{Clam}Shell Game....

When I began this clamshell project, I was clueless on the construction of clamshell quilts.  I checked a few of my quilting books for guidance, but found little. There were templates for clamshells and a brief description but little else.

So I decided to explore different ways to put a clamshell quilt together.  Please, if you are a follower and have constructed a clamshell quilt, leave a comment on your preferred construction method.  This whole sharing of ideas {blogging} is much more fruitful if everyone shares their tips and suggestions.

My first inclination was to try piecing these beauties together using English Paper Piecing.  This was also the method suggested in the Ultimate Quilting Bible.  

Well...it works, but is a tad bit fiddly since the papers do not allow you to 'ease' in on the curves.  I will run through the steps I used briefly....

ENGLISH PAPER PIECING

First I traced my clamshell template onto freezer paper and cut out the shape.  Then I pressed the waxy side of the paper to the wrong side of my fabric and cut out 1/4 inch beyond the edge of the paper template.

      

I clipped the curves and then wrapped the excess fabric around the paper and stitched using a long basting stitch....

To attach the clamshells, I first finger pressed the clamshell in half....

Clamshells can have any arrangement as long as they fit together properly.  For my little experiment...I simply chose to use the more traditional arrangement.  The clamshells are next to one another and then the row below is center between the two clamshells above.  

With EPP, I treated piecing these together just as I would any curved piece.

So with the concave piece facing me, I pinned one end of the curve to the center of another clamshell and the other end of the curve to the end of the other clamshell.

     

As I mentioned, this is challenging because with the papers it is difficult to 'ease' in the fullness of the curve.  Use a whip stitch and connect the shells.

This is the order I used for English Paper Piecing the clamshells....

    

I found that using this method I needed to press anything that did not lay so smoothly into submission!  Of course, you can remove any papers once all sides of that piece is connected to other clamshells.

MACHINE PIECING

Next I tried to machine piece the clamshells.  Not an easy task.  The pieces are small and the curve is fairly tight.  I think this method would be much easier if you increased the size of the clams.

For machine piecing I traced the clamshell to the wrong side of the fabric and cut out on the pencil line {this resulted in a bit of a squatty clamshell so adding a 1/4 inch seam allowance would result in a better looking clamshell}.

I approached this the same way as EPP.  Have the concave piece toward you and pin the center and the ends...just exactly the same way I did the paper piecing.  The only difference is that I found it was easier to get a better looking center point if I stopped stitching about 1/4 inch from that center pointy part.  That way when I add the next clamshell I can lay all those seam allowances down to create a nicer point.  You will have to play with it and see how if works best for you.

This is not the method I would use.  Yikes!!!  

APPLIQUE METHOD

When I began playing with these clamshells, I received a comment from Alison of Cardygirl ...

She mentioned that she had done these and left the bottom curve open and just layered the next row to cover the curve! 

Well, a light bulb went off in my head and I thought - heck yes - applique these little clams!

I decided to use a foundation fabric and I was only doing a small test....so I cut a piece of fabric about 18" X 14".  I pressed 4 sections into my foundation fabric so I had lines to follow.

For this applique method, I traced my template onto the right side of the fabric and cut about 1/4 inch from the pencil line.  Again, I clipped the curves.  This time I used  Roxanne Glue-Baste-It to baste my top curve.

    

Simply fold the top curve around to the back and use a little dot of glue to baste...

 My pencil line was my guide for folding back and I used the basting glue to hold the clamshell once I had positioned it into place.

Use a good straw needle and applique only the top curve into place on the foundation fabric....

With the applique method, I stitched a row at a time.  Remember that the next row will lay on top of the bottom curve {hiding the pencil line} of the row above....

So what is the final assessment?  I love the clamshells!  All the color and the shape are right up my alley.  I most definitely prefer the applique method - thanks Alison!!!  And, while I only played around with a small sample, I can't wait to do a whole quilt full of colorful clamshells!!!!

After I had my foundation piece full of clams - I added some pick stitching with black perle cotton....

   

For a quilt, I would not leave the top with the foundation fabric showing....but this was a small piece and I decided I needed to do something with it....

What to do with this little sample?  I made a pillow!

I would love to hear from you if you have done a clamshell and your favorite method!

Happy Thursday!

mary