Today I am sharing my mix-and-match strawflower quilt with you. This is hands down one of my favorite quilts I have ever made. I am beyond excited to introduce you to my first original mix-and-match quilt pattern. After making the first star for this quilt pattern, I knew mixing fabrics from block to block would give this pattern the best look. Alas, this one is a gem. You can grab the pattern HERE.
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Skill Level & Skill Building
The Strawflower quilt pattern is an advanced beginner and up pattern. It looks much more intimidating and difficult to sew than the reality. The quilt pattern includes detailed step-by-step instructions with images. The new skills you may develop in this pattern, depending on your current level, include diamond in a square block, sewing on a bias, cutting equilateral triangles without a template (there is one if this scares you), and sewing with half rectangle triangles.
Triangles
The two skills that people may not feel comfortable with to begin with are cutting triangles without a template and sewing on a bias. Let’s walk through these to ensure you feel confident with sewing these quilt blocks. First, you can see in the video below how I easily cut equilateral triangles for this pattern by using the 60 degree line on my 6″ x 24″ ruler. I avoid cluttering my sewing space with too many notions and rulers, so it is important to me that my patterns can be completed without having to purchase new tools. Your basic quilting ruler will guide you through these triangles, plus it is much faster than a template.
Sewing on the Bias
The second skill builder in this pattern is sewing on the bias. I began my quilting journey without patterns (or really any rules) and frequently would sew along the bias. Now that I know they are not a quilter’s favorite, I have a few tips: (1) starch your fabrics (2) do not pull on the bias edge while sewing (3) make sure your fabric is heading under your needle straight (4) press down with your iron; do not press back and forth.
Fabric Selection
Ok, now that we’ve covered the technical details, let’s get to the fun part – choosing fabrics. For this pattern, I chose colors more saturated and bright than my usual favorites. The design felt like it needed colors that stand out. I used Art gallery fabrics pure solids to create this palette. My advice for choosing fabrics on this is to consider a good mix between saturated and more subtle hues. As colors become less saturated, they lean towards gray. If you notice the sweet fig (purple) fabric in my quilt, it is more gray and soft than red and bold. This provides a nice balance of color throughout my quilt. If you are mixing in prints, consider the scale of the prints on the fabric for each piece. For example, some pieces are only 1″ wide. Using smaller-scale prints on these pieces will work better. as more as the design can be seen. On larger pieces, such as the middle diamond, you could use a larger print to make a statement or even have some fun fussy cutting pieces from your favorite fabric.
I hope these tips and the video are helpful. I cannot wait to see what you all create with this pattern. Please share your progress and finished quilts with me by tagging me on social media and using the hashtags #strawflowerquilt and #sidelakestitchpatterns. Happy sewing!
