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Robin's Nest DVD 
See first-hand the secrets for sewing perfect points on your triangles, adding sashing between the blocks, and my secret for sewing a hanging sleeve that nobody will see (except the person who is hanging the quilt!). This 9 patch block is an original design. |
Your blocks can range from the very simple to the very complex, and they will still benefit from sashing.
Sashing is what goes between the blocks in a quilt. Like quilt blocks, sashing can be very simple or it can be as complex as your quilt blocks. And some quilts have no sashing at all.
In this series of articles, you will see a wide range of sashing ideas. Many of them are a part of quilts I have made. In some cases, the photos are old (as are the quilts) and discolored. If I had the quilts, I would take new pictures, but most of my quilts have been given away, and what I have are the old, discolored pictures and the great feeling that those quilts are in the hands of someone who is enjoying them!
Sashing with Cornerstones
Cornerstones are squares of fabric that are pieced within the sashing and fit in at the corners of the blocks. Although I had seen cornerstones in quilts, the first time I used them in a quilt was when I ran out of fabric in a border.
The light bulb in my brain went off, and I realized at that moment that many quilt designs were no doubt created from mistakes and lack of fabric. Frequently now, I use cornerstones as an intentional design feature.
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The fish quilt to the left is an example of simple sashing between blocks in a quilt where the blocks are set as squares, and the sashing forms a grid of horizontal and vertical lines separating the blocks.
In this example, the sashing is 1" wide, each block is 17" high and 19" wide. The tiny white squares in the corners surrounding each block are 1" and have been cut from a white fabric with hearts, so that each square has a tiny heart in it.
The brightly colored sashing in this quilt forms a frame around each block, while the cornerstones add some interest as well as breaking up the grid.
In the quilt below, the hearts were sewn onto squares of fabric "on point." That means that the points of the square are on the top, bottom and sides, forming a somewhat diamond shape.|
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Starting from the upper left corner, you would attach the sashing to the sides of the block. Then attach a red triangle to the sashing on each side. Then put that aside.
Then take the next diagonal row of blocks (made up of the dark blue heart block, the red square and the lavendar heart block) and add sashing strips between each of these blocks.
You will be sewing plain fabric to the sides of these blocks, as the cornerstones will be included in the sashing strips between the rows.
Add a half-square triangle to the end of each of these rows. This will make the sides of your quilt into a square or rectangle.
Next, make a strip of sashing to go between the first "row" of one block, and the second "row" of three blocks. This strip of sashing will include plain sashing plus your cornerstones.
As you sew, match the cornerstones in the sashing strip with the sashing between the blocks. That way, you will have nice square corners that line up. It also helps to stitch and press the seam allowances in opposite directions, so your quilt top lays flat.
Other Sashing Topics:
Add a Simple Sashing
Now Add Cornerstones to Sashing
Sashing on Point with Cornerstones
Sashing Using Strips of Fabric
Crazy Pieced Sashing
Pieced SashingHappy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
Master Quilter
