Christmas in July: Home for Christmas Quilt
Welcome to Day 8 of the Twelve Days of Christmas blog hop hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Today I’m going to tell you how to make a Home for Christmas Quilt. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to enter the giveaway (closed July 31). You can enter from each of the blog-hop participant’s pages, so I’ve included a blog hop schedule with all the links for your convenience.
Home for Christmas Quilt
One side of this quilt is the Little Tree printed quilt panel by Lella Boutique. You could make a fast quilt from the panel, backing, binding, and batting. Isn’t it cute?! I quilted mine with a simple 60-degree crosshatch design.
I love Christmas music, and this quilt had me humming. Soon Josh Groban’s version of I’ll Be Home for Christmas came to mind. That’s when inspiration struck. Instead of using an ordinary backing for the panel, I supersized Camille Roskelley’s Dwell pattern to create a perfectly sized neighborhood of houses. And that’s how my Home for Christmas Quilt came to be. So let me share what you’ll need to make this quilt.
Supply List
I purchased most of my supplies from the Fat Quarter Shop and a few fat quarters from my local quilt shop. (If you choose to purchase supplies by clicking on my FQS affiliate link, thank you for supporting my blog.) Basic quilt requirements are as follows:
- Little Tree A Merry Little Christmas quilt panel (56″ x 74″)
- Simply Retro book by Camille Roskelley (Thimble Blossoms) has the Dwell pattern
- Binding fabric: 2/3 yard
- Batting (I used Warm and White twin size.)
Camille provides a material list for Dwell, so this list is simply my suggested changes to make a quilt similar to mine. Instead of 16 fat quarters, I used half-yard cuts of Bella Solids and Grunge and added a few Little Tree fat quarters and a charm pack for variety. Remember that you’re making the Dwell quilt to replace the backing; Dwell is oversized to closely match the recommended 64-inch by 82-inch batting.)
- Grunge Basics Cherry 30150-265
- Bella Solids Prairie Green 9900-102
- Bella Solids Green Apple 9900-74
- Bella Solids Aqua 9900-34
- Bella Solids Teal 9900-87
- Bella Solids White Bleached 9900-98
- Bella Solids Charcoal 9900-284 (Background — I bought 3 yards and used almost every inch, so you might want to purchase a bit more “just in case.” If you’re going to use a longarm machine, you will need more fabric to create wider borders.)
Cutting
Camille’s instructions are wonderful, so I’m only noting changes that are necessary to make my larger version. Remember, you’ll be using charcoal fabric instead of white fabric for the background.
From the charcoal, cut the following pieces:
- 5 strips 5″ x WOF; subcut 25 squares and 50 rectangles for block backgrounds
- 5 strips 2.5″ x WOF; subcut for 20 pieces for vertical sashing
- 4 strips 3.5″ x WOF for horizontal sashing (Trim only a tiny amount of the selvage so you have enough length.)
- 8 strips 6″ x WOF for the border (This will create the wider “backing” size for the printed panel.)
There are four different types of houses labeled A-D in the instructions. Combine the solids, grunge, and prints as you like. You’ll need to sew 25 houses.
I used file folders to organize pieces for each type of house so I could easily sew a house or two as I had time. As an alternative to House D with the pinwheel, I cut a 6.5-inch square of floral print. In retrospect, I prefer the pinwheels and would have made more of them.
Quilt Assembly
With the additional houses, my quilt top measured 64-inches by 83-inches. I taped the Dwell quilt to my dining room floor and marked the center of each side of the quilt on the blue
Finally, I quilted a simple crosshatch over the entire quilt, using a 60-degree ruler and Hera marker to make initial markings.
Once the quilting was done, I trimmed the quilt to size. Then I used those “trimmings” to cut binding strips. See, I really did use almost every inch of my charcoal background fabric!
As an alternative to a Christmas quilt, Lella Boutique’s Harvest Road fabric line will also include a panel, and houses on the back would work great with that one too. I want to emphasize how soft and silky these panels are; the quality is wonderful!
Twelve Days of Christmas in July
For your convenience, here’s the blog hop schedule. Have fun and get inspired to make something!
Sunday, July 14
Monday, July 15
Tuesday, July 16
Wednesday, July 17
Thursday, July 18
Friday, July 19
Saturday, July 20
Sunday, July 21
Riceford Streams (You’re here!)- Vroomansquilts
Monday, July 22
Tuesday, July 23
Wednesday, July 24
Thursday, July 25
Enter the Giveaway (closed)
Figo Fabrics donated a fat quarter bundle of their beautiful new Christmas line, Wintertide, as a prize for one lucky blog-hop reader. (Giveaway closed and the prize was awarded.)
Thank you for visiting my blog for inspiration. I hope you have a merry Christmas in July!
Joyfully,
Tracie