Farm Fresh Picnic Quilt
Posted by saral on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
Farm Fresh Picnic Quilt
by Sara Lawson
Hi! My name is Sara and I'm visiting the Cutting Corners site today from my blog, Sew Sweetness. I'm really interested in writing pattern reviews, tutorials, and sewing clothing, bags, and quilts! My tutorial today features the Farm Fresh line from Riley Blake, designed by October Afternoon. One fat quarter bundle will be enough to make the entire quilt, including the backing and binding!
This picnic blanket features colorful fruit applique, and is quilted using a 'Quilt-As-You-Go' method.
Finished size: 45" x 45"
Materials
- 1 fat quarter bundle (18 fat quarters needed)
- 2 yards of batting (I used Soft and Bright by the Warm Company)
- Ruler
- Rotary cutter and cutting mat
- Invisible fabric marker or fabric chalk
- Coordinating thread
- Washable Glue Stick
Please pre-wash fabrics and read all instructions before beginning. You will use 1/4" seam allowance unless otherwise noted.
Step 1 ~ Cutting Your Fabric
1a. Pull 8 of the fat quarters from your bundle. I chose the most interesting graphic prints from the bundle. Cut two 3.5" strips from each fat quarter (the only exception is that you will be cutting 3 strips from just one of the fat quarters), along the 18" edge. Repeat for all 8 fat quarters. Set the remainder of the fat quarters aside, you will be using these a bit later.
1b. Take your strips and cut them every 3.5". This will leave you with 3.5" squares.
1c. Pull 4 fat quarters from the bundle. These will be your Background Panels. I chose these fabrics because they have a good amount of negative space. Trim to 18" x 18-3/4".
1d. Cut 4 pieces from batting, each piece 18" x 18-3/4".
1e. Take the leftover fat quarters from Step 1a, as well as 1 additional fat quarter from the bundle. Cut 5" strips, then cut those strips at 5" again, leaving you with 5" x 5" squares.
Step 2 ~ Cutting the Fruit
2a. Print the fruit pattern pieces (using the Fruit Pattern Pieces link at the top of the page). These are the templates for the fruit.
2b. Pull 4 of the fat quarters from your bundle. You will be using these to mix and match the different pieces for the fruit. Cut the following from your fabrics:
- Pear (cut 1)
- Pear Stem (cut 1)
- Watermelon (cut 1)
- Watermelon Rind (cut 1)
- Watermelon Seed (cut 4)
- Cherry (cut 1)
- Cherry Stem (cut 1)
- Cherry Leaf (cut 2)
- Apple (cut 1)
- Apple Core (cut 1)
- Apple Seed (cut 2)
-Apple Leaf (cut 2)
2c. Repeat Step 2b. with the batting (do not cut batting for any of the Seed pieces, the Cherry Stem, and the Apple Core). Trim approximately 1/8" from each piece cut from batting.
Step 3 ~ Assemble the Blocks
3a. Take two of your 3.5" squares. Sew them, right sides together, along the vertical edge. Press seams open. Continue sewing squares together until you have a row of 6 squares.
Helpful Hint: If your fabrics are directional, such as my cow/pig fabric, you'll want to orient the fabrics horizontally.
3b. Repeat Step 3a. until you have 6 rows of 6 squares each.
3c. Sew a row of 7 squares, this time placing them horizontally. Press seams open. Repeat until you have 6 columns, each with 7 squares.
3d. Take the rows of squares from Step 3c. Trim 1" off the bottom square in each strip. Then, sew one 3.5" square onto the bottom of each strip. This will leave you with 6 strips, each with 8 squares.
3e. Take 1 of your Background Panels from Step 1c. Sew one 6-square row to the top (the 18-3/4" edge) and one 6-square row to the bottom. Press seams open. Sew one 8-square column to the left-hand edge and one 8-square column to the right-hand edge. Be sure to match seams. Press seams open. This will become your Top-Left Panel.
3f. Take another Background Panel. Sew one 6-square row to the top (the 18-3/4" edge) and one 6-square row to the bottom. Press seams open. Sew one 8-square column to the right-hand edge only. Be sure to match seams. Press seams open. This will become your Top-Right Panel.
