Hi everyone,
{{{I apologize to you few that may have been waiting for this. It has taken me way too long to finish this. See, wha had happened was… I made another quilt to write this tutorial during my first trimester of pregnancy. At some point I was so ill I had to step away from all things fabric. Fabrics literally made me feel sick. I know sad right? And now, while I love Ruby, I can hardly look at it without feeling nauseated. Again, sad! Anyways, there’s my excuse! }}}
A couple of people requested that I do a block layout tutorial and since I apparently didn’t take very many pictures of my quilt I thought I’d just go ahead and make another quilt and document it well. So first I will give you a pattern for a lap or baby quilt. Then I’ll give you the layout I used for the blocks in this quilt.
So first, the pattern for the quilt I call “Katie Squared”.
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| Katie Squared |
Materials needed:
– 2 charm packs (I used Ruby by Moda)
– 1.25 yards of white for white charms squares
– 1/2 yard of white for border
– a half yard for binding (I used a red polka dot from Bliss by Moda)
– fabric for backing
Cutting
To start with you will need to cut from your white yardage:
-53 charm squares (5″ x 5″) and
– (4) 5″ x 14″ strips
– (6) 2.5″ x WOF (width of fabric) strips (for the border)
Next, take apart your charm packs. Chose from your charm packs four sets of 20 charms. Or 20 charms for each block (this quilt will have four blocks). I laid out my charms in a circle so I could divide the colors easily among the blocks. Plus it looks cool.
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| My four groups |
Now it’s time to layout your blocks. I’m going to show how to build a block in rounds. I highly recommend using your design, or floor…. or table! Start in the bottom corner of your design space and begin laying out your first block using (1) 5″x14″ strip, two white charms and four charms in the following fashion:
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| Round 1 |
In round two, you will add 12 more charms.
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| Round 2 |
The third and final round adds 10 more charms.
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| Round 3, first block completely laid out |
Repeat this process three times for your other three blocks.
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| Second block, it’s the one on the top |
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| Third block, on the right |
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| Fourth block on the lower right. Whole quilt laid out |
Once you’ve got your quilt blocks all laid out, consider it your rough draft and edit your charms to your liking. Also fill in all the negative space with the white charms. You will fill in the spaces between each block and around all the blocks. Here’s my final layout after my edits:
Sewing!
Once you are satisfied, it is time to start sewing your rows together. Yah! (Note: be sure to use 1/4″ seam allowance.) Sew your rows together on the diagonal like so (sew?):
After sewing, press your seams how you like. (I pressed to alternating sides so that I could butt my seams together. And I always started pressing each row by pressing away from the last white charm square, see below.)
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| See how I pressed? |
Continue sewing and pressing until all the rows are complete.
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| All rows sewn and pressed |
Now, sew your rows together. Take two rows and put them right sides together, making sure to stagger them. In other words, the rows should be different lengths and the ends will not meet.
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| See, ends not meeting. That’s a good thing. |
Keep sewing your rows together until you finish. Don’t forget to press. I pressed mine to one side.
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| All blocks sewn together. |
Now get ready to trim those jagged edges.
Line up your ruler a generous 1/4″ from the point of your colored points. (This will allow you to get nice sharp points in your finished blocks without lopping off your points.) See picture below. Then cut.
After you’ve trimmed add a 2.5″ border all around.
And there’s your quilt top! Hooray!
Now, quilt and bind it and show it to all of your friends! Or maybe give it to a friend?
She finishes at 52″ x 52″.
Now for an alternate layout. Although I used the same block, Katie’s Choice, for this quilt, I used a bit different layout. Because each block had it’s own color I wanted less of a scrappy look and a more symmetrical look.
For each block I chose 4 charms of one fabric. Each block utilized five different fabrics. (20 charms from 5 different fabrics.) The picture shows you where I put each fabric. Each fabric repeated each quarter turn about the center of the block {rotational symmetry for dorks like me. 🙂 }.
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Ok, there you have it. If you have questions or need clarification leave a comment. I would love feedback!
Thanks!
I'm waiting on my Domestic Bliss Charm packs and solids to get in the mail so that I may attempt my first quilt with this LOVELY tutorial! Thank you so much!
I love charm packs, and this is a great tutorial for using them! Found you from Pinterest. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Looking forward to trying this with smaller squares I've cut from scraps very soon!
I love this tutorial. I have some RJR Lovely charm packs. I think I'll use them to make this quilt. Thank you for the pattern.
Do you have a fabric list for the larger layout above? Not sure how much of each color/pattern to buy?
Thanks!
I don’t think I do. I do remember using 4 charm squares for each fabric in each color. I think…