Featured Products Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Nordic Star | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Patchwork Chore Coat PDF Pattern $20.00 Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1 customer rating Add to cart Latest from the blog Mini Heart Quilt Block | Free Pattern & TutorialThis mini heart quilt block is the first in a series of tutorials aimed at using up your scraps from the Graffiti Hearts quilt. This tutorial uses up the smallest scraps created from making the quilt. Heart finishes at 5″ wide by 3.75″ tall. The fun thing about this block is that it creates some super fun, funky hearts! You can choose whether the solid fabric will be the background or the heart itself, or make a few of each! If you haven’t made Graffiti Hearts, you can still make this mini heart quilt block! Just create some HSTs that are 1.75″ unfinished (1.25″ finished) and proceed from there. You’ll need (2) 4.5″ squares to create 8-at-a-time HSTs. Or dig through your scraps to create some unique HSTs! For 2-at-a-time HST construction, you’ll need (8) 2.5″ squares. Half of those should be your background fabric and half your heart fabric. For an in-depth HST how-to, check out this post. Supplies: (8) 1.75″ HSTs(1) 3″ x 1.75″ rectangle (heart center)(2) 1.75″ squares (background) How to make a mini heart quilt block: In the diagrams below, the caramel color is my background fabric, and the peach is my heart fabric. Check out a time-lapse of this block here! 1. Sew (4) HSTs together to create row one of your heart. Press all seams open. 2. Sew (2) HSTs together with the 3″ x 1.75″ rectangle to create row two of your heart. Press seams towards center rectangle. 3. Sew (2) HSTs and (2) 1.75″ background squares together to create row three of your heart. Press seams towards background squares. 4. Sew all three rows together, nesting seams when possible and pressing seams open. Your mini heart is complete! You can turn it into coasters (below) or use it on a zipper pouch or other small project. Or, make lots of them and sew them together for a fun wall hanging or pillow! How to turn the mini heart quilt block into a coaster: You’ll need… (2) 1.25″ x 5″ background strips(1) 5.5″ square for backingBatting scrap at least 6″ square How-to: 1. Sew a background strip to the top and bottom of the heart block. Press towards background fabric. 2. Baste the heart to a piece of batting and quilt as desired. Just the heart and batting, not the backing. 3. Trim to 5.5″ square. 4. Sew together the quilted heart and the backing fabric, right sides together. Leave a 2″ opening along one side for turning. 5. Clip corners and turn the coaster right side out. Press the coaster well. 6. Topstitch along the edge of the coaster to close the opening and complete the coaster. Shop Related Products: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart I used two of these mini heart quilt blocks to make this super cute boxy zipper pouch! I’m working on writing a pattern for this pouch that will come in two sizes. Stay tuned for more! You might also like: How to Make Fabric Tape Tree Garland Table Runner | Free Tutorial Mini Quilted Zipper Pouch Tutorial Quilted Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial... Read more...Graffiti Hearts | A Quilt PatternMeet Graffiti Hearts! The latest Patchwork and Poodles pattern! Graffiti Hearts is a super fun mockprov quilt pattern. This means that although the hearts look like they are improv based, they’re not! There’s step-by-step color diagrams in the pattern to achieve this quilt. PLUS, it is even easier than you think! Shop Related Products: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts is the second quilt in the Mockprov Quilt Series. The first was Concrete Jungle. Don’t they look like such a fun pair together? Graffiti Hearts comes with three sizes: pillow, baby, and throw. It uses 11 colors plus background for a total of 12 fabrics in the quilt. The many fabrics are what help Graffiti Hearts to look like improv! Even though it needs many fabrics, you don’t require a lot of yardage for each one, so it is a good pattern to make from your stash! Because of its improv-look, Graffiti Hearts is also a great quilt to use up scraps. Instead of yardage, you can use different similarly-toned fabrics and cut the required number of pieces from those. I made this quilt entirely from my stash. I wish I could detail out for you all the fabric names, but I’m not honestly even sure of them all. There’s a mixture of PBS Fabrics, Cloud 9, Moda, Riley Blake Designs, and Kona cottons! Truly all the fabric companies in there! I will say that the background is Kona Spice. I love this color a lot, it is a lovely rust-orange that is darker than Kona Cedar (which I also love). That’s a good place to start if you want to recreate this quilt. Then add in a navy, dark teal, light teal, lavendar, honey, coral, white, mustard, pink, light blue, and green and you’ll be there! I chose to quilt this quilt with Aurifil 50 weight in #2390 in a 1.5″ grid pattern. The grid helped to emphasize the bold design of the hearts. Aurifil #2390 was a near-perfect match for the background of this quilt (Kona Spice) and blended in really well. For the backing, I used an old Cotton & Steel lawn fabric from my stash. The windows and brick walls on the backing fabric worked well with the graffiti theme, and the windows themselves had hints of teal, coral, and orange, which coordinated perfectly with the front of the quilt. Plus, lawn fabric is just so soft that this quilt already has a wonderful drape, even though it hasn’t been washed yet! I machine bound this quilt for time saving. I find that the way I machine bind works well with grid quilting, so it was an easy decision to make. If you want to get better at machine binding, check out this helpful post. Find out more about Graffiti Hearts with this short video! