Varsity Fabrics + Line Up Quilt Tutorial

Happy Friday!  We've been enjoying some beautifully warm weather all week and the sunshine has been doing my soul some good!  I admit that it's fun to pull out favorite boots and sweaters each fall, but I'm NOT a fan of cold weather at all.  

In our house not only does fall mean colder weather, but it also means it's football season and more importantly, marching band season!  Our high school football team has finished their regular season games already but we've still got plenty of college games to watch in the next month or so.  

Over the past week I've been sewing with these fun football prints from a new fabric line called Varsity.  It was designed by one of my favorite designers, Deena Rutter for Riley Blake Designs.  The brown texture print and the green yardline prints are so fun!

I'm always on the lookout for a great way to use pre-cut squares so I designed this quilt for either 5" squares or 10" squares, but you can totally also use fat quarters, or even just yardage like I did!

Here's how to make your own Line Up quilt (finished quilt measures 58.5" x 70"):


You'll need-

143 total 5" print squares

• 1 layer cake / 10" stacker
• or 4 charm packs / 5" stackers
• or 12 fat quarters
• or 9 prints, 1/3 yard of each

1 1/4 yards white solid fabric

1/2 yard binding fabric

3 3/4 yards backing fabric

Cutting:

Cut all print fabrics into 5" squares.  You'll need 143 total. 

From the white solid fabric cut:

     15 strips, 2" x width of fabric

     3 strips, 3" x width of fabric

From the binding fabric cut:

     7 strips, 2.5" x width of fabric

Quilt Construction:

1.     Divide squares into 11 rows of 13 blocks each.  Arrange into rows.  

2.     For all odd numbered rows (1, 3, 5, 7, 11) sew squares together into one long row.  Cut 1/4" from just the two squares on both ends of the rows. Rows should measure 58.5" long.

3.     For all even numbered rows, cut one square in half and place the halves on each end of the row.  Sew squares together into rows.  Rows should measure 58.5" long.

4.     Sew the 2"-wide white strips together end to end to make one long strip.  Cut into ten, 58.5"-long strips.

5.     Sew the 3"-wide white strips together end to end to make one long strip.  Cut into two, 58.5"-long strips.

6.     Sew the pieced rows and white strips together as shown in the diagram.  The first and last white strips will be the 3"-wide ones.

To keep the rows from shifting as you sew them together, find the center point of each row and mark with a pin.  When you sew two rows together, match up the center points and then pin along the length of the row. 

Quilt top should measure 58.5" x 70"

If you make a Line Up quilt I'd love to see it!  Tag me on Instagram (@abrightcorner) and use the hashtags #lineupquilt and #abrightcorner so we can all see what you've created!  

Have a fantastic weekend, and I hope you're able to squeeze in some sewing!

Quilt details:

58.5" x 70"

Pattern: Line Up quilt tutorial

Fabric: Varsity by Deena Rutter for Riley Blake Designs

Quilting: Two Scoops (edge to edge computerized design)

Backing: Riley Blake Confetti Cottons solid

Diamond Patchwork Quilt Tutorial

Updated: Want to make a crib size version of this quilt?  Scroll to the bottom of the post for details!

Hello everyone!  I have a new quilt to share with you and since I've been getting a lot of questions about it over on Instagram I thought I'd also share a tutorial for how I made it.

I fell in love with the Swell Christmas fabrics from the moment I first saw them and knew they'd be perfect in a quilt of just patchwork squares. The addition of the diamond design was just what was needed to give the quilt that little extra something.

Want to make your own Diamond Patchwork quilt?  

You'll need:
17 Fat Quarters
1 yard of white solid (I used Moda Bella 97)
5/8 yard of binding fabric
4 yards of backing fabric

Cut each FQ into 3 1/2" squares (25 squares from each FQ, need 421 total)
Cut the white solid fabric into 3 1/2" squares (need 104 total)

To make the quilt, lay out squares into 25 rows with 21 squares in each.  A design wall is handy to have for this step, but a floor will work fine too.

Instead of constructing this quilt in rows like I usually do, I pieced it in sections.  I broke the quilt diagram down into 12 sections and it was much more manageable.

As I finished piecing a section, I labeled each one in the top left corner (just a slip of paper and pin works fine - nothing fancy!) That did two things - it helped me keep the sections organized, and knowing that it was marked in the top left corner helped me know which way was "up" on each section.

Once all of the sections are pieced, then sew the sections together.

Quilt top will measure 63.5" x 75.5"

I quilted mine with swirls - it's a longarm design called Soho.  The backing is a light green flannel so the quilt will be nice and cozy.

If you make a Diamond Patchwork quilt I'd love to see it!  Tag me on Instagram (@abrightcorner) and use the hashtags #diamondpatchworkquilt and #abrightcornerpatterns so we can all see what you've created!

Happy sewing everyone!

