WINTER MITTENS
Take on a festive FPP project with rows of star-spangled gloves, then set the scene with swirling, snowy freemotion quilting
YOU WILL NEED
■ Red fabric: ½yd
■ Dark red fabric: 1/8yd
■ Green fabric: ½yd
■ Dark green fabric: 1/8yd
■ Blue fabric: ½yd
■ Dark blue fabric: 1/8yd
■ White fabric: ¾yd
■ Background fabric: 1½yds
■ Backing fabric: 1½yds
■ Batting: 44in x 52in
■ Binding fabric: ½yd
■ Sixty four (64) copies each of the Centre Star FPP Template Sections A and B
FINISHED SIZE
■ 40in x 48in
NOTES
■ Seam allowances are ¼in, unless otherwise noted.
■ Press seams open, unless otherwise instructed.
■ FPP templates include seam allowances around the outer edges only.
■ For templates see page 92.
■ FPP = Foundation Paper Piecing.
■ RST = right sides together.
■ WOF = width of fabric.
■ Fabric supplied by Fat Quarter Shop (fatquartershop.com)
MIX FPP WITH TRADITIONAL PIECING FOR A SATISFYING SKILL-BUILDING PROJECT FABRICS USED
Solid fabrics are Kona Cotton Solids by Robert Kaufman, as follows:
■ Background fabric: Snow
■ Red: Poppy
■ Dark red: Cardinal
■ Green: Chartreuse
■ Dark green: Lime
■ Blue: Pool
■ Dark blue: Breakers
■ Backing fabric is Polka Dot in Gray by Dear Stella Fabrics.
■ Binding fabric is ¼in Stripe Red from Riley Blake Designs.
CUTTING OUT
1 From both the red and green solid fabrics cut:
■ One (1) 2½in x WOF strip. Subcut into six (6) 5½in x 2½in strips.
■ One (1) 1½in x WOF strip. Subcut into six (6) 5½in x 1½in strips.
■ Two (2) 3in x WOF strips. Subcut into twenty four (24) 3in squares. Cut the squares in half diagonally once to yield forty eight (48) triangles (Sections 2A and 2B in the Centre Star FPP Template).
■ Two (2) 2½in x WOF strips. Subcut into twenty four (24) 2½in squares. Cut the squares in half diagonally once to yield forty eight (48) triangles (Sections 3A and 3B in the Centre Star FPP Template).
■ From the remaining strips, cut six (6)
2in x 3½in strips.
2 From both the dark red and dark green fabrics cut:
■ Six (6) 4½in x 2in strips.
3 From the blue fabric cut:
■ Two (2) 3in x WOF strips. Subcut into sixteen (16) 3in squares and (4) 5½in x
2½in strips. Cut the 3in squares in half diagonally once to yield thirty two (32) triangles (Sections 2A and 2B in the Centre Star FPP Template).
■ One (1) 2½in x WOF strip. Subcut into sixteen (16) 2½in squares. Cut the squares in half diagonally once to yield thirty two (32) triangles (Sections 3A and 3B in the Centre Star FPP Template).
■ Two (2) 2½in x WOF strips. Subcut into four (4) 5½in x 2½in strips, four (4) 5½in x
1½in strips and four (4) 2in x 3½in strips.
4 From the dark blue fabric cut:
■ Four (4) 4 ½in x 2in strips.
5 From the white fabric cut:
■ Eleven (11) 2in x WOF strips. Subcut each strip into one hundred and twenty eight (128) 2in x 3½in strips (Sections 1A and 1B in the Centre Star FPP Template).
6 From the background fabric cut:
■ Six (6) 3in x WOF strips. Subcut into sixteen (16) 3in x 12½in strips.
■ Four (4) 3in x WOF strips. Subcut into thirty two (32) 3in x 5in strips.
■ Two (2) 5½in x WOF strips. Subcut into sixteen (16) 5½in x 2in strips and sixteen
(16) 5½in x 1½in strips.
■ One (1) 3½in x WOF strip. Subcut into sixteen (16) 1½in x 3½in strips.
■ One (1) 2in x WOF strip. Subcut into thirty two (32) 1in x 2in strips.
