I had such fun using these 1930’s vintage reproduction fabrics for this quilt. They remind me of when I was young and my great grandmother died and I was given a large tin of her fabrics that she had cut out for quilting. These fabrics remind me so much of those.
I designed this quilt using Half Square Triangles, placed so that they looked like diamonds. Each HST had a vintage style fabric on one side and a low volume fabric on the other. I’ve already received quite a few inquiries about the low volume prints, so I’m going to try to list as many as I can in this post with lots of links.
The finished block size (after sewing into the quilt) was 4″. I cut 5.5″ strips and then cut these into 5.5″ squares. From these, I made my HSTs and then trimmed them down to a working size of 4.5″. There were 180 total HSTs.
Most of the low volume prints I used in this quilt were from the AWESOME Robert Kaufman collection called “Hints in Prints”. I purchased these fabrics from Pink Castle Fabrics in Ann Arbor. Finding this kind of tiny low volume print isn’t easy and this collection is so great. Pink Castle has fat quarters of this collection and yardage. These tiny prints were the perfect complement to the vintage style fabrics.
The 1930’s style fabrics were some of my old favorites from Marcus Fabrics’ Aunt Grace line: this cute blue, this awesome pink , this classic blue and this sweet old fashioned yellow. I also used some cute fabrics from Penny Rose’s Milk, Sugar, Flower line that I love so much. Then I used this sweet pink fabric from Windham’s Storybook Vacation line.
The backing is a special fabric from Japanese designer Atsuko Matsuyama for Yuwa. It’s called “Language of Flowers” and it’s from the 1930’s collection – how appropriate. It features lots of flower information and old fashioned classic recipes. It looked like it fit this quilt just right. I purchased this fabric also from Pink Castle Fabrics .
The batting I used was Warm and Natural 100% cotton batting, my usual batting choice.
When I decided on how to quilt this project, I wanted to emphasize the diamonds, so I quilted on the diagonal, outlining the diamond shapes and then I did a vertical quilting down the rows and also stitched in the ditch. I used Aurifil Natural White #2021, 50 wt. thread for the top and Light Sand #2000 in the bottom, to match the backing fabric. The Natural White thread is a really nice soft white, not as stark white as the regular Aurifil White. I just thought it was perfect for the top. I quilted at a 3.5 stitch length.
The binding is one of the fabrics I used in this quilt – Toy Chest Floral Field in Red – and when I was trying to decide on a binding, this fabric seemed like it gave the perfect pop to the quilt. I love it. This fabric is just one of the line of sweet vintage fabrics designed by Sara Morgan called Toy Chest.
When I attached the binding, I used Aurifil #2260 Red Wine in the bobbin, to match the binding fabric on the back of the quilt. I had the Natural White in the top thread. I used my usual method of sewing the binding on the front, wrapping it to the back and then stitching in the ditch on the front to attach the binding to the back of the quilt.
The finished quilt is about 50″ x 60″. It’s just a great size for snuggling up with on the sofa and has a nice, soft drape to it. It has such a sweet, vintage look to it. I’m listing it in the Shop. (This quilt has now SOLD)
Thanks for stopping in!
Elaine
I’m linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, Sew Fresh Quilts, Free Motion by the River and Blossom Heart Quilts.
Seriously? Elaine! I LOVE everything you make!! I especially love this as it reminds me of days gone by.
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Thank you, Leta! I’m glad you like those old timey prints!
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Hi Elaine,
I am new to your blog, found you on pintrest
I love this 1930 ‘s diamond style scrap quilt!
Can I purchase the pattern?
Thank you
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Carolyn: Actually, I have not written a pattern for this quilt….yet. I just moved this year and it’s been all consuming but I am hoping to get a pattern for this quilt written up soon. Stay tuned!
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this quilt! Thank you so much for sharing the details. I just ordered the “Hints in Prints” Fat Quarter bundle.
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Thanks, Lori! You will love those “Hints in Prints” fabrics.
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I always love 30’s fabrics. This simple pattern is wonderful great job!
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Thanks, Pat!
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I LOVE this quilt so much! Those sweet vintage prints! And your photos are amazing. What camera do you use?
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Thank you Kay! I use a Canon 60D camera.
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What a lovely quilt! Thanks for sharing all the details.
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Thank you!
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It’s just charming in every way! Thanks for sharing the details. Your great-grandmother would be so proud of you! 🌷🌷🌷
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Thank you so much!
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what a beautiful quilt! the fabrics are really gorgeous 🙂
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This is absolutely beautiful! I too love the 30’s fabrics! Thank you for sharing so much in detail. I don’t have alot of these fabrics but I do have some charm packs. Not sure about using that size though. Jumping over to check out those low volume prints now!:) I just started following you on BlogLovin’ and Instagram! I love everything you do- thanks for sharing your beautiful work!