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Patchwork & Poodles (@patchworkandpoodles) Shop Graffiti Hearts: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart In my search for some outdoor quilt pictures, I found this crazy mural. I don’t know how I had never seen it before, and there was SO much going on here. It was perfect for the crazy atmosphere of Graffiti Hearts! It is outside a pizza shop, which is why there’s flying pizza slices. And a cow getting abducted by aliens? And rabbits that shoot laser beams out of their eyes! The more I look at it the more I laugh. What a great wall! If you’ve made it to here, I want to take a moment to say thank you! Thanks for supporting Patchwork & Poodles as I head into my third year and 15th (!!) pattern release. When I started this business, I truly didn’t imagine this level of support for my patterns and creations. Thank you for reading the blog, sewing up my tutorials, buying my patterns, the likes, shares, and comments on social media, YouTube views, and general support! This business has made a difference in the lives of my husband and I in ways we never thought it would. It allowed us breathing space in a time we needed it. It provided me a creative outlet when life was really stressful. It has stretched me, pushed me, and grown me as a person and a creative. I’ve got so many exciting things planned for 2022, and none of it would be possible without you. So thank you! I’ve also been working on a monochrome version of Graffiti Hearts. This quilt used 11 fabrics but all in the same color family (coral) for a more muted look. I’m enjoying this coral version immensely! I’m currently hand-quilting it with a baptist fan motif but plan to write more about it when it is completed. For now, if you’re interested in creating a monochrome version of Graffiti Hearts, I’ve written a blog post with helpful tips and tricks. You might also like: Creating a Monochrome Graffiti Hearts Quilt Nutcracker Suite Baby | A Free Quilt Pattern Bear Path | A Quilt Pattern Spyglass | A Quilt Pattern... Read more...Creating a Monochrome Graffiti Hearts QuiltWhen I first designed Graffiti Hearts, I went all BRIGHT and BOLD with my color choices. I wanted the hearts to be a showstopper of a block, and I love the resulting quilt. I like to showcase the range of a pattern, so in making more Graffiti Hearts quilts with different color variations, I decided to make a monochrome Graffiti Hearts quilt. Shop Graffiti Hearts: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Making a Monochrome Graffiti Hearts Quilt: Graffiti Hearts uses 11 colors plus background for a total of 12 fabrics in your quilt top. To create a monochrome Graffiti Hearts quilt, you’ll first have to pick your main color. I decided to go full-on Valentine’s with my choice of coral. I then pulled 11 different coral fabrics from my stash. I specifically looked for all shades of coral, ones that range more pink, ones that range more orange, as well as light and dark. This technique works for prints and solids, so I used prints! One tip is to pull more than 11 fabrics if you can. I started with 14 shades, and I pulled out the 3 that were not needed once I started organizing the fabrics. One stuck out as being too different from the rest, and the other two had color values that were too similar to other fabrics I preferred. Organize your fabrics in lightest to darkest order. This is the fabric color that is associated with each shade: With a monochrome Graffiti Hearts quilt, it is extremely helpful to label each fabric color so you don’t get them mixed up. Once I had all my fabrics laid out in lightest to darkest, I started pulling them out one by one to label them. I paid attention to which colors get paired together for HSTs, flying geese, and the strip sets. Because each ombre will be slightly different, it is worth evaluating each pair as you label them. If you feel a pair is too close in saturation value to each other, try swapping for the fabric next to it in the color order. Here’s the pairs to be aware of: Color 1 & Color 2 : Half Square Triangles (HSTs)Color 3 & Color 4: Flying GeeseColor 5 & Color 6: Strip SetsColor 7 & Color 8: Strip Sets For example, in my coral version, I found that my flying geese fabrics looked too similar to each other, so instead of doing colors 1-5-4-11-7… in light to dark, I ended up doing 4-1-5-11-7… Moving color 4 from the third lightest fabric to the lightest fabric in the bunch made the flying geese values better. So once you have your ombre figured out, feel free to deviate! This blog post is mainly your starting point to help you get there. Here was my mock-up once I had finalized my color order: And don’t forget, Graffiti Hearts is meant to look like improv. So if you accidentally switch fabrics around or mess up in any way, as long as your blocks end up the right size, no one is ever going to know! Graffiti Hearts is available in my shop in both paper and PDF formats. It comes with instructions for pillow, baby, and throw sizes. Shop Graffiti Hearts: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart You might also like: Graffiti Hearts | A Quilt Pattern Misty Mountains | A