3g. Take another Background Panel. Sew one 6-square row to the bottom only (the 18-3/4" edge). Press seams open. Sew one 8-square column to the left-hand edge only. Be sure to match seams. Press seams open. This will become your Bottom-Left Panel.
3h. Take another Background Panel. Sew one 6-square row to the bottom only (the 18-3/4" edge). Press seams open. Sew one 8-square column to the left-hand edge and one 8-square column to the right-hand edge. Be sure to match up the seams. Press seams open. This will become your Bottom-Right Panel.
Step 4 ~ Fruit Applique
4a. Take your Pear fabric piece, and Pear piece cut from batting. With your glue stick, put glue on the wrong side of the Pear fabric and press it firmly on top of the Pear batting. Smooth out any wrinkles. Repeat for the Pear Stem.
4b. Repeat Step 4a. to attach 1 Background Panel to 1 piece of 18" x 18-3/4" batting.
4c. Lay out your Pear, on the Background Panel from Step 4b., in a pleasing manner. Apply the glue stick beneath the Pear onto the Background Panel. Press down firmly and smooth out any wrinkles.
4d. Stitch around the entire edge of your Pear using a short, tight zig-zag stitch (I set my machine to 3.0mm and 1.0mm). Make sure you catch both the Background Fabric and the Pear fabric, reaching as far into the Pear fabric as you can.
4e. Repeat Steps 4c. and 4d. for the Pear Stem.
4f. Since your panel is now attached to the batting, feel free to quilt it in the design of your choice. I used flowers, curlicues, and circles. Baste around the outer edge of the block, approximately 1/8" from the edge. Trim excess batting.
Helpful Hint: Before quilting, draw your designs on top of the fabric with an invisible fabric marker or fabric chalk.
4g. Repeat Steps 4a. through 4f. each for the Cherry, Apple, and Watermelon, as pictured below:
4h. Sew the Top-Right Panel to the Top-Left Panel, right sides together, along one edge, as pictured. Press seam open very well.
4i. Sew the Bottom-Right Panel to the Bottom-Left Panel, right sides together, along one edge, as pictured. Press seam open very well.
4j. Sew the Top Panels to the Bottom Panels, right sides together, along the long edge, as pictured. Press seam open very well.
Step 5 ~ Quilt Backing
5a. Take 2 of your 5" squares and sew them, right sides together, along one edge. Repeat until you have a row of 10 squares. Press seams to the right.
5b. Repeat Step 5a. until you have 10 rows, each with 10 squares. Makes sure that 5 of these units are pressed to the right, and 5 are pressed to the left.
5c. Take 1 right-pressed unit and 1 left-pressed unit, placing them right sides together along the long edge. The seams should interlock neatly into each other (if not, just ease one row until they do). Sew them, right sides together, along the long edge. Press this seam open.
5d. Continue attaching rows, alternating between right-pressed and left-pressed units. When finished, you should have a large piece measuring 10 squares across by 10 squares down.
Step 6 ~ Attaching the Front to the Backing
6a. Baste the front of the quilt to the back of the quilt. Since your quilt top is already quilted, all you need to do is attach the front to the back. I did this by sewing down the long seams of the quilt top.
Helpful Hint: You can use stitch-in-the ditch, but I like to use a wide, decorative stitch because I've found that it hides the pressed seam and anchors it down well.
Step 7 ~ Binding the Quilt
7a. Take your remaining 2 fat quarters from the bundle. Cut them into 2" strips.
7b. Take 1 strip from each print. Sew them, right sides together, at the short edge. Press seam open.
7c. Continue adding strips, alternating between the 2 prints.
7d. Create your bias binding from this strip. Bind your quilt.
Congratulations, you're finished! Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy!
Thank you for checking out my picnic blanket tutorial! If you finish this quilt, I'd love it if you'd post it to my Flickr Group so everyone can admire it! Also, feel free to post any questions there as well!
June 19th, 2012 at 12:03 a.m.
June 19th, 2012 at 10:33 a.m.
November 24th, 2012 at 7:43 a.m.