The Quarantine Quilt Project

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make a quilt?  Now is the perfect time! 🙂  And if you have never quilted before, no worries!  The “Quarantine Quilt” Project is perfect for beginners! 

Over the next eight weeks we will complete a throw size quilt (44″ x 59″) from start to finish and learn six types of quilt blocks and some quilting techniques along the way!

Here is my preliminary sketch for the Quarantine Quilt – it is six different quilt blocks, two of each for a total of 12 blocks, with borders between the blocks and around the outside edges.  And don’t get scared by all those fancy triangle shapes!  We will learn how to do half square triangles (HST’s) in week 3 and they are not bad at all!

Oh and here is a sneak peak at our first quilt block that we will start on next week…

You can totally do this!!!

Each week for the first six weeks, I will have instructions for the Block of the Week – you can do the block just to practice and learn how to do it if you don’t want to make a full quilt, or if you are interested in making the throw quilt, you will make two of the same block each week, so that at the end of the six weeks, you will have a total of 12 blocks!

Here’s a breakdown of the project by week:

• Week 1: Learn Block #1
• Week 2: Learn Block #2
• Week 3: Learn Block #3
• Week 4: Learn Block #4
• Week 5: Learn Block #5
• Week 6: Learn Block #6
• Week 7: Sew borders and assemble front of quilt
• Week 8: Quilting and Binding

You can join in the project at any time, but start with the week 1 block since the skills learned each week will build on each other.  At the very end, I look forward to seeing pictures of everyone’s completed quilts or blocks!  And please feel free to complete this project at your own pace! Just do a little at a time and have fun!

Materials needed for the project:

(April 2020 Note: As of right now, all these supplies are available online from Joann.com and they always have coupons as well!)

• Fabric – since fabric may be harder to get, now is the perfect time to go all Depression-style and use up scraps!  This is a great scrap buster project, because all the pieces we will need are generally 3 1/2″ squares (except for the borders and back of quilt). However, if you would like your quilt to be more coordinated, here are some suggested amounts:
  • 1 yard each of four different fabrics 
  • 1 yard white fabric
  • 1 yard for borders
  • 2 yards for back of quilt (can use cotton fabric or even a soft fabric like minky, though it’s a little trickier to sew)
• Batting – you will need about two yards of quilt batting. This is what makes a quilt plush and warm. It comes in different thicknesses and it is up to you which one you would like! I have also seen people use fleece as a batting layer – this can be a cheaper option!
• Binding – for the binding, you can use something called Double Fold Bias Tape Quilt Binding.  It comes in just about every color of the rainbow, and they come in packages of 3 yards, so you will need two packages, for a total of six yards.

A note about colors and fabrics: a question that comes up with a lot of my students is how do I pick colors and fabrics for a quilt? It may not be particularly helpful to say you can do whatever you want (though it’s true!). For prints, so that it doesn’t get too crazy, you can pick one or two bigger or bolder prints and one or two small prints (like small flowers or polkadots). For the color choices, here are some ideas:

• Go monochromatic – pick colors and fabrics that are in a similar color family (ex. all reds, or all turquoises). Here is a monochromatic quilt design from Diary of a Quilter

• Pick one fabric you really like and then pull other colors from that – in my example, I really wanted to use the multicolored flower scraps I had, so I found other scraps that pulled the turquoise, coral, and yellow. They don’t match exactly, but they are scraps and they work!

• Look around you and see color combinations that look nice together (I tend to look at nature, so for example blue sky and green trees, blending colors of a sunset in purple, orange, and yellow, flowers that are pink and yellow with stems of green, a stormy day at sea with grays, blues and greens, etc.)  You can pick colors next to each other on the color wheel (like purples and blues), or directly across (like pinks and greens)

• Go random! – especially if you are using scraps, you can use all kinds of fabrics and colors together, like the one found here

Most importantly, have fun with it, and don’t agonize over it for hours (I would only know about that happening because I am guilty of doing that – sometimes you just have to pick something and go with it!)

Phew!!! Ok so now you have a lot to think about before next week! 🙂  So that we have a little time to assemble materials, I will post the first week’s quilt block next week! So stay tuned! (You can also follow Sew Happy Life on Facebook to stay updated on new posts!) See you then!

Happy Sewing!!!

   -Jamie