Merry Christmas in July! This is a tutorial for a quick Christmas
quilt. Seriously quick and fun. It is a Scandinavian inspired design I put
together for
Folk Art Holiday. This is something you can whip up quickly and
enjoy all Christmas season! I just super sized this classic block for a fresh and fast Scandinavian inspired quilt.
Make sure to head over to the
Sew Lux Blog to see the other fab tutorials.
As always, if you have any questions or if I made a mistake
(known to happen, I am not a professional) let me know. I am happy to help and
would love your input.
Nordic Christmas Tutorial
Finished Quilt Size: 65” x 65”
Finished Block Size: 25” x 25”
All seams are a scant ¼”
Skill level: Confident Beginner
Please read all of the instructions first before you start.
Materials:
8 Fat Quarters of Folk Art Holiday (Available
here)
4 yards backing fabric
½ yard for binding
Coordinating Thread (I used
this)
Supplies:
Basic quilting supplies (rotary cutter and mat, ruler,
scissors, sewing machine, iron, etc)
Rotating cutting mat (optional, but helpful)
For each block cut (parenthesis note the prints from my example):
6 – 6 x 6” squares white
4 – 6 x 6” squares Print B (Green)
2 – 6 x 6” squares Print C (Blue Snowflake)
8 – 5.5 x 5.5” squares white
2 – 5.5 x 5.5” squares Print A (Blue Bird)
1 – 15.5 x 5.5” rectangle Print A (Blue Bird, cut this
directionally so the birds stand upright, horizontally the long way)
1. Make twelve (5.5 x 5.5”) half square triangles
(HSTs) blocks, eight of Print B and four from Print C, using your 6 x 6” squares of
the print fabrics paired with white. You can use your favorite method to make
these HST blocks, I outline my favorite below (using your 6 x 6” squares):
a.
Draw a diagonal line through all six of the
white squares using your fabric pen or a pencil.
b.
Pair the white squares with squares of Print B
and C, right sides together.
c.
Sew ¼ inch on either side of the
diagonal line for each pair of squares.
d.
Cut along pencil line.
e.
Press blocks, with seam toward darker fabric (print).
f.
Trim each HST unit to 5.5 x 5.5” (Use your
Bloc-loc and rotating mat to make this painless and quick).
g.
You should have twelve half square triangle units (eight from Print B and four from Print C, all paired with white).
2. Now it is time to layout your block. It is a 5
square by 5 square block unit. Lay the block out as pictured below (time to get Print A involved).
3. Sew together in horizontal rows. When you are
finished with rows 1 through 5, press the rows in opposite directions, row 1 to the
right, row 2 to the left, row 3 to the right, etc. I used a technique called
webbing my block (for a tutorial on
that, see this video).
4. Sew five rows together.
5. Repeat to make four blocks. Each block measures
25.5” square.
Corner Stone Instructions:
Cut:
Eight – 3” by approximately 15” strips of each print you would
like to use (I chose two red, two gray, two blue, and two green, using the Print A from each block.)
1.
Sew strips of the blue print to the red print,
then strips of gray print to green print. Make sure you check to ensure
directional prints are facing the same direction.
2.
Press all of the seams to one side (up for the
blue and red and down for the green and gray).
3.
Cut 3" strips from the long strips. You need nine from each fabric set.
4.
Take one from each combination and sew together
so seams lock. If you want all of your cornerstones to look the same just make
sure to sew them in the same orientation.
5.
You will finish with nine 5.5 x 5.5” four patch blocks.
Sashing/Layout and Assembly:
Cut:
Twelve – 25.5 x 5.5” strips of white for the sashing.
1.
To the left of each 25.5” square block attach a
sashing strip. Sew blocks together in large strips and add one more sashing
strip at the end. So your block units look as pictured. Press seams towards
sashing.
2. With the remaining sashing strips attach them
with the four patch corner stones in between each strip. You will have 3 long strips. Press seams
towards sashing.
3.
Sew sashing onto blocks, use pins at this stage
to line up seams (even if you never use pins, trust me, you'll want to here).
4.
Sew rows of blocks together to complete your
quilt top (use pins, you may need to ease in some seams to your blocks line up perfectly).
5.
Press! Step back and enjoy!
Now you can baste, quilt and bind your quilt in your
favorite way!
I am off to finish this one. I will make it my personal goal
to have this finished to show you by the end of the
Christmas in July Challenge. I can’t wait to see what you make.
Link up your projects by between
July 21
st and August 4
th on the
Sew Lux Blog for a chance
to win fabulous prizes. More importantly, get a jump on the Christmas sewing
and avoid the craziness that can come with that season!
For complete challenge details see
here.
Full Disclosure: This fabric was given to me in exchange for writing this tutorial, but I love Sew Lux and I buy fabric there all of the time. My endorsement of the shop is heartfelt and my opinions are my own.
