Table of Contents
- Crafting a Playful Construction Quilt: An Introduction
- Essential Materials & Fabric Preparation for Your Blocks
- Method 1: Hooping All Layers (The 'GO' Block Tutorial)
- Method 2: Floating Layers (The 'Block 1' Demonstration)
- Assembling Your Embroidered Quilt Blocks with Precision
- Your Construction Quilt Journey: Next Steps and Resources
Video reference: “How to make a construction quilt using machine embroidery” by StitchDelight.NET
This playful build-as-you-go project turns machine-embroidered blocks into a kid-friendly construction game quilt—complete with textured backgrounds, bold applique, and crisp numbers. You’ll stitch blocks, assemble rows, and ultimately form a 72-block board kids can drive little cars across.
What you’ll learn
- How to choose durable front fabrics and low-loft batting for an on-the-floor play quilt
- Two hooping approaches: hooping all layers vs. floating layers
- How to stitch background quilting and applique cleanly and efficiently
- How to trim and assemble blocks so seams align perfectly across a row
Crafting a Playful Construction Quilt: An Introduction The project builds a playful game board, conceptually similar to “snakes and ladders,” but themed with construction trucks, numbers, and directional arrows. It’s made from individually embroidered blocks assembled into strips—eight blocks per row, nine rows total.
Each block includes a background quilting pass and design motifs (e.g., a gravel pile, bold numerals, or signage like a hexagonal “GO”). This approach gives you repeatable, tidy results using in-the-hoop techniques, then straightforward, precise assembly.
Understanding Quilt Dimensions and Hoop Sizes Choose your hoop size based on final quilt size and how much detail you’d like to stitch per hooping:
- 4x4 blocks: approximate finished quilt around 900 x 1,000 mm (about 36 x 40 inches)
- 5x7 blocks: approximate finished quilt around 1.1 x 1.2 m (about 44 x 48 inches)
There are 72 blocks total: 9 rows of 8 blocks each. Consider that your sashing/binding choices can nudge final dimensions.
Essential Materials & Fabric Preparation for Your Blocks Choosing the Right Fabric for Durability and Play For the front fabric, use 100% cotton or percale linen—both are durable, stable, and comfortable for a quilt kids will use on the floor. Quilters cotton also works well. The tutorial favors cotton over stretchier fabrics like scuba; scuba can pucker over time under play conditions.
Select colors purposefully: think high-contrast hues that make numbers and signs readable to kids—greens for “GO,” reds for “STOP,” a darker tone for backing, and neutral tones for sashing or borders.
Selecting Batting and Backing for Optimal Quilt Feel A thin, low-loft polyester batting provides body without bulk. Avoid thick battings; bulk can make the quilt less flexible and harder to assemble. The tutorial demonstrates blocks both with batting in the seam allowance (Method 1) and without batting in the seam allowance (Method 2).
Pro tip
- Pre-cut all front fabrics and batting for the blocks you plan to stitch in one session. It speeds up embroidery and keeps your workspace organized. hooping stations
Quick check
- If the quilt will live on the floor, prioritize all-cotton fronts and low-loft batting for a durable, easy-to-clean feel.
Prep checklist
- Front fabric: 100% cotton or percale linen, pre-cut for your hoop size
- Thin polyester (or cotton) batting, pre-cut
- Stabilizer: cutaway
- Threads coordinated to your motif colors
- Temporary spray adhesive (e.g., 505)
- Curved-handle scissors for applique
- Rotary cutter and ruler for final trimming
Method 1: Hooping All Layers (The ‘GO’ Block Tutorial) Step-by-Step Hooping with Stabilizer, Batting, and Fabric Method 1 places stabilizer, batting, and front fabric in the hoop together. It yields a classic quilted feel with batting extending into the seam allowance.
1) Hoop your layers - Hoop cutaway stabilizer, a slightly smaller piece of batting, and your front fabric together. Use temporary spray adhesive to keep layers from shifting. The fabric should be taut but not stretched.
Quick check
- Fabric sits flat in the hoop with no puckers; the batting is centered so it won’t thin out at the edges.
