I recently posted something on Instagram about my facing method and was asked for a more detailed explanation of my technique. So here it is...............
The quilt I am working with today is very small (11"w x 8.5"h), but the technique works with quilts of any size. The only difference is the size of the initial strip. For small quilts like this one, I cut my facing strips 4" wide. For larger quilts (say 30" on the small side or greater), I cut my facing strips 8" wide. I think the wider strips give the larger quilts more stability (and therefore less waviness) on the edges.
Here is the quilt we are facing today:
Start by cutting the facing strips. In this case, they are 4" wide:
Fold the strips in half lengthwise, trying hard to keep the raw edges exactly together, and iron the strip:
Cut the strips the exact length of the top and bottom of the FRONT SIDE of the quilt, making sure that the raw edges of the strip are at the outside edge of the quilt. Raw edges of the strip to raw edges of the quilt:
Pin the top and bottom strips in place:
Sew, using a 1/4" seam, around the corner of the top strip. In other words, start as shown in the picture below. Sew to the corner, turn, sew the length of the strip, turn the corner, and sew to the top of the strip. Repeat for the bottom strip:
Reinforce the corners with stitching as you turn them. I backtrack both along the horizontal and vertical seam, and then I sew across diagonally:
Trim the corners a little. Cut the edges towards the corner point, being very careful not to cut into the corner seam. This makes it easier to turn:
It should look something like this after trimming:
And here is the piece with the top and bottom facings sewn to the front of the quilt:
Cut the side facing strips 2" less than the sides of the quilt. In this case, 8.5" minus 2" is 6". Pin the side facings to the quilt, with the raw edges of the facing against the raw edges of the quilt:
Pinned and ready to sew:
Start sewing, with a quarter inch seam, about 1/2" before the raw edge of the side strip. This ensures that the strip is firmly anchored. Sew across the length of the strip:
All four strips are sewn on. Yay!
And here is a closeup of the corner, before turning:
I use my handy dandy That Purple Thing tool to turn and push out the corners. You want to get them as sharp as possible. And you want to push gently. It is very easy to push through the seam:
After the four corners are pushed out it is ready to iron:
Use an iron, with lots of steam, to pull the strips to the back of the quilt. Ideally the facings will not show from the front. Try to get the facing/quilt seam right at the edge or even slightly towards the back:
Pinned and ready to sew. I sew my facings by hand with 50wt thread.
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