Thinking of trying quilting? This miniature quilt project is a great place to start! It would make a beautiful wall hanging to decorate a nursery, or you could even make multiple ones using different fabrics and sew them together to make one large, colourful quilt.
Finished size
17 ¼ x 15 ¼ in. (44.6 x 39 cm)
Note Seams are stitched with right sides together using a ¼ in. (6 mm) seam allowance unless otherwise stated.
Material requirements
- 2 in. (5 cm) pink print fabric for piece 1
- 2 in. (5 cm) yellow-and-green print fabric for pieces 2 and 3
- 3 in. (7.5 cm) bright blue print fabric for piece 4
- 6 in. (15 cm) light blue-and-white fabric for pieces 5 and 6
- 10 in. (25.5 cm) purple print fabric for piece 7
- 12 in. (30.5 cm) solid white fabric for pieces 8 and 9
- 2 in. (5 cm) text print fabric for border
- 6 in. (15 cm) blue-and-white striped fabric for binding
- 19 x 22 in. (48 x 56 cm) backing fabric
- 19 x 22 in. (48 x 56 cm) cotton batting (wadding)
- Papers for foundation piecing (A and B)
- Scissors for cutting paper
- Cotton thread for piecing
- Crewel embroidery no. 9 needles for hand quilting
- Blue and orange perle cotton for hand quilting
- Rotary cutter, mat, and ruler
- Sewing machine
- General sewing supplies
Cutting
- From the pink print fabric, cut: Eight 2 x 3 in. (5 x 7.5 cm) rectangles (piece 1)
- From the yellow-and-green print fabric, cut: Sixteen 2 x 2 ½ in. (5 x 6.5 cm) rectangles (pieces 2 and 3)
- From the bright blue print fabric, cut: Eight 3 in. (7.5 cm) squares (piece 4)
- From the light blue-and-white fabric, cut: Sixteen 3 in. (7.5 cm) squares (pieces 5 and 6)
- From the purple print fabric, cut: Eight 4 ½ x 6 in. (11.5 x 15 cm) rectangles (piece 7)
- From the solid white fabric, cut: Eight 6 in. (15 cm) squares Eight 4 x 4 ½ in. (10 x 11.5 cm) rectangles
- From the text print border fabric, cut: One 1 ½ in.- (4 cm-) wide strip—cross-cut to yield two 1 ½ x 15 ¼ in. (4 x 39 cm) strips
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From the blue-and-white striped binding fabric, cut: Two 3 in.- (7.5 cm-) wide strips
Foundation piecing
1. Copy foundation piecing patterns A and B onto four foundation papers each. (The two patterns are mirror images of each other.) The numbers on the patterns refer to the pieces, which correspond to the sewing order. Cut out the patterns, just outside the outer lines.
2. Sort the fabric pieces into sets for each unit. Make four each of A and B units.
(You can find the full instructions for foundation piecing in Cute Little Quilts.)
Assembly
3. Arrange the star pieces on a flat surface. Place one A and one B unit with right sides together, to make a square shape. Pin through the corners at the ¼ in. (6 mm) mark to line them up. Make sure all the points are matched—use extra pins if necessary.
4. Sew along the diagonal seam line, stitching with the paper side on top. Press the seam open from the back, and then from the front. Make four A/B square units.
5. Sew the units together in pairs and then sew the pairs together. Press.
6. Trim the block to measure 15¼ in. (39 cm) square, or to ¼ in. (6 mm) outside the star points.
7. Carefully remove all papers by tearing along the seam lines. Use tweezers or a pin to remove any small pieces from the seams.
8. Sew a 1 ½ x 15¼ in. (4 x 39 cm) text fabric strip to opposite sides of the star and press the seams toward the border.
Backing, quilting, and binding
9. Layer the backing, batting (wadding), and quilt top.
10. Using blue and orange perle cotton, hand quilt around the stars.
11. Using the rotary cutter, mat, and ruler, square the quilt top if necessary.
12. Bind the quilt.
(You can find the full instructions for how to back, quilt and bind in Cute Little Quilts.)
For more miniature quilt projects, check out Cute Little Quilts by Sarah Fielke and Amy Lobsiger.