Applique with a background fill of rays.

In this video I am adding a background fill of rays to an applique quilt. This is real time but because I am talking, I am going more slowly than I did for the rest of the quilt. I always say the name of the button I am touching so don't worry if you miss seeing me touch a button. 

iQ stitches rays so beautifully and they make a good background fill. My rays are spaced at 10º, but if a denser fill was needed, a rays pattern with smaller spacing could be made. You can find the instructions for creating ray patterns by choosing 'rays' in the right hand side menu here. Scroll down until you find the relevant post. 

Filled Rays

Filled Rays.

    

Filled rays take a little longer to set up initially. If one repeat or filled ray is saved (the left hand image below), the set up can be customized for each quilt by altering the number of rays and space between them. Alternatively a complete ray fill pattern can be saved (the right hand image below).

     

               

These are the steps for making a filled ray.

Set up a block 10”x10”. Finished.

Choose the straight line from the geometric catalog.

Turn on the grid and change it to ½”. Turn snap on.

Move the start of the line so it snaps to a grid intersection. Use stretch to anchor the start then move the end to a grid intersection at the opposite side of the block, one square below the grid line that the start is on. Finished.

Copy pattern > touch the line, continue.

Move the copy so that it is right on top of the original line. Select Stretch and anchor the start. Move the end so that it is two squares above the end point of the original line. Finished.

Copy pattern > touch one of the lines, continue.

Move it so that the start snaps to the narrow end of the rays. Use stretch to anchor that point and move the end so that it is centered between the two rays, snapping it to the grid intersection half way between the rays.

Two rays are now complete and a fill can be added using path pattern. The path will be the center straight line. Save this rays fill design template if you want to use it again in the future. It has to be saved as a quilt because the lines are not combined.

                                        

Add pattern > path pattern > select the centerline of the rays. Continue.

You can choose any pattern that you think will make a good-looking fill. I chose half circle 2 from the geometric catalog and increased the repeats to 30. Finished.

 

Add/edit pattern > modify pattern, select the wavy line, continue.

Touch the double arrows and select distort. Move the small green squares so that the pattern fills the space between the two rays.

 

I make the fill start a little way up from the point because a no-sew zone will nearly always remove that area. The fill at the center would be just too small to sew anyway.

This is a zoomed in image – the grid is ½”.

  

Finished.

Now the two rays and the fill need to be combined. Combine patterns. Touch the top ray, flip the start/end, continue > touch the fill, continue > continuous stitch line. Touch the bottom ray, flip the start/end, continue > continuous stitch line. Finished.

Delete pattern > touch the center straight line (the path), continue > yes.

Save this pattern.

To make a complete circular pattern follow these steps.

Add/edit pattern > add pattern > fan pattern > touch the ray pattern, continue.

Repeats 15. Angle 24º. It looks strange – don’t worry.

     

Grab the start point and drag it to the end point.

     

Close pattern: yes. Alternate: off. Transition: continuous.

If you want different spacing, change the angle and number of repeats. Try 18 repeats and 20º. Try 36 repeats with 10º.  As long as the two numbers multiplied together make 360, you will get a complete circle with no double stitched rays.

Finished. If you like this spacing, save the complete circular ray pattern.

Add/edit pattern > modify pattern > touch the rays > continue.  Move the rays so they are centered over the block. Scale the pattern down if you want the fill to be dense. Play with the scale and notice the difference.

Finished  > finished > add/edit block > add block > clipping block > select the rays > continue > select existing block > touch the square > continue > finished > transition continuous, accept > yes.

 

Finished > add/edit pattern > add pattern > block pattern > use current block  > choose a motif. (I chose Betty Flower.)

Scale down the motif, finished > finished > add/edit block > add block > no-sew zone > select the rays, continue > create pattern contour, touch the motif > continue. Follow the instructions, set smooth to 0%. Finished > finished.

This filled ray will have a transition at the no-sew zone so consider which transition to choose. If you choose tie- off, you can manually stitch in the ditch around the motif between the rays, but continuous or jumpstitch may be good choices depending upon the intricacy of the no-sew zone.

                                  

In order to eliminate the transition at the no-sew zone, it’s necessary to double stitch part of a filled ray. If thin thread is used, the double stitching may not be noticeable. I prefer to double stitch the fill because that will eliminate a transition at the clipped fill at the outside edge of the block.

Having placed the fill pattern, it is then copied and placed on top of the original.

                                 

The rays and fill are combined as follows. First one straight ray with the start at the wide end.

                                  

 Next the fill with the start at the narrow end (these two will be combined with continuous stitch).

                                  

Next the fill copy with the start at the wide end, and finally the other straight ray with the start at the narrow end. The transition from the fill to this straight ray will be continuous.

                                  

These instructions lead to a relatively narrow filled ray. If you prefer a wider one, set the two rays further apart at the start.

Notice the difference between these two. They both have the same number of filled rays.

The filled ray on the left was designed wider and with fewer pattern repeats along the length of the ray.

 

Wavy Rays.

Wavy Rays.

These were created in a two-step process first creating a path pattern, and then fanning that path pattern.

First make a block then follow these steps:

Add/edit pattern > add pattern > block pattern > use current block.

Select the straight line from the geometric catalog.

