Fluffing

My DSQ10 quilt top is all fluffed and ready to quilt.  I've ordered special thread - King Tut, Sahara Desert - for the job.  It is long staple Egyptian cotton with a great sheen, variegated in tans and pale grey.  I think it will look stellar.  But I have to wait for the post man....again.

In the mean time I thought you might like some hints for fluffing your own raw edge applique.

First off - you want to fluff it BEFORE you quilt.  When the fibers are loose you can easily pull them out from under the quilting stitches.  This way fluffy look will stay even after the quilting is done.  If you try to fluff after you quilt the quilting stitches will get in your way as you fluff, or the edges will get in your way as you quilt.  Either option is frustrating.  Don't go there.  Fluff First!!

You need to clip your curves.  This releases the crosswise fibers and lets you pull them out with a brush.  Clip them perpendicular to the top stitching at 1/4 of an inch intervals starting and finishing right next to the seam.  Be careful NOT to cut the top stitching or the background fabric.

I found it easiest to clip all of my curves before I started fluffing, but it really doesn't matter.  Use sharp scissors and good lighting and you will do fine.

Now you are going to need a few "special" tools - a new firm toothbrush, and a fine mist squirt bottle filled with water.  (I used an old hair spray bottle rinsed out and re purposed.)

Work one block at a time being careful to go at it systematically.  You don't want to miss a block.  I did and it looked very strange next to it's fuzzy brothers.

Lightly mist a block with water.  You want it wet - not dripping.  The water will loosen up the fibers and help you remove the ones that you don't want.

Start brushing, with the toothbrush bristles perpendicular to the fabric, in a circular motion.  Little fibers will easily pull away from the applique and you will start to get a fuzzy look.

The toothbrush bristles will start to fill with these pieces, as will your quilt top, your lap, the floor, your shirt, etc.  You want all of the fibers lying parallel to the top stitching to come out, but only from the loose edge.  If you brush too vigorously you may pull a few fibers from the other side.  If this happens don't worry about it, just stop brushing there.

As you get closer to being finished the fibers will be more difficult to release.  Try turning the bristles of the toothbrush so that they are parallel to the fabric and brush away from the top stitching.  When you are doing it correctly you will feel a little bit of a tug on the bristles - kind of like when you brush your hair.  Sometimes a little extra squirt of water helps too.

Between blocks do your best to clean out the toothbrush.  Using a comb, or other small brush works well for this.

The goal is to get all of your blocks to have a nice fluffy edge.  Be patient.  It takes a little while, but the end results are delicious. 

  

NOT Watching the Super Bowl....

I don't care much for foot ball.  It is fun to watch a high school team on a Friday night, especially if my boy is playing.  College games can be fun - they remind me of my Dad and fall weekends when I was little.  Professional games - not so much.    It just kills me that these young men, tattooed beyond recognition and paid way more than seems either reasonable or wise for someone their age, are held up as heroes.  In general, I see nothing heroic about them.  I do however enjoy the fellowship and snack food that big games inspire!

So last night while I was NOT watching Super Bowl XLV, and occasionally laughing at the commercials, I was working on a test run of my DQS10 swap mini.  Last weeks snow and ice kept the post from delivering the fabric I ordered, and the thread I need for a few quilt jobs, and the new clothes I ordered from LL Bean, and the new NetFlix movie....sigh....but I do have plenty of scraps.   Yesterday I got some out and played.

I started with a 2.5" Charm pack of "Just Wing It!" by MoMo for Moda.  (Note: This fabric won't be available in stores until April 2011.  I got mine in a gift bag from Moda Bakeshop)  There were 42 2.5" squares, one each with a few repeats of fabric.  These are mostly fun florals and stripes in aqua, coral, plum, and pear.  To these I added white Kona muslin.

From the little charms I cut a 1/4 circle (radius 2.5") From the white muslin Gilbert cut 42 3.5" squares.  I then raw edge appliqued the 1/4 circle about 3/8" from the rounded edge onto the white squares,  lining up the corners.  This gave the appearance of a Drunkard's Path square without the difficulty of piecing tiny round edges.

Next - I sewed the blocks into a grid - randomly placing the colors and clipped the raw edges.  Ruffling the edges with my fingers gave them the nubby look that you see in the picture.

I added a 3.5" white border and then took my top downstairs to fluff it while NOT watching the Super Bowl.

Fluffing, with a brand new tooth brush and a fine mist squirt bottle filled with water took well into half-time.

I fluffed by brushing the curved edges in a circular motion until they began to fray.  Once the job was started, more progress was made by using brush  with it's bristles lying parallel to the quilt top and stroking at right angle to the curve.  Spritzing the edges with a little water helped to loosen threads I wanted to remove.

During the process I learned a few things...

1) Never ever do this job while wearing a black t-shirt.

2) You need to clean the tooth brush every so often by brushing them with your fingers and pulling out the larger bits.

3) The job is rediculously messy...not as messy as the ticker tape down pour at the end of the game...more like washing kleenex with your jeans...and  kind of fun.

4) Dust busters tickle!

 In the end each of the 42 blocks had a nice fuzzy rim to it.


Now I just have to figure out how to quilt it.

PS  The real DSQ10 quilt will have grey rather than white in the background and I've choosen Sun Kissed for the colored bits.