STAR CROSSED
Supersize some Flying Geese units in saturated shades to make a minimalist design with a textured background
YOU WILL NEED
Purple fabric: ¼yd Background fabric: 2¼yd Backing fabric: 27/ 8yd Batting: 51in x 64in Binding: ½yd
FINISHED SIZE
45in x 58in approx
NOTES
Seam allowances are ¼in, unless otherwise noted. Starch and press the fabric before cutting to avoid stretching the bias edges. FG = Flying Geese. RST = right sides together. WOF = width of fabric. WST = wrong sides together.
FABRICS USED
Fabrics are from the Literary collection by Heather Givans for Windham Fabrics.
CUTTING OUT
1 From the purple fabric cut two (2) 37/ 8in x WOF strips. Subcut into sixteen (16) 37/ 8in squares. 2 From the background fabric cut: One (1) 7¼in x WOF strip. Subcut into four (4) 7¼in squares. One 45in x WOF strip. Subcut into one (1) 8½in x 45in rectangle and one (1) 25½in x 45in rectangle. One (1) 25½in x WOF strip. Subcut into one (1) 14½in x 25½in rectangle and one (1) 6½in x 25½in rectangle. One (1) 17¾in square. Cut across both diagonals to give four (4) large triangles. Two (2) 6½in squares. Cut one of the squares across both diagonals to give four (4) small triangles. 3 From the binding fabric cut six (6) 2½in x WOF strips.
MAKING THE FG UNITS
4 Take four 37/ 8in purple squares and on the wrong side of each one mark
CHOOSE A BACKGROUND FABRIC WITH A MULTI-DIRECTIONAL PRINT THAT WILL SUIT DIFFERENT ANGLES
a diagonal line from corner to corner. Take one 7¼in background square and, RST, place a purple square on two opposite corners, with the marked lines running towards the centre of the background square. The purple squares will overlap in the middle. Sew ¼in either side of the marked lines (Fig 1).
5 Cut the unit apart on the marked lines and press the two units open (Fig 2).
6 Take one of the units from step 5 and, RST, place a purple square on the remaining background corner, with the marked line running towards the centre. Sew ¼in either side of the line (Fig 3).
7 Cut the unit apart on the marked line (Fig 4). Press the two units open to complete two Flying Geese units (Fig 5).
8 Repeat steps 6–7 with the remaining unit from step 5 and the remaining purple square. You will now have four FG units, which should each measure 6½in x 3½in.
9 Repeat steps 4–8 to make a total of sixteen FG units.
ASSEMBLING THE QUILT TOP
10 Take four FG units and sew together into a row, making sure that all the units are pointing in the same direction (Fig 6). Repeat to make a total of four FG unit strips.
11 Take the following:
Four (4) FG unit strips. One (1) 6½in background square. Four (4) large background triangles. Four (4) small background triangles. Arrange as shown and then sew the units together as indicated by the arrows to complete the FG section of the quilt top, which should measure 25½in square (Fig 7).
12 Sew the 6½in x 25½in background rectangle to the right-hand edge of the FG section and sew the 14½in x 25½in background rectangle to the left-hand edge.
13 Sew the 45in x 8½in background rectangle to the bottom edge of the unit made in step 12, and then sew the 45in x 25½in rectangle to the top edge as shown (Layout Diagram).
QUILTING AND FINISHING
14 Cut the backing fabric in half across the width. Remove the selvedges and re-join the pieces along the length with a ½in seam. Press the seam open.
15 Press the quilt top and backing well. Make a quilt sandwich by placing the backing fabric right side down, the batting on top, then the quilt top centrally and right side up. The backing and batting are slightly larger than the quilt top. Baste the layers together using your preferred method.
16 Quilt as desired. Amanda quilted a combination of vertical, horizontal and diagonal straight lines.
17 Trim off excess batting and backing fabric and square up the quilt.
18 Sew the binding strips together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open and trim away the dog ears. Fold in half lengthwise, WST, and press.
19 Sew the binding to the right side of the quilt, folding a mitre at each corner, then fold the binding over to the back of the quilt and hand stitch in place to finish.