Quilt Pattern Bear Path | A Quilt Pattern Creating an Ombre Nordic Star Quilt... Read more...2021 Year in ReviewHappy New Year! Here’s my 2021 Year in Review! I love doing these Year in Review posts because they allow me to reflect back on the accomplishments of the previous year. I always feel a lot of pride when I see how little steps, taken every day can result in such a beautiful outcome at the end of a year. PS: Use my FREE Printable Quilt Tracker to track your WIPs! It makes it so easy to see what you accomplish in a year! For previous years in review, see: 202020192018 In 2021, I finished 12 quilts, 6 quilt coats, released 4 quilt patterns, 1 course, 1 coat pattern, and 2 bunting patterns. The Patterns: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart The Quilts: Most of these have their own blogpost, so click on the caption to read more about them! Woven Hearts Cover Quilt Stay Gold Woven Hearts Quilt Bear Path Wall Hanging Stars & Stripes Beachy Quilt Everglow Cover Quilt Starlite Scrappy Quilt Nordic Star Cover Quilt Mauve Improv King Quilt Baby Spyglass Quilt Starlite Cover Quilt Wonderie Cover Quilt Misty Mountains Baby Quilt The Coats: All of these have their own blogpost, so click on the caption to read more about them! Lone Star Version Harvest Star Version Modern Crossing Version Cirrus Version Spyglass Version Misty Mountains Version The Buntings: These have their own blogpost, so click on the caption to read more about them! Boo! Bunting Joy! Bunting Not to mention the many FREE tutorials that happened both here on the blog and on Youtube this past year! I also hosted the Starlite Quilt Along and made progress on my many, many WIPs. I’m very proud of my 2021 Year in Review, a lot happened this year both professionally and personally that made this year a memorable one. I don’t know what 2022 has in store for me this year but I can’t wait to find out! Cheers! You might also like: 2020 Year in Review... Read more...Lone Star Quilted Christmas Stocking TutorialI’m constantly brainstorming ways to use my Free Tutorials in new ways, and this lone star quilted Christmas stocking is no exception! I remember falling in love with Lone Star quilts right at the beginning of my quilting journey. I loved them – and yet was intimidated by them. Finally, FINALLY, after many years, I made my first lone star quilt, and since then have also made a Lone Star quilt coat! And now, the fun continues with a lone star quilted Christmas Stocking! This tutorial will show you how to make a lone star quilt block that finishes at 14.5″ that works beautifully on a large quilted Christmas stocking. Once you’ve made your block, you’ll want to go to the Christmas Stocking Tutorial post for full assembly instructions. Materials for the Quilted Christmas Stocking: Background fabric: 1/2 yard. Cut the following:(1) 19″ x 18″ rectangle for stocking back(4) 6″ squares, cut in half on the diagonal to create (8) total triangles(4) 4.5″ squares, cut in half on the diagonal to create (8) total triangles(1) 3.5″ x 15.5″ rectangleLone Star fabrics: (5) total fabrics. Colors 1 and 5: (1) 1.5″ x 21″ stripsColors 2 and 4: (2) 1.5″ x 21″ strips Color 3: (3) 1.5″ x 21″ stripsLining fabric: 1/2 yard (5/8 yard if using a directional print)Batting: 1/2 yard batting (or batting scraps larger than your stocking template – frankenbatt some together!)1/2″ Twill tape for hanging: 6″ lengthLarge Stocking Template2.5″ x 19″ rectangle for binding Sewing Supplies You’ll Need: Sewing MachineThread ScissorsStraight pinsIron and Ironing boardBasting spray Instructions for 14.5″ Lone Star block: First, we’ll construct our lone star block. 1. Separate out your 1.5″ strips into three piles with the following combinations: Strip set 1: Colors 1, 2, and 3Strip set 2: Colors 2, 3, and 4Strip set 3: Colors 3, 4, and 5 2. Sew the strips together into strip sets, offsetting the strips by about 1.25″. Press all seams open. 3. Cut the strip set on a 45 degree angle to create diamonds. Cut each strip of diamonds to 1.5″. You’ll need (8) strips of diamonds from each of the 3 strip sets for a total of 24 diamond strips. Set extra fabric aside. 4. So far, so good? Now we’re starting on the “meat” of our lone star. This is the trickiest part, getting the diamond points to line up. We’re going to help ourselves out with some basting stitches. Take the strip set 2 pieces (the ones with color 2, 3, and 4) and sew 1/4″ basting stitches on either side of the diamonds. Be gentle and try not to stretch them out (bias edges like to stretch!). I like to use a 3.5 stitch length. Something long enough to easily rip out later but not so big it will start to ruffle my fabrics. It is important for your basting stitches to be at 1/4″ seam allowance. 5. Lay out a piece from strip sets 1-3 together to form your diamond shape. We’re going to start with a piece from strip set 1 and place a piece from strip set 2 next to it making sure the pattern is correct. Place the piece from set 2 on top of the piece from set 1, right sides together, and line up the top edge of the fabrics. Place a pin through the first seam intersection at the place where your basting stitches indicate 1/4″, making sure the pin goes through the intersection on the second fabric as well and pin in place. Repeat with the next seam intersection. You may also wish to use a dab of glue in place of the pins. 6. Sew the two pieces together with a regular stitch length, removing out pins as you go. Once you’ve finished sewing, check your seam on the front of the fabric and make sure your diamonds line up correctly. If they don’t, seam rip and try a second time. Don’t get frustrated, it can take a few tries to really get the hang of it! When you’re seam ripping or handling the pieces, be mindful that they are on the bias and take it gently! Once you’re happy with your points, press the seam open, taking care not to stretch out the fabrics. 