Welcome back to another post in our Quilting Shapes series! Today we’re talking tumblers – the tumbler is basically a trapezoid; it’s a rectangle with one short end being narrower than the other.
Making Tumbler Quilt Shapes
In order to create tumbler shapes out of fabric, there are several options available:
- Use a template you make yourself; trace and cut this template out of several pieces of fabric to sew them together for your project, or make the template out of freezer paper and iron it on. (Here’s a tutorial on making felt tumblers as an applique for a journal cover!)
- You can purchase a tumbler ruler at your local fabric shop; use this ruler as your template and cut around it with a rotary cutter just like you would use a traditional rotary cutter and quilting ruler combination.
- You can use a die cut machine, such as the Sizzix or AccuQuilt Go! to make tumbler shapes out of your fabric using a tumbler cutting die.
- You can also do these in English Paper Piecing style. Cut your templates out of paper, fold your fabric around the edges and hand-stitch them together. (Here’s a tutorial for using this concept to make hexagons; the process is the same for any shape.)
Options for Sewing Tumblers
- Sew several tumblers side-by-side to make rows of fabric.
- Sew the tumblers end-to-end (narrow ends together, then wide ends together) to make columns of fabric.
In either case, the tumbler takes the concept of patchwork up a notch, with a shape that’s more interesting than a square but not that much more difficult to combine to make a quilt top (or anything else you can stitch up!).
Do you have any questions or tips about using tumbler shapes in your quilting projects? Share them with us in the comments below!
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Comments & Reviews
Making my first quilt and chose a tumbler. Problem is getting the rows to match up. Trying to sew consistent size seams but just can’t seem to get it right. Any suggestions?
Hello Ann,
The first thing I would double check is your seam allowance. It is so important that you are achieving an accurate 1/4″ seam allowance. I would do a quick test and be sure to turn off the machine and check a few times for accuracy. Another point worth checking is cutting. It is easy to have the one cut piece be slightly smaller or larger than the next.
~Heather