2) Stitch the base outlines - Run the first rectangular outline to define the design area. Follow with the second outline (if provided), then the background quilting pass. This sets the texture for the block.
3) Applique placement - The machine stitches a placement outline for the applique (here, a hexagon for the “GO” sign). Lightly spray the applique fabric on the back and place it to fully cover the outline.
Watch out
- If the applique fabric is undersized, you’ll reveal raw edges after trimming. Make sure coverage extends beyond the outline all around.
4) Tack-down and trim - Stitch the tack-down. Using curved-handle scissors (e.g., Fraliz), trim excess applique fabric close to the stitch line without cutting into stitches.
Safety
- Keep blade tips lifted; angle the scissor curve toward the waste side to reduce the risk of nicking the foundation fabric. embroidery magnetic hoops
5) Finish the applique and text - Stitch the satin border around the applique and the motif lettering—in this example, the “GO” text. Then add the final outer border.
6) De-hoop and trim - Remove the block from the hoop. Lightly press to flatten. Trim excess stabilizer and batting back to the seam allowance, then square the fabric seam allowance with a rotary cutter and ruler.
Mastering Applique and Text Embroidery
- Ensure the applique fabric is well-adhered before tack-down—this minimizes fray and misalignment.
- Trim as close as possible to the tack-down for crisp satin coverage.
Watch out
- When trimming near the applique edge, avoid lifting the block too much; you can unintentionally cut the front fabric beneath. The tutorial specifically cautions against cutting into your front fabric while trimming. magnetic hoops
Setup checklist (Method 1)
- Hoop: cutaway stabilizer + thin batting + front fabric (taut, not stretched)
- Temporary adhesive applied lightly and evenly
- Placement, tack-down, satin steps planned for applique
- Iron ready for a quick press after de-hooping
Method 2: Floating Layers (The ‘Block 1’ Demonstration) Hooping Stabilizer Only: The Floating Technique Method 2 hoops only the stabilizer, then floats batting and fabric inside the stitched outline. This removes batting from the seam allowance for flatter joins between blocks.
1) Hoop stabilizer; stitch the outline - Hoop cutaway stabilizer firmly. Stitch the first rectangular outline directly onto the stabilizer—this is your placement guide.
2) Float the batting - Lightly spray the batting and position it within the outline. Stitch the batting tack-down, then carefully trim excess batting outside that line.
Quick check
- After trimming, no batting should extend into the seam allowance; you’ll get flatter seams later.
3) Float the front fabric
- Spray the back of your front fabric and place it smoothly over the batting area, covering the design zone without ripples. magnetic embroidery hoops
4) Complete the design - Stitch background quilting, then the motif details (e.g., gravel texture and the number “1” for Block 1).
5) De-hoop and trim
- Remove the block from the hoop, give it a light press, and trim the seam allowance neatly.
Attaching Batting and Fabric for a Seamless Finish
- Because batting doesn’t reach the seam allowance in Method 2, your block joins are noticeably flatter.
- Use generous—but not excessive—adhesive spray for floating layers to prevent shift.
Watch out
- Don’t trim the front fabric when you clear batting beyond the tack-down. Keep scissors parallel to the hoop base and trim slowly.
Setup checklist (Method 2)
- Hoop: cutaway stabilizer only
- Placement outline stitched on stabilizer
- Batting floated, tacked down, trimmed outside the line
- Front fabric floated smoothly over the design area
Assembling Your Embroidered Quilt Blocks with Precision Tips for Perfect Alignment When Joining Blocks To assemble a row, join blocks right sides together and align design corners, especially where numbers, borders, or text meet. Pins are your precision tool here.
1) Align corner points - Place the two blocks right sides together. Use a pin to pierce the exact corner point of the top block and feed it through the exact corner point of the second block. Repeat at the bottom corners.
2) Lock alignment along the stitch line
- Push pins up or down along the stitch line to secure without shifting—avoid pushing pins sideways, which can twist layers.
