Quilt As You Go (QAYG) Part 1 - Beginner Quilting Tutorial with Leah Day

Learn how to QAYG or Quilt-As-You-Go and connect quilted blocks together easily in this beginner quilting tutorial with Leah Day. Find Leah's patterns you can easily QAYG right here: leahday.com/pr...
This video was created for the Machine Quilting Block Party, an interactive quilt along where you can learn how to make your first quilt one block at a time!
Each month Leah will release a new block pattern for you to follow along piecing and quilting. The patterns include both piecing AND machine quilting designs and templates for you to use to mark your quilt blocks. You'll also find new quilting video tutorials to guide you every step of the way.
At the end of the year we'll trim down our blocks and bind them together to create a beautiful Flower Festival quilt! This Quilt-as-you-Go technique is perfect for beginner level quilters with small home sewing machines.
Leah teaches quilting online through free KZbin videos uploaded weekly. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on any of the new videos on patchwork and machine quilting uploaded weekly: / lcvday
Learn more about the Machine Quilting Block Party and find patterns for each monthy block right here: leahday.com/pr...
Find tools and supplies, plus video workshops to guide you through all the steps to creating beautiful quilts on Leah's website: leahday.com/

[@vickiserre9457]

Im starting to ready my blocks to attach and glad to find out about Victory Lap. Great idea!!

[@RTHfan]

My first visit here. I want to make a baby quilt with nine large blocks, and don't want to wait for it to be returned from a machine quilting company. I'll experiment with this method and believe that you have solved my dilemma! Excellent tutorial! I'm a retired technical trainer, and appreciate the preparation you put into this video. I just subscribed. Thank you!

[@LeahDay]

Thank you Peggy! I'm so glad you found my videos and this helped you understand how to make your quilt. Keep watching - I have so much more to teach you!

[@heatherschimke6107]

I have been quilting for years and still new to the QAYG . You showed me something that I have not been shown before about sewing those 3 rows down the sides of each block. Thank you for showing how to make a PERFECT block to piece a better more secure way.

[@LeahDay]

Excellent! I'm so glad this video helped you!

[@murielroberts4154]

Hi Leah. Having quilted for about 20 years I enjoyed your free motion quilting lessons and made quite a few quilts with free motion quilting. I had a break from quilting and then started again and made a floor quilt for a new baby using your quilt as you go video. Again a little break but quilting always calls me back and now I am making a quilt and want to use quilt as you go again. Can you advise me how you held the three layers of you blocks together before you sized them and did the stitching to hold them together. You are always a delight to watch on you tube. Muriel Roberts UK.

[@LeahDay]

It sounds like this workshop would be very helpful to you Muriel - leahday.com/products/basting-basics-workshop

[@faycarter8645]

Hi Leah i have used this method and love it. Also your instructions make it fool proof and perfect. I would like to know if you have these instructions that can be printed out on paper?

[@LeahDay]

Yep! You can find these instructions printed in most detail in this pattern - leahday.com/products/friendship-sampler-block-of-the-month-quilt?variant=15452062744648

[@chickadoodledesigns9143]

Question. When you connect qayg with sashing, why are the top and bottom different sizes?,

[@LeahDay]

Please follow the tutorial and put a few blocks together and you will understand this better.

[@maryburbridge2409]

I am a beginning quilter, and before I watched your video, I had already trimmed my quilt squares to 16 1/2 inches. Should I still do the two rows of stitching?

[@LeahDay]

No, it would probably be too difficult to do this stitching at this stage. Just move to the next step.

[@janetnyilas6385]

Hi Leah, you make everything so understandable. Before I saw this video I cut my blocks to 8 1/2 inches. (New quilter) I did not realize you needed a bigger back block as well as batting to top sew. I have time to make larger back blocks plus batting. Will I be able to save my 81/2 blocks from the front when I top stitch? Confused on what I should do. Please help.

[@LeahDay]

Yes, you will be okay. Maybe consider adding an extra 1 inch strip around the block to give yourself some wiggle room. Keep in mind, all fabric and blocks shrink during quilting so you may lose some space as you stitch each block.

