Part #2: Learning How to Make Freehand Baptist Fans For Hand Quilting

If you read through the previous Baptist Fans tutorial, it's easy to see that traditional fans are made up of lots and lots of the exact same set of arcs. They are carefully marked onto the fabric, side by side of each other, and then on top of each other in a series of endless repeats. It all looks very tidy and well organized.

Making the arcs freehand style is where you can take the carefully marked out of the equation and go your own way although the essential structure remains a constant. I generally grab a piece of paper to start with and draw the basic set of arcs that I'm considering stitching. As before, I'm working with a three arc fan. You can choose to add as many arcs as you like--draw them very close together or even spread them out. It's always yours to customize.

One set of Freehand Arcs

Once again, I'll use a piece of paper to demonstrate how the arcs might look together. In the picture below I drew one set of arcs at a time moving from the right to the left and then starting again at the next row--all without using a template. As you can see, some arcs are flatter, some are taller etc. This is a natural conclusion of working freehand style. As the arcs build across the quilt, this begins to get quite interesting and yes, even a bit frightening, especially if it's the first time you've worked this way! Mostly, I think, because it all seems a bit out of control and we're programmed to resist undisciplined action!

I'll have to admit that the first time I starting stitching freehand Baptist Fans, I was almost in tears a third of the way through my quilt. I was positive I had ruined my quilt. After a good nights sleep and some gritty determination to make myself finish what I had started, I continued on and ended up with something I still love to this day. To me, working freehand is one of the best ways to get your stitching to look more personal and charming. It also removes any pressure to get things 'perfect', which I for one, appreciate.

2 Rows of Freehand Arcs

Working with my Plain Jane quilt (below) I decided to start stitching at the far right corner of the main body of my quilt rather than the very bottom corner. I'll come back and stitch the border later because I think it needs to be stitched in a different color of thread than the blue I'm using for the rest of the quilt. I generally mark the first three fans or so onto my quilt before I start to stitch freehand Baptist Fans. You don't have to--just wade right in if that's your preference. In the picture below, I used a blue wash-out marker, marking entirely without a template. I then stitched those first arcs and moved up to the second row.

From there on, throughout the rest of my quilt, I won't use a marker again unless I really get in a quandary about what to do. (Sometimes a rows get really out of whack and it helps to draw a set of arcs with a marker so you can 'see' it). I just eyeball the distance from arc to arc and stitch away, letting my eye be the judge. If you decide to draw all your fans in the freehand style before stitching, remember, no need to worry about getting perfectly marked, smooth arcs. As you stitch, you will automatically make small corrections to make things appear smoother.

The first hoop of freehand Baptist Fans

When I get the first hoop filled with stitching, then (just like with formal Baptist Fans), I move the hoop to the left and start up where I left off on the very bottom row. It's always good to work in the same general direction, right to left, bottom to top etc. although again, I want to emphasize that there are no rules!

Some people prefer a mix of formal and freehand looking fans rather than (what they consider to be) out and out chaos. Tim Latimer has an excellent example of this with one of his latest quilts where he marked the longest, outside arc and then went back and filled in the rest of his arcs with freehand style arcs. It's a perfect way to get familiar with letting your 'eye' tell you where to stitch next and/or keep to more structured looking rows of Baptist Fans.

Moving over to start the second hoop of stitching

If you prefer not to mark your quilt at all and enjoy a more casual look of stitching, the freehand Baptist Fans are extremely easy to stitch once you get into the rhythm of the design. Another thing to be aware of with freehand fans, is that you can stop at any time in your quilt and change up the direction you're stitching the fans in or even add an extra arc or two to any of your fans. Whatever you think the quilt needs. Really. I'm being serious here. When the entire quilt is stitched, it's almost impossible to see where there's an extra arc or two and imperfect rows only add to the charm. All that your eye really processes is the basic Baptist Fan stitching pattern--the arcs themselves!

Freehand Baptist Fans in my Festival of Trees quilt

What I love the most about freehand Baptist Fans is the fact that the further you progress through the quilt with your stitching, the more 'disorderly' the fans become (you can see a little of this in the picture above). Freehand is not for everyone and I know I still have a long ways to go before my freehand gets completely unique and crazy. Working with freehand stitching does NOT come naturally to me--it wars with the perfectionist side that I keep trying to liberate with my quilting! lol  Ready to try some freehand Baptist Fans yourself? I'll warn you--it really can be a bit addictive.

Part #1: Learning How to Make the Baptist Fan Pattern for Hand Quilting

Someone asked about a tutorial for making the Baptist Fan Pattern for hand quilting. It seems pretty complicated until you break it down, then you might wonder why you haven't been stitching this pattern all along! For the formal (very structured and tidy) style of Baptist Fans, you start with a basic template. I use template plastic, but cardboard is good too--just make sure it's stiff enough to withstand repeated use.

Cut your template plastic (or cardboard) in a long rectangle shape at about 1 1/4" wide and 9 or so inches long. Then, starting from the bottom, mark the distance you want between the arcs of your fans, making sure that the distance from the very bottom of the template to the first mark is enough that it won't rip out. For this template I marked 1" increments, but you can customize your template however you choose. You'll want to make a mark for every single arc you want in your fans plus 1 extra.  As you can see, this will be a 3 arc fan. I usually cut the end of the template off but I suppose you could make this your one to-go template with numerous amounts of holes for future usage.

Making a Baptist Fan quilting template

Next, you need to cut the holes in your template. I use my very primitive, antique tool called an ice-pick! I know, it looks terribly dangerous and you'll want to be careful not to stab through your finger. Whatever you decide to use, just make sure the tip of your pencil, marking pen etc. will easily fit through the hole when you start to mark your quilt.

