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 Wonky Stars TutorialLearn to make two-at-a-time wonky stars with this fun and free tutorial! These blocks are so much fun to make, once you start you’ll want to make a whole quilt! This wonky stars tutorial will walk you through what you need to make a whole bunch of fun wonky stars! The tutorial will show you 6″ finished wonky stars, but scroll to the bottom of this tutorial for a chart with different finished star sizes and their cutting measurements. Prefer video? Watch the Wonky Stars Tutorial on YouTube! What you need: Fabric A: (4) 3.5″ squares and (5) 2.5″ squares Fabric B: (4) 3.5″ squares and (5) 2.5″ squares Rotary cutter Ruler Cutting mat Thread Sewing machine How to make two-at-a-time Wonky Stars: 1. Start by setting aside all the 2.5″ squares. We’re going to be using just the 3.5″ squares for now. Lay one Fabric A 3.5″ square on top of one Fabric B 3.5″ square. If using print fabrics, you want both prints right side UP. 2. Find the approximate center point on the top edge, and create a diagonal line with your ruler. Cut on the diagonal line to create your first star point. Leaving the center block in place, move the triangle points out of the way, and create the second angle with your ruler. I like to leave about 1/2″ space from the top of the square to give myself some trimming room later. Make sure your ruler angles vary to create interesting wonky stars. Make your second cut. 3. Bring the back center fabric to the front, being careful not to rotate fabrics if using solids. Now your center fabric should be different from your point fabric. Place the left hand point fabric right sides together with the center fabric and sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance, then press seam open. 4. Repeat with the right side point fabric, right sides together and sew with 1/4″ seam allowance, press seam open. 5. Trim block to 2.5″ square. I like to leave 1/4″ space above the center point when trimming. 6. Repeat process with remaining fabrics until you have a star points block for each color combo. Then repeat with remaining (3) 3.5″ squares for each color. You’ll now have (4) star points blocks for each color. 7. Lay out one block, using the solid 2.5″ squares you previously set aside. Move around the star points until you’re satisfied with the overall look of your star. Sew together into rows, pressing all of the seams towards the solid fabric blocks. (Rows 1 & 3: press to the outside; Row 2: press to the inside). This way, all of your seams will nest when sewing the rows into the star block. Press the final two seams open to reduce bulk. Different size stars Use the chart below to identify what size large and small squares to cut for different sized wonky stars. The finished star size refers to a star after it is sewn into your quilt. The squares sizes to cut include seam allowance. You might also like: Half Square Triangle Guide + Free Pattern! Stripe Matched Binding | A Tutorial Fabric Swatch Cards | DIY 4-at-a-time Flying Geese Tutorial (with video!)... Read more...Improv Quilted Tote BagI made this improv quilted tote bag on a whim! I’m a big fan of using scraps. I save even the smallest pieces! When my scrap bin feels overwhelming/overflowing, that’s when I know it is time to make some scrappy projects! Last year I made a lone star Christmas stocking and had quite a few bits and bobs of fabric leftover. I bundled these together and put them in my scrap bin where they waited for inspiration I promptly forgot about them for a whole year. This year’s holiday gifts comprise mostly of… drumroll… tote bags! I have a stash of Every Adventure totes that I use on the daily and when talking with people I’ve previously gifted them to, they use them all the time too. Here’s a few of the ways I use my stash of bags: There’s a dedicated 4 bags that live in my car for grocery shopping. They are sturdier than plastic bags and don’t create more waste! I keep a bag in our mudroom and place within it all the stuff I need to remember to return to other people (my mom’s tupperware, my sister’s craft supplies, etc.) I use a bag to corral all the library books that need to be returned Or in the same vein, a bag to hold all the pattern purchases that need to get shipped out (thank you!) Riley has a dedicated bag for when he gets babysat by my parents …and so on! I love my Every Adventure totes but this year I decided to experiment with a taller/slimmer bag form. The Every Adventure tote is great for hauling lots of stuff around, but I wanted a smaller quilted tote bag that could hold my wallet, phone, and knitting project. I laid out all of my scraps from the lone star stocking, and my goal was to use up all the smallest pieces first. That way, if I was left with