We are back and ready for more free quilt along fun! We had such a good time completing our skill builder with you last year, we knew we wanted to do it again.
This year we are mixing things up and doing a mystery quilt along. Not sure what that is? It simply means, you don’t know what the finished project will look like. We promise it’s awesome though.
We’ve designed a big, bold, modern quilt to put together with you throughout the year. Each month, we’ll work on a different aspect and work towards putting it all together. After the quilt top is complete, we’ll also go over quilting it and binding it. By the end of the year you’ll have a full completed quilt, ready for snuggling. The quilt is going to finish at 60×72″.
This quilt will all be traditionally pieced. There isn’t any applique or free motion quilting. Some of the things we’ll work on are keeping all our points, putting together curves and lining them up as circles, and using templates, particularly large templates. Were also going to talk about how to keep things lined up and square as you are putting the top all together.
So let’s get started. This week we picking out fabric and will start cutting out some of the colors so they are ready to go later on in the year. We recommend making sure you have a bag or container to keep everything in so it’s organized and easy to find throughout the year.
Fabric Requirements for Throw Quilt
Finished Size 60 x 72″
So first, let’s talk fabric. You are going to need 4 main colors for this quilt top. We are using purple, green, blue, and yellow. I’ve also included other color palette options to give you different ideas. You will also need a background color. We are using white.
From two of the colors, you will only need 1 fabric. The other two you are going to want a mix of values in that color shade. Pick some light, some medium, and some a little darker. They can be prints or solids. We are using a mix of each.
- Color 1 – 1 1/4 yard
- Color 2 – 2/3 yard
- Color 3 – 4 different fabrics total
- 1/4 yard of 3 different fabrics
- 1/2 yard of 1 fabric
- Color 4 – 6 different fabrics total
- 1/4 yard of 5 different fabrics
- 1/2 yard of 1 fabric
- Background Fabric – 2 yards
- Backing – 3 3/4 yards
- Binding – 1/2 yard
Color Palette Options
Not sure what colors you want to use? Look through the options below and see if you are inspired. You can either copy one of the choices below or use it to come up with your own. If the four colors look good all together, the finished quilt will come out beautiful. With this design, the modern pattern works well with each of the four colors being placed anywhere in the design.
Cutting the Fabric
After you have gathered your fabric, we are going to start cutting some of it this month. We are starting with the background fabric and color 2. Set the rest of the fabric aside for later months.
From Color 2 (our green):
- Cut 2 strips at 3 1/2″ x WOF. These two strips will then be cut down to 40″. Make sure to cut the selvedge off first before cutting the 40″.
- Cut 15″ off the long measurement of the remaining fabric. Set the larger portion aside.
- Cut 3 strips at 3 1/2 x 15″.
From the Background Fabric (our white)
- Cut 5 strips at 6 1/2″ x WOF.
- Cut 2 of these strips into 6 1/2 x 40″
- Cut 2 strips at 6 1/2 x 21″
- Cut 12 6 1/2″ squares
- Save the remaining fabric for later.
That’s it! Come back next month and we’ll start sewing. If you have any questions on fabric selection or what you picked, don’t hesitate to reach out! We would love to help you choose the fabrics if you need assurance they will work with the final design.
Mystery quilts can be so fun to make as the final quilt all comes together as you move along. If you have any questions along the way, please shoot us an email. We want to help you be successful!
Happy Quilting!
Kimie and Missy