7. Repeat steps 5-6 with all of the strip set 1 and 2 pieces, then again for adding on the strip set 3 pieces. You should now have 8 large diamonds consisting of 9 diamonds in each. 8. When you have all 8 diamonds, you now have to decide which way to construct your lone star, and sew it to the background fabric. You can have either Color 1 or Color 5 in the center of your star. 9. Each diamond will get half of a small background square (4.5″ cut on the diagonal) and half of a large background square (6″ cut on the diagonal) sewn to it. This allows us to construct our star without Y seams. Start with the small (4.5″) background square half and line up the bias edge with colors 3, 4, and 5 on your diamond. Line up the background with diamond color 3, so that it extends past color 3 by 1/4″. sew together and press seam towards background square. 10. Line up half of the large 6″ square with colors 3, 4, and 5 on your diamond. You’re essentially creating a larger triangle. Line up the non bias 6″ edge with diamond, so that the fabric extends by 1/4″ on the color 3 side. Don’t worry about your background pieces lining up, we’ll be trimming those down to size later. Press seam towards background fabric. 11. Repeat steps 9-10 with the remaining diamonds and background pieces. Half the pieces will be mirror images, see the photo below for fabric placements. 12. On 4 of your lone star triangles, add basting stitches along the diamonds. Similar to above when we were constructing the diamonds, these basting stitches will help us align the pieces of our block together. 13. Sew together (2) triangles to form a square, lining up the seam intersections on the lone star points as we did above. We’ll be sewing on the bias edge of the large 6″ background square. Press seam open. Repeat until you now have 4 squares to finish assembling your block with. 14. Sew all 4 squares together to complete the lone star block. Press seams open. Then Trim the lone star block down. You may choose to only leave 1/4″ above all the lone star points, but since I’m turning it into a stocking, I chose to leave as much background fabric as possible and trim it to an even 15.5″. 15. To turn the lone star block into a stocking, add the background 3.5″ x 15.5″ strip to the bottom of the star. Then place your pattern on top to make sure you have enough fabric to cover the pattern. Baste and quilt your lone star to batting to create the front of your stocking. Then baste and quilt the 19″ x 18″ background rectangle for the back of your stocking, and follow the instructions in the original tutorial for stocking construction. The tutorial doesn’t specify a seam allowance. If you like a narrower, more slender stocking, stitch it together with 1/2″ seam allowance. This lone star stocking was sewn with 1/2″ seam allowance, while the one in the original tutorial was stitched with a 1/4″ seam allowance. If you want to create a stocking without binding the top, as I did for this particular stocking, keep reading below for those modifications. Modifying the Pattern without Binding: Instead of binding the top edge, as I did in the original tutorial, I liked the look of this lone star Christmas stocking without binding. If you want to do this too, here’s how to modify the pattern: 1. Add 1/2″ seam allowance to the top of the the stocking pattern. This step is optional, but if you’re using the stocking pattern for multiple stockings and some will have binding and some won’t, this will make them all the same height when completed. 2. Follow the original tutorial to create your stocking lining. Keep an opening about 3-4″ on the stocking lining. You’ll need this to be able to turn your stocking right side out later. I like to do mine on a straight stretch, like right above the heel. 3. Once your stocking exterior is sewn together and the twill tape is basted in place and your stocking lining has been created, stuff your stocking exterior into the lining, right sides together. Pin or clip in place. 4. Sew the top edge shut with a 1/2″ seam allowance. 5. Turn the stocking right side out through the opening you left in the stocking lining. Press the top edge well. 6. Stitch the lining opening closed, then stuff the lining into the stocking. Press the top edge well, so that the lining is hidden when looking at the stocking from the outside. 7. Topstitch the top edge of the stocking to keep the lining in place. Your quilted Christmas stocking is complete! You might also like: Small Lone Star Christmas Stocking Tutorial Tree Garland Table Runner | Free Tutorial Dog Bowtie | A Tutorial Sashiko Zipper Pouch | A Tutorial... Read more...Small Lone Star Christmas Stocking Tutorial“Once you start, you just can’t stop” is how I currently feel about Lone Stars. After making a lone star quilt, I made a Lone Star quilt coat and a large lone star Christmas stocking tutorial! I loved the large stocking so much that I decided to make an even smaller lone star for my small stocking pattern! This tutorial will show you how to make a lone star quilt block that finishes at 10.5″ with no Y seams that works beautifully on a small Christmas stocking. Once you’ve made your block, you’ll want to