Punching the holes in the template

For the purposes of this tutorial I'll use paper to demonstrate how to mark the Baptist Fan arcs onto your quilt. It's good to have a quick practice round before you start the real thing anyway! Baptist Fans are essentially a quarter circle so it's best to start in a corner. If I'm stitching Baptist Fans across the entire quilt, then I'll start in the bottom far right corner of my quilt. If not, I'll start at the right hand corner of my border or wherever else I'm filling Baptist Fans in.

First off (see the picture below), you need to line your template up placing the bottom hole directly over the corner of your quilt (paper). If you're doing this on your actual quilt, you can hold the template firmly in place with a thumbtack or a sturdy pin in that bottom hole. For the purposes of this demo I used a toothpick, but that won't hold the template steady on fabric.

While holding the bottom of the template firmly in place with that thumbtack etc. you will then place your pen/pencil in the next closest hole and then slowly move the template across the corner of your quilt until you have a nice smooth arc. It works like a compass, making nice rounded arcs for your Baptist Fans. Keep doing this until you have all your arcs perfectly formed.

Where to start marking the fans

After the first set of arcs is completed, then you move to the left or right depending on which corner you started your fans in. Because I'm right handed, I always start in the right corner. Place the bottom hole of the template directly at the bottom of the largest arc from the previous fan, holding it steady with a thumbtack etc. as before. This will be your new 'corner'. Slowly make your arcs for the 2nd fan as before.

How to start marking the second set of fans

Keep going to the left until you run out of quilt. Be sure and mark your templates in an even, smooth arc, not letting the template pick up any slack. As you can see from where my arrow points in the picture below, letting slack in the template causes a shallow arc that isn't as nice or smooth looking.

Making smooth arcs

When you run out of quilt on the left, just mark each arc as usual, stopping when you reach the side of the quilt. As you can see in the picture below, these will be shorter (incomplete) arcs, but this only adds to the charm of Baptist Fans. The idea is to fill up the entire area of the quilt with fans.  You can mark the entire quilt before you make your first stitch or mark as you go, it's totally up to you and your personal preferences.

How to end your arcs on the fans

*Because I normally stitch in a hand held hoop, I always mark the arcs up to the edge of the left hand side of my hoop and then move up to the next row instead of going clear to the left hand edge of the quilt. When I'm stitching this way, I try to end on a full set of arcs, not a partial set. It's not fun to try and properly match up the lengths of each arc. After I have marked and stitched until my hoop is full, then I move the entire hoop to the left and start over.

Next, you move up a row and start much as before. As you draw these arcs, make sure and mark clear down until they touch the arcs below. You want total continuity and all the area filled up with markings which will of course, eventually be your stitching. As you can see from where the arrow is pointing in the picture below, there will always be a new 'corner' to place your thumbtack in and stabilize your template for marking.

Marking the second row of Baptist Fans

In the picture below, I also placed some arrows to showplace the direction that I personally would be stitching the arcs. If you stitch downwards on the last and longest arc of your fans, then it is a simple matter to move your thread over to where you'll need to start the next set of arcs--all without having to cut your thread.

Direction of stitching for Baptist Fan arcs

I tried to get a picture of some formal Baptist Fan stitching, but it is really hard to get a decent picture of the details. If you click on the picture below, you can see (although this is actually the back of one of my quilts) how marking formal looking fans with a template like this makes for very uniform looking arcs.

Formal Baptist Fan stitching

Making this template customized for your particular needs is very simple to do. You can make 3 arcs or 8, make them 1/2" apart or 2", and even make a template that varies the widths with increments that change from say 1" to maybe a 1/4" repeating arc and then another 1" arc afterward. It's all up to you, so have a bit of fun with it!

*For marking my quilts, I generally use a blue wash-out marker. If I'm working with darker fabrics, I'll use a white Verithin pencil from the art supply store.

Next up I'll explain how to stitch freehand Baptist Fans for those interested in a more casual look.

A New Basket Project

I have two basket blocks sewn together and a very rough cut basket handle I'm still in the process of evaluating. I'm not sure this quilt is going to have picture perfect seams, grain-lines etc. so this decision will be key to emphasizing the 'not perfect' thing going on.  I may even make each basket handle different.

Blocks for the Vertical Basket Quilt

I've had the base blocks cut out for over a month, but didn't want to start in on the sewing until I cleared away a couple other UFQ's.  My applique projects are stacking up so high, I just couldn't resist some sewing machine time.  Vroom, vroom.*wink

Trying to get the pieces organized...

This Monkey Wrench quilt is really, really getting to me.  I have enjoyed the time I spend on it tremendously and I'm not quite sure why.  No pressures?  No expectations?  Great fall colors?  Probably just the timing of starting in on it.  Sometimes a quilt top perfectly fits the current mood.  In fact, my husband teases me about how dark some of the last quilts I've worked on are.  Are they representative of my mood?  Hmmm.....  Life is definitely full of lots of changes and challenges lately.

Monkey Wrench in progress

I dug out my go-to hand quilting book 'Quilting With Style:  Principles For Great Pattern Design' by Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham.  They make this border cable idea sound so well, 'do-able' that I'm almost embarrassed at how nervy I am to try drawing my own.  The point is, what am I going to lose?  If I get it right and figure it all out on my own, I'll feel very accomplished and resourceful.  If not, I can always order a stencil and then (carefully and discretely) bemoan my lack of smarts and intellect to those who would care....

Really?  It's that easy?