anything, it would be bigger scraps that can be more easily incorporated in other projects. I started sewing pieces together, maintaining any diagonal angles the fabrics already had in order to add interest in the finished piece. The fabrics I used are all Riley Blake Designs basics: Confetti Cotton solids in Canyon Rose, Lodge Pole, and Cape Verde, and Le Creme Swiss Dot Black. I thought about adding more fabrics from my stash, but I loved the original palette so much that I decided to see if I could make it work with just what I had left. I love parameters, they really push my creativity! To quilt the tote bag, I used pink thread! Both the quilting design and the thread color are the same as the original stocking I made. I loved the look of the pink thread on the Cape Verde color fabric, and thought that the quilting design would add interest without overwhelming the improv quilting. This quilted tote bag was one of those projects that every decision enhanced my original vision. When it came time to add straps, I just wasn’t happy with cotton webbing. Although I love it and have used it multiple other times, I just kept looking at this bag and thinking that it would really excel with leather straps. I let it simmer for a week before deciding that I really did want to go the leather route. I found some leather in a suitable thickness at the craft store and held my breath as I poked holes into my nearly-completed tote bag. The leather straps were such a success! I love that the leather will wear and age along with the bag, creating its own patina. I love how sturdy they feel. This was my first time adding leather handles to a bag, so I did quite a bit of research beforehand. I decided to add little leather “washers” to the inside of my bag to ensure that the rivets wouldn’t pull through the fabric with wear and use. Speaking of the inside of the bag, I used this fun rainbow print and added a zippered pocket. I’ve had this lace zipper for ages and it was never the right size for any project until now! I’m thrilled I got to use it! The rainbow print is such a contrast to the outside of the bag, so I added Cape Verde colored fabric to the top of the lining for better continuity with the outside of the bag. The Cape Verde fabric also works to anchor the pocket in place inside the bag. This tote bag finishes at 15″ high, 12″ wide, and 3″ deep, with nice long straps you can loop over your shoulder. I’ve made several of these now, with cotton webbing or leather straps, with and without inside pockets, using scraps or pre-quilted (!) fabric, and they’ve all turned out delightful! What are your thoughts? Would you like to find this with your name on it wrapped up under the tree? You might also like: Christmas Tote Bags | A Finished Project... Read more...Rugged Quilt PatternMeet the Rugged quilt! This pattern has been in the works for a long, long time. I kept having to put it on the back burner but I’m so pleased to finally share it with all of you! I love the bold look of the stripes on the Rugged quilt, the big pieces that are still easy to cut with a normal 6″ x 24″ ruler, and how fast this quilt comes together! I wrote Rugged with the beginner quilter in mind. I wanted a throw size quilt that a total beginner quilter could tackle with confidence, and Rugged was born. You’ll learn half-square triangles, but not soo many that they get frustrating or stressful. You’ll learn how to assemble a quilt top! And you can pick between a baby and a throw size. Plus! Because of the way Rugged is created, if none of your seams line up, it is okay! No one will tell. It is a great quilt to dip your feet into quilting. I’ve also created a YouTube tutorial playlist with tons of resources for the beginner quilter. These videos will help you with some of the quilt assembly, such as basting and binding. If you’re a seasoned quilter, Rugged is a great quilt for you too. It comes together quickly and is easy to cut. It has endless quilting options and colorways. Have fun and let loose with the Rugged quilt! Shop Rugged: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more For my cover Rugged quilt, I used PBS Fabrics solids in Woodsman and Oyster. These colors are really hard to capture on camera, as the dark green of Woodsman tends to look like a faded black. In person, though, it is an awesome dark green and creamy white! To quilt my Rugged quilt, I decided to do some walking foot quilting. I specifically chose a backing with grid lines so I could use those as my guide. This allowed me to quilt with the backing facing up and not have to mark any lines! Woohoo! I used a dark green Aurifil 50 weight thread for the quilting. I really love walking foot quilting, especially a quilt like Rugged with large, bold fabric swaths. The quilting adds