Deck the Halls

Designer: Barb Cherniwchan of Coach House Designs

*     3⁄8 yard red print (appliqués)

*     1⁄2 yard cream print (appliqué foundations)

*     1-1⁄8 yards gray floral (blocks)

*     1-5⁄8 yards red floral (blocks)

*     2⁄3 yard green print (blocks)

*     1-1⁄4 yards cream-and-green print (blocks, inner border)

*     1 yard multicolor print (outer border)

*     5⁄8 yard gray print (binding)

*    3-5⁄8 yards backing fabric

*    64×73" batting

*    Freezer paper

*    Spray starch

Finished quilt: 55-1⁄2 ×64-1⁄2"

Finished blocks: 9" square

Quantities are for 44/45"-wide, 100% cotton fabrics.

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

Cut pieces in the following order. Click on "Download this Project" above for pattern. Before cutting any appliqué pieces, see Cut and Prepare Appliqués, below, for information on the technique designer Barb Cherniwchan used.

From red print, cut:

*    15 of Flower Pattern

From cream print, cut:

*    15--5" squares

From gray floral, cut:

*    60--2-3⁄4 ×5" rectangles

*    60--3-1⁄8" squares

From red floral, cut:

*    60--2-3⁄4 ×5" rectangles

*    30--3-1⁄8" squares

*    120--2-3⁄4" squares

From green print, cut:

*    30--3-1⁄8" squares

*    60--2-3⁄4" squares

From cream-and-green print, cut:

*    5--1-1⁄2 ×42" strips for inner border

*    15--5" squares

*    120--2-3⁄4" squares

From multicolor print, cut:

*    6--4-1⁄2 ×42" strips for outer border

From gray print, cut:

*    7--2-1⁄2 ×42" binding strips

Barb used a freezer-paper-and-starch method to prepare flower shapes for appliquéing. To use this technique, complete the following steps.

1.    Lay freezer paper, shiny side down, over Flower Pattern. Use a pencil to trace the pattern 15 times. Cut out freezer-paper shapes on drawn lines.

2.    Using a hot dry iron, press freezer-paper shapes, shiny sides down, onto wrong side of red print, leaving 1⁄2" between shapes; let cool. Cut out each shape, adding a 1⁄4" seam allowance to all edges.

3.    Spray a small amount of starch into a dish. Place a template-topped appliqué piece on a pressing surface covered with a tea towel or muslin. Dip a cotton swab in starch and moisten seam allowance of appliqué piece (Diagram 1).

4.    Using tip of a hot dry iron, turn seam allowance over edges of freezer-paper template and press until fabric is dry. Press entire seam allowance in same manner, adding starch as necessary and ensuring fabric is pressed taut against template. Carefully peel off template to prepare a flower appliqué.

5.    Repeat steps 3 and 4 to prepare 15 flower appliqués total.

1.    Referring to Appliqué Placement Diagram, center a prepared flower appliqué on a cream print 5" square. (If desired, small dots of basting glue can be used to hold appliqué in place.) Using small slip stitches and red thread, sew around flower edges to make an appliquéd unit. Repeat to make 15 appliquéd units total.

2.    Use a pencil to mark a diagonal line on wrong side of each gray floral 3-1⁄8" square (you will use 30 for A blocks and 30 for B blocks).

3.    Layer each marked gray floral square atop a red floral 3-1⁄8" square. Sew each pair together with two seams, stitching 1⁄4" on each side of drawn line (Diagram 2).

4.    Cut a pair apart on drawn line to make two triangle units (Diagram 2). Open triangle units; press seams toward red print to make two red triangle-squares. Each triangle-square should be 2-3⁄4" square including seam allowances. Repeat to make 60 red triangle-squares total.

5.    Use a pencil to mark a diagonal line on wrong side of each red floral 2-3⁄4" square.

6.    Align a marked red floral square with one end of a gray floral 2-3⁄4 ×5" rectangle (Diagram 3; note direction of drawn line). Sew on drawn line; trim excess fabric, leaving 1⁄4" seam allowance. Press open attached triangle.

7.    Align a marked red floral square with opposite end of Step 6 rectangle. Stitch, trim, and press as before to make a gray Flying Geese unit (Diagram 3).

8.    Repeat steps 6 and 7 to make 60 gray Flying Geese units total.

9.    Referring to Diagram 4, sew together four red triangle-squares, four gray Flying Geese units, and an appliquéd unit in three rows. Press seams toward Flying Geese units. Join rows to make an A block. Press seams toward center row. The block should be 9-1⁄2" square including seam allowances.

10.    Repeat Step 9 to make 15 A blocks total.

1.    Using remaining marked gray floral 3-1⁄8" squares and green print 3-1⁄8" squares instead of red floral squares, repeat Appliqué and Assemble A Blocks, steps 3 and 4, to make 60 green triangle-squares (Diagram 5).

2.    Using cream-and-green print 2-3⁄4" squares instead of red floral squares, and red floral 2-3⁄4 ×5" rectangles instead of gray floral rectangles, repeat Appliqué and Assemble A Blocks, steps 5–7, to make 60 red Flying Geese units (Diagram 6).

3.    Use a pencil to mark a diagonal line on wrong side of each green print 2-3⁄4" square.

4.    Align marked green print squares with opposite corners of a cream-and-green print 5" square (Diagram 7; note direction of drawn lines). Sew on drawn lines; trim excess, leaving 1⁄4" seam allowances. Press open attached triangles.

5.    Align marked green print squares with remaining corners of cream-and-green print square (again note direction of drawn lines); sew, trim, and press as before to make a Square-in-a-Square unit. The unit should be 5" square including seam allowances.

6.    Repeat steps 4 and 5 to make 15 Square-in-a-Square units total.

7.    Referring to Diagram 8, sew together four green triangle-squares, four red Flying Geese units, and one Square-in-a-Square unit in three rows. Press seams away from Flying Geese units. Join rows to make a B block. Press seams away from center row. The block should be 9-1⁄2" square including seam allowances.

8.    Repeat Step 7 to make 15 B blocks total.

1.    Referring to Quilt Assembly Diagram, lay out blocks in six horizontal rows, alternating A and B blocks.

2.    Sew together blocks in each row. Press seams toward A blocks. Join rows to make quilt center. Press seams in one direction. The quilt center should be 45-1⁄2 ×54-1⁄2" including seam allowances.

1.    Cut and piece cream-and-green print 1-1⁄2 ×42" strips to make:

*    2--1-1⁄2 ×56-1⁄2" inner border strips

*    2--1-1⁄2 ×45-1⁄2" inner border strips

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

3.    Cut and piece multicolor print 4-1⁄2 ×42" strips to make:

*    2--4-1⁄2 ×64-1⁄2" outer border strips

*    2--4-1⁄2 ×47-1⁄2" outer border strips

4.    Sew short outer border strips to short edges of quilt center. Add long 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. Quilted Cats Hideaway machine-quilted in the ditch of the A and B blocks. The quilters stitched a floral motif in the center of each B block and added a tulip-and-vine design in the outer border.

3.    Bind with gray print binding strips.