Look on the Bright Side
Dress up your table.
MATERIALS
Materials given make 2 place mats and 2 coasters. • Scraps light pink, light aqua and yellow tonals • 1 fat eighth each dark pink and dark aqua tonals • 5/ 8 yard green tonal • 11/ 8 yards white-with- green highlights • 2 (15" x 18") rectangles batting • 4 (7") squares batting • Thread • 14 ( 3/4") and 16 (2") precut hexagon papers or cardstock • Basic sewing tools and supplies
CUTTING
From green tonal: • Cut 5 (21/4" by fabric width) binding strips. From white-with-green highlights: • Cut 1 (151/2" by fabric width) strip. Subcut strip into 2 (121/2" x 151/2") A rectangles, 2 (5") B squares and 2 (7") C coaster backing squares. • Cut 1 (15" by fabric width) strip. Subcut strip into 2 (15" x 18") backing rectangles.
PREPARING THE HEXAGONS
1. If not using precut hexagon papers, use the two patterns given to prepare templates for tracing. Trace and cut out 16 large hexagons and 14 small hexagons from cardstock. 2. Pin a large hexagon to the wrong side of the dark pink tonal. Cut out, leaving a generous 1/4" seam allowance all around as shown in Figure 1. 3. Fold the seam allowance over the edges of the hexagon, finger-pressing in place, and baste through the fabric and paper to hold, overlapping the corners and placing a tacking stitch at each corner as shown in Figure 2; press to secure the folds. Note: It is not necessary to stitch into the paper on the small hexagons. Just make a tacking stitch to hold at a corner and move to the next corner.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to make a total of six each dark pink and dark aqua large hexagons; two each yellow and green large hexagons; six each light pink and light aqua small hexagons; and two each yellow small hexagons. 5. Arrange the dark pink hexagons (petals) into a flower shape with a yellow large hexagon in the center as shown in Figure 3. Add a green large hexagon on one end for leaf.
6. To connect the hexagons, pick up the yellow flower center and one petal; hold them right sides together with the touching sides aligned at the top edge as shown in Figure 4.
7. Thread a needle with one strand of matching thread (petal color) and knot one end. Whipstitch the aligned top edges together using very small stitches and barely catching the edges of the fabric, but not going through the paper as shown in Figure 5.
8. Pick up the next petal hexagon and hold it right sides together with the first petal. Whipstitch the edges together as in step 7. At the end of that line of stitching, make a knot but do not clip thread. Refold pieces so that petal 2 is right sides together with the next edge of the flower center and whipstitch the edges together as shown in Figure 6.
9. Continue around the center until all six petals have been connected to each other and to the center. Use the same technique to add the leaf hexagon to one side to complete the large dark pink flower, connecting on just two adjacent straight edges as shown in Figure 7.
10. Repeat steps 5–9 to complete one large dark aqua flower with leaf. Repeat to make small light pink and light aqua flowers without leaves.
COMPLETING THE PLACE MATS
1. Remove the basting stitches on the large hexagon flowers and remove the papers. Re-press the edges and corners.
2. Center a flower motif on each A rectangle, referring to the Placement Diagrams for positioning; pin or baste to hold.
3. Appliqué the flower motif in place by hand or machine.
4. Create a quilt sandwich with the appliquéd tops and the 15" x 18" batting and backing rectangles referring to Quilting Basics on page 94.
5. Quilt as desired. Add leaf vein lines to green hexagon if desired.
6. Bind edges referring to Quilting Basics on page 94 to finish.