QAYG (Quilt As You Go) Cushion tutorial

Did you ever have one of those weeks where you are smashing out your to do list, planning things in advance and feeling all cocky about your awesomeness only to have it fall into a spectacular heap around 5 minutes later? No? Only me? Well it seems to be the way of my life this year and I am just choosing to let things wash over me a bit and pick the pieces up as soon as I can. Life is a bit tough here with Hannah right now, it ebbs and flows, and understandably dropping everything for her is the most important thing even if there is a small amount of residual frustration that plans need to be dropped and changed. When it come to mum/carer life vs quilty/bloggy life then you guys all know who wins.

So without further ado and no more words here is my long awaited QAYG cushion tutorial. When I posted the Kushukuru gratitude post I promised this was coming the next day, it may have taken a few more but I promise it is well and truly worth the wait.

As always this pattern can be viewed for free here or you can download for a tiny fee from my shop if you want to keep it for your records.

Materials

The patchwork cushion is scrap friendly so requires pieces of fabric large enough to be cut into strips ss well as one piece for a centre square. The 4 cushions used as examples in this tutorial were made using 12 fat quarters. To make the main cushion as per the tutorial you will need:
(1)    5” square as your starting block
(16)  2 ½” strips for piecing around the outside
(1)    Piece of wadding 20” x 20” (50 x 50cm)
½ yard (50cm) fabric for backing
50cm zip
You can choose to add trim, change the centre square size and adjust width of strips as and if you prefer.

Instructions:

We will be starting with a basic style cushion first and then adding more detailed options as the tutorial progresses. It may suit you to read the entire tutorial first before deciding how detailed you want your panel to be.

STEP 1

1. Find the middle of your wadding please and place your centre square. Iron.
   Note: If your wadding has a scrim side then make sure that is facing down so as not to melt to the iron
2. Quilt your square to the wadding. You can use any method you like however for this tutorial I simply quilted lines ¼” apart using a longer stitch length (3.5mm). No locking stitches are necessary as the edges of the square will all be hidden as we progress.

STEP 2

1. Choose your first strip. Cut slightly longer than the centre square and place on the top of the square Right Sides Together (RST), lining up your long edge and allowing the strip to slightly overlap at both ends. Stitch a line approximately ¼” from the long edge. (I used a presser foot – this is not a make that requires precision of seams, only consistency.)
2. Open the strip out and press into place.
3. Sew a line close to the edge of your seams to hold everything in place. Quilt as desired. I have chosen lines ¼” apart for this whole cushion.

 STEP 3

1. Choose your second strip. Make sure it is slightly longer than the length of the first strip and centre square together. Line up RST with the edge of the square, this means the first strip will be showing at the top there (this hides all ends of stitches and makes sure the strip is properly caught). Stitch a line ¼” from the edge.
2. Open the strip out and press into place.
3. Sew a line close to the edge of your seams to hold everything in place. Quilt as desired.

 STEP 4

1. Choose your third strip. Trim so it is slightly longer than needed. Line up RST with the edge of the square. Stitch a line ¼” from the edge.
2. Open the strip out and press into place.
3. Sew a line close to the edge of your seams to hold everything in place. Quilt as desired.

STEP 5

1. Choose your fourth strip. Trim so it is slightly longer than needed. Line up RST with the edge of the square. Stitch a line ¼” from the edge.
2. Open the strip out and press into place.
3. Sew a line close to the edge of your seams to hold everything in place. Quilt as desired.

 STEP 6

Now we have entirely encased our centre square and we are going to keep building around it following the same order. With 2 ½” strips your cushion will grow very quickly. Using the same method as outlined above keep selecting your strips, placing them RST to the edge we are attaching them too. Stitch in place, iron and then quilt.

Note: Always line your strip up with the straight edge of the strip before, not the overhang pieces top and bottom. Sometimes quilting will slightly warp the strip so it isn’t 100% straight so just use a best fit approach. Quilting does not EVER need to be technically perfect to get a brilliant result.

STEP 7

Keep building your strips around the centre square until the wadding is filled. Use a measuring tape to ensure the quilted panel is the size you need. Remember it is better to be slightly larger so you can square up and trim down even if that means some fabric waste.

STEP 8

Using a rotary cutter and quilting ruler, trim and square up your quilting panel. It is now ready to be turned into a cushion.

STEP 9

There are many ways to make a cushion and most of us have a preferred method whether it be an envelope back or hidden zip finish. My favourite go-to tutorial for finishing my cushion is a brilliant hidden zipper tutorial by Ms Midge. Melissa has given me permission to republish the tutorial on my blog. You can find it here.

Step back and have a good look at the beautiful cushion you have created!

Getting Fancy:

The sky really is the limit with QAYG panels. You can make simple changes to layout, add trim, change and alternate the width of your strips, play with quilting stitches, hand embroider sections and even add small fussy cut details throughout. Below is some of my favourite ways of changing up a cushion to make it unique. On the Inspiration page you will find some of makes over the past 2 years that inspired this tutorial.

OFFSET SQUARE

A simple way to change the look of your cushion is to offset the position of your starting square. Move your starting square down to a corner of your wadding panel and build the first four strips around as normal. Then it is simply a case of building up two sides only to grow your cushion. You can choose to grow the strips in a pattern as I have or keep a scrappy look.

ADDING TRIM

Adding trim is my favourite way to personalise a QAYG cushion and add fun and personality. Select one or more strips to add detail too as you build around. To add the trim simply position along the edge of the piece you will be adding your next strip to (fig 1). Stitch into place then add your strip on top RST and stitch as normal (fig 2). Iron your strip over and stitch a line close to the edge to hold everything into place (fig 3). Continue quilting as normal.
Note: If a trim is bulky (eg pom poms) you will need to trim them out of each end to ensure you can keep adding more strips easily.

SUPER DELUXE-FANCY

Changing the width of your strips as you move around the cushion and adding small fussy cut details is another way to change the look and style of your panel. It only takes simple changes to add some fun and, with the addition of trim, you can create a showstopper piece in no time.

Now obviously I can go on and on with different options but I think once you start playing you will find your own cool way. Instead I will leave you with some of my fave QAYG makes from this year – I think it is clear i have had a LOT of fun with these babies.

And there you have it, one tutorial for a genuinely wonderful make. Only warning I can give though is that they are so incredibly addictive you need to prepare to become somewhat obsessive with them for a while.

Sarah x