Today, I am sharing a free quilt pattern that uses fabric from my latest collection, Drawn. It is actually more of a technique….but doesn’t “free pattern” sound so much better?
This quilt, Scrollburst, is made using a reverse appliqué technique. This definitely isn’t something I came up with, but I sure do enjoy doing it. It’s striking and the basic technique is really easy. In fact, Cloe and I included this technique in our kids quilting book, “Get Quilting with Angela and Cloe”
Supplies
To get started you will need: 1 1/4 yard of two different fabrics (the more contrast the better), 2 1/2 yards batting and backing, 1/3 yard of binding. There is a PDF pattern available here, read though it before you start the quilt.
The pattern tells you how to make the quilt. But if you are a visual kind of person, like me, here are some step by step pictures. Let’s get started!
Make the quilt sandwich.
Layer the backing, batting and one of the fabrics. Place the second piece on top of the quilt sandwich. Baste as normal, but don’t use basting spray between the top two layers of fabric.
Your quilt sandwich will look something like this. (Although the top two layers should be roughly the same size)
Start Quilting
This is the fun part! Quilt some designs on the quilt….whatever you want. Be sure to leave some bigger areas unquilted.
For this quilt, I quilted long swirl chain designs that went in a diagonal direction. (If you like this design, you can check it out in my book, “Shape By Shape Quilting”.) You could also quilt them in rows with space in between, or you could quilt a large allover, filler design……whatever you want!
It’s hard to see right now, but just wait….we are getting ready to unleash some bright fabric!
Snip, Snip, Snip
Using a pair of sharp, pointy scissors, carefully cut away the top fabric in the bigger, unquilted areas. Trim about 1/4″ away from the quilting.
When I am doing this on my longarm, I leave the quilt loaded and just trim away while it’s on the machine. But you could take it off and reload it for the next step.
Don’t worry is it’s a little jagged, you can smooth it out later.
Time for More Quilting
Now it’s time to add more quilting…can you ever have too much? Fill in the newly revealed areas with more quilting.
Keep quilting……..
………..until all the areas are filled in. This is what my quilt looked like after trimming it:
But we are not done yet!
More Snipping
This step is purely optional, but it really adds to the look of the quilt. Grab your quilt and scissors, get somewhere comfy, and then trim away some of the top fabric between the quilting in random areas.
You can do as much or as little as you like, depending on how much you want to highlight the designs that you quilted. Bind and enjoy!
A few final tips:
- Experiment with different fabrics to come up with some fun combinations. Try two bright and crazy colors for a bold quilt or two similar colors for a more muted look.
- Try using linen for the top fabric. It’s looser weave makes it easier to cut with the scissors and also gives the quilt an even more “crinkly” look when washed.
- Keep some fabric glue handy. If you accidentally cut through both layers, you can put a dab on the cut to keep it from fraying.
Get The Kit!
What do you think? Does this quilt sound like something you would like to try making? If so, the kit is available on my website.
Happy Quilting!!
I absolutely love this technique! Even if I have to quilt on my tiny domestic machine 😉 I really would like to call a Longarm my own… some day maybe ;-)) In the meantime I join your class on Craftsy 😀
Thank you for sharing this idea.
Looks fun!!
Really awesome idea, Angela — thank you!
An interesting take on reverse applique!
I love this. I will put this on my list of “must do quilts”.Great for that fabric you can’t bring yourself to cut into.
Great pattern – thanks.
I haven’t had the opportunity to try it yet, but I love this technique! It looks great in your fabric! I also love your book with Cloe! My son, age 9, and daughter, age 6, are almost finished with their cuddle quilts. It has been so much fun! I’m getting two more books for my neices for Christmas.