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 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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 Read more 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...Unruly Nature Nordic Star QuiltThis Unruly Nature Nordic Star quilt came out of my partnership with Ruby Star Society. They featured Nordic Star in this new Unruly Nature fabric collection in their lookbook, and I was able to actually sew one up! Unruly Nature was designed by RSS Guest Designer Jen Hewett. The collection is soft, beautiful, and complex. For my Nordic Star quilt, I selected fabrics from the yellow, peach, and pink colorways. It reminds me of pink strawberry lemonade on a summer night. I love that this Unruly Nature Nordic Star quilt is a perfect counterpart to the cover quilt which was created in blues and teals. I now have a warm and a cool version of Nordic Star! (And a holiday version too). Shop Related Products: Modern Crossing | Set of 8 $48.00 Read more 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 want to make one too, here’s what you’ll need. This is included in the paper version but not the pdf of Nordic Star: Nordic Star is SO much fun to put together. The blocks are more effort than some of my other patterns, but seeing every single one come together is such a joy. I love the breathing space that the background provides to the star, and how the borders of the block create a secondary design within the quilt. I finished my Unruly Nature Nordic Star quilt top in record time but I’ll admit quilting it has taken longer. I wanted to hand quilt it to maintain the soft and organic feel of this quilt. Other projects crept up and the half-quilted quilt…sat. I finally finished it recently and it is a real beauty! Every Nordic Star quilt can make a second quilt, Wonderie! Instructions for both quilts are in the quilt pattern. Lots of HST trimming later, I was ready to make Wonderie! I had some extra fabric, so I decided to make 6 extra Wonderie blocks. I wanted the quilt to be a little wider, a little bigger. 6 extra blocks seemed like a simple solution to achieve it! You can see in the images below the original on the left, and my wider version on the right. I played around with the ombre to decide what colors to create the additional blocks. I ended up making (1) Color 1, (1) Color 2, (2) Color 5, (2) Color 6 extra. I’m really pleased I made it wider! I gave this Wonderie quilt for my mom to hand quilt. I am a huge fan of companion quilts and this one feels especially special. Both quilts are made from the same fabrics. Both quilts have the same fabric design as the backing, but in two different colorways. Both quilts were bound in the same color, and both were hand quilted. The Nordic Star quilt was quilting with Aurifil 12 weight in #5003 and the Wonderie quilt used #2840. I’ll have to do another post soon with final quilt pictures! More Nordic Star Blog Posts: All About Nordic Star quilt patternCreating the perfect ombre for Nordic Star Holiday Version Using Fat Quarters for Nordic Star You might also like: Creating Coordinating Quilts Nordic Star Ombre Quilt Creating an Ombre Nordic Star Quilt Zero Waste Quilting & Scrap Management... Read more...Scrappy Half Square Triangles TutorialThese scrappy Half Square Triangles are a great way to use up scraps and you can incorporate them into your next quilting project. Or check out these fun tutorials: Scrap Heart Quilt BlockScrappy Throw PillowsMini Heart Block Tutorial Today we’re going to use the 2-at-a-time method to create 5.5” finished half square triangles. Finished size is the size when they’re sewn into your project. If you’d like to make a different size, or use a different method, I have a handy calculator that determines what size squares you need. I’ll show you three different ideas for creating scrappy HSTs, but feel free to get creative with the scraps you have around! I’ll show you a stripy HST, a courthouse-steps-inspired HST, and a full improv HST. Each of these is made with one scrappy square and one solid background square. This helps to break up the scrappiness with some breathing room. You’ll need your background fabric and a whole bunch of scraps that coordinate to get started. You’ll also need a ruler, rotary cutter, cutting mat, iron, and sewing machine. You can watch the whole tutorial or keep scrolling for the text version! https://youtu.be/wWzBQalIcgc Scrappy Half Square Triangles How-To: How much background fabric you need is dependent on how many HSTs you want to make. With the size we’re making today, you’ll get 12 half square triangles from one width of fabric strip. We’ll start by prepping our background fabric. Cut out a 6.5” x WOF strip and subcut it into 6.5” squares. Then use a hera marker or water soluble marker to draw a line diagonally from corner to corner on the back of each background square. Once our background squares are ready, we’ll set those aside and start on our scrappy pieces! The Striped HST: Dig through your scraps and find a whole bunch of long, skinny pieces. you can decide if you want them all to be the same width or varying widths, or perhaps your scraps will dictate that for you. You’ll need all your strips to be at least 6.5” long. If your strips are not straight, you can trim them to be even, or embrace the wonk. To make an evenly striped block… Sew all 6 rectangles together and press seams open to form a 6.5″ block. The Courthouse Steps Inspired HST: For this block, we’re going to need specific pieces. Look through your scraps and find pieces that are bigger than the measurements listed. We’re going to cut them down to size, then assemble. Sew the (2) 2″ x 3.5″ rectangles on each side of the 3.5″ square. Press seams open. Sew the (2) 6.5″ x 2″ rectangles, one on top and one on the bottom of the block and press seams open. The Improv HST: This one is my favorite. I’m going to dig through my stash and find a whole lot of pieces that I like, and just start sewing them together! I’m going to keep going until my block is at least 6.5” square. Scrappy Half Square Triangles Assembly: With all the scrappy blocks made, it is time to make our half square triangles! Place one scrappy square right sides together with the background square, and sew on both sides of the drawn line, 1/4” away from the line. Cut on the drawn line, trim, and press the seam. If you need help creating HSTs, check out this post. For trimming HSTs, you can do that either with a square ruler or a slotted trimmers ruler. Check out the two methods here! You can press your HSTs open, being careful with the scrappy seam to keep it from unraveling too much, or towards the background fabric. And there you have it, three scrappy Half Square Triangles to try to make! Go dig in your scrap bin and see what you can come up with! You might also like: How to Make Fabric Tape Mini Heart Quilt Block | Free Pattern & Tutorial Scrap Heart Quilt Block | Free Pattern and Tutorial Scrap Throw Pillows | Free Pattern!... Read more... Follow us on Instagram Back from my business trip and reminiscing on what I absolutely love the colors of the cover Rugged q Rugged is now available! 🥳 Rugged is a super fa Another shot of this beautiful quilt by @quilt101 ❌ GIVEAWAY CLOSED!! Congrats @emmas_crafternoons Load More... Follow on Instagram