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Monday, June 6, 2011

Warm Cool Quilt Along - Quilt Sizes and Fabric Requirements


Welcome to the second post of the Warm Cool Quilt-Along! Today I'll be sharing the quilt sizes and fabric requirements needed for each size!

1. Color Refresher
Today's Post: Quilt Sizes and Fabric Requirements

Finished Value Quilt by jenib320
Finished Value Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
I’ve created measurements for three different size quilts (Mini, Baby and Twin), this way if you have a lot of commitments but still want to participate you could tackle one of the smaller quilts! I’ll be doing the mini size for this quilt along (since I’ve already made one of these quilts!). Each size is assembled the same, so the instructions won’t be any different, just the amount of fabric and sewing needed!

Scrappy by jenib320
Scrappy, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
This quilt is assembled entirely with Half-Square Triangles (HSTs)! They’re an awesome building block (literally, hehe) for tons of fun quilts and blocks! Next week I'll do a step by step through how to sew a HST!
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SIZE 1: Mini – 20” x 20” - Choose 32 fabrics: 16 Warm, 16 Cool
Mini by jenib320
Mini, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
1/4 yard, fat quarter or scraps of 16 Warm colored fabrics
1/4 yard, fat quarter or scraps of 16 Cool colored fabrics
3/4 yard (24” x 24”) of backing fabric (or pieced!)
3/4 yard (24” x 24”) of batting
1/4 yard binding fabric (95” of binding, total of 3 – 2.5” x 42" strips)
HST Size: 3” unfinished, 2.5” finished

Choose 32 fabrics: 16 Warm, 16 Cool and cut:
32 Warm colored 3 1/2” squares
32 Cool colored 3 1/2” squares
Cut 2 squares from each fabric.


SIZE 2: Baby – 40” x 40” - Choose 50 fabrics: 25 Warm, 25 Cool
Baby by jenib320
Baby, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
1/4 yard, fat quarter or scraps of 25 Warm colored fabrics
1/4 yard, fat quarter or scraps of 25 Cool colored fabrics
1 1/4 yard (44”x44”) of backing fabric (or pieced!)
1 1/4 yard (44”x44”) of batting
1/2 yard binding fabric (175” of binding, total of 5 – 2.5” x 42" strips)
HST size: 4.5” unfinished HST, 4” finished

Choose 50 fabrics: 25 Warm, 25 Cool and cut:
50 Warm colored 5” squares
50 Cool colored 5” squares
Cut 2 squares from each fabric.


SIZE 3: Twin – 65” x 88” - Choose 44 fabrics: 22 Warm, 22 Cool
Twin by jenib320
Twin, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
1/3 yard of 22 Warm colored fabrics
1/3 yard of 22 Cool colored fabrics
4 1/2 yards (69” x 92” ) of backing fabric (or pieced!)
2 5/8 yards (69” x 92”) of batting
5/8” yard binding fabric (320” of binding, total of 8 – 2.5” strips)
HST size: 4.5” unfinished HST, 4” finished

Choose 44 fabrics: 22 Warm, 22 Cool and cut:
176 Warm colored 5” squares
176 Cool colored 5” squares
Cut 8 squares from each fabric.
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Feel free use more or less fabrics than I've indicated, it's up to you and the size of your stash! You can use as many different fabrics as you'd like, the numbers above are just a starting point. This quilt is all about using what you have, the scrappier the better! On the flip side, if you have a smaller stash, you could easily do this with 10 different fabrics, you'd just need to cut more squares from each fabric! Simply keep track of the # of squares you have as you cut, and be sure to only cut squares for one quilt size, unless you're making two quilts! ;)

Keep in Mind
Fabrics by jenib320
Fabrics, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
1. Be mindful of the warm and cool color group, refer back to the refresher post if you need to!

2. Try to stay away from neutral colors (white, gray, black, beige, brown), they don't fit in either the warm or cool color group, because they are neutral! :)

3. When selecting colors in each color group, try to get an even mix of colors. For example if you need 16 Warm colored fabrics, perhaps choose 4 red, 4 pink, 4 orange, and 4 yellow. They don't have to be exactly even or anything, just something to keep in mind!

4. Don't be scared by the yardage needed. The largest square size you will need is 5", which could be cut from scraps and easily from fat quarters (you can get twelve 5" squares out of a fat quarter!). Unless you are tackling the Twin size, you won't be cutting more than 1 or 2 squares from each fabric! :)

5. Make it work for your stash! If you need to cut 3 squares from one fabric and 1 square from another, do it! Just make sure you end up with an even number of warm and cool blocks and you'll be good to go! There are going to be so many different colors and patterns playing together, it will look great!