Quilt details:
63" x 75"
Pattern:  Diamond Patchwork quilt tutorial
Fabric:  Swell Christmas (by Urban Chiks for Moda)
Quilting:  Soho (edge to edge computerized design)
Backing:  light green flannel

Edited to add:

Here are the details to make a crib size version of my Diamond Patchwork Quilt.  Finished quilt will measure 45" x 57"

You'll need:

9 Fat Quarters 

2/3 yard of white solid 

1/2 yard binding fabric

3 yards of backing fabric

Cut each FQ into 3 1/2" squares (25 from each FQ, need 221 total)

Cut the white solid fabric into 3 1/2" squares (need 64 total)

To make the quilt, lay out the squares into 19 rows with 15 squares in each.  Sew quilt together into sections as described above and following this diagram:

Two Secret Weapons + Splendid Sampler Block

It's Thursday which means it's time for a new, free Splendid Sampler block to be released.  And guess what?  The books are coming SOON!  I hear that some of the digital copies have already been delivered but I'm still anxiously awaiting my book - so exciting!  If you still need to order yours it's not too late - grab one here on Amazon.

Along with this week's block, I have a couple of secret weapons (a.k.a. favorite tools) to share with you - both of which really came in handy when I was making this block.  

First let me tell you about this week's block.  It was designed by Jenny Doan, and you can find the free pattern for this block here.  It's a fun version of the Cathedral Windows block and I promise it's faster and easier than you'd think!

The pattern first has you pin the window "frame" fabric on one corner of a print square -- but I used my favorite applique glue instead.  It's also called temporary basting glue, but because I use it mainly for applique, around here it's referred to as applique glue ;)

There are two bottle types for this glue-- the standard bottle (find it here on Amazon) and the EZ Squeeze bottle (find it here on Amazon).  I've used both, but personally I prefer the EZ Sqeeze bottle so I can get every.last.drop. out of the container.  

  I ran a thin line of glue along two sides of my print square...

...and then placed one cream square right sides together on top.  I gave it a quick press with the iron to set the glue.  

Then I folded back the corner.  I added a second thin line of glue along the edge (wrong side) of the white square to hold that in place as well.  

Another quick press of the iron and my square was basted and ready for the next step - no pins needed!

With the white squares (lightly) glued in place, it was much easier to sew the block together without everything shifting around on me.  

Alright - now for favorite tool #2:

When it was time to top stitch, my bent tip tweezers were super helpful!  These are great for holding tiny things in place as you stitch them.  

See how the tips get right in close to the presser foot?  Now, keep in mind that at this point I'm sewing slowly, and being very careful to not sew over the tweezers.  

I keep a pair of these tweezers next to my machine and use them fairly often!  I bought them here on Amazon in a pack of 4.  I'm glad I bought the four pack - two pair have already wandered off to help with other hobbies like perler beads.  The secret is out and my kids have realized how handy these are!


Now I need to play catch-up on a few of the older Splendid Sampler II blocks.  I've been working on them here and there but haven't shared photos of them yet!

First up is Tulip in Bloom designed by Nadra Ridgeway (download the block pattern here).

I also made this block called Point Taken, designed by Susan Ache (download the pattern here.)

The last catch-up block is called Betty's Bloom designed by Carl Hentsch (download the pattern here.)

I can't wait for the book to arrive so I can see all of the fun blocks!  You can find the past free blocks here on the Splendid Sampler blog. 

Happy sewing everyone!  
--Andy

**This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post.

Fun New Zipper Pouches

Well hello everyone!  I have a couple of fun zipper pouches to share with you today but I also wanted to let you know that I've been busy working behind the scenes on some other things, including some new quilt tutorials.  They'll be heading your way soon!

These two pretty zipper pouches were made using the Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial from Noodlehead.  There are three sizes available with the tutorial - I made the medium and large sizes.  

I wanted to make these pouches for my mom's birthday and I had a few prints from the new fabric line by Sedef Imer (Down Grapevine Lane) called Summer Blush.  They were perfect! You can find Summer Blush fabrics here from the Fat Quarter Shop.  Such pretty prints! 

I've used the Open Wide pouch tutorial before and it's one of my favorites. The tutorial is easy to follow - even for someone like me who only sews zippers a few times each year.  

I like to customize my pouches  - you can do pretty much anything to the outside of the pouch. Just make sure the outer bag piece measures what the tutorial asks for! You can make them as scrappy as you'd like, or use a favorite small quilt block on one side.  

I did a thin flange (a thin strip folded in half and sewn between the top and bottom halves) for the small pouch and it added a nice separation between the two green prints.  

For more information about my source for zippers and what interfacing I recommend, check out this post about my favorite zipper pouch tutorials!

You can also find more zipper pouch tutorials here on my Bags & Pouches Pinterest Board:

Happy sewing everyone!

--Andy