It is an easy quilt to make, and with the right fabrics - makes such a great quilt. I got my inspiration from the Building Blocks tutorial on Moda Bake Shop. I just changed it up slightly to make the quilt a lot bigger. The instructions for how I made it are included below.
This is a lengthy post with lots of pictures - sorry about that! I took lots of photos....so I decided to share them with you. I bought this fabric at Joann's a few years ago in fat quarter bundles. I bought 4 bundles of 5 (I think) fat quarters in each bundle. I love the colors, but I'm not sure they still carry any of these fabrics. Even though I got it at Joann's, it still seemed like good quality fabric when I was sewing.
The finished quilt is pretty large - I didn't even intend on it being that big when I was planning it out. I forgot to measure the finished size, but I think it would fit on a twin size bed pretty good.
I had it quilted at my local quilt store that I take all my quilts to. I chose a circular or spiral design. I always like it after washing when it gets the "puckery" look.
There are 48 squares total, and arranged in a 6 by 8 design. I used 1" plain white sashing between them all, and then added 2 borders to the outside to frame it all in. For the borders, I just used a matching purple and black fabric that I had on hand.
And, for the backing, I just pieced together several different coordinating fabrics together. The purple on top row is the same as the inner border on the front, the teal in the next row and bottom row is the teal that I used for the binding too, the black is a mini black & white polka dot that is used on the front as the outer border, the next purple print is The Linden Fabric Collection designed by Melissa Saylor for P&B Textiles, and finally just a small row of plain white.
I even attached a little label to the back and wrote on it for my niece. I am sure she'll get good use out of it, and I know she's appreciative. She's a great girl!
She actually just moved into a new house, so she'll need something to cuddle up with and keep her warm in her new basement bedroom.
So, here's how I put it together.....
I followed the instructions in the blog, just cut my pieces in different increments. I started with two 8 3/4" squares. I used 8 3/4" squares because I could get 4 squares out of a fat quarter with a little extra.
Stack the two squares on top of each other. Choose two squares that coordinate well together....like a light/dark combination. Then, cut 1 1/2" off the bottom and slide that section out of the way. Keep everything stacked together and arranged in the same way as it was before cutting.
From the remaining section, cut 4" off the bottom - which is the middle section.
So, you now have 3 strips. The bottom section is 1 1/2", middle section is 4", and the top section is 3 1/4".
Then, from the middle section above, cut 3 1/4" off the left side. Carefully slide the 3 1/4" section off to the side.
From the remaining section, cut off another 4".
After all the cutting, you have cut the middle section into 3 1/4", 4", and 1 1/2" pieces just like the strips above.
Now for the sewing.... Exchange the two middle 4" squares to alternate the colors. Then sew the two smalls sections onto the middle square.
Then, sew the top and bottom sections onto that. I lined up the edges on the left side so that the patterns in the fabric designs would line up.
Next, cut off the overhanging sections on the right.
And that's the first square!
Repeat the sewing steps for the other square.
I continued repeating these steps 24 times to make 48 individual squares. I organized them into the 6 x 8 pattern on the floor so that the colors were spread out evenly.
Then, I added the sashing and borders and finished the top. That was all! It was easy to make and came together quickly.
And, here's the last photo. This one includes my little helper....he's always got to be in the middle of all the photos. He's a wild one!!
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