such a great dimension to the quilt! Back in March we got more snow and rushed out to get some quilt pictures in the snowy landscape. The dark background of the Rugged quilt really pops against the snow! I did big-stitch hand binding but decided to play around and do a chevron binding. Although much more time consuming, it turned out so cool! I’m working on filming a tutorial on more big-stitch binding variations because they really are so much fun. In the meantime, you can check out all the big stitch binding tutorials I already have available! Big Stitch Binding TutorialBlanket Stitch Binding VariationX’s Binding Variation You might also like: No related posts.... Read more...Baby Teal Misty Mountains QuiltI had the pleasure of making a teal Misty Mountains quilt in Art Gallery Fabrics. I simply love AGF, their fabrics are so soft and great to work with. For this version, I went with a more traditional approach, using variations of the same/similar color. As with other Misty Mountains quilts, I tried to go from darkest to lightest in my colors to give the illusion of mountains fading in the background. Want even more Misty Mountains? See all the versions I’ve made here! Shop Related Products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more I used all Art Gallery solids for this baby teal Misty Mountains quilt, in the following colors: Color 1: NocturnalColor 2: MediterranoColor 3: SpruceColor 4: Ocean WavesColor 5: Tender GreenColor 6: Icy MintBackground: SnowBinding: Fresh WaterBacking: Squared Elements in Turquoise For the quilting, I used 50 weight Aurifil Thread in an aqua colorway. I wanted the thread color to blend in a bit so this was a good choice. The quilting is still prominent on the darker colors of this baby Misty Mountains quilt, but it blends well with the light to mid toned fabrics. Had I used white, I think the thread would have stuck out too much on the dark fabrics. I quilted this on my domestic machine using my walking foot. That’s right, this was done on my domestic machine, curves included! I started by creating a straight grid, then went back in to add the curved “peels”. Having the grid in place first meant that it was much easier to create the curved lines, the grid acted as the guide. I’ve got a tutorial teaching how to do walking foot curves! One of my favorite thing about baby quilts is their size. Because they are smaller, I’m able to experiment with colors or quilting. I’m able to see if something is going to work or if I enjoy it before I dedicate a lot of time and resources to a throw size quilt. This teal Misty Mountains quilt was a great example of that. I pushed my comfort zone with thread color and tried a different quilting method. Spoiler alert! I loved both the thread and the quilting method, and I went on to quilt several more throw size quilts with walking foot curves! They’re so much fun! Have you made a Misty Mountains quilt? You can see lots of different color variations here! You might also like: Misty Mountains | A Quilt Pattern Misty Mountains Baby Quilt | Finished Project Misty Mountains Modern Quilt Coat Misty Mountains Coaster... Read more...Misty Mountains Quilt | Blue Throw SizeThis blue Misty Mountains quilt is the first version I made when testing out the pattern! I love the blue gradient because, more than any other version, it really looks like a misty mountain range fading into the background. This blue Misty Mountains quilt is the throw size in Kona solids. Because it relies on big pieces, even a throw size Misty Mountains quilt can be made fairly quickly! Want even more Misty Mountains? See all the versions I’ve made here! Shop Related Products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more I asked my mom if she wanted to go cross country skiing, and oh by the way, maybe hold up a quilt while we were out there! She’s such a good sport about my very weird requests. All fabrics used on this quilt front were Kona solids from Robert Kaufman: Color 1: WindsorColor 2: CadetColor 3: DenimColor 4: Dresden BlueColor 5: BluebellColor 6: CloudBackground: WhiteBinding: DenimBacking: Flannel Target Sheet (read all about using sheets as backings!) I love this flannel backing for this quilt! The pinecones and pine needles worked really well with the mountain theme (outdoors!) and the creamy white background complemented the blue fabrics on the front without taking center stage. Plus, I can’t help but sneak a print fabric in there somewhere ;). To quilt this blue Misty Mountains quilt, I first started with machine quilting. I echoed the mountain outlines with my quilting. I then filled in-between the machine quilting with some hand quilting in various blue shades. I love the subtle interest the hand quilting brings. This is a great strategy if you’re