A Chevron Quilt

DSC_0502

Several months ago, I pinned a chevon quilt on Pinterest with the intent of making it. But as the months past, the idea never came to fruition. That is, until I started to think about what I wanted to make for a friend whose baby is due at the beginning of October. I knew it was a design she would adore, and I am excited to say, it’s a design that is super easy to make.

DSC_0422

The entire quilt is made of these squares. For my quilt that was 36 inches x 40 inches, I used 90 of them.

DSC_0413

The process of making these squares is a trick that  all beginning quilters should learn. Once made, these squares can be arranged in several different patterns, including a pinwheel. The first step is cutting out 7×7-inch squares of both the white and grey fabric.

DSC_0414

Next, I  layer a square of the grey fabric on top of one of the white and sew a border, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

DSC_0418

I then cut the square in half, diagonally. I repeat this step with the two triangles I just created.

DSC_0419

To finish, I unfolded the triangles and ironed the seams. I also cut off the extra fabric at the corners. As you can see, one 7-inch square quickly creates 4 smaller squares. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find you have 90 squares before you know it.

DSC_0477

DSC_0478

Once you have made all of the squares, you simple have to sew them together. My quilt was 10 rows of 9 squares each. You arrange the squares so the same colors are always touching.

DSC_0482

Since we’re dealing with squares, it means we’re exclusively dealing with straight lines. So once you create the rows of 9 squares, all you have to do is sew the rows together.

DSC_0484

To accompany the chevon design on the front of the quilt, I used a yard of an adorable elephant pattern for the back that matches perfectly (if I do say so myself).

DSC_0488

Once I basted both sides of the fabric to the polyester batting I purchased, I simply quilted along the chevron pattern.

DSC_0492

For the binding, I chose a green fabric that matches one of the elephants on the back. I cut the fabric into 2.5 inch stripes, sewing them together to have enough to fit the diameter of the quilt. I next ironed down a half inch of one side of the fabric.

DSC_0494

I sewed the binding to the quilt, using a 0.5 inch seam, using my short cut you can read about here for the corners.

DSC_0496

Now that I have made a handful of quilts, I wanted to create a tag that would start to mark them as mine. But for this quilt, I didn’t want to use my initials since I am making the quilt for a friend, so I decided to use the year – the year her baby would be born.

DSC_0504

I couldn’t be more happy with the final result. Of course, the quilt contains a few mistakes (if you look closely, you’ll notice I accidentally purchased two different colors of grey fabric). But with such an easy first-time experience,  I know I will make another chevron quilt in the near future. And coincidentally, when I gave the quilt to my friend, I found out the chevron and the elephants match her nursery perfect. I guess you could just say I am very on top of the current trends!

DSC_0503

DSC_0505

Advertisement

Quilt no. 2

I couldn’t help myself. The day after my last day at work, I started making another quilt. I have been looking around online at different quilts people have made, and when I stumbled across a pattern similar to this one, I knew it was one I could easily do.

   

This time around, I really tried to shop for fabrics that would “match.” I picked 3 colors – blue (light and dark), purple and coral. Together, I think the fabrics created a very cohesive quilt.

Quickly and easily, I created the squares that make up majority of the quilt. Each row was made up of 13 squares (26 triangles) with a total of 5 rows in the quilt. I laid out each square before stitching them together to make sure no 2 fabrics would be right next to each other.

With the rows of squares complete, I then attached the rows of purple fabric.

After choosing a back fabric (a grey, floral print), I attached the 3 layers (back fabric, batting and front fabric) and began the quilting process. I chose to simply quilt straight lines, along each row and outlining each triangle.

   

I created the binding using scraps from the triangles and simply sewed together a 2″x 276″ strip, attaching it with a 1/2 inch seam allowance on the front and top stitching on the back.

I purchased batting that was more plush than my previous quilt, and I think my cat very much approves of this decision.

Dimensions:

  • Quilt = 60 inches x 78 inches
  • Rows = 6.5 inches x 78 inches
  • Triangles = 6.5 inches –> 6.5 x 6.5 inch squares
  • Binding = 2 inch x 276 inch strip (with a 1/2 inch seam allowance)
  • 1/4 inch seam allowance