I am so happy with how this quilt turned out, and thought I'd share a little bit about my process.
As you may remember from
my design post, I got the original idea from
this post over at The Thompsons. I tracked the pattern she used back to
this post on Moda Bake Shop.
After playing with the design and getting input from all of you, I chose this design:
Note: the main difference between this design and the other patterns is that there is no sashing; also the pink blocks are turned 180 degrees so that the blocks appear to link together instead of all of the blocks being oriented the same way. This is important when you are piecing the blocks. I learned this the hard way. However, if your center fabric is NOT directional, then it doesn't matter at all and you can just piece the blocks all the same way.
My finished blocks are 12" square; the finished quilt is 48" square. I made 16 blocks in a 4x4 setting.
The fabric requirements for this quilt are:
- Focus Fabric - I fussy cut this so I needed quite a bit more. If you are simply cutting squares, you need 1/4 yard
- White - 1 yard
- Pink - 2/3 yard
- Purple -2/3 yard
- Back - I chose to piece the back. This is an awkward size to back with just one fabric.
- Binding - 1/2 yard
You need to cut:
- 16 4 1/2" squares of your focus fabric
- Pink
- Eight 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" strips
- Sixteen 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips
- Eight 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips
- Thirty-two 2 1/2" squares
- Purple
- Eight 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" strips
- Sixteen 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips
- Eight 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips
- Thirty-two 2 1/2" squares
- White
- Thirty-two 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips
- Thirty-two 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips
- Thirty-two 2 1/2" squares
- Binding
- For 2 1/2" straight of grain binding, cut six 2 1/2" strips.
- For 2 1/2" bias binding, cut a 27" square
- Backing - leftovers or fabric to make a 52"- 56" square
I chose not to assemble my blocks the way they did in the Moda Bake Shop Post. I cannot justify cutting apart fabric just to sew it back together again when one piece would serve the same purpose.
First I took the 4 1/2" squares of focus fabric and added the purple/pink strips log cabin style.
Note: A great leader-ender while you are piecing these blocks is to pair each of the 2 1/2" white squares with a colored square (16 of each color). You can then sew those 8 of each color pair to a white 6 1/2" strip (set B) and 8 of each color to a white 8 1/2" strip (set D). You can sew the leftover colored squares (split evenly by color) to a white 6 1/2" strip (set A) or a white 8 1/2" strip (set C).
I sewed a Set A strip to the left side of each purple block and the right side of each pink block. This is where you have to pay attention! The colored block should be at the top regardless of color.
Next, sew a Set B strip to the bottom of the block. The colored square should be in the lower right corner for the purple blocks and the lower left corner for the pink blocks.
Next, sew a Set C strip to the other side of the block. The colored square should be closer to the bottom.
Last, sew a Strip D set to the top of the block. The colored square should be in the upper left on the purple blocks and the upper right on the pink blocks.
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| I cannot find the picture I took of the completed pink block, but you can see how it looks in the photo below. |
Now it's time to play! Arrange your blocks on the
bed design wall until you find a layout you are happy with. I wanted to make sure that the same girls were not right next to each other.
Instead of piecing my quilt in rows, I sewed them into bigger chunks of four blocks. Then I sewed those four big blocks together.
I chose not to use a border, but you could.
Even though this is kind of a prissy girly quilt, I think the block design would be great for a guy quilt. What would you do with this block?
If you make this quilt, I would love to see pictures. Also, please let me know if I have made any errors. I tried to take lots of notes and pictures while making it.
Next week we'll start quilting and see if we can beat the baby to the finish line!
