Candy Stars Mini Quilt

Hello everyone!  My name is Chrissy Lux and I co-own Sew Lux Fabric with my mom.  I am really excited to be back on the Moda Bake Shop sharing another project with you today.

Moda Candy precuts (mini charms) are super cute and so easy to collect!  Here’s a fun & quick mini quilt project that could easily be enlarged to make a bigger version – just add more candy!

Fabric Needed:
76 mini charms *
1 yard solid for Background (Bella White Bleached 9900 98)
1 yard for backing (Mixed Bag Dots 32870 21)
1/4 yard for binding (Bella Etchings Slate 9900 170)

(*I used 4 packs of the New Bella Solids, which have 30 mini charms.  But most print collections have 42, so you may only need 2 candy/mini charm packs if you are going for a scrappy look.) 

Tools Needed: 
Machine & basic sewing supplies

Use a 1/4″ seam throughout. 

Step 1: Prep Background & Borders: 

From the solid background, cut the following: 

TWO 2.5″ x WOF strips – SUBCUT into twenty (20) 2.5″ squares

THREE 2.5″ x WOF strips – SUBCUT into twenty-eight (28) 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles

TWO 2.5″ x WOF strips – SUBCUT into eight (8) 2.5″ x 8.5″ rectangles

FOUR – 3.5″ x WOF strips for borders

For this project, we’ll make two blocks – a variable star and a simple 4 patch.  You’ll need four 4-patch blocks and five star blocks.  

Step 2: Sort your Squares

Sort your candy squares into piles with five piles of 12 squares (corners & center) and four piles of four squares (middle of top & bottom row and left and right columns) as shown. 

Since I was using solids, I sorted mine by color into a ROYGBIV type of color wheel.  Because of this, I took extra time while sewing to make sure I kept things in the correct order and placement.  If you are using prints to create a scrappy look, you can certainly sew a little more carefree!  🙂 

Step 3: Make the 4-Patch Units
The 4-patch blocks are easy to whip together.  Sew two sets to two squares together.  Press in opposite directions.

Then stitch them together.

Repeat this process for the four 4-patch units. Next, we’ll add borders to complete the units.

Sew a 2.5″ strip to the top and bottom of your 4-patch unit.  Press toward the border/away from the 4-patch.

Then add the 2.5″ x 8.5″ sides.  Press toward the center.  Repeat to complete all four 4-patch units.

Step 4: Make the Variable Star Units
For these blocks, you will start by making a 4-patch for the center.   Then we’ll make and add wonky geese on the sides to create the star.

Place one candy square on top of one 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle. (If using prints, remember to place right sides together!)  Sew on the diagonal, being sure that when you fold the square over, it will cover all of the background rectangle.

Trim away excess fabric and press toward the candy square.

Next, add another candy square opposite of the first.  Sew along the diagonal, trim away excess and press towards the candy square fabric.
TIP:  Since these are so small, I just finger press to create a crease down the diagonal as a sewing guide. If you prefer to mark with a pencil or disappearing ink, feel free. 

Trim your completed wonky geese unit to 2.5″ x 4.5″.

Assemble the star, by sewing two geese units to the top and bottom – press toward the center.

Then sew 2.5″ background squares to the sides of the remaining two geese units, pressing toward the background squares.

Then sew the side units to the center, and press away from the center.

Step 5: Assemble the Top
Now, its time to assemble your quilt top!   Start by making a large 9-patch with your 4-patch and variable star blocks.

Then add border strips to the sides and then the top and bottom.

Layer and quilt as desired.  Finish by adding binding.  (Need help binding?  MBS tutorial here.) 

You can easily make this project with prints – here is a mock up of what it might look like in Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille.

Hope you enjoyed this project!

1 Sweet Mini Quilt approximately 30 in x 30 in.

Chrissy Lux
{www.sewlux.blogspot.com} 

Prairie Stars Table Runner

Hi! My name is Kymberly from Peas in a Pod Creations. I’m so excited to be back on the Moda Bake Shop today with this cute table runner. It might look hard, but with the candy charm squares it’s actually pretty easy and versatile. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see how this runner looks in solids.

