutting, especially with curves since these are all bias cuts and can easily stretch and distort. I have not starched my fabric when making these quilts, so it’s definitely not a requirement to get good results, but it’s just another tool to support the process, and based on personal preference. I’m generally careful when handling the template pieces, and gently guide the bias cuts when sewing, without pulling.
Organizing your fabric pieces
I like to be organized when making a pattern and so I use scraps of paper to write the corresponding letters from the pattern instructions on, and use a few wonderclips to secure them. This helps me quickly find the right stack of template cuts when I start making the blocks.
Sewing curves
This is a pattern for intermediate skill level due to the many curves, some as small as 2 1/2”. If you’ve never sewn curves before this may be challenging and ultimately frustrating if your blocks don’t come out the way you had envisioned. A confident beginner can surely tackle this but I’d recommend to first practice with larger curves and work your way to smaller ones using scraps until you’re happy with the result. The pattern includes some basic tips on sewing curves and there are many tutorials and even classes to be found online.
There are different ways to approach sewing curves, and I’ve tried many of them. It really depends on what kind of project I’m making as to which one I prefer. I’m familiar with three methods I may use. With all of these I work with the Concave piece on top of the Convex. You have more control that way and can better avoid sewing in puckers. For making this pattern I’ve stuck to using pins. For curved template pieces I find that works best for me.
Pinning - I start by finger pressing each piece at the halfway point of the curve, place the pieces right sides together and pin at the halfway point. I then align and pin the beginning and end. Depending on the size of the curve I may use more pins in between. This may be counter intuitive, but especially the small pieces can benefit from more pins. The little curves have a habit to slip away if unsecured. With the large curves you have more room to guide the pieces through your machine with your hands.
Glueing - You can use a specific fabric glue pen you find in a fabric supply store, or even a standard paper glue stick you probably have at home already. Important your glue is water soluble so it comes out when your quilt gets washed. You still start with a pin at the halfway point, and then apply the glue in thin small strokes around the curved edge of the Convex piece, starting from the center out to each of the ends. You only need to dab on a minimal amount of glue; it only has to hold until you sewed the seam. Then gently press down the Concave piece from the center to each of the ends. Be careful not to create puckers!
Freewheeling - I personally love this method of sewing curves, especially for improv, but for a precise pattern it has its challenges. If you feel confident you don’t need pins or glue, I strongly recommend that you at least pin the center and align the start and end of the template pieces before sewing. Although the templates are precisely measured, it’s easy to come off track as you sew the curve and your ends won’t match up.
There are a lot of seams coming together in this quilt. For easiest alignment during assembly I recommend to press all seams open. That way you don’t have to think about which way to press the seam of each individual block depending on its orientation in the assembly of the quilt top. The small 2 1/2” curves of templates #11 and #12 are a bit finicky. After aligning the center and start and end it may look like you have too much fabric to spread evenly, but this is an optical illusion because the curve is so small. You may need to gently massage the fabrics together till they fit and use lots of pins for these tiny curves. After sewing and before pressing I clip the seam a few times. It will smooth the excess fabric out and give you a flatter seam.
Trimming your blocks
I’ve added an extra 1/4” seam allowance around the outer edges of all Concave templates to ensure the blocks won’t end up too small to trim to the required size. It’s my experience that a 1/4” seam allowance is hard to maintain exactly when sewing curves. Especially with the blocks that only have 1/4” in the end seam it’s really easy to come up short (ask me how I know!). The extra 1/4” gives you a little more room to maneuver.
Not required but I’ve found it handy to use a rotating mat and square rulers with the exact measurements of my blocks for trimming. If anything it speeds up the trimming process.
Buying the pattern
If you haven’t purchased the pattern yet, you can do so HERE. The link takes you directly to my shop. You can also use the Shop link in the menu at the top of the webpage.
After initially planning to sell this pattern directly from my website, I changed course after learning about the myriad of sales tax rules across the US, and VAT requirements for many other countries. Opening my shop on the Etsy platform made more sense than trying to deal with all this myself. I had no idea what a dark rabbit hole this is until I did my research!
Writing my first pattern was a learning curve for sure. I initially started writing it in the Fall of 2021, but I got distracted with other projects and it landed on a shelf. After QuiltCon and quite a few requests for a pattern I picked it up again and this time finished it. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve had, from professional services to helpful tips from Guild mates and quilty friends. One of those tips referred me to a blog series from a few years ago, written by Cheryl Brickey @meadowmistdesigns which has a ton of practical information and advice for first time pattern writers. I also want to mention that hiring a tech editor to check my calculations, create diagrams and templates, and generally edit my written instructions was invaluable. Thank you Sarah Ruiz @saroy for your support and advice in the process!
Thank you for considering to buy my first pattern! I’d love to see your version of Bubble Up. Please share it on social media using #bubbleupquilt and #modernstitchwitch. And if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.