Inklingo Castle Wall by Machine

castle wall quilt by machine

I couldn’t resist.

I wanted to try sewing Castle Wall by machine.

It is one formidable fortress of inset seams! Could I do it?

YES!

Isn’t it pretty?

Cotton Drapery Fabric

I fell in love with this drapery fabric. It is a little bit heavier than normal quilting cotton. Who could resist the colors and the movement in it? Not me.

Inklingo Window Template

The designs are big. I printed on scrap paper with Castle Wall 9 inch to make a window template, so I could preview the flowers. Some of them are small enough for the octagon.

Inklingo Freezer Paper Template for Fussy Cutting

FUSSY CUTTING

There are two Inklingo fussy cutting methods.

1. No Waste Fussy Cutting
I only have about 1.5 yards (two repeats of the design), and there is quite a bit of empty space (plain background), so this fabric is not suitable for the “no waste” method.

2. Traditional Fussy Cutting with Templates
This is the method that makes Swiss cheese of the fabric. It is more work and it is wasteful but it is worth it sometimes.

I printed the Inklingo octagon with no seam allowances on freezer paper to make the template, ironed it in position on the wrong side of the fabric (with a little help from my window template), added the seam allowances when I rotary cut, and drew the lines with a mechanical pencil. (Template tips.)

I prefer to print all of the shapes, but I can combine shapes with pencil lines with the shapes I print.

Print shapes on fabric with your Inkjet.

I printed three sheets of fabric using Inklingo Castle Wall 9 inch and Custom Page Sizes, using the info in the shape collection.

  • Cream background, Combo 2 (HST and Squares) — 7.75 x 9 inches
  • Pink Diamonds, Layout D — 4.75 x 10.5
  • Blue Trapezoids, Layout 1 — 7 x 8.25

I just used scraps and I did not use my favorite flower because I wasn’t sure I would love the results by machine. This was just supposed to be a test.

Rotary cut on the lines.

CUTTING

Rotary cut rows, stack the rows and cut 4 layers at a time.

No measuring or special templates. Fast.

Inklingo printed, cut, and ready to sew!

Ready to sew!

The fussy cutting took the longest, but I think it is time well spent. (Time with fabric is always well spent, isn’t it?)

Sew from crosshair to crosshair.

PINNING AND SEWING

I pin at the beginning and end of the seam and sew from crosshair to crosshair, taking one backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam. (Video below)

Sew through two layers.

I thought the intersection where a diamond meets the octagon and two squares might be tricky but I sewed toward the octagon and finger pressed the other seam allowances out of the way—and it worked perfectly!

I used the same sewing sequence as for hand pieced Castle Wall blocks, illustrated here.

All of the seams are the same length.

All of the seams are the same length, and the default stitch length fit well. (Notice that I sew beside the line for a scant 0.25 inch seam allowance.)

Inklingo pressing detail

PRESSING

Since I only sewed through two layers and NOT through the crossing seam allowances, I was able to leave all of the pressing to the end, just the way I do when I hand piece.

I used the same pressing method as for hand pieced Castle Wall blocks.

Inklingo Video - Hexagons by Machine

VIDEO

This video shows all of my best tips for machine piecing from crosshair to crosshair. The example uses hexagons but it is exactly the same for Castle Wall.

The video is on YouTube and on the Main Hexagon Page on the website (under the Shop tab).

Inklingo Castle Wall by Machine - Detail

I think my results by machine are just as good as they would have been by hand and it was fast!

The block is exactly 9.5 x 9.5 inches (9 inches finished), so my scant 0.25 inch seam allowances worked.

The precision corners and precise sewing lines printed with Inklingo made all the difference. It surprised me how well it worked.

I don’t think the results would have been as good if I had drawn all of the lines manually.

I could not have done it at all without precise crosshairs on the fabric to mark exactly where to start and stop stitching.

MORE CASTLE WALL LESSONS

I have added “How to Machine Piece Castle Wall” to the list of lessons on the Main Castle Wall Page.

“Attacking a Castle Wall” by machine was a great adventure. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

10 thoughts on “Inklingo Castle Wall by Machine”

  1. Lovely and for those that have the ability to machine embroider (or by hand) that middle spot would be a great place for an embroidered motif as well.

    I understand the temptation home decor fabric can be, plus combine it with my thrift store’s great pricing and I have a lovely big chunk of fabric with all sorts of interesting motifs. Seeing how yours works out makes me have the courage to know it will work out if I want to combine it with quilting cotton.

    Reply
  2. Hello Linda and Monkey,
    This is great, your seams are just perfect! I may give it a try, but I do love to sew by hand so well see.
    The drapery fabric is beautiful and I for one would not have
    resisted buying it for sure.

    Reply

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