Hope mini quilt

Put all your new-found knowledge into practice with this sparkly mini quilt using two contrasting fabrics and a sweet dove motif, all from Ruby Star Society

CUTTING OUT

1 From the background fabric cut:

■ Four (4) 6in squares.

■ One (1) 61/2in x 19in rectangle.

■ One (1) 21/2in x 181/2in rectangle.

■ Two (2) 11/2in x 121/2in rectangles.

2 From the lining fabric cut:

■ Four (4) 5in squares.

■ One (1) 6in square (or size required for your dove motif).

3 From the binding fabric cut:

■ Four (4) 2in x 22in. Making the letter blocks

4 Using the 6in squares of background fabric, 5in squares of lining fabric, 5in squares of feature fabric and the letter templates provided, follow the porthole tutorial to make one each of the ‘H’, ‘O’, ‘P’ and ‘E’ blocks. Take particular care when trimming the centre aperture of the letters to ensure your shape will lie flat.

5 Trim all your letter blocks to 5in square, ensuring each letter is centred on its block.

6 Prepare the dove block by making a template using the tutorial on p73. Using the method described in the porthole tutorial, make the self-drafted porthole in the centre of the 61/2in x 19in rectangle of background fabric. Trim the block to 6in x 181/2in. Making the quilt top

7 Arrange the letter blocks in a line and sew together. Sew the dove block onto the bottom edge of the letters. Add the 21/2in x 181/2in background rectangle to the top. Sew the 11/2in x 121/2in background rectangles to each side of the block. finishing the mini quilt

8 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 layers together using your preferred method.

9 Quilt as desired. Kate added straight line quilting around the portholes, leaving the portholes themselves unquilted. Trim off the excess batting and backing and square up the mini quilt.

10 Sew the binding strips in your chosen fabric together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open and trim away the dog ears. Fold in half lengthways, wrong sides together, and press.

11 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 around the edge.