...a quilt for a child in need

Project Linus provides security and comfort for sick and traumatised children through the donation of handmade quilts and blankets. Give a child in need a lifelong keepsake with this patchwork quilt pattern.

1 Lay the squares of fabric on a flat surface in three rows of four, moving them around until you are happy with the arrangement and mix of colours. Working one row at a time, pin the squares right sides together with a 1cm (½in) seam. Machine stitch and press the seams to one side. Complete four rows. 2 With right sides together and aligning the seams, pin the three rows together. Machine stitch a 1cm(½in) seam across the rows. Press the seams to one side. 3 Lay the pieced squares rightside down on a flat surface, with the wadding on top. Place the backing fabric on top right-side up, aligning the edges. Pin and then baste (tack) the three layers together. 4 With the squared side facing up, take one of the shorter border strips and, with right-side down, pin it to the shorter width of the quilt, aligning the raw edges. Machine stitch, taking a 1cm (½in) seam. Repeat for the opposite edge. 5 Turn the quilt over. Fold the strip in half and fold under a 1cm (½in) hem and pin in position. Repeat with the opposite edge. 6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the longer side edges but this time fold in each end of the strip by 1cm (½in) before pinning the strip to the edge of the quilt. 7 Hand stitch the strips in place using appliqué stitch. When you get to the corners, close the gap at the end of the strip with a few small stitches. 8 With an air-erasable pen, mark the position of the hand-tied knot in the centre of each square. Thread a needle with a piece of embroidery floss approx 20cm (8in) long. Push the needle through the centre mark on the squared side, taking the needle through all three layers and to the reverse side. Bring the needle up again through the three layers approx 3mm away from where the thread emerged. 9 Making sure both thread ends are roughly equal in length, remove the needle and tie a double knot. Trim the ends to approx 1.5cm (½in) long. Repeat steps 8 and 9 to tie knots in all the squares. Press.