Move it so the S snaps to the center of the block.  Select stretch and anchor the start point.  Grab the end point and move it to one of the corners. Finished.

Add pattern > path pattern > select the straight line > choose arc-2 from the geometric catalog.

Decrease the number of repeats to 4. Finished

Add/edit pattern > delete pattern > touch the straight line > continue > yes.

Copy pattern – touch the wavy line > continue > place the copy right on top of the original > finished > combine patterns > touch the wavy line > continue > touch the wavy line again (you’ll see a pink line) > swap start/end points > continue > finished

Add pattern > fan pattern  > select the wavy line > continue.

Change the angle to 10º and repeats to 36. Grab the pivot point and move it to the other end of the wavy line. Transition: continuous. Close pattern: yes. Alternate: off.

Save the pattern.

NOTE: If arc-2 in your geometric catalog is not horizontal, it will not connect as a continuous wavy line along the path. It must be altered and saved as a horizontal pattern. The same is true for arc.

Try pathing other patterns – the rays don’t have to be straight lines. You will see a lot of overlapping at the center but since a no-sew zone will delete this area, the overlapping doesn’t matter.

      

Double Rays

Double rays.

Note: following these directions will be easier if you have read and followed the steps in the post about creating single straight rays.

 

These rays are not double stitched but the transition at the no-sew zone is so small that it can be stitched continuously.

I made these rays by fanning a straight line.

First make a block then follow these steps:

Add/edit pattern > add pattern > block pattern > use current block.

Select the straight line from the geometric catalog.

Move it so the S snaps to the center of the block.  Select stretch and anchor the start point.  Grab the end point and move it to one of the corners. Finished.

Add pattern > fan pattern – touch the straight line > continue >

Change repeats to 2 and angle to 3º. Alternate: on. Transition: continuous. Close pattern: no. Finished.

Add/edit pattern > add pattern > fan pattern > select the pattern > continue. It will look strange at this stage but don’t worry.

Change the repeats to 18 and angle to 20º.

Grab the pivot point (the start point) and drag it to the other end of the rays.

Alternate: off. Transition: continuous. Close pattern: yes.
Now it should look like this screenshot.

Finished.

Save the pattern.

By altering the number of repeats and the angle between them, you can create several variations of background double rays.

Pattern design. Rays - straight and curved.

RAYS.

All ray patterns are created using fan pattern. Both clipping blocks and no-sew zones are used to place them as background fills. I make most ray patterns double stitch because this eliminates any transitions at the no-sew zone, next to the motif they are surrounding.

Straight Rays and Curved Rays.

        

These were created in the same way, one using the straight line from the geometric catalog, the other using arc.

Design sew/quilt > start new > add block > enter rectangle manually > width 10”, height 10” – continue > finished > finished

Add/edit pattern > add pattern > block pattern > use current block.

Select the straight line from the geometric catalog.

Move it so the S snaps to the center of the block.  Select stretch and anchor the start point.  Grab the end point and move it to one of the corners. Finished.

Copy pattern > touch the straight line > continue > move the copy right on top of the original. 

(Note: if you make this copied line slightly longer than the original before you place it on top. This makes it easier to select when combining the two lines.) Finished.

Combine patterns > touch the line > continue > touch the copied line. You’ll know when you’ve selected it because a continue button will appear.

Touch swap start/end points > continue > finished > add pattern > fan pattern.  Touch the pattern > continue.

For the straight rays, I made the angle 10º and the repeats 36.

Grab the pivot point (the pivot point is the start point - S) and move it so it is at the other end of the line. This puts the start/end point on the outside with the rays joined by straight lines. You may have a jagged outside line if you made your second line longer than the first - that doesn't matter because it will be clipped off later.

Close pattern: yes. Alternate: off. Transition: continuous.

Finished.

Save the pattern.

The curved rays were made in the same way but I used arc from the geometric catalog. I made the angle 5º and the repeats 72.

You can make your rays any distance apart that you like. If you want fewer rays, make the angle larger and the repeats less. Just make sure that the angle and the number of repeats comes to 360 when they are multiplied together. 

To use the rays as background fill, I first placed the pattern motif in the block.

I selected add pattern > block pattern and found my saved rays.

I scaled up the rays so they filled the block to the corners and centered them in the block.

Finished > finished > add/edit block > add block > clipping block > touch the rays > continue

Select existing block  > touch the square block > continue > finished

Transition type: continuous, so there will be stitching in the ditch around the block. Accept > yes

Add block > no-sew zone > touch the rays > continue > create pattern contour > touch the motif > continue > Gap: 0. Smooth: 0%. Points: rounded or sharp – switch between the two to choose the best one for the motif.

Touch outside the motif > finished  > finished.

The transition choice is irrelevant because the rays stitch straight in then straight out from the motif.

If, however, the rays cross over and into an interior part of the motif (see the bird below), choosing jumpstitch or tie off might be a better choice.

Note: If the pieced block isn’t a perfect square, rotate the rays so that they don’t go right into the corners. This will disguise the irregular piecing. See the heart and bird with rays below.

The rays don’t have to be centered in the block – try placing them off-center for a different look.

          

Sunbonnet Sue by Shirley Higginbotham     
Bird by Julia Podany-Samolyk (digitech.com)