go to the Christmas Stocking Tutorial post for full assembly instructions. Materials for the Small Lone Star Christmas Stocking: Background fabric: 1/2 yard. Cut the following:(4) 5″ squares cut in half on the diagonal to create (8) total triangles(4) 4″ squares cut in half on the diagonal to create (8) total triangles(1) 5″ x WOF strip(2) 2″ x WOF stripsLone Star fabrics: (5) total fabrics: Colors 1 and 5: (1) 1.25″ x 21″ stripsColors 2 and 4: (2) 1.25″ x 21″ strips Color 3: (3) 1.25″ x 21″ stripsLining fabric: 1/3 yard (1/2 yard if using a directional print)Batting: 1/3 yard (or batting scraps larger than your stocking template – frankenbatt some together!)1/2″ Twill tape for hanging: 6″ lengthSmall Stocking Template2″ x 13.5″ rectangle for binding Sewing Supplies You’ll Need: Sewing MachineThread ScissorsStraight pinsIron and Ironing boardBasting spray Instructions for 10.5″ Lone Star block: 1. Separate out your 1.25″ strips into three piles consisting of the following combinations: Strip set 1: Colors 1, 2, and 3Strip set 2: Colors 2, 3, and 4Strip set 3: Colors 3, 4, and 5 2. Sew the strips together, offsetting them by about 1″. Press all seams open. 3. Cut the strips on a 45 degree angle to create diamonds. Cut each strip of diamonds to 1.25″. You’ll need (8) strips of diamonds from each of the 3 strip sets. Set extra fabric aside. 4. Now here’s the tricky part – sewing the diamond strips to each other. The trickiest part is getting the points to match up. Take the strip set 2 pieces (the ones with color 2, 3, and 4) over to your machine. Sew 1/4″ basting stitches on either side of the diamonds. Be gentle and try not to stretch them out. I like to use a 3.5 stitch length. Something long enough to easily rip out later but not so big it will start to ruffle my fabrics. FYI: the next few photos are from the large stocking tutorial, as the process is the same. Just remember your color order and you should be able to follow along. 5. Take a piece from strip set 1 and lay it down on your work surface. Place a piece from strip set 2 next to it making sure the pattern is correct. Place the piece from set 2 on top of the piece from set 1 and line up the fabrics. place a pin through the first seam intersection at the place where your basting stitches indicate 1/4″, and pin in place. Repeat with the next seam intersection. You may also wish to use a dab of glue in place of the pins. 6. Bring to your machine and sew the two pieces together with a regular stitch length, taking out pins as you go. Once completed, check your seam on the front of the fabric and make sure your pieces line up correctly. If they don’t, seam rip and try again. Once satisfied with your points, press the seam open, taking care not to stretch out the fabrics. (Use the arrows to slide through all the images). 7. Repeat the process with the strip set 3 pieces to complete your lone star diamonds. 8. Once all 8 diamonds are completed for your star, it is time to sew it together to the background fabric. Take one diamond and line up (1) background triangle from the 4″ squares, bias edge of the background triangle with the diamonds in color 3-5. The background triangle should have a 1/4″ point that extends past the color 3 fabric, and will be longer than lone star diamonds. All excess should be on the color 5 side. Sew together and press seam towards background fabric. 10. Align a large background triangle (from the 5″ squares) with the piece from step 9. Line up the 5″ side with colors 3-5 on the lone star diamond, forming a large triangle piece. the background fabric should extend 1/4″ past color 3, with extra fabric on the color 5 side. Do not stretch fabric and do not try to make the background pieces match up, they will be trimmed straight later on. Stitch together and press towards background fabric. 11. Continue for remaining (7) lone star diamonds, creating 8 large triangles to sew together. Keep in mind that you will have 2 sets of 4 diamonds each, which are mirror images of each other. 12. Add basting stitches to half of the diamonds in your lone star, similar to what we did in the beginning. This will help line up the lone star pieces together. 13. Sew two of the units from step 12 together to form a square. Press seam open. Repeat until you have 4 squares. 14. Sew two of the squares together to form half of a lone star. Repeat to form a second half. Trim each half to 6.75″ x 13″. 15. For this stocking, instead of sewing the whole lone star together, I sewed two halves and used each half for one side of the stocking. Once you have two star halves, assemble each half like the diagram below. Remember that you’ll need to create mirror images if you want the illusion that your lone star continues on to the back of the stocking. 16. Baste each lone star half to batting and quilt as desired. Then continue to the original tutorial to finish assembling your lone star Christmas stocking. One thing to note, is that the original tutorial doesn’t specify a seam allowance. If you prefer a skinnier stocking, sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance. That’s what I did with the stocking in this post. If you prefer a wider stocking, use 1/4″ seam allowance. Modifying the Lone Star Christmas Stocking Pattern without Binding: I didn’t want to take away from the lone star motif, so instead of binding the stocking as I did in the original tutorial, finished the stocking without binding. If you want to do this too, here’s how to modify the pattern: 1. Add 1/2″ seam allowance to the top of the the stocking pattern. This is optional, but if you’re using the stocking pattern for multiple stockings and some will have binding and some won’t, this will make them all the same height when completed. You should have enough wiggle room with the lone star measurements above to cut out your stocking pieces with the additional 1/2″. 