attached PDF - American Quilter`s Society

Empress
of the Nile
by RaNae Merrill
Empress of the Nile, 56" x 80", by RaNae Merrill. Machine quilted by
Gwen Baggett. See larger photo and related article on page 82 of the
September 2008 issue of American Quilter magazine.
F
or more detailed information
on making quilts, see the
AQS Quiltmaking Essentials & Tested
Tips at www.AmericanQuilter.com.
Choosing the fabrics
Part of the success of this quilt
design is the use of red and green, complementary colors on the color wheel.
Using complements intensifies
both colors. The fabrics are also
a mix of large and small prints,
stripes, and tone-on-tones. This
adds visual interest. Keep these
things in mind as you choose your
fabrics.
Piecing the blocks
If you don’t want a seam
between the I/Ir and the cream
F/Fr patches, tape these patterns
together along the shared seam and
trace a single template. Likewise,
you may also want to make an additional G/Gr template with a shared
seam for the X and Y blocks if you
have chosen a large-scale print for
the gold fabric.
Because this is a complex block
with several curved seams, careful
cutting and piecing are especially
important. Cut the patches for one
block and piece it. If it isn’t an accurate 12" square, make adjustments
in piecing as needed. The striped
fabric is fussy cut so the stripes
match when the blocks are joined.
Tip: For accurate piecing of curved
seams, place the patch with the convex curve
(template E, for example) on the bottom and
the concave (template F, for example) patch
on top. This allows you to keep the edges
even as you stitch a scant ¼" seam allowance. You may want to pin these seams
before stitching, or use a presser foot specially designed for curved piecing such as
the Curve Master Presser Foot.
There are four different block
designs in this quilt, each containing
the same patches. Block Y is the
mirror image of block X. Block Z is
the mirror image of block W. The A
and B patches are placed differently
in the W and Z blocks than in the X
and Y blocks.
Referring to the block diagrams
(figs. 1–4), make 6 each block W, X, Y,
and Z. The patches in the blocks are
sewn into units, and these units are sewn
into rows. The W block diagram (fig.
1) shows the units and how these are
joined. Press the seam allowances of the
curved seams toward the concave curve.
H
J
FABRIC & CUTTING REQUIREMENTS
Quilt size: 56" x 80"
Finished block size: 12" x 12"
• 12 F, 12 Fr, 12 I, 12 Ir, 8 L
Gold – 1²⁄₃ yards
• strips for strip-sets, 10 strips 1¹⁄₂" x 40"
• 24 E, 12 G, 12 Gr
Light green – ¹⁄₂ yard
• 24 C
Dark green – 2¹⁄₄ yards
• borders, 13 strips 1¹⁄₂" x 40"
• binding, 8 strips 2¹⁄₄" x 40" for 282" of
continuous binding
• 12 D, 12 Dr, 12 F, 12 Fr, 16 K
Brown batik – ¹⁄₂ yard
• 12 J, 12 Jr
Multi-color print –
¹⁄₄ yard
• 12 H, 12 Hr
Black & white stripe –
³⁄₈ yard
• 24 A
Red – 1¹⁄₈ yards
• strips for strip sets, 10 strips 1¹⁄₂" x 40"
• 24 B, 8 L
Light red – ¹⁄₄ yard
• 24 E
Backing – 5¹⁄₄ yards
• 2 panels 33" x 88"
Sleeve (optional) –
⁵⁄₈ yard
• 2 strips 9" x 29"
Batting
• 64" x 88"
F
E
E
D
C
F
B
A
Fig. 1. Block W – Make 6
F
D
E
E
C
I
F
• Requirements are based on 40" fabric width.
• Strips are cut from selvage to selvage.
Cream – 1³⁄₈ yards
G
I
Skill level: Intermediate
G
ROTARY CUTTING
J
Rotary dimensions include seam allowances.
H
B
A
B
Fig. 2. Block X – Make 6
C – L are templates
A
C
2³⁄₄" x 4¹⁄₄"
2³⁄₄" x 8³⁄₄"
Fr
Dr
E
Hr
Jr
E
Ir
Gr
Fr
Fr
Gr
Ir
E
Jr
Hr
A
Fig. 3. Block Y – Make 6
B
E
Fr
Dr
B
Fig. 4. Block Z – Make 6
C
A
Assembling the quilt center
Join the blocks into rows as shown
in the assembly diagram. Join the rows.
Be careful to match the seams where
blocks and rows meet and the stripes
where the A patches meet.
Adding the borders
Press the quilt top well. The borders are made as units and then joined
to the top. Using diagonal seams, join
dark green strips as needed to make
4 side border strips 1½" x 72½" and 4
top/bottom border strips 1½" x 48½". To make
the checkerboard portion of the border, sew a
red strip and a gold strip together to make a
strip-set. Press the seam allowance toward the
red strip. Make 10 strip-sets. Cut the strip-sets
into 1½" units (fig. 5). You will need 240 units.
Block
W
Block
X
Block
Y
Block
Z
Block
W
Block
X
Block
Y
Block
Z
Block
W
Block
X
Block
Y
Block
Z
Block
W
Block
X
Block
Y
Block
Z
Block
W
Block
X
Block
Y
Block
Z
Block
W
Block
X
Block
Y
Block
Z
1½"
Strip-set –
Make 10
Unit –
Cut 240
Fig. 5
Sew 72 units together, alternating the
color placement as shown. This border strip
should measure 72½". Sew a long green strip
to each side of the red/gold strip to make a
side border unit. Repeat to make the other side
border unit. Sew these units to each side of the
quilt top, matching centers of the unit and the
quilt. Sew 48 red/gold units together to make
a 48½" border strip. Sew a short green strip to
each side. Make 2 border units like this for the
top and bottom of the quilt.
Referring to the corner block diagram
(fig. 6), sew the K and L patches together. Join
4 of these units to make the block. Make 4
corner blocks. Sew a corner block to each end
of the top and bottom border units. Sew these
border units to the quilt, matching centers and
seams. Press these seam allowances toward the
green strips.
Quilt assembly
K
L
Corner block – Make 4
Fig. 6
Quilting and finishing
Layer the backing, batting and quilt top.
Baste the layers together. Quilt as desired.
Sew the binding strips together to make
282" of continuous binding. Finish the edges
of your quilt with double-fold binding. To display your quilt, make a sleeve and sew it to the
back of the quilt.
C
EMPRESS
OF THE
NILE
G & Gr
EMPRESS
EMPRESS
K
OF THE
OF THE
NILE
E
NILE
EMPRESS
OF THE
NILE
J & Jr
EMPRESS
OF THE
NILE
F & Fr
EMPRESS
I & Ir
EMPRESS
OF THE
NILE
OF THE
NILE
D & Dr
EMPRESS
OF THE
NILE
L
EMPRESS OF
THE NILE
H & Hr
EMPRESS
OF THE
NILE