[@m.l.mandella4340]

Hi! I want to use this technique to put together a larger qayg wall hanging. I'm putting together nine 16 in (when finished) blocks in a 3x3 block arrangement. I am planning my strip cuts. Putting together each row of blocks I understand. Then I am left with 3 rows of 3 blocks to connect with two front and 2 back strips. But I just realized that when I need to put these rows together, I will need connecting strips that are 49-ish inches long. This is longer than the wof. I'm pretty sure I don't want pieced connecting strips. So would i cut these strips first and from the lof and then cut the smaller strips I need from what is left of the wof? Have you used this technique on larger pieces and faced this situation? Thank you

[@LeahDay]

Yes, you will seam together to create longer strips. Here is an updated video with bigger blocks - leahday.com/blogs/machinequilting/how-to-connect-supersized-quilt-blocks-quilt-as-you-go-tutorial

[@m.l.mandella4340]

@@LeahDay Thank you! Did I miss your recommended stitch lengths for these connections and their top stitching? I'm so nervous...everything is cut for my 19 in blocks! :-)

[@raemaree2148]

Leah I am going to do five blocks across and six blocks down quilt as you go memory quilt with a mix of pieced blocks and clothing articles. Am I going to be able to do this as quilt as you go?

[@LeahDay]

Sure! I don't see why not. Make up a few practice squares and try this method to connect them together. That way you'll have tried it out before the entire quilt is quilted in pieces!

[@KatieBigelow8]

Can we use a twin needle for the victory lap?

[@LeahDay]

Sure!

[@deniselawrence7491]

Leah, what do you think about using a serger to stitch and trim the edges once measured?

[@LeahDay]

I've been thinking about this and I still thing you should do this with your home machine. The reason is a serger will not feed the layers along the edge through the machine as evenly as the walking foot and you have a good chance of stitching pleats and puckers along the edge. Even worse, as the serger cuts off the edge of the fabric, you don't have a chance to fix it. So I would stick with the method I've shown in this video instead.

[@bethtimms2200]

how do you put the backing on? Is the batting already on?

[@LeahDay]

For Quilt As You Go, the block is already basted with batting and backing fabric and quilted too. This step happens AFTER when all the pieces are done and ready to put together.

[@jeanniearnold7906]

How wide is your finished sashing? I want mine to be 1/2 an inch. So how wide would I cut my stripe to start with?

[@LeahDay]

This technique doesn't work that way. If you widen the binding strips, you will end up with areas with no batting in the middle of the quilt so it just doesn't work. Sorry about that!

[@jeanniearnold7906]

OK, I understand what you are saying. But could you please tell me how wide your sashing/binding between the blocks is? Thanks so much.

[@lindasanford3324]

Do you have a video that starts from the beginning, piecing and adding the backing and batting?

[@LeahDay]

I have several workshops that will guide you through all the steps! I think this one will be a good fit - leahday.com/collections/workshops/products/mega-star-walking-foot-workshop

[@allenesonger2393]

how do you find the circle for the flower in the pattern to make it round thanks

[@LeahDay]

Do you mean the feather wreath design? You can find that in the Block #1 quilt pattern at LeahDay.com/blockparty

[@florencehildebrand8823]

Hi I would like to know how to get a quilt as you go kit

[@LeahDay]

Unfortunately I don't sell kits of this project. The pattern for the sashing and cornerstones can be found here: leahday.com/products/2017-machine-quilting-block-party?variant=26918423184

[@Sconana]

My unfinished blocks do not any extra fabric other than the 1/4" seam allowance. I have no place to draw a square and sew a victory lap. Do I try to sew within the space between the fabric edge and the 1/4" seam line? Actually I don't know how to make blocks with extra fabric like you demonstrate... can you enlighten me? TIA!

[@LeahDay]

The key with the method I'm teaching is to cut everything larger. In this case we cut the squares and rectangles almost 2 inches larger so there's plenty of room around the edges. In your case you can still do the victory lap, it's just going to cover some of the quilting you've done. You may also cut some of the quilting you've done as you trim down your blocks. Don't worry, it's not a big deal! So long as you stitch around the blocks with the victory lap the edges will be secured, then the binding will secure it even more.

[@beyondtherabbithole]

Thanks for explanation. I too have made my blocks with no extra material not thinking about the shrinkage that occurs with quilting.