(Note: After many requests, I have now written a PDF pattern for this quilt! You can find it here.)
This is my last quilt for 2017 and I wanted to get it posted before the holidays! I photograph my quilts outside and so this was a real challenge because it was 17° and we were going to get 6 inches of snow that day. I sort of had one shot to get some pictures. The rest of the week would have too much snow to be able to shoot. I was freezing, but managed to get decent photos. I’ve had a few inquiries asking if there is a pattern – no, there isn’t but I’m going to give you my cutting instructions and hope that helps.
I can’t help myself with mustard and greys together – I just love that color combination. The big reason for making this quilt, though, was that I wanted to experiment with a new type of batting. I wanted a bigger, heavier quilt but still wanted to machine quilt. I have used two layers of Warm and Natural in the past, but found that too stiff. A woman in a quilt shop suggested Quilter’s Dream. They make several different lofts and I wanted to see if I could use the heaviest loft, Supreme, and still machine quilt successfully. The answer was yes, although it takes a little muscle to manipulate the quilt as you are quilting it! The quilt ended up having a very nice heft to it without being bulky and is perfect for curling up with on the sofa. Also, I believe the Quilter’s Dream is less stiff than Warm and Natural. It is more expensive, but worth it if a little more suppleness is important to you.
The fabrics were all from my stash. Some of the mustard fabrics were from one of my all time favorite lines, Magnolia, from Camelot Fabrics. Some of the greys were from Zen Chic for Moda, Robert Kaufman Basketweave and Light and Shade. Many of these fabrics are no longer available but you can find some from Etsy sellers.
My background color for this was Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solid in Snow.
The quilt ended up being 48″ x 60″, which I consider about the perfect throw size. I played around with the arrow blocks and how to lay them out – there were so many good patterns they could make. I made 80 arrow blocks total. I used 20 different print fabrics and made 4 arrow blocks for each fabric.
Each arrow block requires: (1) 3.5″ square print, (1) 3.5″ square background and (2) Half Square Triangles of the print and the background.
Here is how I did my cutting:
For each different print fabric, I cut (4) 3.5″ squares (80 print squares total)
I cut (80) 3.5″ squares of the background fabric
I made (8) HSTs of each print fabric (160 HSTs total)
This is all you need to make the top. I made the HSTs by doing the eight-at-a-time method, which is fast and perfect for this top, because each different print fabric took just that many HSTs. I cut (1) 8.25″ square of each print fabric and (1) 8.25″ square of the background fabric. Then follow the eight-at-a-time method.
For the binding, I used my favorite gingham – Robert Kaufman Carolina Gingham in silver. This gingham comes in many colors and I love keeping it in my binding stash drawer. It was also one of the prints in the quilt. I made 2.5″ binding and used this method to attach it. I keep my walking foot on when I attach the binding now.
For the backing fabric, I used an old favorite from the Maker Line by Art Gallery called “Make and Pin”. I love this fabric and it makes a great backing fabric because of the random pattern. I used this method to make the backing, avoiding the dreaded cutting and piecing of the backing, which I hate.
I machine quilted using Aurifil 40 wt thread in Muslin. It’s a little heavier than the 50 wt and I like the way it looks on the quilt. I used a 4.0″ stitch length with a walking foot.
I love the way this quilt turned out and I made it just for us, so I’m looking forward to curling up with it in the years to come.
I hope these cutting instructions are helpful to you. If you have any questions, just e-mail me.
Have a great holiday season and a wonderful New Year. See you in 2018!
Elaine
Love this quilt. Wonderful colors, they work so well together along with the design. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Deborah.
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Another beautiful quilt! Love it! Thank you for generously sharing your methods and your fabric choices. So inspirational!
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Thank you, Judy!
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As always, just beautiful! Love the simplicity of this quilt and you have made me a fan of the color mustard👍
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So glad you like it, John!
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Beautiful. Simply Beautful.
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Love this, thanks so much !
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I really like your quilts, the colors, the patterns, and the style. Thank you for including your cutting tips. Merry Christmas!
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Thank you, Ruth!
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I am new to quilting and I love this quilt! I’d like to attempt it, but how do I know how much fabric to buy of each color? Also, do you wash all favorite before you press and begin cutting?
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Traci: I just used fabric that I had in my stash, so I didn’t keep track of how much fabric I used. However, I gave detailed cutting instructions in the post and you might be able to figure out how much fabric to use. Also, I prewash all of my fabrics before using them – I do not want any surprises when the quilt first gets washed. If any fabrics are going to bleed or shrink, I want them to do that before I sew the quilt. Hope this helps.
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Hi Elaine, I am fairly new to sewing. I would like to try to make a quilt like the one you made with the blue and gray owls. I have my 4 fabrics picked out. Would you mind sharing how much of each fabric I need to purchase? Many thanks…..Carol
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Carol: I have had so many people ask me this question and honestly, I didn’t keep track while making it! I have had so many requests for this information, though, I may go back and try to figure it out and look at my notes or maybe even write a pattern for it. Sorry!
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Thank you for your reply! Please please go back and write a pattern for us!!!!
Carol
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Pingback: Arrow Block Quilt PDF Pattern Release | Beech Tree Lane Handmade
Did you add the binding before quilting??
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I love this quilt! It popped up on my Pinterest feed and i saved it straight away. Another ToDo in my growing file….thank you for the detailed instructions ♡
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thanks for sharing really like it will make this my next project ,, as well as using my “chunky ” batting from the thrift store.. Nancy
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Love this! Thanks for the great instructions.
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Hello! I used to sell depression era quilts, and yours remind me of some of those beauties. Would you please contact me at the e-mail address I’m providing to discuss ordering a baby quilt? I’m interested in how long it would take; and whether modifications to a couple of quilts I’ve seen on your site are possible. I’m interested in at least one, but maybe two. [1/13/2020]
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Wonderful fabric store. I love this.
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Do you have a baby size of this quilt?
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Julie: Sorry, no I don’t.
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