Embracing Imperfection - A Rayon Quilt

You all know I love quilty experiments and trying new things, so you know how excited I was when I found out this month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was to try something new!

It was time to cross "rayon quilt" off my quilty bucket list!

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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

I've been collecting Island Batik rayon fabrics since my first year as an Island Batik ambassador in 2017. And recently, fellow ambassador Alison from Little Bunny Quilts sent me her stash of Island Batik rayon fabrics too! I had quite the assortment, but I had a really hard time trying to decide what to use together for a quilt.

I initially thought red and blue, but I asked my friend Leanne from Devoted Quilter via a Facebook message, and she picked the red, black, and gray. That was definitely the winning combination!

I had 2 1/2 yards of black, 2 yards of red, and one scarf of gray.

The red and black were regular 42" width of fabric, and the scarf measured 10" x 64".

I spent a couple days at the "drawing board" trying to come up with a design that was:

1. Simple in construction and only squares/rectangles (no need to use a complicated design when I was working with a finicky fabric!)

2. Only three colors

3. Mostly red and black with just a scarf's worth of gray

and came up with this!

Did I mention that my *ideal* design would also use the rayon fabric for the backing and binding? I started the quilt math to see if it was possible...

According the my planning, it was indeed possible with just inches of wiggle room.

When it came time to cut the fabric, I realized just how much of a challenge this was going to be! The fabric was slick and had the hardest time staying put for cutting. I decided straight-ish cuts would be just fine.

Sewing the pieces together was another new adventure. Although the fabrics didn't fray as much as I expected, they were definitely slippery! I worked to line up just an inch or so in front of the needle at a time. The fabric was challenging to wrangle, and my seams were straight-ish. I also decided I would try to NOT press any part of the quilt. The rayon was working well without pressing, and I was too nervous about ruining the fabric by ironing it.

My design also presented a challenge as I had to "eye-ball" the placement of each additional strip. This caused the top to become a bit wonky.

I ignored it, and kept going. Once the pieces were sewn together, I trimmed all four sides to make it rectangle-ish.

Definitely rectangle-ish.

I sewed the leftover black, red, and gray pieces to make the quilt back, and knew pin basting and quilting it on my domestic would be a hot mess. Layering slippery fabric on top of slippery fabric just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. The longarm would be the better choice.

I really wanted to use bamboo or silk batting to keep the drape of the fabric as light as possible, but I didn't have either in my stash. Instead, I chose my go-to batting - Hobbs 80/20.

I pinned the top in place to try and keep it as "square" as possible. Then I stewed about how to actually quilt it.

What I did know was that Aurifil 50wt #2610 Light Blue Grey would be the perfect thread choice. 

But as for the quilting, that took a bit more time to decide. I didn't want to quilt it too densely as I thought that might affect the softness and drape of the finished quilt. But I wanted something more interesting than straight lines. I finally decided on jumbo graffiti quilting.

I quickly realized this was a great idea in theory, but when made jumbo, every imperfection that is normally hidden in the small scale of regular graffiti quilting was out on display with a megaphone. But I definitely wasn't going to unpick it and start over.

And the slippery-ness of the fabric meant the fabric shifted more than usual. This caused two puckers on the front of the quilt. Time to embrace all the imperfections. I kept going.

After quilting, I had a new challenge to tackle: how to square it up.

After much deliberation, I decided to use the straight horizontal seams on the back of the quilt as a guide, and ignore what it might do to the front.

I had just enough of the red rayon fabric to cut 2 1/4" strips for the binding and machine sewed it on. (I still never ironed it! Just folded it over and it worked without pressing!)

The final quilt is SO soft and SO cuddly. Like, think satin sheets. A bit cold to the touch and it just drapes like a melting popsicle.

Of course I see all the imperfections when I look at it.

But overall, they're barely noticeable.

The finished quilt measures just under 40" x 60" - exactly what I initially planned.

And I was able to use the red, black, and gray rayons for the top, back, AND binding!

I think this is a great summer quilt! It's really lightweight and that "cold to the touch" quality of the rayon fabric is definitely a plus in the heat!

This is my 108th quilt finish so far for 2019!

I know he's not going to like it, but I couldn't help but post this behind the seams photo too! I really love it! This is my husband, who is behind the quilt in almost all of my quilty photos!

Would I make another rayon quilt? Maybe.

On Facebook and Instagram, I got some great suggestions for working with the rayon fabric including using a wash-away stabilizer, starch, and drinking lots of wine. All of which are definitely going on the list to try if there's a next time!

Be sure to follow Island Batik on Facebook and Instagram so you can see what the other ambassadors are trying this month!

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF at Storied Quilts, Friday Foto Fun at Powered by Quilting, Beauties Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty, Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney, Modern Patch Monday at Modern Cologne Quilters, Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag, Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Colour & Inspiration Tuesday at Clever Chameleon, To-Do Tuesday at Stitch All the Things, Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter, Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication, and Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese.

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