Any guess on what I am up to??
If you guessed making a double ring quilt, you’d have guessed right. Â Our son is getting married in August and I asked what quilt they wanted me to make. Â His fiance doesn’t sew and said that she knew I’d be asking. Â She’d been online and saw that there was some kind of quilts for weddings called double wedding rings. Â Had I heard of it??? Â Ya…I’d heard of is and avoided it for years because of those curved seams.
Wanting to make them happy, I thought I would at least give it a try and yesterday was the day to start.
I wanted to give myself the best possibility of being successful so I bought this Double Wedding Ring Template
Sunday, I thought I better at least give it a try.  If it turned out to be more than I could handle, I could tell them and be able to make something else….  Well, I tried it and I didn’t hate it.  I wouldn’t say I loved it.  But..I didn’t hate it.  They requested the colors shown in the first photos or that’s at least what I deciphered from out talk.  The “yellow” is actually more gold colored.  She had requested gold, white and navy with navy being the dominate color.
I love the template set. Â All of the pieced parts fit on 2 1/2″ strips. Â I started cutting from my strip box first…then started in on cutting some fat quarters into strips.
IÂ have the gold pieces cut. Â Next up the neutrals…then the blue. Â I am determined to do just a little on this each day even if it’s just sewing a few seams or cutting a few pieces. Â Our daughters Kelli and Kayla are planning to come a weekend and we’ll all sew and sew and try to get a lot of it done. Â I am hoping to have it at least cut out by then.
There is a lot of work to this. Â It’s slow going as the pieces need to be marked. Â So far I have a couple hints if you want to make one. Â Tip #1: Â Invest in a rotary cutter with a small blade. Â It can buzz around those curved edges with no problem….Tip #2: Â Figure out how to NOT clench your teeth as cut. Â I have been clenching my teeth as I hold the template and cut around the shape. Â I’ve given myself a head ache!! Â UGH.
If any of you have made a double wedding ring quilt and have some hints for me, please pass them on.
To see what others are working on, check out Patchwork Times.  We have a giveaway going on here too.
Our 50th anniversary is in December. I am planning to make one for my hubby. I need to get started and will be following your progress.
I’ll be following your progress with real interest as this is on my quilt bucket list and is a little frightening but the finished result is so beautiful. I wish you well with it.
I’ve made one and hope to have it quilted by November. Of course I’ve been saying that for a few years. When I resumed making mine (it sat unfinished for YEARS), I discovered my frustration was due to inaccurate cutting. Once I had a set of templates made and had my pieces cut accurately the quilt went together much easier.
Good luck. It looks like it will be gorgeous.
Hi Jo,
Jenny from “sew kind of wonderful” has created the quick curve ruler and a pattern for the double wedding ring. It’s wicked fast because you use jelly roll strips instead of cutting each wedge…..you may want to check it out. I own the ruler..and a few of her patterns. Very easy.
Hi Joe. I’ve been trying to work with this template. But I advise you to try the Quick Curve Ruler. It’s easy and beautiful. Good luck and happiness. Galina from Russia.
Hi Jo I have seen this done with paper piecing for the arcs that would be easier on the cutting and more precise piecing.
On the table topper I made years ago we sewed some of the strips together and placed the template on the sewn/cut line. That way two sets of two pieces were sewn together before they were cut.
Hi Jo, your quilt looks F.A.B., When I made one of these quilts, albeit a small one, I put the various pieces in separate labeled containers. I reused small plastic boxes that fruit came in from the supermarket. I found it very helpful.
LLAP
Regards from not so sunny England
My friend just started one and she’s paper piecing with Judy Neimier’s pattern and also using the same templates you are. This is her second attempt at one and says using both tools helps a lot.
Hi Jo. The quilt looks beautiful. If you are having trouble with the templates slipping, try putting some clear first aid tape on the back. Good luck!
I was going to refer you to this new pattern: http://sewkindofwonderful.blogspot.com/2013/05/metrohere-we-come.html
BUT..you are already well on your way with cutting. My advice is to buy some two sided tape to put on the back of your templates (or some other grip tape). This will help with the accuracy of the cutting.
Jo, you are getting all kinds of advice that won’t help at this point, as you are well on your way to cutting the quilt pieces out, and now I am going to add to that, but Linda Franz/inklingo (no affilliation – I just use her products a lot) allows you to print your pieces on the back of the fabric. No templates necessary. Very easy. I am making the the Pickledish version of the Double WEdding Ring quilt and it makes all that cutting of all those little pieces so very easy.
If you want to take a peek, here’s a link to her “stuff”.
http://lindafranz.com/shop/double-wedding-ring-quilt/10
Good luck Love the colors.
When I attempted a wedding ring quilt, I “second guessed” the stitching line instructions. Then the arcs had odd curves in them and I had to go back and do it right. I made the small top into a tablecloth for my daughter and quit working on it.
I’m like you – this one scares me a bit. Your block is beautiful !! You are the BEST future mother-in-law ever. Please continue to post updates on this.
I had always wanted to make the double wedding ring quilt so, many years ago, I took a class for it. We had to buy a template for it also. After taking the class I decided that i didn’t want to make it anymore. Good luck with it. Your block looks wonderful!