looking to incorporate a bit of hand quilting but the thought of hand-quilting an entire quilt is too daunting. This quilt now lives on our wall in our house! Have you made a misty mountains quilt? You can see all the amazing versions out on instagram here. You might also like: Inkling | Posy Fabric Pojagi Inspired Cloth Napkins Whole Cloth Hand Quilted Quilt Misty Mountains Coaster... Read more...Star Wars Quilt | May the Fourth Modern Designs!May the Fourth be with you! Happy Star Wars day! I thought it would be fun to share how I have made a modern Star Wars quilt. I love a challenge, and for me, using character prints in a way that felt fresh and modern was definitely that challenge. I love how both these quilts turned out! Just a quick note, I made both these quilts a while back and I’m just now getting around to sharing them. So, fabrics used may or may not be easy to find anymore. Modern Irish Chain Star Wars Quilt: First up is a modern Irish Chain quilt using mainly Star Wars fabrics. This is the Celtic Crossing pattern by Lo & Behold Stitchery. I lengthened it to make a twin sized quilt. For this quilt, I used all black, white and grey fabrics for a very literal light side/dark side Star Wars quilt. In addition to quite a few Star Wars prints, I added in blenders that added to the “feel” of Star Wars. Most of these are old Cotton & Steel prints. There’s the Sprinkle print in black, Sprinkle print in a light grey, and a white dot on grey fabric that I don’t know the name of. And we can’t forget Bowties in black – I love this print because it looks like a bunch of Tie Fighters to me! I quilted this quilt with my walking foot in a motif that felt very ‘star-like’ to me. I love walking foot quilting because you can create such amazing designs at home! This quilt took forever to quilt, because it is so big, but I’m really glad that I decided to go for it. I used a flannel Star Wars print for the backing and two layers of batting to make this quilt extra cozy. It is super heavy and warm, perfect for an extra layer in our Wisconsin winters! My favorite thing about this quilt? The Darth Vader fabric glows in the dark! Ha! I’m really happy with how this quilt turned out and the use of so many novelty fabrics. Perfect for upcoming Star Wars movie nights! Modern Gingham Star Wars Quilt I made this modern gingham Star Wars quilt for a friend, so I have just two pictures to share with you. This quilt was a pretty simple design made of squares. I decided to swap out some of the solid squares for novelty Star Wars fabrics while still keeping the gingham feel. The hardest part of this gingham quilt was trying to match the solid grey fabric and the novelty grey fabrics. Grey tones can vary widely between being almost-taupe to almost-blue, so finding one that worked well with the print fabrics I had was a bit of a challenge. I backed this Star Wars quilt in flannel as well, and it is a fairly large throw. I quilted in the ditch around all the squares on the quilt top for a simple finish, but signed my name using free-motion quilting in the corner! Future Quilt: I still have quite the collection of Star Wars fabric! There’s enough of the white flannel print for another throw quilt, and definitely enough prints for a quilt top. I just need to decide on a design for the next Star Wars quilt and get sewing! Since there’s quite a few blue fabrics and I haven’t made a Star Wars quilt with blue yet, I’m leaning towards those. You might also like: No related posts.... Read more...Spyglass Patchwork Chore CoatI made Riley’s quilt coat back in the fall, and I did it with the intention of making myself a matching one. But I didn’t have enough background fabric, and it took a while for me to sit down and do some calculations and order it! During that time, I started developing the Patchwork Chore Coat, so I switched gears and decided to use my coat pattern for this quilt coat instead of my original plans. This Spyglass Patchwork Chore Coat turned out so well, and it has me itching to make another quilt coat! I knew that I wanted it to be longer than the Patchwork Chore Coat pattern specifies, and I was curious to see if I could swap a zipper for the buttons. (spoiler alert! Works great!) I wrote a blog post to walk you through this hack, so you can make this version as well! For the back of the quilt coat, I started by making a baby sized Spyglass quilt. I love the pieced triangles in Spyglass, they add some really nice interest! Shop Related Products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Spyglass calls for 8 fabrics plus backing, but since I was trying to match Riley’s coat as closely as possible, I only used 4 fabrics. I simply doubled the fabric requirements for each fabric (using a 1/2 yard instead of a FQ of each). When