Refract Edge-to-Edge Design

Refract is a simple, geometric design that was designed with modern quilts in mind. And boy oh boy, is this a modern quilt!



The combination of smooth curves and lines gives a unique look. I also love the diamond shapes that form between rows. ✨



This abstract design could look like gems, paving stones, ribbons, or waves that cascade across a quilt top. But primarily, I like how simple, repeated geometric shapes provide texture as a backdrop to the patchwork.

The Quilt

If you've been reading this blog or (knowing me as a person) for any length of time, you might recognize that this style is out of my norm, but it was a fun departure!

I made this quilt top during a workshop I took with friend and brilliant quiltmaker Riane Menardi Morrison back in 2016. In the workshop, we made large traditional blocks and deconstructed them. As you might guess, my starting point was a log cabin block with that lovely gold on one half of the block, white on the other, and the black and white striped fabric in the center.

Initially, I was going to hand-quilt it. Riane is known for her beautiful hand quilting, so I'm sure that factored into my decision to try my HAND (forgive me) at hand quilting. Eight years later, it was still languishing in my stash.

I decided to be "me" and finish it on my longarm. I still have delusions of grandeur that I'll try hand-quilting again someday, but it'll have to wait for another project. When I want to scratch my handwork itch, I usually reach for knitting needles, ya know?

I wonder if my original plan was to trim some of the length from the lower half of the quilt top, because only when I was binding it did I realize that it was much longer than it needed to be. I believe I attached a whole width of white solid fabric (40+") to the bottom edge of the patchwork portion back in 2016, thinking I'd trim it down later (especially if I'd planned to quilt it by hand). For the sake of proportions, it's... a lot of negative space. It's a lot of quilt. I'm actually debating whether or not to take the binding off and trim it now. It's never too late!

 

The Quilting Details

I classified this design as "advanced" because every row has to touch or be very close to touching to carry out the secondary patterns. This can be difficult to execute, especially for beginning longarm quilters. 

I'd love to share some tips for making it easier to get precise placement:

1) Start with a straight backing. Square it up if your client hasn't done that for you. 

2) Use the loading method that will give you the straightest start. For me, that means pinning the top of the backing to my take-up leader. I used Red Snappers for years and I still love them. But for "fussy" pantographs like this one, pins aren't likely to twist or have the bulk to skew the straightness of a backing as you advance the quilt, as clamp-and-rod systems might.

3) Roll the whole backing onto the take-up roller and back on the belly bar. Do this a few times if needed until the backing lays nice and uniformly with no sagging.

4) Use your horizontal channel locks! After loading your batting, I recommend using a "registration" line of stitching across the width of the quilt backing and batting so that you have a straight line to orient your quilt top with so that it starts out straight, as well.

5) After you sew your first rows and advance the quilt, use your horizontal channel lock again to make sure the last row stitched is straight across the width of the mounted quilt. With the channel lock engaged at the lowest point of the last stitched row, do a quick check like a needle down/up every ten inches or so to ensure you still have a straight line. Your needle should be hitting at the same low point of the design across the whole quilt.

6) If it's off, use your hands to do some minor tweaking, like putting pressure on the quilt close to the take-up roller or down toward the belly bar to coax it in whichever direction it needs to go. You can even use clean paper towels or scrap batting and tuck it in the take-up roller or belly bar to make small adjustments. If you do this, complete all rows for the pass, and then remove the batting or paper towels. Advance to the next pass and do it again.

I've found that the straighter I can get my backing at the start, the less I have to do the "paper towel trick." If you have any clamp and rod system installed on your leaders, all you have to do is slip the rod out and put it aside for the next quilt. Then, pin the backing to the edge of your empty leader pocket. This extra effort is worth the straight results! That is unless the leaders themselves are crooked. In this case, you might want to check with your manufacturer (or YouTube) for help.

I'm adding all this extra info to help improve your longarming prowess, not to scare you! Above, you'll see the tiny overlap I noticed on one row after I'd advanced the quilt the first time. I happened to walk by as it was stitching, and so I put some pressure on the fabric in the right place as it stitched the last full motif, and it was spot on. That's when I decided to "spot-check" (as described in tip #5) after I rolled to a new pass for the rest of the quilt. Problem solved! 

There is no backtracking with this design. Feel free to watch the short video at the top of this blog post to watch my machine stitch the design.


Here are the sizing specifications for how I set up this quilt using my Intelliquilter (63" x 86" quilt size):

Row height: 2.5"
Gap: 0" 
Pattern height: 2.5" (measurement from top to bottom of the repeat)
Offset: none
Backtracking: none

Here's a look at the included PDF:

If you use Refract on a quilt, we'd love it if you used the hashtag #refractpanto and tag @longarmleague on Instagram so we can see how you use it! 


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