Vintage Woven Hearts Quilt

Close Up of Woven Hearts Quilt

​Last week when I was sorting through some of my unfinished quilt projects, I ran across this woven heart quilt. 

The quilt top was completed pre-EQ.  Probably in the late 1980s or early 1990s.  Yes that is a super long time ago.  And I was very much a beginner to quilting.   

I started hand quilting it -- as I was trying to learn everything I could about quilting.  After a few broken needles, I decided hand quilting wasn't for me. The seams in those borders were brutal trying to quilt through.   

I made the decision to let the unfinished quilt go to a new owner and posted it on the local Buy Nothing Facebook group. 

A quilter posted that she would be interested in the quilt and would finish it up and donate it to Project Linus.  I happily passed the quilt on to her. 

But before passing the quilt on, I decided to draft it in Electric Quilt 8.

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Vintage Woven Hearts Quilt

So what is a vintage quilt?

An internet search revealed that there is a lot of debate over the definition of a vintage quilt; but vintage fabric is generally accepted as fabric which is over 30 years old. Antique fabric is defined as earlier than the 1930’s.

While I am not exactly sure if the quilt is vintage, the fabric used in it would probably qualify.

Pattern Source

The quilt is a variation of a pattern found in the book Even More by Trudie Hughes.  After discovering quilting, I fell in love with Trudie Hughes style and owned all of her books. 

Trudie Hughes created traditional quilts with a twist.  All of her quilts were rotary cutting friendly.  

She developed a ruler called the Rotary Mate.  Which of course I purchased.  It was used to cut "speedy triangles".  Think of it as an early version of Deb Tucker's Corner Pop Rulers.

Vintage Woven Hearts Blocks

Draft the woven heart block in EasyDraw (without the frame).

Draft a second block for the 1" sashing/frame.

Use the Serendipity>Merge Block feature to combine the two blocks.

​Then you still have the stand-alone heart block -- just in case you need it for a different design.

Woven Heart 5" x 5"

Sashing Block 7" x 7"

Merged Block 7" x 7"

Here are the blocks for the Half Drop Diamond Border

On Point Square 2" x 2"

Setting Triangles 2" x 2"

Corner Blocks 2.81 x 2.81

Quilt Layout

Create a New Quilt with an On Point Layout.

Select the Style On-Point.

Select the 2nd Style option -- with two triangles in each corner.

Number of blocks 4 x 5

​Finished Size 7"

Woven Hearts EQ8 Layout

Set the blocks in the layout per the diagram.

Color the remaining squares and setting triangles with the background fabric.

Diagram for laying out the heart blocks in the on point layout.

Set up the borders as follows:

Border 1:  Long Horizontal 1"  (this will be adjusted later)

Border 2:  Half Drop Diamonds 2.813".  Blocks in Border Horizontal 15 and Vertical 19.

Border 3:  Long Horizontal 3"

Border 4:  Mitered 1/2"  (binding)

Add blocks to the half diamond border.

You can use the Alt (PC) or Options (MAC) key to set the blocks in each border.  But within each border you will need to use a combination of flip and rotate for each of the blocks.  I suggested breaking each border into six groups.  The functions for each of those groups will be the same.  So once you have one block correctly positioned  you can quickly replicate for the remaining blocks in that section.

Here is an example of the adjustments I made for the top border.

Sectioned Top Border and Placement of the Border Blocks

Section 1:  Rotate 2 times.  Brown Patches Face Toward Center.
Section 2:  Flip.  Rotate 1 time.  Long part of teal against brown and background patches.
Section 3:  Rotate 2 times. Long part of teal against brown and background patches.
Section 4: No change.  Brown Patches Face Toward Center.
Section 5:  No change.  Long part of teal against brown and background patches.
Section 6:  Flip.  Rotate 3 times. . Long part of teal against brown and background patches.

​Erase the setting triangle blocks in the center and color them with the background.

Section 1:  Rotate 1 time.  Brown Patches Face Toward Center.
Section 2:  Flip  Long part of teal against brown and background patches.
Section 3:  Rotate 1 time. Long part of teal against brown and background patches.
Section 4:  Rotate 3 times. Brown Patches Face Toward Center.
Section 5:  Rotate 3 times. Long part of teal against brown and background patches.
Section 6:  Flip.  Rotate 2 times. . Long part of teal against brown and background patches.

​Erase the setting triangle blocks in the center and color them with the background.

Sizing the Diamond Border

Since my quilt was a variation of one of Trudie Hughes patterns, I needed to do some math to figure out the sizing for the on point squares in the border.  Although the on point squares are pieced with a finished size of 2" (unfinished size of 2-1/2"), the size needed to calculate the border is the diagonal (i.e. the distance from corner to corner.​

Pythagorean theorem, the well-known geometric theorem that the sum of the squares on the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle)—or, in familiar algebraic notation, a2 + b2 = c2.

​Or in Quilters Math multiply the sides times 1.414.

If you multiple the finished size of the unit (2") times 1.414, it means the diagonal is 2.828.

​So that is the desired size of the Half Diamond border in EQ.

You will find that EQ will not let you set your border size at exactly 2.828 inches.  

Instead it will round the settings, based on your nudge settings in the Worktable Options.  For this quilt I suggest changing the nudge settings to 1/16th of an inch.

You can then set the border size at 2.813.

Setting the Size for the Half Drop Diamond Border

If you go to Print and Export and select one of the one point squares in each of the borders, you will find they are not square (i.e. the width and height are not the same number).  To make the border piecing friendly we need to make them square.

Fortunately this can be done by adding another border or adjusting the size of the previous border.

Blocks in Top and Bottom Borders have a size of 2.77" x 2.810

Blocks in the Left and Right Borders have a size of 2.810" x 2.710

Top and Bottom Calculation

Change Sizes of Left and Right Borders from 1" to 1-1/4"

Left and Right Calculation

Change Sizes of Left and Right Borders from 1" to 2"

AFter adjusting the border, double check the block sizes (under Print and Export) to ensure the blocks are now square.

Top and Bottom Blocks are now square and rotary cutting friendly

Left and right blocks are now square and rotary cutting friendly.

You can also print out a rotary cutting chart to double check the measurements.

Watch the video to see how to create the blocks and quilt.

For me, the most interesting part of the quilt was the border.  I definitely will use that again.

What will you do with the quilt design.  Feel free to share pictures in the Learning EQ8 Facebook group.

Vintage Woven Hearts Post in the Learning EQ Facebook Group

Here is a close up of my 30 year old quilt -- and the EQ version.

Woven Hearts Quilt Pieced and Partially Hand Quilted by Kari Schell

Woven Hearts Quilt Designed in EQ8

Happy quilting.

​Kari

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