A Dash of Autumn

Designer: Doug Leko of Antler Quilt Design

• 3-1⁄8 yards cream batik (blocks)
• 30--9×21" pieces (fat eighths) assorted medium and dark batiks in brown, red, orange, and gold (blocks)
• 5⁄8 yard gold batik (inner border)
• 2-1⁄2 yards dark brown batik (outer border, binding)
• 6 yards backing fabric
• 84×108" batting

Finished quilt: 75-1⁄2 ×99-1⁄2" (twin-size with 18" drop; full-size with 10" drop)

Finished block: 12" square

Yardages and cutting instructions are based on 42" of usable fabric width.

Measurements include 1⁄4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.

Cut pieces in the following order. Cut outer border and binding strips lengthwise (parallel to the selvages).

From cream batik, cut:

• 70--2-1⁄2 ×6-1⁄2" rectangles
• 35--2-7⁄8" squares
• 70--2-7⁄8" squares, cutting each in half diagonally for 140 small triangles total
• 280--2-1⁄2" squares

From assorted medium and dark batiks, cut:

• 35--4-7⁄8" squares, cutting each in half diagonally for 70 large triangles total
• 35--2-7⁄8" squares
• 490--2-1⁄2" squares

From gold batik, cut:

• 8--2×42" strips for inner border

From dark brown batik, cut:

• 2--6-1⁄2 ×87-1⁄2" outer border strips
• 2--6-1⁄2 ×75-1⁄2" outer border strips
• 5--2-1⁄2 ×75" binding strips

1.    Use a pencil to mark a diagonal line on wrong side of each cream batik 2-7⁄8" square.

2.    Layer a marked cream batik square atop a medium or dark batik 2-7⁄8" square. Referring to Diagram 1, sew together with two seams, stitching 1⁄4" on each side of drawn line.

3.    Cut pair apart on drawn line to make two triangle units. Press open each triangle unit, pressing seam away from cream batik, to make two triangle-squares. (To reduce bulk when joining blocks, you may wish to press seams open.) Each triangle-square should be 2-1⁄2" square including seam allowances.

4.    Repeat steps 2 and 3 to make 70 triangle-squares total.

5.    Referring to Diagram 2, sew cream batik small triangles to adjacent edges of a medium or dark batik 2-1⁄2" square. Press seams toward cream batik. Add a medium or dark batik large triangle to long edge to make a pieced triangle-square. Press seam toward large triangle. The pieced triangle-square should be 4-1⁄2" square including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 pieced triangle-squares total.

1.    Referring to Diagram 3, sew together two medium or dark batik 2-1⁄2" squares and one cream batik 2-1⁄2" square to make Segment A. Press seams away from cream batik. The segment should be 2-1⁄2 ×6-1⁄2" including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 A segments total.

2.    Join a cream batik 2-1⁄2" square and medium or dark batik 2-1⁄2" square to make Segment B (Diagram 4). Press seam toward cream batik. The segment should be 2-1⁄2 ×4-1⁄2" including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 B segments total.

3.    Referring to Diagram 5, sew together a triangle-square, cream batik 2-1⁄2" square, and medium or dark batik 2-1⁄2" square to make Segment C. Press seams toward triangle-square. The segment should be 2-1⁄2 ×6-1⁄2" including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 C segments total.

4.    Referring to Diagram 6, join two medium or dark batik 2-1⁄2" squares and one cream batik 2-1⁄2" square to make Segment D. Press seams away from cream batik. The segment should be 2-1⁄2 ×6-1⁄2" including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 D segments total.

1.    Referring to Diagram 7, join a B segment and a pieced triangle-square. Press seam toward pieced triangle-square. Add an A segment to make Unit 1. Press seam away from Segment A. Unit 1 should be 6-1⁄2" square including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 total of Unit 1.

2.    Referring to Diagram 8, join a C segment, a cream batik 2-1⁄2 ×6-1⁄2" rectangle, and a D segment to make Unit 2. Press seams away from cream batik rectangle. Unit 2 should be 6-1⁄2" square including seam allowances. Repeat to make 70 total of Unit 2.

3.    Referring to Diagram 9 for unit placement and rotation, join two each of units 1 and 2 in pairs. Press seams as shown in diagram. Then join pairs to make a block. To press seams as shown (clockwise when looking at the block from the wrong side), remove a few stitches at the seam intersection, then fan out seam allowances and press them flat, forming a tiny Four-Patch on wrong side of block (Diagram 10). The block should be 12-1⁄2" square including seam allowances. Repeat to make 35 blocks total.

1.    Referring to Quilt Assembly Diagram, lay out blocks in seven horizontal rows, rotating every other block. Sew together blocks in each row. Press seams in one direction, alternating direction with each row.

2.    Join rows to make quilt center; press seams in one direction. The quilt center should be 60-1⁄2 ×84-1⁄2" including seam allowances.

1.    Cut and piece gold batik 2×42" strips to make:

• 2--2×84-1⁄2" inner border strips
• 2--2×63-1⁄2" inner border strips

2.    Sew long inner border strips to long edges of quilt center. Add short inner border strips to remaining edges. Press all seams toward inner border.

3.    Sew dark brown batik 6-1⁄2 ×87-1⁄2" outer border strips to long edges of quilt center. Add dark brown batik 6-1⁄2 ×75-1⁄2" outer border strips to remaining edges to complete quilt top. Press all seams toward outer border.

1.    Layer quilt top, batting, and backing; baste.

2.    Quilt as desired. In each block, Sandy Pluff machine-quilted leaves in the medium and dark batik pieces and a swirl pattern in the cream batik pieces (Quilting Diagram). She quilted the inner border with a scroll design and the outer border with a leaf, loop, and vine design.

3.    Bind with dark brown batik binding strips.