4 candy mini-charm packs or 1 charm pack (for this runner I used Kansas Troubles Favorites II)
1/2 yd. dark blue fabric (this will be used for sashing, backing, and binding)
1/8 yd. cream fabric (note: you will need (10) 2.5″ square cornerstones so you could use a jelly roll strip or other scrap)

*Since the Candy mini-charms are 2.5″ square they can easily be created from larger pre-cuts if you can’t find them at your LQS. I wanted some extra fabric so I started with a layer cake, but a charm pack is the perfect substitute in this pattern if you can’t find the mini-charms.

If you’re working with something bigger than the mini-charms cut your fabric into 2.5″ squares.

Match the fabrics from your mini-charm packs and decide which colors you want to use for each star. Kansas Troubles Favorites II has several fabrics in each color so I chose to make a brown, blue, red, and green star. Choose three color/dark fabrics and three lights for each star. 

Decide which square will be the center of your star and set aside. Cut your remaining squares in half diagonally to create triangles and sew along short sides of triangles. The corners are made of 2″ HSTs that are created by sewing two small triangles together. I found an easy cheat if you don’t always have perfect points is to sew like fabrics together. This is also a great way to practice those quarter square pieces.

Sew triangles into squares and trim to 2.5″.

 I forgot to take a picture of the star points in progress, but it’s the same process as the corner units. The only difference is this time you won’t sew likes with likes. Sew a dark triangle to a light along a short side to create a larger triangle. Sew two large triangles together to create a square and trim to 2.5″.

Assemble pieces as shown, and repeat process for remaining three stars.

Cut dark yardage into 2.5″ strips and subdivide into (13) 6.5″ long rectangles for sashing. Cut (10) 2.5″ squares from light fabric for cornerstones. My favorite method for doing sashing is to sew a long strip on one edge of the block. On the last block sew a second strip opposite the first. Chain piece (8) cornerstones to the remaining strips, and choose two strips to attach cornerstones to the opposite edge. Press blocks and strips and sew a sashing strip to the top of each block. Make sure that the sashing with two cornerstones goes on the block with two strips of sashing. (If I was doing this in a quilt with more than one row I’d sew all of my blocks like this and only the last row would continue with the next step.) Attach your remaining sashing/cornerstone units to your blocks and sew blocks into a row.

I chose to quilt this table runner using a walking foot to quilt in the ditch around the stars.

One 33″x10″ table runner.

Here’s another version of this table runner made with solids and all of the blocks the same. Each star is 6″ square so the length of this table runner can easily be adjusted by adding or subtracting stars.

Hop over to my blog to see a way to use the mini charms to make matching mug rugs.

Kymberly Pease

Peas in a Pod Creations

The Forgotten Five Mini Quilt

Greetings everyone from beautiful Germany! Thank you, Moda Bake Shop for allowing me to come back again to present to you a new and rather simple miniature quilt using one charm pack, great colors, and a simplified cutting technique to make these impromptu miniature goodies – miniature quilt, pillow, and pin cushion. The block size here is four square inches, but don’t let it intimidate you. It is easier than it looks.

You can check out other free patterns on my blog – www.easypatchwork.blogspot.de. Don’t forgot to “join” my site to win a free charm pack to make this pattern!

Please use a SCANT ¼” seam allowance unless otherwise specified. This is very, very important when sewing smaller blocks together. 

 
{This will be enough to make all three items}

1 charm pack (Weave 9898PP)
½ yard sashing (Weave Linen 9898 11)
¼ yard center block fabric (Weave Mango 9898 32)
¼ yard binding for mini quilt + pillow (Weave Royal 9898 46)
½ yard coordinating backing
2 – 16″ x 16″ pieces of cotton batting

MINI QUILT AND/OR PILLOW CASE FRONT
For center construction, cut:
 9 – 2“ orange squares
18 – 1 x 2“ white strips (A)
18 – 1 x 3“ white strips (B)

From nine different charms, cut:
18 – 1¼ x 5” strips (C)
 18 – 1¼ x 5” strips (D)

Sew one A strip to the top and bottom of the center square. Finger press outwards. Sew one B strip to both sides of center rectangle. Iron outwards. Square to 3″.

NOTE: Strips C and D are longer than you need, but this will allow you to match up patterns in the fabric when sewing if you wish.

Sew one C strip to top and bottom of white square. Finger press outwards. Sew one D strip to both sides of white rectangle. Iron. Square to 4½”.

