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Summer 2021 Mini quilt Challenge: Facing

  • Writer: vafibrearts
    vafibrearts
  • Jul 5, 2021
  • 9 min read

Hello Friends and Welcome!


Now that the second week of the Summer 2021 Mini Quilt Challenge has come to an end, it's time for another quilt reveal! The focus of this past week has been facing; a finishing technique I've never used for quiltmaking.


Note that this post is not intended as a tutorial, rather it is a summary of of the information I learned while researching quilt facings. Links to a few full tutorials, including some great tips and tricks I won't have time to go in depth about here, can be found at the end of the post.


With that knowledge, Friends, read on to learn more about quilt facings and the making of my second set of mini quilts!



Facing Research


Facing is a finishing method commonly used in garment construction to strengthen and stabilize raw edges. Facings are generally applied to areas that may experience warping due to bias cutting of the pieces, such as the neckline, and to areas that experience a lot of strain, like buttonholes.


Since my sewing experience began with garments, I am very familiar with using facings in this manner. However, last week when I considered using facing to finish my wholecloth quilt, I realized that I don't know how to face a square.

On garments, a facing is generally curved to follow the shapes of the body, around necklines and cuffs, hems and waistlines. There are also straight facings, like the one shown above, which are used to face a single edge, but which are still not square. So I thought it was time to branch into facing square and rectangular quilts!



Facings and Art Quilts


Regardless of their form, facings, when done correctly, should not be visible from the presentation side of a project; they should create a crisply folded, finished edge. It was this crisp, clean finish that drew the attention of many quilt makers, especially art quilters and fibre artists.


A common problem faced by art quilters and fibre artists is the public's perception of fibre creations as a lesser art form. Sewing is often considered to be a home craft and not a form of art simply because it was a necessary domestic skill for most of human history. There is a sort of perception that anyone can learn to sew, but creating art takes in-born talent, which cannot be taught.

As a way to draw public perception of art quilts away from domestic crafts, and properly into the realm of fine art, many art quilters began using facing to finish their pieces. Since it isn't visible from the front, facing doesn't risk disrupting the design of an art quilt, and the lack of visible binding helps to remove the 'quilt' affiliation viewers felt from fibre art pieces, allowing people to see them more clearly as works of art.



Facing as a Finishing Method


While facings are a great way to finish the edges of decorative art quilts, they're generally not recommended for quilts that will receive heavy or frequent use. Because they finish with a folded edge rather than by being encased in a protective layer of binding, the outermost edges of faced quilts are more vulnerable to damage over time.


A binding can be easily replaced if worn out, but repairing or replacing the worn edges of a quilt top is more of a challenge. Keep this in mind when considering the use of facings for functional quilts, like bed coverings.



Facing Methods


While learning about the history of facings in the quilting world, I came across several different facing methods. I found that most tutorials fit into one of three general categories:


Strip Facing: where facing strips are attached to each side individually, understitched to secure them, then folded around to the back and secured with hand stitching.


Frame Facing: where facing strips are sewn together to make a frame the same size and shape as the outer edge of the quilt top. The frame is then sewn to the outer edge of the quilt, understitched as far into the corners as possible, then folded to the back and secured in place by hand.


Corner and Strip Facing: where facing strips are combined with additional corner triangles to finish the edges. The corner triangles are set in line with the corners of the quilt, with the facing strips overlapping them, then everything is stitched in place, the facing strips (but not the corners) are understitched, and everything is folded to the back and secured with hand stitching.


Each of these methods uses a technique called understitching, which is used more commonly in garment sewing than quiltmaking. Once the facing and quilt have been sewn together, the facing is pressed across the seam allowance and sewn directly to it. This may seem a little odd, but it is a really important step; understitching the facings encourages the seam allowance to fold more smoothly to the back side of the quilt and prevents the facing from peaking around to the front of the finished project.


The way facings are made is better explained through demonstration, so let's check out the quilts I made for week two!



Making the Minis


While I plan to focus most on the making of the facings themselves, it seems pertinent to discuss the design of the quilt tops first. Having encountered several facing methods in my research, I made the decision to make multiple mini quilts for week two. And being that last week was the end of Pride month, I chose to embrace a Pride theme for my quilt design.


So for week two of this challenge, I ended up making a pair of scrappy Pride quilts, featuring some of the different facets of my own identity!

The quilts were based on the design of the Asexual and Agender Pride flags, shown above. The Asexual flag was designed in 2010 by a member of the Asexual Visibility & Education Network known only as "standup", while the Agender flag was designed by Salem X.


I pieced together a series of rail fence blocks using the colours of those Pride flags; while the Asexual quilt ended up very similar to the original graphic design, but the Agender quilt was a little more abstract. The difference comes from the number of stripes relative to the size of my quilt blocks.