laying out the blocks, I worked to get a nice randomized pattern where not one fabric was overly dominant in any part of the quilt. Quilt fabrics: Add it Up in Glow (Cotton & Steel)Add it Up in Sea Glass (Cotton & Steel)Kona EvergladeModa Bella ScarletBackground is Kona Navy For the lining/backing of the quilt, I chose to use a really cute and comfy flannel. This is actually a flannel bedsheet! If you’re new to using bedsheets for quilt backs, check out my post on the subject! Not only did I use this fabric for Riley’s lining (I mean, we are making matching coats here!) but I knew I’d appreciate the extra warmth. For the coat, I used the Patchwork Chore Coat pattern in size Small. I lengthened it 5″ and added a zipper instead of a button closure. I’m wrote a blog post that details all the changes. I love the three piece hood that comes with the Patchwork Chore Coat pattern! A three piece hood always fits so much nicer than a two piece hood and lays nicely against the back of the coat. I chose to keep the front and sleeves of the coat a single fabric with no embellishments. I wanted the back of the coat to be the focal point and star of the show. However, I couldn’t help but add contrasting binding and I really love that pop of red! The Patchwork Chore Coat comes with really long sleeves, which is intentional! The pattern has instructions on how to shorten the sleeves (or lengthen) but personally, I love cuffing them to show a peek at the lining inside. Simply cannot deal with the fact that Riley and I match!!! With hoods! It is hard to pick a favorite Patchwork Chore Coat version because they’re all slightly different, but I really really love this Spyglass Patchwork Chore Coat. It is more fitted than my other two versions (which are both size Medium) but not constrictive, and the flannel lining adds warmth, as does the extra length. I do live in Wisconsin, after all! Warmth is an important factor! The entire coat has bound seams for both comfort and to keep the inside of the coat neat and tidy! I bound all the inner seams with the same red fabric as the outer binding, and that pop of red makes me smile every time I put on the coat! My zipper is not reversible, however, so this particular jacket isn’t reversible (although the pattern does have a reversible option). You could definitely make it reversible by using a reversible zipper. Shop Spyglass Patchwork Chore Coat products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more See more Patchwork Chore Coats: Harvest Star Quilt CoatModern Crossing Quilt CoatCirrus Quilt CoatMisty Mountains Quilt CoatLone Star Quilt Coat You might also like: Cirrus Quilt Coat Zipper Patchwork Chore Coat Hack Harvest Star Quilt Coat Patchwork Chore Coat | A Quilt Coat Pattern... Read more...Modern Crossing Baby Quilt | FlutterI made two baby quilts for PBS Fabrics’s 2020 Quiltcon booth, and in the rush to get these made I never created blog posts about them! This Modern Crossing baby quilt was made with the Flutter collection by Ampersand Studios for PBS Fabrics. Want to see the second quilt I made for the PBS Fabrics booth? Check out the Etoile Baby Quilt here! I love the Modern Crossing quilt pattern because it has so many possibilities! The pattern comes with directions for a 2-color version, a 3-color version, and a scrappy version! I made this Modern Crossing baby quilt using the scrappy instructions. I’ve made quite a few Modern Crossing quilts in baby and throw size! See them all here. Using the scrappy instructions allowed me to showcase more of the collection’s prints. I love the bold butterfly motifs in the Flutter collection. I chose the main print in green as the backing of this quilt so that you’d be able to see more of it than the little snippets on the front. It is too pretty not to showcase in full! I chose to hand-quilt this baby quilt using light yellow 12 weight thread. I followed around all of the pluses and the chain in the pattern. The quilting is very subtle but adds a great feel and drape to the finished quilt. One of my favorite things about this baby quilt is that it doesn’t feel too “baby”. I can picture this quilt being used past toddlerhood and into childhood. The prints are fun and whimsical but have a classic quality to them and therefore don’t feel too childish. The Modern Crossing baby quilt is sized at 39″ square, so it is definitely a quilt that can grow with the child it was intended for! Shop Related Products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more You might also like: Modern Crossing | A Finished Quilt Scrappy Bear Path Quilt Whole Cloth Hand Quilted Quilt Hand Quilted Mug Rug – Kaffe Fabrics... Read more...Etoile Baby Quilt | CircusPBS Fabrics reached out to me about making some baby quilts for their 2020 Quiltcon booth. These