2. Create the stocking lining following the original tutorial, however, keep an opening about 3-4″ on the stocking lining. I like to do mine right above the heel. This will allow you to turn your stocking right side out. 3. Once you’ve sewn together your stocking exterior and the twill tape is basted in place, stuff your stocking into the lining, right sides together. The lining should be wrong side out. Pin or clip in place. 4. Sew all around the top edge with a 1/2″ seam allowance. 5. Turn the Christmas stocking right side out through the opening you in the stocking lining. 6. Stitch up the hole left in the lining, then place the lining inside the stocking. Press the top edge well, I like to make sure that the lining is hidden when looking at the stocking from the outside. 7. Topstitch the top edge of the stocking at about 1/8″ to keep the lining in place. You might also like: Lone Star Quilted Christmas Stocking Tutorial Aurifil November Project: Holiday Stocking Christmas Tote Bags | A Finished Project Nutcracker Suite | A free quilt pattern... Read more...Rifle Paper Co. Holiday Nordic Star QuiltMy patterns are in the works for a very long time before they make it into your hands. Back in February 2021, when I already had this pattern in the works and I was working on writing the instructions, I fell in love with the Rifle Paper Co. Holiday Classics collection. I’m already a big fan of Rifle Paper Co. fabrics, and this one was no exception. I love how classic and victorian it feels, all while having whimsical Nutcracker references. Shop Nordic Star: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart No sooner had I seen the collection then I mocked up a holiday Nordic Star quilt. All the heart eyes for this one you guys. Instead of using the ombre fabric requirements in the pattern, I wanted to make each block out of a different fabric from the collection. This would allow me to use this collection to its fullest. If you want to do this too, you’ll need a 3/8 yard cut of fabric for each block. You can find more detailed information in this post. Even though I wasn’t using every print in the collection (there’s an astonishing 29 prints in the collection and Nordic Star only has 20 blocks) I bought a half-yard bundle with plans for using up the remaining 1/8 yd of the prints I did use, as well as using up the remaining 1/2 yd prints. Because the throw size Nordic Star has 20 blocks, and the coordinating lap size of Wonderie has 21 blocks, I chose an additional print from the collection to make the final Wonderie block. I love how well this collection lends itself to an ombre gradient, even though at first glance you wouldn’t think it would. I set the blocks to go from dark red to dark green, with lighter colors fading into the neutrals of the collection. With the remaining fabrics, I’m planning a Starlite quilt. Starlite is already so scrap friendly that it lended itself beautifully to using up all the bits leftover from this holiday Nordic Star quilt. I knew that I wanted to use the reds and greens for the stars: very Christmas, very traditional. Very different from the other holiday quilts I’ve made in the past, if I’m being honest! This left me with the decision to either use all the blue prints as the “chain” part of the quilt (Color 3) or the remaining white/cream fabrics. I mocked up both and ultimately liked the white ones better. In an effort to make sure the chain wouldn’t get lost among the background fabric, I chose a light blue fabric for the background. In person, this fabric has a slight green undertone that matches really well with the holiday fabric collection. I did purchase extra of the Festive Stripe fabric from the collection to bind my Nordic Star and Wonderie quilts. Note that the stripes on this fabric run selvage to selvage, meaning if you want to use it for binding, you’ll want to purchase at least a yard and cut it parallel with the selvage or be okay with LOTS of binding ends. I decided for the Starlite quilt not to buy additional binding. My plan is to use a fabric from the collection that didn’t make it into any of the quilts or create a scrappy binding. I have yet to cut into these fabrics because I’ve been hard at work on my blue Ombre and Unruly Nature Nordic Star versions, but it is my next project! I’m fairly certain when I’m done there will be some prints I haven’t used at all – the light blue prints spring immediately to mind – so I will need to figure out a project for those at some point. However, three quilts out of one 1/2 yard bundle seems like a pretty amazing amount to me, and I’m really, really excited about this one. Fingers crossed I can finish them all before the holidays! Shop Related Products: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart You might also like: Nordic Star Ombre Quilt Creating an Ombre Nordic Star Quilt Christmas Tote Bags | A Finished Project All About the Nordic Star Quilt!... Read more...Joy Bunting: Holiday Quilted Buntings SeriesThe Joy Bunting pattern is the second in the Holiday Quilted Bunting series. We’ve had a halloween bunting (Boo!) and now our holiday bunting (JOY!) and still to come, Valentine’s Day and Easter! The Joy Bunting pattern is a super fun make