With the tops pieced, I layered them with batting and backing, and quilted a simple straight line design. The next step was to square off the quilts before I could finally get started on the facings!


For the Asexual quilt, I used the strip facing method, and a facing fabric that matched the quilt top. Facings were prepared by cutting several strips at 2" by the width of my fabric, then pressing them in half down the length with the wrong sides together.

I started by facing the two smaller sides. From the prepared strips, cut two to the same length as the small sides. I positioned the strips along the edge of the quilt with the raw edge of the facing along the raw edge of the quilt top, and the right sides together, then stitched them in place.

I pressed the facings across the seam allowance and secured them with an understitch, shown above, then pressed the facings and seam allowances to the back of the quilt and pinned them in place to prevent shifting.


With the two short sides done, I could move on to the long sides. This time, I used strips that were 2" longer than the quilt, and centred them so the strips would overhang by 1" on each side. When sewing on the second set of facings, it's really important to to keep the first set pinned onto the back of the quilt so they won't fold or pucker.


I repeated the steps, sewing them in place, understitching, and pressing to the back.

To secure and finish the overhanging ends, I tucked them under the length of the facing strips. It took me a few attempts to get everything folded neatly and laying flat, the blurry photo is the result of my frustration with this step. But, once it was pinned in place, I could secure all the facings with a hand sewn slip stitch.


I gave the whole thing a final press to set the piece, and it was done!

This method was really easy to follow, but I did find there was a lot of bulk in the corners because of the amount of fabric folder under. One thing I really loved was that the facing isn't prone to curling around to the front because the understitching reached all the way across the faced edges, holding them really securely. If I wanted to hang this quilt, I would need to add a sleeve or loop of some sort, which adds an additional step which I chose not to take at this time.


For the Agender quilt, I tried the strip and corner facing method. I'd read it was great for reducing bulk in the corners of the quilt, which was what I disliked most about the first method. I also decided to experiment with using facing strips in a contrasting colour to the quilt top so I could see exactly how visible they would be from the front.

In addition to the facing strips, prepared in the same manner as before, this method uses corner pieces made by folding squares in half diagonally so they become triangles. Since I was making my quilt pretty small, I used 3" squares for my corners.


As for the facing strips, I needed one for each side of the quilt, each of them cut 2" shorter than the length of the corresponding side. All of my pieces were laid out as shown below:

Each of the corner triangles was aligned with a different corner of the quilt top and pinned in place. I then laid out the facing strips across their corresponding edges, centring the strips and ensuring the ends overlapped the triangles.


I stitched around the whole perimeter of the quilt, turning at the corners and being sure not to stitch past them. Then, it was time for more understitching. This was done only to the facing strips, not to the corner triangles.

To further reduce bulk around the corners of the quilt, I trimmed away some of the seam allowance in each corner before flipping the facings and corner triangles to the back of the quilt.


Once again, I secured the facings to the back side of the quilt using a hand sewn slip stitch. For the corner triangles, I stitched only the section between the facing strips as shown in the photo below.

I could have stitched down the whole edge of the corner triangle, but with part if it left open, I have a built in way to hang my mini quilt! And with a final pressing, the second quilt for week two was complete!

I really loved that the corners made turning the facing to the back side of the quilt so easy! And they really reduced the bulk by comparison to the first method I tried! But, while the facings could be under stitched, the corners can't be, so they tend to roll towards the front and end up peaking out. I didn't find the overhang to be super noticeable, even with the contrasting fabric, so I think for future projects, I would prefer this facing method!


Facings aside, I'm really happy with the finished results of my week two quilts! I love that the two quilts match each other so well without being identical, and the abstract shapes formed by the combination of scraps and the rail fence blocks add a lot of visual interest. It seems so fitting that abstract concepts like gender and personal identity would translate well into abstract quilts!

VA, Pride Mini Quilts, 2021, 7¾” x 11¾”, cotton fabric, cotton thread, and poly-cotton batting.


Experimenting with Pride themed designs has been a lot of fun! It's something I would really love to continue experimenting with in the future, and I can't wait to see what other designs I may come up with!



Friends, I would also love to see the designs you've been coming up with for your own mini quilts! If you're sharing pictures on social media, remember to tag them using #summer2021miniquilts so I can find them! You can also share your pictures and stories in the comments below!


If you've ever used facings to finish a quilt, I would love to hear about your experience, and see what you created! Share those in the comments or tag me on Instagram @vafibrearts!


Speaking of Instagram, follow me there to see progress photos of my next mini quilt. The prompt for next week: postcard quilts!


I'm excited to continue learning, creating, and experimenting! With all these new techniques and prompts, who knows what is to come?


Until Next Time Friends, Keep Creating!

VA



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