Bee Happy Quiltalong Step 5
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WELCOME TO STEP 5 OF THE BEE HAPPY QUILTALONG!
It’s time to work on those plain background blocks in this step of the Bee Happy Quiltlong! Now Step 5 is completely optional and is where you can get a bit creative if you don’t want to do what I am doing.
You can leave the blocks blank, and do some pretty quilting… you could add some scrappy applique, or add some embroidered words like Kim from Purring Cottage suggested in the comment section of Day 1 – “Bee Happy”, “Bee Kind” etc.
I’ve decided to go with candlewicked hearts…
Now if you’ve never done candlewicking before, it’s a fun and easy type of embroidery. I’ll link to a video tutorial later in this post, after the instructions.
STEP 5 OF THE BEE HAPPY QUILTALONG
First of all, download the heart pattern:
Print the pattern out, and get one of your background blocks:
If you like using a thin backing, like whisperweft. iron that to the back of the block first.
Take the background block to the ironing board. and press it in half, and then in half again:
Open it out and place it over the heart pattern, with the side lines lining up with the folds, and trace the dots:
Use a lightbox if you need to.
Do this for each quarter of the background fabric so that you end up with this:
Sorry the photos aren’t great, I may try to take them again tomorrow..
Candlewicking is a traditional type of embroidery that has colonial knots usually done in white or cream on a white or cream background. There is a special type of thread used for it, but you can also use perle or regular 6 strand embroidery thread.
I had some regular embroidery thread, so I used the full 6 strands of that:
Pour yourself a cuppa and start making knots!
After you’re finished, press the block on the wrong side….
And this is where I suddenly remembered that I forgot to use whisperweft as I usually do! I may need to do this block again….
Once you’ve pressed it, the knots are a little bit flatter, but they will pop up again… the photo is not great, I’m sorry…but at least you get the general idea!
How to Make a Colonial Knot
If you have never made a colonial knot before, here is a good tutorial that shows you how:
Youtube Tutorial by Amy McClellan
Once you get the hang of it, it goes really quickly. I personally like colonial knots more than french ones.
And that is it for this step!
SHARING IS CARING!
- If you are on Facebook, join our group “At Home with Joy” to share progress pictures.
- Like our Facebook Page to be reminded of new posts
- Follow us on Instagram and use the hashtag #beehappyquiltalongwithjoy if you want to share your progress!
- And please share the Bee Happy Quiltalong on your favorite social media platform – I would love to brighten the days of as many people as we can in these crazy times…
Hope you are having a lovely weekend!
I did a set of pillows many years ago using this colonial knot! Nice touch to the quilt!
I’ve never heard about the colonial knot and I will surely use it here. How many strands did you use from the thread?
Looks great Joy, you certainly were a busy bee yesterday, great to catch up. I’ve not done candlewicking, or anything much by hand, Pat is the candlewicking guru though. Have a good day, and looking forward to seeing progress on your QAL.
Not started anything with this yet, but the candlewicking brought back may thoughts on doing colonial knots, instead of french knots as I always get them tangled & to my way of thinking colonial are much easier. Margaret Upston from Drouin has some beautiful candlewick designs. I’ll show you when we next see each other. I’m scared to start something new till I get these baby quilts finished. Take care & stay safe.S
Looks great Joy. Were you to busy chatting yesterday to remember the whisper weft. :). It was lovely to chat with you. Hugs,xx
I haven’t done candlewicking for a long time – nice to see it again. Just a couple of notes I thought of as I read – you could also use crochet cotton if that’s all you have (I often use it because it gives a bit larger (thicker?) stitch). And…when pressing, place a towel beneath and the stitches won’t flatten as much. I learned by trial and error (much error!).