Repeat to make a total of nine blocks. Find the center of each square (2¼”) and cut into four center square segments. Keep together and set aside.

For the cross, cut:
2 – 2¼ x 12” white strips (E)
1 – 1 x 12” orange strip (F)
18 – 1 x 2¼” white strips (G)

Sew one E strip to each side of orange F strip. Press toward white strip. Cut into 1″ cross segments.

Assembling the Five Patch Block
Sew one white strip (G) between two matching center segments. Press seams inward. Repeat for the other side. Sew one cross segment to each side of center block you just made. The seams will cradle. Repeat to get a total of nine miniature blocks.

 
Press with iron and square to 4½”.

Assembling the Patchwork Front 
Arrange the nine blocks as you wish. Sew together in rows of three. Sew the three rows together. Iron and square. Layer your front and batting (and backing if making a mini-quilt). Quilt as desired.

{Optional instructions for making the mini quilt into a pillow. Skip to Finishing the Mini Quilt if you are not making a pillow}

Assembling the Pillow 
Cut two strips 2 x 12½” and sew to top and bottom of the front. Cut two strips 2 x 15½” and sew to the sides. Iron outward. Square if needed. Cut one square 15½ x 15½” (H) and one rectangle to 8 x 15½” (I). Turn one edge under ¼” (toward the wrong side of the fabric) twice to get a double fold on both (H) & (I) pieces. Sew to get a smooth and encased raw edge. Layer your Patchwork Front (facing up), Backing I (facing down) and Backing H (facing down). Sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance around the edge leaving a 2-3 inch gap to flip right-side-out. Clip the corners and flip. Press. Fill with a 15″ pillow form.

Finishing the Mini Quilt
Make continuous-folded 2″ binding strips from dark blue fabric. Apply using your favorite method; I applied to the front using a ¼ seam allowance, folded back and hand-stitched in place.

MAKING THE PIN CUSHION
Cut the following pieces:
 1 – 2 x 2” orange square
2 – 1 x 2” white rectangle (A)
2 – 1 x 3” white rectangle (B)
2 – 1¼ x 3” charm rectangles (C)
2 – 1 ¼ x 5” charm rectangles (D)
4 – 1 x 2¼” white rectangles (G)
1 – 1 x 1” orange square (J)

Sew pieces A – D using the above instructions for center construction.

 
Sew one G rectangle to top and bottom of two sliced squares from the center construction. Press inwards toward white strip. Repeat for the other side.

Sew one J square between two G rectangles. Press outwards. Sew cross segment between two square segments to complete the block. Press and square to 4½”.

Cut backing fabric to 4½” square. Place backing fabric face up and Forgotten Five Patch face down. Sew using a 3/8″ seam allowance leaving a 2″ opening to flip. Trim corners, flip and press. Fill with unused, dry rice. Close using a hidden blanket stitch.

One Miniature Quilt – 12″ x 12″ and/or One Pillow Case – 15″ x 15″
One Pin Cushion – 4″ x 4″

If you like the look of scrappy, mix and match the center units like here featured with Honky Tonk! I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. I would love to see what you have made if you decide to use this tutorial.

Happy Patching!

Designed by Karen Ackva
{www.easypatchwork.blogspot.de}

Pieced and Quilted by Sarah Huechteman
{www.instagram.com/sarahhuechteman}

Midwinter Cozy Quilt

Red is the color of toy wagons and rubber balls.  It is the color of roses and fire trucks.  These things are always red in my mind.  Even so, there is room in my mind for wagons, rubber balls, roses, and fire trucks of other colors.  However, when winter rolls around and the days get long and dark I always reach for my red sweater.  Midwinter Reds by Minick and Simpson packs all of the warmth and spirit of my favorite red sweater into a fabric line.  It fills my heart with memories of cold days and warm ginger bread, with visions of hearth and home.  It is a natural for this tiny quilt/toy/table topper.  I hope you home is filled with all of the warmth and joy that midwinter red has to offer.

