sewing with voile

Yesterday and today, I've been sewing with voile.  I've made a St Louis 16 patch quilt top.  Conceived by Steffanie of Sew With Sass, this quilt design has been sweeping the internet.  In Steffanie's tutorial, she cuts 4" strips from FQs for 14" finished blocks.  I pushed that to 4 1/2" strips for 16" finished blocks so the finished quilt which is 5 blocks square, is 80" square.  It's quick, fun and easy to sew - two FQs make two blocks and you can cut whole stacks of FQs in one go, chain piece and get the whole top made in half a day.


I'd been looking for a project that showed off this incredibly beautiful iridescent bundle from Westwood Acres.  I'd been advised you need to starch voiles, use a 70 needle, a lot of pins and to be ready for a lot of fraying.  In fact, I didn't starch, found that it was easier to sew without pins and used the same needle I'd just quilted a quilt with (probably a 90) and didn't notice  any more fraying than with quilting cottons.  They're slippery so you have to press them down hard when you cut because they can slide about under the ruler.  Unpicking is a nightmare because they are so soft and lightweight that it's easy for the seam ripper to rip them rather than the thread.  Photographing the quilt top was hard because it slid off everything I hung it over.  But sewing with it was not especially tricky - no more so than with Liberty lawns or Oakshott shot cottons which are also lightweight and slightly more slippery than quilting cottons.


But the feel and weight of the finished top is just divine.  I've never worn a sari but the colours and shimmer of the voiles made me think that's how a sari would feel.  So what about you.  Have you sewn with voiles and, if so, do you have any tips?

Comments

  1. That is gorgeous, I can imagine it will be delicious to curl up under. I'm sewing with voile this evening, don't really have any tips although I have bought a 70 needle which I've not done before.

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  2. This is so pretty Lynne! I have a ton of voile that I'm still waiting for the perfect pattern for. I'm impressed you tackled it like a quilting cotton.

    My suggestion for voile is that you prewash it because it really does shrink a fair amount in one direction. (you can see Anna Maria's site for photographic details on that). I've also found that when it is prewashed then it loses a bit of the slippery feel and has a bit more tooth to the fabric. So it holds a little better to itself for piecing and sewing.

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  3. I've never sewn with voile but I'll give it a try in the future. Your quilt top is so very pretty!

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  4. I already saw it on IG, it is lovely!

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  5. Lovely, I just have to bump Trudis postman off before he can get the bundle to her then I can make my own ;-)

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  6. I've not sewn with voile but I tend to pin things.
    My 16-patch is made of 2" finished squares - mainly solids or fabrics that read as solid. It's busy but colourful. Yours takes a lot less time.

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  7. Haha, Yes I've never sewn with starch or pins with voile. I made a diamond quilt with Field Study voile. Probably wouldn't try that again! Your quilt inspires me to cut into my voile scraps. Beautiful!

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  8. Oh that is such a colourful and happy quilt. It made me smile immediately when I saw it. I'm going to give it a go myself :)

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  9. Lovely lovely lovely! I've made a quilt using these voiles and found them not difficult at all. I didn't use any pins. Rebel! But I did prewash, based on the shrinkage advice.

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  10. I have not used voiles but yours is so pretty!!!

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  11. That is stunning. The more photos I see of voile fabric, the more I want to try it!

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  12. What a gorgeous quilt.....I just love it! Haven't sewn with voiles, have some in the stash and appreciate all the feedback. Thanks for sharing. Marie

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  13. Pretty quilt, it almost looks as if some of it has been fussy cut.

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  14. Very pretty. Any idea to get it completed faster is a great idea in my book.

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  15. Have not sewn with voile before, I have a few scrappy pieces but your quilt is gorgeous and I am so very tempted!!

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  16. I haven't sewn a voile yet but I envision a beautiful scarf when I think of voile. I think that's something I'd like to try.

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  17. Your quilt is very nice, did you use fat 8ths for this? (the bundle from Westwood Acres is now a fat 8ths bundle)
    I made a voile quilt for my youngest: sewed like a dream, pinned it as normals (i.e. not very much) and the quilting was great too. (Flower Power: http://bettyvanos.blogspot.nl/p/finished-quilts.html)

    The feel of the quilt: aaaaahhhhh & oooohhhh

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  18. Well obviously I have never sewn with voile (only sailed with voile) as I have never sewn anything, BUT that is one Refreshers coloured quilt top. Beautiful.

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  19. Pretty quilt! I bet the voile makes a really luxurious quilt.

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  20. Instead of sewing with it, I have it decorate my shelves. I take it down once in a while to pet it and tell it what good fabric it's been.

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  21. Like quilting butter! Can't wait for my bule to arrive, probs whilst in London!

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  22. I made a Staple dress/tunic in AMH voile, and to be honest I just sewed it up the same as always; another urban myth along with bias stretch and the Lockness monster!

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  23. This is such a lovely quilt Lynne. I have never sewn with voiles but have bought some AMH voile to make a dress with. However my toile has come out so badly that I need to totally refashion it. I'm glad I didn't dive straight in with the lovely AMH fabric without testing the pattern first! It is a lovely feeling fabric and I can only imagine that a quilt made out of it would be wonderfully soft and light.

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  24. Its the first fabric I bought so I didnt know any different, so when I did order something else 100 % designer cotton, I thought it was so dull and rough.

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  25. So pretty!
    Im new to your site, and just love quilts!

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  26. I don't know how I missed this quilt design sweeping the internet, being that I've lived in St. Louis, MO all of my life. A St. Louis 16-Patch is definitely in my future. Thanks for sharing.

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  27. Love the colors. It does have a Indian feel to it.

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  28. (An audible gasp.)That's so beautiful!

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