to decorate your house. You can hang it on the mantle, your wall, or even a stair railing! Shop Holiday Quilted Bunting Patterns: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart The Joy Bunting Pattern comes with instructions for 5 blocks (J, O, Y, Tree, and Star) as well as assembly information for turning those blocks into a bunting. It also comes with block sizing so you can reuse the blocks in other fun projects! These blocks are very versatile. Use them in a table runner or a set of placemats. Use the letters to make monogramed stockings. I’m working on some fun tutorials to use the bunting blocks in other ways (stay tuned!) JOY Bunting Pattern Information: The Joy Bunting pattern is written for a confident beginner. The pieces are sewn traditionally, which means no foundation paper piecing. However, some of the pieces are quite small, and you need a fairly accurate seam allowance so everything fits together in the end. That being said, the pattern comes with step-by-step video tutorials on making each of the blocks and assembling them into a bunting. So if you can sew a 1/4″ seam allowance, go for it! If you’re not sure if you’re sewing an accurate 1/4″ seam, this video can help. The Joy Bunting is flexible in order to fit your space. You can choose to only make the letters, or one tree or two trees, or two trees and one star… you get the idea. For a longer bunting than the 7 blocks shown in this one, you’ll just need more bias binding and a bit more fabric. This fun pattern is available in my shop! Want to see more of the holiday quilted bunting series? Check out the Boo Bunting blog post! Shop Related Products: Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | PAPER $12.00 Add to cart JOY Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart Quilt Coat Course – NO PATTERN $78.95 Read more Boo Bunting | PDF $10.00 Add to cart You might also like: Quilted Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial Nutcracker Suite | A free quilt pattern Boo Bunting: Holiday Quilted Buntings Aurifil November Project: Holiday Stocking... Read more...Gift Guide 2021I’ve wanted to do a gift guide for a few years now, and this year is the year I finally got all my ducks in a row on time! Here’s some of my favorite things, maybe you’ll find something on here for someone on your list! This Gift Guide 2021 isn’t comprehensive. Instead, it is a list of things I’ve been loving and enjoying this year, in the hopes it inspires you as well. These things aren’t quilting related, but I know as quilters we don’t always have the time to make something ourselves for everyone on our list! For Your Dog: Everyone knows Riley gets spoiled! Here’s his (and our) favorite things: Dog treats from Unleashed Naturals. These freeze-dried dog treats are made in small batches using human-grade meats. Single ingredient and high quality – something we feel good about giving to Riley. A new toy is always fun! Riley loves his lambchop toy, especially with the really loud and fun squeaker inside. To beat boredom, we like to pull out a game or two from Outward Hound. The Dog Brick (pictured below) is our favorite, but we like the Kibble Wobble. A snuffle mat is also a fun way to beat the winter blues and make meal time fun. You can make your own with a rubber mat and fleece remnants, or buy one from a small business! For a Tea & Coffee Lover: A handmade ceramic mug! Pair one with the recipient’s favorite tea or coffee for the ultimate gift! You can find potters on Etsy or online. Here are two of my favorites. I love my recent mug/tea set from Blank Earth Ceramics. The three-piece set comes with a mug, strainer, and lid/saucer. (Please note: this ships from the UK and is made-to-order. Mine took about a month from order to doorstep). I also really like my handmade mugs from Keith Brymer Jones and use one every morning for my morning coffee. (Please note, these ship from the UK.) I enjoy trying new tea blends and coffees. We love Fava Tea Company for flavorful quality teas! For Those Who Like to Cook: When I’m not sewing, I’m cooking! Here’s some of my favorites: Le Creuset Cookware. This stuff is pricy, but I’ve had my pieces for about 10 years now and they look and work as well as the day we got them! (Pictured is the Harry Potter Le Creuset that came out this year!) Better yet, if you live near an outlet, you can get great deals on pieces. We’re a Penzey’s Cinnamon family over here, but all the spices from Penzey’s are high quality and delicious. Their hot cocoa mix is also a favorite in this household. Penzey’s gift boxes are a fun and useful present for your favorite cook. I like Williams-Sonoma for their selection of tools, speciality spice blends and mixes. I have two Emile Henry pie dishes and they’re absolutely lovely. Nice even heat, and they look fabulous from oven to table. Stocking Stuffers: I’m currently head over heels for Hot Chocolate Bombs. You can make your own using my Ultimate Guide, or find some in your local area. Coffee shops are a great place to start if you don’t know who is selling them around you. (Pro tip: Don’t actually put them in your stockings if you use your fireplace! Chocolate melts!) Still Want to go Handmade? Sew something small! A zipper pouch or a smaller item can be a great gift! Find some ideas in my Scrap Sewing blog post. Still looking for more? I have a Freebies page with lots of free tutorials and ideas. Don’t have time for sewing? Make a kit! This is perfect for your overflowing scrap bin! You might also like: Christmas Tote Bags | A Finished