EVERGREEN
Create the perfect quilt for frosty evenings, with a vivid starry design that will keep you snug all winter long
Go starry-eyed piecing Yvonne Fuchs’ quilt featuring more star blocks than you can shake a candy cane at
IT'S A MODERN TREE DESIGN BUT WITH A HEAVY NOD TO TRADITION WITH THE RED AND GREEN STARS
NOTES
■ Seam allowances are ¼in, unless otherwise noted.
■ Press seams open, unless otherwise instructed.
■ RST = right sides together.
■ WOF = width of fabric.
■ WST = wrong sides together.
■ Fabric supplied by Robert Kaufman (robertkaufman.com)
■ Thread supplied by Aurifil (aurifil.com).
FABRICS USED
Solid fabrics are all from the Kona Cotton Solids collection by Robert Kaufman:
■ Silver.
■ Kelly.
■ Clover.
■ Fern.
■ Grasshopper.
■ Holly.
■ Jungle.
■ Leprechaun.
■ Willow.
■ Wine.
■ Ruby.
■ Cardinal.
■ Chinese Red.
■ Lipstick.
■ Poppy.
■ Rich Red.
■ Red.
■ Curry.
■ Corn.
■ Yellow.
■ Buttercup. 1
From each of the red and green fat quarters cut two (2) 3in squares and one (1) 2½in square.
2
From each of five (5) of the red fabrics and five (5) of the green fabrics, also
cut two (2) 5½in squares and one (1) 4½in square.
3
From the medium yellow fabric cut one (1) 5½in squares and one (1)
4½in square.
4
From the light yellow fabric cut four (4)
4½in squares.
5
From the background fabric cut four (4)
12½in x WOF strips. Subcut into:
■ Two (2) 12½in x 24½in strips.
■ Two (2) 12½in x 21½in strips.
■ Two (2) 12½in x 18½in strips.
■ Two (2) 12½in x 9½in strips.
6
Also from the background fabric, cut six (6) 6½in x WOF strips. Sew two strips together along the short ends and trim to 6½in x 60½in. Subcut the remaining strips into:
■ Two (2) 6½in x 27½in strips.
■ Two (2) 6½in x 24½in strips.
■ Two (2) 6½in x 15½in strips.
■ Two (2) 6½in x 12½in strips.
7
Also from the background fabric, cut:
■ Six (6) 5½in squares.
■ Twenty (20) 4½in squares.
■ Forty-four (44) 3in squares.
■ Ninety-six (96) 2½in squares.
■ Two (2) 2½in x WOF strips. Sew the two strips together along the short ends and trim to 2½in x 60½in.
8
From the binding fabric cut eight (8) 2½in x WOF strips.
PIECING THE CORNER SQUARE UNITS
9
Mark a diagonal line on the reverse of two 2½in background squares. Pin these squares in opposite corners of a 4½in light yellow square.
10
Sew along your marked line. Trim ¼in from sewn line and press open to complete one corner square unit (Fig 1). Repeat this process to make a total of four corner square units.
PIECING QUARTER SQUARE TRIANGLE UNITS
11
Pair a background and medium yellow
5½in square, RST. Mark a diagonal line on the wrong side of the lighter fabric and then sew ¼in from either side of the line (Fig 2). Cut apart on the line and press open to make two HSTs.
12
Place each HST right sides together with a dark yellow 5½in square. Mark a diagonal line on the reverse of the HST, in the opposite direction of the seam. Sew ¼in from either side of the line, and cut apart on the line (Fig 3). Press open and trim each unit carefully to 4½in square to complete two QST units.
13
Repeat step 11 to make three sets of two matching green and background fabric HSTs and two sets of two red and background fabric HSTs.
14
Repeat step 12 to make the QST units. Pair each green/background HST with a red 5½in square. Pair each red and background fabric HST with a green 5½in square.
PIECING THE RADIATING STAR BLOCK
15
Arrange the corner square units and yellow QST units with a medium yellow
4½in square as shown (Fig 4). 16
Sew the units together in rows, then sew the rows together. Press seams open to complete the radiating star block.
PIECING THE SPINNING STAR BLOCKS
17
Arrange four matching red/green QST units with four 4½in background squares and one red or green 4½in square as shown (Fig 5). If the larger triangles of the QSTs are red, choose a green centre square. If the larger triangles are green, opt for a red centre square.
18
Sew the squares together in rows, then sew the rows together. Press seams open to complete one spinning star block.
19
Repeat steps 18–19 to make a total of five spinning star blocks, using matching sets of QSTs in each block.
PIECING FRIENDSHIP STAR BLOCKS
20
Repeat step 11, pairing each of twenty-two red 3in squares and twenty-two green 3in squares, with a 3in background square, to make a total of forty-four red/background HSTs and forty-four green/background HSTs.
21
Arrange four matching HSTs with one matching red or green 2 in square and four 2 in background squares, as shown (Fig 6). Sew together in three rows of three to complete one friendship star block.
22
Repeat step 22 to make a total of eleven red friendship star blocks and eleven green friendship star blocks.
PIECING THE QUILT TOP
23
Arrange the blocks and the background pieces on either side of the rows as shown, using the longest pieces at the top and the shortest pieces at the bottom (Layout diagram). Row 1 is the 6 in x 60 in background strip and Row 10 is the 2 in x
60 in background strip.
24
Sew each row together. In Rows 5 and
9, begin by sewing the friendship star blocks in pairs, before joining them to the other sections of the row.
25
Sew the rows together, pressing seams open, to complete the quilt top.
ASSEMBLING THE QUILT TOP
26
Cut backing fabric in half across width. Remove selvedges and re-join pieces with a in seam. Press the seam open.
27
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. Baste all these layers together using your preferred method. 28
Quilt as desired. Yvonne quilted horizontal lines across the tree and vertical lines across the background.
29
Join the binding strips together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open and trim away each of the dog ears, then fold in half lengthwise, WST, and press.
30
Sew the binding to the front of the quilt, folding a mitre at each corner, then fold it over to the back of the quilt and hand stitch in place to finish.