Hello! This is Kim from Persimon Dreams. I’m so excited to be blogging at the them-o-web site for the first time today!
I’m going to share with you a quilt I made for a sweet little baby today. It’s using Pat Sloan’s newest fabric line for Moda, The Sweet Life. I’m mixing the batiks with the prints and the end result is wonderful!
I wanted to see what the difference was between Heat N Bond®EZ Featherlite and Heat N Bond® EZ Lite so I did a little experiment with this project! I was super excited to discover that these fusible sheets are offered in Pre-Cut Sheets that you can feed right in your printed!
So – I knew I was going to use a fun mix of The Sweet Life prints and I wanted to experiment with the two different fusible but I still need to find an inspiration for what I wanted to applique.
And then, as I was scrolling down facebook, inspiration struck. A friend of mine recently had a beautiful baby, Vivi.
photo by KaitlinSheran Photography
Vivi is a #VIB – Very Important Butterfly. She was born with Turner Syndrome. Turner Syndrome is chromosomal condition that describes girls and women with common features that are caused by a full or partial absence of the second sex chromosome. It occurs in approximately 1 out of 2,000 females born.
The butterfly symbol to raise awareness about this syndrome was my inspiration for this quilt – Butterflies for Vivi.
Project: Butterflies for Vivi
Cutting Instructions (the scrappier the better):
Butterfly Blocks
- 12 – 8.5” squares
- 12 – 7.5” squares
- 12 sheets of Heat N Bond® fusible – either lite or featherlite
- Print Butterfly templates
Patchwork Sashing
- 4 – 2.5” x 40” strips – all different fabrics
- 4 – 2.5” x 42” strips – all different fabrics
- 20 – 2.5” squares
I decided to applique butterflies onto 8.5” blocks. I sketched out my butterflies onto a piece of paper to be copied onto the pre-cut sheets of the Heat N Bond®.
I made three copies of each of the above two butterfly shapes onto Heat N Bond EZ Lite.
And I printed three copies of these two butterfly shapes onto Heat N Bond EZ Featherlite.
I followed the instructions on the back of the package and had zero problems printing my templates out.
Once your template is printed on the fusible, trim off the excess and place in a sealable plastic bag for future projects. (See Pat Sloan’s ‘Note to Self’)
Press the butterfly template to the wrong side of the 7.5” square and trim off the excess!
For this little baby quilt I made 12 butterfly blocks. If I were to just sew these together my quilt would be 24” x 32” which isn’t a bad size for a baby quilt but I wanted it to be a little bigger. I’m hoping this quilt gets laid out in the grass for lots of outdoor play this summer so it needs to have some room for Vivi to move around. How do I make it bigger? Sashing of course!
If you’ve followed along on my blog, Persimon Dreams, at all you know that I rarely ever just do a single strip sashing. I like to make fun and crazy sashings! I’m going to share with you a quick way to make a fun and scrappy sashing. We’re going to strip piece a sashing!
Take the four strips that are 40” long and sew them together the long way.
Sew the four strips together along the long side, pressing towards the darker fabric. You know have a piece of fabric that is 8.5” by 40”.
Square up your edge before cutting your strips.
Now, cut 2.5” x 8.5” strips out. You should get 15 pairs of patchwork sashing. Repeat this with your four 2.5” x 42” strips. That should get you 16 more pairs of patchwork sashing.
Lay out your strips around the butterfly blocks. Cut out 2.5” squares for the cornerstones.
And look! How fun does this look with that fabulous scrappy feel that really didn’t take all that much effort to create!
Layout the sashings and cornerstones and sew the top together. I pressed towards the butterfly blocks.
Once I had my top together I quilted it and bound it.
I used a blanket stitch around each of the butterflies. Their antennae are a bit small so I just free motion quilted in those to tack them down.
In the sashing, I set my machine to make a fun serpentine shaped fancy stitch and I “straight” stitched down the sides of the sashing and once through the middle.
So – what did I find the difference to be with the Lite vs. the Featherlite?
Heat N Bond EZ Lite – This has been a favorite fusible of mine for years and it still is. You can still feel it in the quilt but it’s not stiff and uncomfortable. It stays fused really nicely even if you’re moving your fabrics around a lot before you stitch it down in place.
Heat N Bond EZ Featherlite – This is wonderful stuff too! It’s much harder to feel a fusible under the applique in the final quilt. One thing I would do differently though is I would do my fancy stitching right away instead of waiting for the quilt sandwich. I found that it didn’t hold quite as well as the lite when I was piecing the rest of the quilt on. OR I might fuse my butterflies on once I had the main quilt top put together so I wasn’t ‘playing’ with the unstitched applique pieces as much. That being said, even though some bits of my butterflies weren’t quite fused down the stitching into place still went smoothly.
I would use both of these products again and I’m definitely a fan of the pre-cut sheets.
It was a foggy morning for the photo shoot but I love how bright and cheery the fabrics look when all mixed together like this! And the final dimensions of the quilt – 32” x 42” – perfect for baby Vivi!
Join us all this week and next as we share project using Pat Sloan’s amazing new The Sweet Life Fabric collection from Moda Fabrics!
Mary jones
April 14, 2015 at 7:47 am (10 years ago)Very Nice
Claire
April 14, 2015 at 2:43 pm (10 years ago)I’d make a pretty umbrella quilt just for spring with lots of flowers.
Anna Lutz-Brown
April 14, 2015 at 5:19 pm (10 years ago)I have to say i really liked your butterflies ….The quilt showed so much fun in it ty for sharing… .
Alexis
April 15, 2015 at 12:32 am (10 years ago)Love the florals! so perfect for babies…
Nicole Sender
April 15, 2015 at 12:48 am (10 years ago)I would sew a summer quilt doe my son & his wife!