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Cindy: Thank you so much for your kind comment! You could totally make this with charm packs – your HSTs will just be a little smaller, that’s all.
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Such a sweet, sweet finish! That background fabric is just perfect for this, and the red binding is just the right pop.
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Thank you Allison! I do love that binding.
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Your quilt is gorgeous and reminds me of days gone by too.
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Thanks Jennifer!
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This is completely lovely, I love the diamond pattern you came up with.
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Thank you Stephanie – it’s fun to arrange and rearrange HSTs!
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What a sweet finish! I love the backing, and the red binding is the perfect touch. Lovely finish!
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Thank you so much!
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So, so beautiful!!
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What a sweet little quilt, the prints are perfect and I love the fabric on the back also the binding. Just a darling quilt!
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Heide: Thank you for stopping by!
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Your quilt and photos are stunning…lovely to come across your blog 🙂 Ali x
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Ali: Thank you so much!
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I also just came across your blog via an email from Pinterest. Your quilts and photos are beautiful. Just ordered Hint of Print. Finally bit the bullet on Loc Bloc rulers. Next up is the Stripology ruler! Thanks!
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Candt: Thank you so much! I’m glad you could use the tips I’ve posted.
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Beautiful quilt! Do you prewash your fabrics?
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Lesley: I do prewash all my fabrics. I don’t like my quilts to shrink much after they are washed, so I even soak my batting and dry it!
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Hi there!
This quilt is so beautiful, I am so excited to make this quilt for my baby girl. My Mom just gave me this darling fat quarter bundle for my birthday that has this vintage 1930’s look. Hoping to find some low volume white prints at Joann.
I was wondering if you have an estimated total yardage that was used for the white fabric? That would help a ton. Thanks so much.
Steph
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Steph: I’m so sorry, but I did not keep track of yardage!
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Thank you for letting me see this. It is absolutely in all respect beautiful.
Will stay at your heels.
With love Agneta
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Such a pretty quilt. Thanks for all your hints.
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My sister and I are each making this quilt — we just love it! Thanks so much for this post! I need a little help — I purchased yardage for the backing “The backing is a special fabric from Japanese designer Atsuko Matsuyama for Yuwa. It’s called “Language of Flowers” and it’s from the 1930’s collection” and instead of a nice white background is very beige-ish and does not look good with the 1930’s prints (mostly Aunt Grace). I looked to see if there were two backgrounds produced and only saw one. Purchased from Pink Castle Fabrics, as you did. At their webstie it also shows white and black. Mine is definintey ivory or cream and black :(. Nearly $16 / yard! Any ideas? Mary in AZ
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Mary: Actually, my fabric was beige also. I know it may look white, but it is cream. If you look at the fourth photo down in the post I think it shows the difference a little better with the front and the back of the quilt. Hope this helps!
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Thanks for responding! I should have been a more astute shopper 🙂
Your quilt is lovely!
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Mary – This is probably too late but you could look in the Modern Background Essentials by Brigitte Heitland for ZEN CHIC by Moda – they have a lot of white background fabrics.
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I am making this quilt in a king size for my daughter and her husband. We had such fun choosing the vintage fabrics and we found some fun backing fabric with wording – One Room Schoolhouse by Brenda Ratcliff for RJR Fabrics. It is an off white in color with pages from old dictionary’s along with pics in black lettering.
For a king quilt I made a total of 624×5 inch squares;
312 low volume, 312 30s inspired prints.
Having fun!
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Nancy: Thank you so much for sharing the number of squares you ended up making for a king size quilt! I’m glad you are having fun with this. I’m going to be doing a different version of this quilt with a pattern to come! It’s one of my favorites.
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A year and a half after beginning this quilt in a king size, itâs done. Just in time for my daughters 24th birthday. Â Because of its size I did not quilt on the diagonal. None the less, I think itâs wonderful. I cannot wait to give to them!
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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That is very impressive. I would love to see a photo of it!
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Just starting on this cute design w/30s reproduction fabrics…had some of the low volume prints on hand & a couple real vintage prints that will work. Had a hard time finding that red binding – Toy Chest Floral Fields – finally found it at a shop up in Minnesota. Thanks for the cute design – all of your quilts have the best color combinations!
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I just found this post on Pinterest. I absolutely adore this quilt. Just needed to let you know that you did a beautiful job on it!
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Thank you so much! It’s one of my all time favorites!
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I would really love to purchase this pattern. How can I??
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Candace: I don’t have a pattern yet but do plan to write one soon!
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This quilt is awesome
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Goood reading your post
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