• Stars and Backgrounds
• 8, 2 1/2″ Candy Charm Packs + 1, 5″ Charm Pack for a very scrappy look
• OR 1 layer cake
• Inner Border & Binding
• 1/2 yard (I used tone on tone paisley in red SKU#14766-13)
• Outer Border
• 1/2 yard (I used red floral on tan, SKU #14761-16)
• Backing
• 1 yard (I used red dots on tan, SKU14767-16)

Cutting Directions:

• Stars – If you are using a layer cake rather than the charm packs you can cut all of the required pieces from 1, 10″ x 10″ square.
• cut 12 sets of
• 8, 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ squares (if not taken one each from the candy charm packs) for points.
• 1, 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ square (from matching 5″ charm) for centers.
• Backgrounds – using either 3, 5″ charms or 1 layer cake square
• cut 12 sets of
• 4, 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangles for edges.
• 4, 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ squares for corners.
• Borders
• Inner
• cut 4, 1″ x width of fabric (wof) strips
• Outer
• cut 4, 3″ x wof strips
• Binding
• cut 4, 2 1/2″ x wof strips

Sewing Directions:

The directions are written as if you were making one block at a time.  When I want my projects to be more unified (less scrappy) I make them this way.  It is easier to keep all of the same colors together.  If you want a more scrappy project make all of the flying goose units at the same time, randomly selecting squares and rectangles.

• Flying Goose Units
• Gather
• 8, 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ squares
• 4, 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangles
• Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2 1/2″ square
• With right sides together align one square atop one rectangle.
• Sew along the line but just to the outside. (on the side toward the smallest part of the rectangle

• Iron flap open – pushing the triangle lying over the larger part of the rectangle up and over the seam.
• At this point you can trim the excess fabric from the back of the patch; however, I leave mine in.  It gives me a little more control over the bias edge that tend to make triangles warp, and it make the points stick out just a little more in the finished product.

• You now have a rectangle with one corner different.
• Repeat the process on the opposite side of triangle.

• Be careful to get the seam going in the right direction.  It should be perpendicular to the seam you already made.

• Trim unit back to 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle
• Again, you choose to trim the seam allowances or not.
• Repeat 3 times for a total of 4 units.
• Block

• Gather
• 4 flying goose units
• 4, 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ background squares
• 1, 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ star square
• Sew Rows
• Top and bottom
• Sew patches together as shown

• Iron seam allowances towards the background squares
• Center
• Sew patches together as shown





• Iron seam allowances towards the center
• Sew rows together to form square.
• Iron seam allowances away from the center block.  This will require a good deal of steam if you left the extra fabric on the goose patches.
• Trim final block to 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
• Make 12 blocks
• The Quilt
• Gather
• 12, 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ star blocks
• inner border – 4, 1″ x wof
• outer border – 4, 3″ x wof
• Arrange blocks in a 4 x 3 grid to your liking.
• Sew 3 sets of 4 blocks together to make rows
• Sew rows together to make center of top.
• Sew inner border strips on long edges.
• Iron seam allowances towards the border
• Sew inner border strips on short edges
• Irons seam allowances towards the border
• Repeat border process with outer border.
• Layer and quilt as desired.

One super cute little quilt for doll or baby.  This quilt is also sized nicely to fit on a coffee or end table.  Alter the arrangement of blocks to a 2 x 6 grid and create a sweet holiday runner.

 Food for thought –  This block was designed to be used with candy charm sized pieces.  You used them to make the points of the stars in the flying goose units, and the corner background pieces.  You could also use them to make the rest of the block.

Sew 2 candy charms together to make 1, 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle.  This is the size of the foundation rectangle for the flying goose unit.

Sew 4 candy charms together to make 1, 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ square.  Perfect for the center of these stars!

Check out the block I made with 24 candy charm squares and the scraps from my inner border.  To do the same you need 12 light squares and 12 dark squares.  Depending on the fabric line (not all lines have the same number of dark and light fabrics in them) you could make 2 blocks per candy charm pack.  OR, go with a regular sized charm pack and you have the makings of 8 blocks.  OR go with a layer cake and you can make 32 blocks.  I think I would love to see that quilt!

This is a picture collage made on PicMonkey.   Imagine how cool it would look with 16 different blocks!

No matter what version of this pattern you use, or what fabric line, I ‘d love to see it.  Please add a picture to the Tops to Treasures Flickr group, or send me your photo.  I would be glad to add it for you.

Cindy Sharp
{www.topstotreasures.blogspot.com}