Michelle Olsen
April 15, 2015 at 1:08 am (10 years ago)I’d definitely make an appliqued table runner for spring/summer. Thanks for the chance to win!
Diane Menard
April 15, 2015 at 4:31 am (10 years ago)Love the butterflies and fabric choices. Just beginning to machine applique and looking forward to using heat n bond
Amy
April 15, 2015 at 6:05 am (10 years ago)I haven’t tried appliqué before, but this looks like fun. A quilt with some applique would be nice. Beautiful quilt!
Machelle
April 15, 2015 at 7:35 am (10 years ago)Appreciate the review. I haven’t yet used the Featherlite product. The quilt is gorgeous! I am a sucker for anything with a butterfly on it. Thank you for graciously sharing the pattern and for the info on VIB,Turner’ s syndrome.
Katy M
April 15, 2015 at 8:05 am (10 years ago)lovely bright quilt 🙂 I’d love to try making one if I won the fabric!
Sue E Howland
April 15, 2015 at 8:06 am (10 years ago)Love the boldness and brightness of this line.
laura
April 15, 2015 at 9:07 am (10 years ago)I loved your blog post on making this quilt. I learned a lot.
I would love to win this giveaway – I am new to the world of applique.
Delaine
April 15, 2015 at 9:08 am (10 years ago)I love the daisy wall hanging on the cover of the book so I would make that first. Thanks!
Sarah
April 15, 2015 at 10:40 am (10 years ago)I love your butterfly quilt and the thought behind it.
I would love to make a quilt if I win. Thanks for the giveaway!
Sarah J.
April 15, 2015 at 1:19 pm (10 years ago)I would love to make a summer quilt from this line– so cheerful!
dianna eickhorn
April 15, 2015 at 1:42 pm (10 years ago)Thanks for posting the Sweet little Vivi quilt! They’re both so adorable!
Vicki H
April 15, 2015 at 3:56 pm (10 years ago)I would make a table runner.
Dot H
April 15, 2015 at 4:07 pm (10 years ago)I am new to applique so I would start with something small like a placemat.
Sandky K
April 15, 2015 at 4:08 pm (10 years ago)I would use the fabric to applique flowers on my granddaughters dress.
Othella Wells
April 15, 2015 at 4:58 pm (10 years ago)That is such a pretty quilt. I love your butterflies.
Susan Slovinsky
April 15, 2015 at 5:30 pm (10 years ago)Thanks for the lovely pattern and all of the product info.
Margo
April 15, 2015 at 6:24 pm (10 years ago)I am just learning how to use fusibles! I think a couple of bibs would be cute for my new Great Niece! So many ways to use this!
Debby
April 15, 2015 at 10:13 pm (10 years ago)I’m thinking a quilt or a tote bag or maybe even a new apron would be fun with this happy line!
usairdoll
April 16, 2015 at 1:14 am (10 years ago)What a super giveaway!! Love your butterfly quilt! I know several friends that love butterflies and now I have a darling pattern,hehe. I’d.like to make a table runner for the summer. Gorgeous fabric!
Awesome giveaway! Thanks for a chance to win,
usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
Claire Ross
April 16, 2015 at 1:34 am (10 years ago)Gorgeous fabric. I am new to quilting so would make some mug rugs or a quilted tote bag x
Greta
April 16, 2015 at 7:26 am (10 years ago)Love this bright mix of prints!
Jessica P.
April 16, 2015 at 7:50 am (10 years ago)This line is perfect for a little girls sun dress. I would love to make my daughter one out of it.
Karen
April 16, 2015 at 8:07 am (10 years ago)Lovely fabric. I
janna
April 16, 2015 at 8:54 am (10 years ago)Lovely quilt! I would make a baby quilt for my darling new niece.
Jo
April 16, 2015 at 2:21 pm (10 years ago)What a beautiful quilt. I love to mix collections with other fabrics – I was worried it was against the rules! I would use Pat’s fabric to make tote bags with matching pencil cases and scrunchies for my shoebox girls.
Debra Kay Neiman
April 16, 2015 at 9:45 pm (10 years ago)I want to make a baby quilt and that wall applique quilt on her book cover. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com
Carole
April 16, 2015 at 9:57 pm (10 years ago)i love the butterfly quilt and i really want to make one so pretty
Wendy R.
April 17, 2015 at 1:00 am (10 years ago)Beautiful! I would love to make a quilt.
Nancy Hilderbrand
April 17, 2015 at 1:08 am (10 years ago)I feel for Vivi. I have a granddaughter who is missing a chromosome. She is 14 and reminds me of a butterfly. I love your butterflird.
joanne roberts
April 17, 2015 at 3:22 am (10 years ago)I’m really into the pin wheel patter right now and trying to get it right. My next pattern will be the orange peel. But this butterfly quilt is awesome
joanne roberts
April 17, 2015 at 3:24 am (10 years ago)I’m really into the pin wheel pattern right now and trying to get it right. My next pattern will be the orange peel. But this butterfly quilt is awesome
Lauren aka Giddy99
April 17, 2015 at 10:35 am (10 years ago)Love the butterflies! I think a table runner would be lovely!
Sarah
April 17, 2015 at 5:45 pm (10 years ago)I would make a baby quilt. I seem to be in a baby quilt making phase lately!
Jen B
April 17, 2015 at 9:25 pm (10 years ago)I’d make a wall hanging, so I could try out appliqué on a smaller project.
Donna
April 19, 2015 at 4:34 pm (10 years ago)Wonderful to be Able to print your appliqué shapes right on the thermo web fusible sheets.
Thanks for sharing your method of doing sashing, I will be doing that for some of my scrappy quilts.