■ One (1) 2in x WOF strip. Subcut into sixteen (16) 2in squares.
■ From the remaining pieces of background fabric, cut thirty two
(32) 1½in squares and sixty four (64)
1in squares.
7 From the binding fabric cut:
■ Five (5) 2½in x WOF strips.
MAKING THE CENTRE STAR
8 Foundation Paper Piece the centre star blocks as follows. Place the white fabric piece for Section 1A right side up on the unprinted side of the template against the section. Pin in place.
9 Place the Section 2A red fabric piece right side down on top of the Section
1A piece, matching up raw edges on the side where Sections 1A and 2A will be joined, and making sure that when folded back along the seam line, Section 2A will be covered by the fabric plus at least ¼in all around. Pin in place.
10 Turn the template over to the printed side and stitch along the marked line between Sections 1A and 2A, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam. Fold the template away from the seam and trim to ¼in. Fold the template back, turn the work to the fabric side, flip Section 2A open and then press.
11 Continue working in this way to piece the remaining section on the template. Trim along the dotted seam allowance line.
12 Repeat steps 8–11 to piece four of Section A and four of Section B. Pair a Section A with a Section B and sew RST along the diagonal line (Fig 1). Repeat with the remaining pairs to make all four quarters. Sew the four quarters together to complete one red 5½in square centre star (Fig 2). Remove the papers from the back.
13 Repeat steps 8–12 to piece a total of six red centre stars, six green centre stars and four blue centre stars.
PIECING THE MITTEN THUMBS
14 Take two red 2in x 3½in strips, four background 1in squares and two background 2in squares. Draw a line diagonally, corner-to-corner, on the wrong side of the background squares. Place the squares on the corners of the red strips, RST, and stitch down the line as shown to make two thumb units (Fig 3). Trim ¼in away from the seams and press open.
15 Sew a 1½in x 3½in background strip to the left side of one thumb unit and the right side of the other, referring to Fig
4 for orientation. Press the seam towards the background fabric. Sew a 3in x 5in background piece to the top and bottom of each unit. Press towards the background strips.
16 Repeat steps 14–15 using the remaining red, blue and green 2in x
3½in strips to yield eight right thumb pieces and eight left thumb pieces.
PIECING THE MITTEN BLOCKS
17 Draw a diagonal line across two background 1in squares and two background 1½in squares. Place the 1½in squares in the top corners of a red 5½in x 2½in strip, RST, and the 1in squares in the bottom of a red 5½in x 1½in strip, RST. Sew down the lines and trim ¼in away from the seam. Press open to make the top and bottom of the mitten (Fig 5).
18 Take a dark red 4½in x 2in strip and sew a background 1in x 2in strip to either side. Press towards the dark red fabric (Fig 6).
19 Take the mitten pieces from both steps 17 and 18, along with a background 5½in x 1½in strip, a background 5½in x 2in strip and a red centre star. Sew the pieces together to make the centre of the mitten, referring to Fig 7 for placement. The 5½in x 1½in background strip will be at the top of the mitten and the 5½in x 2in background strip will be at the bottom.
20 Repeat steps 17–19 to make six red mitten centres, six green mitten centres and four blue mitten centres. Pair up each mitten centre with a coordinating thumb piece and sew. Sew a background 3in x 12½in piece to the remaining side to make the 10½in x 12½in mitten blocks (Fig 8).
ASSEMBLING THE QUILT TOP
21
Arrange the mitten blocks in four rows of four, referring to the photography for placement. Sew the blocks into rows, then sew the rows together to complete the quilt top.
QUILTING AND FINISHING
22
Press the quilt top and backing well. Make a quilt sandwich by placing the backing fabric right side down, the batting on top, then place the quilt top centrally and right side up. Baste the three layers together using your preferred basting method.
23
Quilt as desired. Kristina quilted a swirling free motion design across the background of her quilt, and free motion pebbles inside the centre stars. Trim off the excess batting and backing fabric and square up the quilt.
24
Sew the binding strips together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open and trim any dog ears. Fold in half lengthways, wrong sides together, and press. Sew the binding to the right side of the quilt, creating a neat mitre at each corner. Fold the binding over to the back of the quilt and hand stitch in place to finish.