Alissa made this fun little baby quilt top while sewing on a Janome 8900 at the Philadelphia SewDown! Those of us who didn’t bring a project to work on created a very fun on-the-spot challenge to make something with the fabric we had on hand. We called it our SewDown Throw Down and it was so wonderful to see what people made.
This quilt is quick to make but also has a strong visual impact. Your fabric choices will play a large role in the end result. If you’d like to create a color gradation as she has, take your time picking the right fabrics. A great tip is to take a black and white photo of your choices to make sure the saturations and tones are working correctly.
Visit Alissa’s blog at – www.handmadebyalissa.com
Finished Size – 37″ x 48″
For a printable file with the Quilt Diagrams, click here.
Janome Supplies Required
- any Janome Sewing Machine (Alissa uses the Horizon Memory Craft 8900)
- 1/4″ Foot O
- Border Guide Foot (optional – to keep your quilting lines straight)
- AcuFeed Flex w/ Quilting Guide Bar (optional – to keep your quilting lines straight while using the AcuFeed system)
Fabric and Notions Required
- Fabric A: 1½ yards of background fabric
- Fabrics B through N: Fourteen 5” x 5” squares (charm packs are perfect for this!) or scraps that are of the sizes listed in step 4 of the cutting instructions.
Instructions
Cutting:
Cut list:
- A1 = 3.5” x 3.5”
- A2 & A3 = 2” x 2”
- A4 & A5 = 2” x 3.5”
- A6 & A7 = 2” x 5”
- A8 & A9 = 2” x 6.5”
- A10 & A11 = 2” x 8”
- A12 & A13 = 2” x 9.5”
- A14 & A15 = 2” x 11”
- A16 & A17 = 2” x 12.5”
- A18 & A19 = 2” x 14”
- A20 & A21 = 2” x 15.5”
- A22 & A23 = 2” x 17”
- A24 & A25 = 2” x 18.5”
- A26 & A27 = 2” x 20”
- A28 = 3.5” x 24.5”
- A29 = 10.5” x 24.5”
- A30 = 21.5” x 37
Cut out your background fabric as indicated in the following diagram:
- Cut seven 2” width of fabric (WOF) strips and cut out A2 through A27 as indicated.
- Cut two 3.5” WOF strips and cut A1, A28 and A 30 them.
- Cut A29 and A30 out of your remaining yardage of fabric A.
- With each your 14 charm squares (or scraps) cut out:
– One 2” x 5” piece (Piece 1)
– One 3.5” x 2” piece (Piece 2)
Assembling:
Always sew with a ¼” seam allowance.
- Decide what order you want Fabrics B thought N to be arranged in. Once you have this order determined, either label your fabrics or take care to keep them in the correct order.
- Assemble your strips by sewing:
- A2 to C2
- A3 to C1
- A4 to D2
- A5 to D1
- A6 to E2
- A7 to E1
- A8 to F2
- A9 to F1
- A10 to G2
- A11 to G1
- A12 to H2
- A13 to H1
- A15 to I2
- A15 to I1
- A16 to J2
- A17 to J1
- A18 to K2
- A19 to K1
- A20 to L2
- A21 to L1
- A22 to M2
- A23 to M1
- A24 to N2
- A25 to N1
- A26 to O2
- A27 to O1
Now you’ll build the center panel of the quilt top. You’ll have to stop and press between every seam you sew.
- Sew B2 to A1
- Sew B1 to the left side of the piecing
- Sew your C2/A2 strip to the top of the piecing
- Sew your C1/A3 strip to the left side of the piecing
Continue building your center panel in this fashion, first sewing to the top of your piecing and then to the left side of it until you have assembled the entire center panel
Now you’ll finish up your quilt top by surrounding the panel with more negative space.
- Sew A28 to the left side of your center panel
- Sew A29 to the right side of your center panel
- Sew A30 to the top of your piecing
- Finish up your lil’ quilt top by sewing A31 to the bottom of your piecing!
I finished my quilt by layering the top, batting and backing and then quilting in a straight-line design. A nice bright binding finished things off. Hope you have fun making this quilt!