tutorials

I Love You Quilt - Meet the Quilt

Kimberlee Tanner

Tags Foundation Paper Piecing, Meet the Quilt, Quilt Pattern

I love you quilt

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Construction Type:  Foundation Paper Piecing

Recommended Sewing Level:  Beginner

Quilt Size(s):  Includes layouts for Baby, Throw and Twin 

How it Came to Be:

When I first started designing I Love You, I actually started out playing around with hearts. In my mind, I was going to make a couple different hearts in lots of different sizes, easy to mix up and create whatever you wanted. After the first couple of hearts, however, I just kept going! It was so fun to play with the same basic heart shape while seeing how much I could mix it up. As I created more blocks and started putting them together, I knew I no longer needed different sizes, they were enough by themselves and I couldn’t wait to turn them into a full size quilt.

The basic heart can easily be made without foundation paper piecing, but using a foundation makes it possible to save fabric and not have lots of waste. It also makes mixing it up much easier when creating different heart designs. This quilt is so versatile. Use a few fabrics, or lots of fabrics. Grab your scraps and do each block from a different print if you want.

I love you quilt

If you are a beginner to FPP, this is a great quilt to make. We provide starting sizes for each section, so there is no guessing. The blocks are also large enough that there are very few small pieces, but not so big as to be difficult keeping things flat. Since you repeat blocks, it’s also a great pattern to try out freezer paper foundation piecing as well. With freezer paper, you don’t have to worry about ripping paper off afterwards. If you are new to FPP, the easiest blocks are 1, 5, and 6. If you’ve made a few blocks, start on any heart!

While the cover quilt is made with solids, this quilt looks great in prints too. If using prints, we recommend mixing big prints and small scale prints, or tone on tones. This will create contrast and make the different fabrics stand out from each other. If using solids or tone on tones, remember to choose a combination of lights and darks. When trying to decide what fabric to use for the contrasting color, I recommend something that really pops! Grab a color wheel and look at the colors directly across from each other.

I love you quilt

This pattern features 10” blocks, so they are easy to use in smaller projects as well. Make just a few and turn them into a throw pillow or table runner. You could also use them for quilted bags, coats, or accents on jackets and sweatshirts. The possibilities are endless! Make a quilt for yourself, or someone special to let them know just how much they are loved!

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FAQ’s:

  • What kind of thread should I use for FPP?
    • We use just your regular basic piecing thread. We have tried using a thinner microquilter thread that we have seen others suggest, but we didn’t have success with it.  We had issues with it coming undone after we had completed a heart and then had to unpick and go back to it afterwards.  So we recommend sticking to just your basic every day thread.
  • How do you FPP?
    • There are multiple ways to foundation paper piece, and we suggest trying them all to determine which you prefer. Missy prefers to use the paper method, tearing that paper off afterwards is therapeutic to her.  If you don’t want to deal with that, there are other options to try like the freezer paper method.  Check out the tutorials that we offer on YouTube.
  • Do I have to print out so many copies of the templates or can I use just one copy?
    • It all depends on which method you prefer to use. If you are going to tear the paper off then yes, you will need one copy for each heart.  If you want to use the freezer paper method or the paper method where you fold the paper just to the inside of the line and sew right next to if off the paper, then you only need one copy per heart version.
  • Do I need special paper for FPP?
    • There are specialty papers that you can purchase for FPP, but they aren’t required. We use basic cheap copy paper.  It tends to tear easily enough.  And we have found that if you add a little water either from a spray bottle or from Carolina’s new tools (you can see them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEhQUiSiGEg), the paper comes off even easier.
  • What machine settings should I use for FPP?
    • We recommend decreasing your stitch length so they are smaller, this helps the paper tear off when you are finished. That is the only setting we change.
  • Do I need to backstitch?
    • No need to backstitch especially since you will be trimming many of these pieces as you go.
  • Do I need any special tools for FPP?
    • No special tools required, you can use your regular standard sewing foot for FPP, but if you have a foot that is more open in the front, it is helpful to make sure you are sewing on the line of the paper.
    • Also not required, but we find that having a 1” wide ruler is very helpful since you will be trimming pieces as you go. Even a basic school ruler will help with this if you are okay with just estimating your ¼” seams as you trim.
  • Do I need to iron seams when FPP?
    • This is probably more of a preference, some people like to iron after each seam is sewn and others prefer to finger press and then just iron the final block. Missy finds that ironing after each seam helps ensure the block is nice and flat when it’s finished.
  • Do you have tutorials available for FPP?

I love you quilt quilting

Tutorials that relate: 

Here is a list of our YouTube video tutorials that may be helpful as you put this quilt together.  There are many others as well so you might want to check out our channel and subscribe so you are notified when we upload new videos.

I love you quilt

Alternate Color Ways

We love to play with color and have provided you with a few different color ways to consider for this quilt.  We hope it helps inspire you to create your own version of our I Love You quilt.

I love you colorway

I love you colorway 2

I love you colorway 3

I love you colorway 4

I love you colorway 5

I love you colorway 6

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