quilts never got their own blog post, which is a shame! So, better late than never ;). Let’s start with this Etoile baby quilt! Want to see the second quilt I made for the PBS Fabrics booth? Check out the Modern Crossing Baby Quilt here! This baby quilt was made with the Step Right Up collection by Suzy Ultman for PBS Fabrics. The collection is bright and fun! I love the main circus print, the illustrations are darling. For this baby quilt, I decided to use the Etoile quilt pattern. I thought that the large bold design would work well with the prints in the collection. Because the pieces are larger, it allowed the main print to be the focus of the quilt. I’ve made quite a few Etoile quilts, probably because this pattern is so fast! You can see all the other versions I’ve made, including scrappy and thrifted ones, here! I couldn’t help but use the cotton candy print for the backing, because I love cotton candy. I even own a cotton candy machine! Ha! I did some simple walking foot line quilting on this Etoile baby quilt in a light pink color. When planning out this quilt, I did quite a few mock-ups. Because most prints are quite busy, I wanted to create a quilt that allowed for the prints of the collection to be the focus without overwhelming the eyes. For that reason, I ended up using a solid blue color for the background. I love how well the prints in this collection play with each other. You can see the solid blue color in the food print and the bird print above. This made for a really cohesive look. I used a polka dot fabric for the binding to add a little playfulness. I really loved making this quilt! Shop Related Products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more You might also like: Etoile Quilt | Scrappy Version Etoile Quilt | Farmhouse Version Etoile Quilt | Baby Version Modern Crossing Baby Quilt | Flutter... Read more...Etoile Quilt | Made with Thrifted MaterialsI made a different type of quilt recently when I made a sustainable quilt with all thrifted and upcycled materials! This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while and with Earth Day around the corner I had the motivation to get this done! Why use upcycled materials? I wanted to challenge myself to create a quilt out of all upcycled materials for a couple of reasons. The first reason, simply, I like a challenge! I have been championing my use of scraps for years now, and I try to be mindful to be a good steward of my resources. This was that next step – using pre-loved materials to create something new. It would be great to use my own pre-loved clothing for this quilt, but without having enough myself, I chose the next best route – the thrift store. I’m super excited about the Chambray Mickey shirt! What a find! A big reason to use all thrifted materials is the amount of materials available at your local thrift store! We like to think that when we donate to a thrift store, that clothing ends up happy in someone else’s home. But unfortunately, that’s not always the case. People donate to thrift stores more than they purchase from them, so thrift stores end up triaging donations and managing their lifecycle. For example, if an item doesn’t sell in a Goodwill store after 4 weeks, it moves on to the Goodwill Outlet where it is sold by the pound, and after a rotation there, will end up most likely getting sold overseas. So, there’s a lot of materials in thrift stores to sort through and use with really fast turnaround. There’s also good quality materials. With costs rising in what feels like all aspects of our lives recently, I challenge you to try making a quilt from upcycled materials and see what you think! My Sustainable Quilt For my project, I decided to use my Etoile Quilt pattern. The clothing I had sourced had some bigger pieces, so to maximize what I had I chose a quilt pattern with bigger fabric cuts. I was able to make the entire throw-sized Etoile quilt, PLUS a scrappy improv backing with just the fabric I bought! I still have a few scraps leftover and I’m brainstorming how to use them up. To keep this quilt authentic, I chose to go to a single thrift shop and challenge myself to find everything I needed in that one trip. I wanted to see if it would be possible to find enough fabrics that coordinated to create a quilt from one trip and one thrift store. If you were going to make a quilt from upcycled fabrics, you could certainly amass them over time and multiple thrifting trips. Good fabrics to look for are chambray and lighter denim shirts and dresses. You can find a variety of hues. A Misty Mountains quilt made from all chambray and denim would be amazing! I wanted to stray away from making a quilt using dress shirts and try to create something different to what I had seen. I came home from my trip with: A chambray