I agree with Teri, some double-sided tape works wonders on keeping Marti’s templates in place while cutting. It is so cool that this is a family effort for your son and his fiancee and, more fun for you, too!
I haven’t made one of these yet, but would like to try. I have one little tip. To keep those templates from slipping while cutting use Nexcare flexible clear tape. A little piece on the back helps to stop the slippage and maybe help you stop gritting your teeth. It comes in a dispenser like scotch tape at Walgreens in the bandaid section. Not very expensive and will last a long long time. I have used it on all my rulers other than the Creative Grids. I swear by this tape. You are going to be a great MIL!
Yay! I’ve been waiting for this post. Sorry I chose such a difficult quilt Jo. Don’t give yourself a headache, I’ll love any quilt you give us. You are the best!
While you are in the drug store buying the Nexcare tape Kathy mentioned, get a nightguard for your teeth. I have one from my dentist that I wear at night (hence the name), but find that it really helps to wear it if you are stressed and grinding your teeth… Template makers would be smart to include those in their product lines…
Hi…I used to teach the DWR and used Shar Jorgenson’s templates. If you follow the pressing techniques you aren’t sewing against a seam. The sewing of the pieced arcs and sewing that to the melons are the easiest…gets a little harder when sewing that to the largest piece. If I can be of any help…e-mail me and I’ll give you my cell phone number. I’ve made 3 large ones…bed sized, 4 or 5 wall sizes and some miniature ones. I have one cut out…but I really have to be in the mood to tackle it. Good luck. Jolyn
one tip…be sure you all have the same 1/4″ seam allowance…it really makes a difference!
I use the sticky sandpaper dots on all of the backsides of my templates so that I don’t get clenched jaw syndrome. This quilt is also on my bucket list, so will be following along with interest as always.
Hi Jo
The templates you have worked great. I used the same set 8 years ago to make a wedding quilt for my daughter and son-in-law. I first started a wall hanging for myself to familiarize myself with the details of the project, then moved on to the wedding quilt with confidence, and a few year later finished my own wallhanging. It now hangs on my back hallway looking great. I did not do the pieced arcs due to time constraints. I would make it again (if requested) using the template set.
When using templates, I have found if I spray the back f them with KK2000, they do not slide around and it is easier to cut. I can usually cut 20 or so pieces before lightly spraying again.
I’ve made one, started in 1990 and finished in 2006. I was fairly inexperienced at the time but it turned out beautifully. All the pieces were scissor cut using homemade sandpaper templates and hand stitched. I hand quilted it with an original design which I call ‘daisies and darts’. I used our wedding rings to make a double circle in the center of the daisy. It’s a scrappy queen size. with a knife-edge, scallop and point finish.
Somewhere under my bed, in a box, is a DWR quilt top I made using the Mary Ellen Hopkins pattern from a good number of years ago. As you say about your templates, it was tedious to cut it all out, but everything fit correctly and went together very well. Someday it will be quilted, but somehow I just don’t feel comfortable doing it on the longarm yet because I think it deserves more than an all-over design.
I have a clenching problem too! Sometimes, I just stick my tongue between my teeth. That way I can’t clamp down! I have used the stick foam weather stripping to help small rulers grip. Use 2 – 4 small pieces. It really helps.
If you aren’t too far into this….I’d give Jenny’s ruler and pattern shot. http://WWW.sewkindofwonderful.blogspot.com. she just released her DWR pattern.
wow–I love the colors you have chose—-awesome—I don’t know that I have seen the dark fabric in the center—I love it…you have the most amazing sense of how a quilt should go…I love it too that you and two of your daughters will work on it together….so special for the new couple…..I have learned so much from reading your blog…..
I’ve made two using John Flynn’s book, several years ago. He adapts strip piecing techniques to the DWW pattern so you don’t have as many templates to deal with. But I think that any quilter can do this pattern, it just takes determination. It will be beautiful – good luck!
You are a brave soul! I don’t have any helpful hints as I am avoiding this kind of quilt too! LOL
Hi Jo, I know you aren’t going to like this post but Cheryl Phillips appeared on Simply Quilts several years ago with a “quick piecing” method using strip piecing and an arc template called “Rings That Bind”. Cheryl said she finished DWR Quilts for two children getting married the same summer. I made a full-bed size in less than a month (while working full time). I haven’t “finished” the quilt yet because I had to pack it up when DD & family moved back home so DD could return to school.
Good luck on this “family project”. I know you will do a wonderful job.
My ‘hint’ would be to not give up….which I know you and your daughters will not. I made a DWR many years ago using John Flynn’s templates and pattern. Along the way I said I would never make another and made it less then a single size….more like a large throw. Once I was done with it and had it all hand quilted I wished I would have made it larger. I really liked it once it was all quilted. I have it hanging on a wall quilt rack in the spare bedroom and really enjoy looking at it after all these years. I can’t wait to see how your colors look when you are all finished….I think it will be really nice.
I’ve made two king size quilts. One for each of our daughters for their weddings. I used the John Flynn method. Both were hand quilted by the amish. I will make one for us someday. They were beautiful. Two years apart!!! I have one hint you must use one machine so hour seams are all the same so the pieces fit, I learner from me using two different machines on the second one. Well worth the time.
I love your colors. This is going to be a gorgeous quilt
–C.B.