6. If you'd like to try a different method for making HSTs, I'd recommend the Missouri Star Quilt Company method as outlined by Christina of The Sometimes Crafter here. This method would require the following for each size: Mini - Cut 16 warm 5” squares, 16 cool 5” squares. Baby - 25 warm 7” squares, 25 cool 7" squares. Twin - 88 warm 7” squares, 88 cool 7" squares. Each pair of squares yields 4 blocks, so that's why you need less squares!


Feel free to add your fabric stacks to the In Color Order Flickr Group! If you have questions or are having trouble putting together your fabrics, feel free to post there for advice and help! :)

Here is my final fabric selection:
My Fabric Selection by jenib320
My Fabric Selection, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.
So, hopefully that wasn't too super confusing! Hehe. Three different quilt sizes, there is bound to be some confusion so please don't hesitate to ask questions, and have fun!

22 comments :

  1. Oh, i want to do this, but is it okay if i make it very scrappy looking? I have a ton of 5" left over squares that id love to use. Some are black though.. what color area would you put black? white? hmm...

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  2. Your pictures just make me want to play with fabric today!

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  3. I LOVE the colors in this quilt. It is really pretty!!!

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  4. OK, I give in! A mini is totally do-able for me, I can't wait to finish a few things so I can start picking some fabrics!!

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  5. I'm so excited! I'm gonna jump right in and go for the twin size.

    I'm so glad you mentioned that other HST method. I was going to suggest it, as it seems quicker and easier than the traditional.

    Any chance your fave online shop would offer bundles? I'm not super confident I have what I need in my stash.

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  6. OK, I am already super busy with a million other projects, but I really want to play along! Count me in. So just to make extra sure I understand... If I want to make the Baby sized quilt, and I want to use the "alternate" method, I cut 25 cool and 25 warm 7" squares? I haven't made a HSQ before, so I am wondering why you can get away with half the squares as the other method... is there any benefit to going with double the amount of 5" squares?

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  7. I commented on Flickr, but just thought I would comment on here because I am so excited. I'll be joining in this quilt-along. It'll be my first quilt...and my first quilt-along! :) Can't wait to start cutting.

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  8. I finished cutting my cool squares tonight! Tomorrow it's on to the warm and then I'm going to sew sew sew!

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  9. What a sweet little baby quilt this will make! I'm so glad to be joining up - I've really enjoyed your colour tutorials and they've helped me so much! I still go back for a refresher every now and then :) and I'm thrilled to be in your QAL!

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  10. I think I am going to try and give this a go... I have not yet made half square triangles and really want to go for it! I am going to go through my fabric today!

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  11. this might be my first ever quilt along! I'm definitely looking forward to it, and seeing what everyone else comes up with!

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  12. I'm so excited to be joining in for my first quilt along! I'm getting busy pulling my fabrics & cutting today for the baby size! Yay!

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  13. I think the mini or the baby size will be for me, but of course as I choose my colors a larger quilt seems possible? I'm having so much fun trying to see what I can come up with using my stash...I have a lot of "older" fabrics and trying to make them work is challenging, but fun. :) LOVE your instructions!

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  14. Ok, I give in :)
    I really like the pattern and need to make it, even if it is the mini or baby quilt.
    Thank you for the previous tutorial on color selection, great pictures and information.
    Marta

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  16. I'm in! Already have all my HST pieced together, I just couldn't wait:P

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  17. Hey, I have a question. I have 96 triangles left over from another project. Which size quilt would I be able to make? I could possibly get together some more triangles if needed, as I had some scraps left over from the same fabrics. Thanks!!

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  18. Nevermind my last comment, duh! I just counted the squares myself, lol. I realized I'll be able to do the 'Baby'

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  19. Thank you for such a wonderful tutorial! I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt, even though I am very much a beginner. Such stunning use of color... I absolutely love it. Thank you again. You are an inspiration!

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  20. Love the subtle alternating of the warm/cool colors. The colors sure do brighten up what could be an otherwise hum-drum quilt. I'm thinking of making it using blues and neutrals.

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  21. This is really cute and would seem to be good for a beginner, like me. However, I'd need to make a king size. Is there an easy way to figure out how to make a larger size. I don't have any twin beds in my house. Thanks.

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