shirt (cotton)Two hand embroidered table runners (cotton)Two scraps of red polka dot fabric (cotton)A woven checkered shirt (cotton)A light denim dress (cotton)A pair of white pants (linen)A pair of navy pants (55% linen, 45% cotton)An olive green blazer (55% linen, 45% cotton) Total fabric cost: $24 The entire thrift store haul. I did end up having to piece together some of the pieces for the Etoile quilt, since some of the fabrics weren’t big enough as-is. But I think it adds to the charm of the quilt. Plus, because the front was all solid fabrics, you can’t tell too much that there are pieces sewn together unless you’re really close to the quilt itself. For the backing, I went completely scrappy and improv. I used bigger pieces as-is and pieced together odd-angled scraps from underarm and collar seams. The fabrics that didn’t make it on the front of the quilt (the checkered shirt, denim dress, and embroidered linens) took prominence on the back. I chose to only use one embroidered linen motif, so the others will have to wait for a future project! I used frankenbatting for the batting of this quilt, using up scraps instead of new batting! I quilted this quilt with my walking foot and white 50 weight Aurifil thread. I plan to add in some hand quilting for additional interest before this quilt gets bound, washed, and snuggled. Want to make your own? Read on for some tips and tricks on making a sustainable quilt. What should I consider before attempting a sustainable quilt like this? First, determine the fabrics you’re willing to use in your quilt and stick to your guns! It can be tempting while in a thrift store to pick up the floral shirt with the super cute print, but if it is made entirely of nylon it won’t be fun to quilt. I stick to cotton and linen (and a blend of both!) for my upcycling projects. These are natural materials that wash well and quilt well with staying power so the item I make will last for a long time to come. Keep an eye all over the store for materials to use! You can find quality materials in: Arts & Crafts Section (fabric, trim, etc.)Kitchen Goods (table runners, table cloths, napkins)Home Goods (curtains, pillowcases, bedsheets)Clothing (dresses, shirts, pants, blazers, outerwear in men’s, women’s, and kid’s sections) Once home, items go immediately from the bag they were purchased in to the washing machine, cutting off price tags as I go. I wash everything on warm with a mild detergent and tumble dry. That way, everything is clean and ready to use once I’m ready to make my quilt. Once you have your clothing washed and dried, it is time to think about what kind of quilt to make with it. This will depend on the amount of materials that you have and the size of each piece. If your clothing is on the larger side, you’ll need less fabrics and be able to make a quilt with a larger scale pattern. Large scale patterns for a sustainable quilt: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more If you find yourself with a lot of smaller cuts, you’ll be in a better position to make a quilt that requires smaller pieces! Cotton sheets in a lower thread count work well as backgrounds. Learn more about using sheets in quilting. Inkling or Modern Crossing would be really fun quilts to use upcycled fabrics in. For example, each cross in Modern Crossing could be made with upcycled materials! There’s also no rule that says a quilt must be made from only upcycled materials. You could choose to mix upcycled materials and new fabrics. Just be sure to pre-wash your new fabrics if you’re using any. Small scale patterns for a sustainable quilt: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Add to cart Rugged | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Read more Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more To prep your fabrics, you’ll need to first cut out all the seams so you have flat pieces to work with. Remove all buttons and zippers and save for a future use. Press and starch your fabrics. Starching is especially helpful for linen fabrics! This part is a bit tedious but once all your fabrics are cut and flat, you’ll be able to get started with the quilt pattern of your choice. So what do you think? Have you ever made a quilt out of all thrifted materials before? You might also like: Etoile Quilt | Scrappy Version Unruly Nature Nordic Star Quilt Zero Waste Quilting & Scrap Management Creating Coordinating Quilts... Read more... Follow us on Instagram Oh quilting, after all this time, I’m still into The week between Christmas and New Years: too much Find the scrappy zipper pouch tutorial on my site! Last year’s Christmas stocking scraps yielded th Things I’ve been doing while I haven’t been qu Load More... Follow on Instagram
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