Believe it or not, this quilt has been in the works for a very long time. In fact, it was the second Bear Path I started, way before I had even written the pattern or sent it off to testers. However, I ended up not having the time to finish it before the release, and then it sat, in pieces until I became motivated to finish up some WIPs. I’m so glad I chose to pull this one out and finish it up, because it might just be my very favorite quilt I’ve ever made. Want to go scrappy with your throw size Bear Path quilt? Find fabric requirements at the end of this post.
I started with the Bear Path pattern, but instead of only using 4 colors, I chose to go scrappy and use 7 colors. The result is a very vintage feel, helped along by the liberal use of hand quilting!
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To quilt this scrappy Bear Path quilt, I used Aurifil 12 weight thread in color 2375. I was a bit worried about this thread color, being much darker than the background fabric, that it might overwhelm the quilt, but actually I really love how distinct the quilting pops against the quilt. I can’t wait to throw this one in the wash, the crinkles are going to be amazing!
I’m working on a blog post tutorial for orange peel hand quilting, since it is too good to keep all to myself! Although more time-intensive than machine quilting (or even other hand quilting) the results are just too much to pass up! It has the loveliest drape, too.
I unfortunately don’t know a lot of the fabrics I used in this quilt, having dug through the scrap bin. You could achieve a similar look and feel by picking a large scale floral that speaks to you and selecting the rest of your colors off that one print. That’s what I did with the fabric below. The flowers became my inspiration for the rest of the fabrics in this quilt.
Scrappy Bear Path Quilt Fabric Requirements:
Throw size: Option 1
- C1: 1/2 yard
- C2: 3/4 yard (tight fit)
- C3: 1/2 yard
- C4: 3/4 yard (tight fit)
- C5: 2/3 yard
- C6: 1/2 yard
- C7: 1/4 yard
Throw size: Option 2
- C1: 1/2 yard
- C2: 3/4 yard (tight fit)
- C3: 1/2 yard
- C4: 1 yard
- C5: 1/2 yard
- C6: 1/2 yard
- C7: 1/4 yard
Going scrappy is a fun way to clear out the scrap bins and create a unique quilt! Next time you’re making a quilt, consider using two fat quarters when the pattern calls for a half yard, or three scraps of fabric instead of a quarter yard! A good idea is to take fabrics that are similar tones or colors and combine those as a single “color” called for in a quilt. Have fun and experiment!