Project Holiday Throw Pillows | A Finished Project Aurifil November Project: Holiday Stocking... Read more...How to Make Fabric TapeComing at you today with a super fun, super FAST tutorial. You don’t even need to break out your sewing machine for this one! Let’s learn how to make fabric tape. I started making fabric tape a few years ago because I hate to throw out scraps! Hey, you paid for that entire yard of fabric, didn’t you? Let’s make it all work for you the best it can! Fabric tape a super easy way to use up the too-small-to-sew-with scraps in your life. I usually will save up a bunch of scraps from different projects in a small bag, and once that bag is relatively full, I’ll dedicate a little bit of time to making fabric tape! So what exactly is fabric tape? It is pretty much what you’d expect it to be – tape, that’s made of fabric. In our case, specifically, you end up sprucing up double-sided carpet tape with your little fabric scraps to create beautiful tape! I like to use my fabric tape when packing up orders, sending letters, or wrapping gifts. I’ve seen tutorials for fabric tape that have you start with 2″ wide strips of fabric and create a ton of the same tape. My method is slightly different. I want you to use up all the little bits of fabric you’d normally throw away and turn them into something pretty! Let’s get started! Supplies: Fabric tape relies on having the right kind of tape to start with. You need a tape that is strong and durable enough to really hold on to the fabric you stick on top. You also want a tape that is double sided, with one side stuck to removable paper. That way, you can make a bunch of tape all at once and then use it whenever you’re ready. Double Sided Carpet Tape – I prefer this Duck brand indoor varietySmall fabric scraps – I use anything that is at least 3/8″ wide by 2″ long. They can be bigger/longer/wider, but try not to use anything smaller than this.Iron and ironing boardRuler, mat, and a dull rotary cutter How To Make Fabric Tape: First, pull out all of your scraps and give them a press with your iron. You want them to lay nice and flat with no wrinkles so that they create smooth fabric tape. Then, separate out your scraps by width/length. This helps when placing the scraps on the tape to end up with less unused tape. Unroll a small portion of the double sided tape, sticky side up. Start placing your fabric scraps on top, being careful not to overlap them. You want to end up with a single layer of fabric covering the tape. I like to run my finger along the fabric to make sure it is stuck to the tape. Carpet tape is really sticky! Be mindful when you’re positioning your scraps, you won’t be able to lift them off the tape to reposition, so know where you’re going to put stick the fabric before sticking it down. The first few are a little tough because there’s no good place for your fingers as you work. But once you have a few pieces of fabric stuck down, you’ll notice it is easier to work. Once you’ve stuck down all your scraps, it is time to cut them out! Because of the way the tape is created, and because it is sticky (it is tape, after all) I find a rotary cutter far superior to scissors to cut out my fabric tape. Make sure you’re using a rotary blade that you don’t want to use for fabric! Once you cut tape out with it, it won’t cut your fabric. I have several rotary cutters for quilting, and I designated this yellow handled one for paper and other misc. projects. Which means I always know this one is not for fabric. I find that a blade that is dull for fabric actually still cuts paper well. So when you swap out your dull blade for a new one, consider keeping it for papercrafts and projects such as this! My system is when I swap out the blade on my fabric rotary cutter, I put that one onto my paper rotary cutter, and I put the blade that was on the paper one in a container to throw away safely. Once your fabric tape is all cut out, there should be no sticky edges on it and you’re ready to store it until you need it! I love using all the bits of fabric, even cute selvages make great fabric tape! I’ve accumulated quite the collection. You can choose to cut down your tape to even lengths, cut it on the diagonal on the short edges, or just keep them straight! I like to leave my tape the size of my scraps because I can always cut them further down when using. However, if I was gifting it, I would try to get even-ish lengths for the recipient. Because fabric tape is useful as well as pretty (and great for small scraps!) it makes a fun little stocking stuffer or gift for a friend. It doesn’t have to be someone who sews, either. Anyone who enjoys washi tape or other cute stationary supplies will love receiving some curated fabric tape! If you love to use up scraps, I’ve got a whole blog post dedicated to sewing with scraps! Oh Scrap! 9 (fun!) ways to use up scraps Have you ever made fabric tape? What are your favorite uses for it? You might also like: Mini Quilted Zipper Pouch Tutorial DIY Lavender Sachets Quilted Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial Spiderweb Free-motion quilting tutorial and a Halloween quilt... Read more... Follow us on Instagram On the blog: the first of (several!) tutorials on WOW! Thank you all so much for your love and excit Graffiti Hearts is now available! Pattern is in PD I'm currently in photo edit mode and I couldn't he Good morning! I'm gearing up for Graffiti Hearts r Load More... Follow on Instagram
Graffiti Hearts | PDF$12.00
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