DIY Network

Night Blooms Instructions for making a floral quilt with a geometric border From "Uncommon Threads" episode DUCT-117

Material Girl Jessica Sherwood-Mathis shares her vivid pattern for a quilt she calls Night Blooms. She'll show how she traces her pattern onto interfacing and uses that as a guide to place the appliqué pieces. She'll also show how to stitch the pieces on using needle-turn appliqué.

Editor's note: We will provide downloadable patterns for this project as soon as they become available. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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Materials:

Night Blooms

pattern (Note: You can either print out the pattern on your home computer or take it to a copy or reprographics shop and have it printed out full size on their large format plotters. If you choose to print in on you home printer, make sure to select the "tile" feature so that it will print on multiple pages. You can then tape the pages together to make the entire pattern.)
100% cotton fabric, in the following quantities:
3/4 yd. background fabric in a variety of dark purples (should be low contrast or mottled prints)
1-3/4 yds. appliqué fabric (bright colors that contrast well with background fabrics; can be scraps and small pieces)
fabric for paper pieced triangle border: 1/2 yd. dark purple, 3/4 yd. medium purple, 1/4 yd. light purple
1/2 yd. accent color for inner border and binding
1 yd. backing fabric
1/2 yd. lightweight nonfusible interfacing for placement guide (Note: This should be the lightest-weight and most transparent interfacing that you can find. You'll find that some interfacing will be very transparent but won't have the fuzzy texture needed to use my method of placing your appliqué pieces. Look for an interfacing that a small piece of cotton fabric will stick to and that is still light enough that you can scrunch it up in your hand easily and see through enough to see your fabric piece.)
template plastic
thread, in the following amounts and types:
100% cotton thread in a neutral color for piecing
silk thread or 60-wt. machine embroidery thread for needle-turn appliqué in colors to match the appliqué pieces
decorative thread for machine quilting
batting (cotton or cotton/poly blend are my favorites)
vellum drafting paper (Note: This is used to paper pieced the boarders. You can find this on rolls or in 8-1/2"x11" sheets at most office-supply stores or reprographics shops. Also, a reprographics shop can print out the border patterns on vellum for you.)
removable fabric marking pencils (white chalk pencil will work for most fabrics)
basic sewing supplies

Piece Background

1. Cut 15 squares (6-1/2") from background fabrics.

2. Sew the squares together to form 3x4 grid.

Figure A

3. Because the background will shrink slightly as you appliqué, I like to add the inner border before starting the appliqué. This makes it easier to trim the piece to exactly the correct size before adding the paper pieced borders. Cut three 2" strips from accent fabric and cut one strip in half.

4.Sew the strips to purple background and miter the corners using your favorite method (figure A).

Create Templates and Placement Guide

Figure B

1. With a fine-tip permanent pen, trace all the flower and leaf shapes onto template plastic (figure B). Mark all piece numbers on the templates so that you know which side is right side up and can keep all the templates organized. Mark the registration lines indicating which edges are under other pieces. Using your paper scissors, cut out all the shapes directly on the line. You can use an emery board to remove any jagged edges.

Note: You need to make only one set of templates for flower A. To mark fabric for the A flower pieces labeled with R (reverse), turn the templates upside down.

Figure C

2. I prefer using an overlay rather that marking my background because I think it gives me more flexibility. If I decide that I don't like the placement of something in the design, I can move it by just shifting the placement guide over. To make the guide, cut a piece of interfacing the same size as the background. With a fine-tip permanent pen, trace the appliqué pattern and the dashed seam lines and mark the piece numbers (figure C).

3. Lay the placement guide in place on the background by aligning the dashed lines with the seams.

4. Baste placement guide to background along one side only.

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