3) Stitch the seam
- Sew a straight seam just inside the outermost stitch line. This gives a neat join that doesn’t peek past the block border.
Quick check
- After stitching, open the seam and check whether borders and motifs meet cleanly at a 90-degree angle. If they don’t, unpick a few stitches, realign with the pin-through-points method, and resew.
Stitching Blocks into a Cohesive Quilt Row - Continue joining blocks to complete a strip of 8 blocks. Press seams as you go to keep the strip flat and uniform.
Operation checklist (stitching + assembly)
- Method 1 or Method 2 chosen for the block you’re making
- Background quilting and applique steps completed
- Block pressed and seams trimmed square
- Pins placed through corresponding design corners before stitching seams
Quality Checks At each milestone, use these tests to self-validate.
Hooping (both methods)
- Fabric is taut and smooth in the hoop; no visible ripples or stretch marks.
- Placement outlines stitch cleanly and match your intended coverage.
Applique
- Tack-down line fully covered by applique fabric before trimming.
- Satin border sits entirely over trimmed edge with no gaps.
Floating method trimming
- After trimming batting, none extends into the seam allowance.
Block assembly
- Pin tips emerge exactly at matching points on both blocks.
- After joining, borders align and corners sit at a true 90-degree angle.
Results & Handoff When you finish your first row of 8 blocks, you’ll have a straight, consistent strip with evenly aligned motifs and borders. Repeat the block production and assembly until you have 9 rows, totaling 72 blocks. The final quilt dimensions depend on your hoop size, plus any sashing and binding you add.
Pro tip
- Iron blocks right after de-hooping to relax any slight waviness from dense quilting before trimming and joining. This keeps measurements consistent. hoop master embroidery hooping station
Troubleshooting & Recovery Symptom: Fabric puckers during stitching
- Likely cause: Fabric stretched during hooping or insufficient adhesion when floating.
- Fix: Re-hoop so fabric is firm but not stretched; add a light, even coat of temporary spray adhesive.
Symptom: Applique edge shows fabric fray or gaps
- Likely cause: Applique fabric wasn’t fully covering placement line or trimming was too far from tack-down.
- Fix: Ensure generous coverage before tack-down; trim closer (but not into) tack-down stitches.
Symptom: Batting bunches at seams
- Likely cause: Batting extended into seam allowance (Method 1) or wasn’t trimmed back enough (Method 2).
- Fix: For flatter seams, use Method 2 or re-trim batting outside the tack-down line.
Symptom: Design corners don’t meet when joining blocks
- Likely cause: Pins placed at different points across layers, or pins angled sideways.
- Fix: Re-pin with the pin-through-point technique at each corner; push pins along the stitch line, not sideways, and resew just inside the outer stitch line.
From the comments
- This project guide synthesizes steps for two hooping methods, applique, and precise assembly. Keep your focus on coverage at applique placement, careful trimming, and alignment using pin-through-points for crisp joins. magnetic frames for embroidery machine
Your Construction Quilt Journey: Next Steps and Resources What to Expect in Future Quilt-Along Lessons Continue producing the remaining rows to complete all 72 blocks. As you progress, keep motif colors consistent for legibility—bold signs, readable numerals, and contrasting borders help the “game board” read clearly.
Comprehensive List of Supplies for Your Project
- Embroidery machine and hoop (4x4 or 5x7)
- Cutaway stabilizer
- Front fabric: 100% cotton, percale linen, or quilters cotton
- Thin polyester batting (avoid high-loft)
- Threads in your chosen palette
- Temporary spray adhesive (e.g., 505)
- Curved-handle scissors for applique; rotary cutter and ruler for squaring
- Pins for assembly alignment
Watch out
- Keep pins well outside the active stitch path while joining blocks to avoid needle strikes. The tutorial emphasizes pushing pins along the stitch line (up or down), never sideways. brother embroidery machine
Optional gear research If you’re exploring alternative hooping tools beyond standard frames, many embroiderers research terms like these during planning: magnetic embroidery hoops and dime hoop. Use what best supports stable fabric and repeatable placement for your workflow. hoopmaster