While I do a lot of custom quilting, every once in a while a quilt just needs some good all over texture. This Diamond Ribbon Candy quilting motif is a great way to do that. It’s an easy motif that is perfect for beginners and can easily be done on a domestic or longarm.
Marking the Quilting Motif
The first step in quilting this motif is to mark the diamond grid. If you have blocks that will work, it’s the easiest way to do it. The thing to keep in mind, is you want it wider than tall. For this quilt top, I chose to go down one and over two. I looked at my blocks as grid paper and just connected corner to corner. If you don’t have blocks that are conducive to this design, you can also use the lines on your quilting ruler, you’ll likely want either the 30 degree or 60 degree line to create the desired effect. The 45 degree line will work, but it will end up as squares instead of diamonds.
When marking a quilt, make sure that you test your pen first. I am using an air erase marker and will mark as I go. If you want to mark it all before you quilt, make sure to use something that is more permanent, like chalk, heat erase, or a water soluble marker. This will eliminate the worry of having your lines disappear before you get a chance to quilt everything.
Quilting the Ribbon Candies
After you get the grid marked, it’s just a matter of filling it with ribbon candies. Simply move back and forth across the quilt, filling the diamonds completely with the ribbon candies, expanding and contracting the design as needed. Don’t worry about making a hard stop in between the diamonds, simply make them small (it doesn’t have to fit perfectly) then expand and continue down the line.
This design is a quick pattern that can finish off a quilt with style. It adds just enough texture and the diamond shape adds lots of interest. It’s also perfect to adjust larger or smaller to fit any quilt you are working on.
If you’d like to make your own scrap flower quilt, get the block instructions here and find the free pattern in our subscriber library.
