Little Miss Sawtooth Quilt Along – Details About the Quilt

This post is a part of the Little Miss Sawtooth Quilt Along.  Below is a list of all the posts and articles on this series.


 

 

 

Today we will be discussing mostly how the fabric requirements are broken up for this quilt and a few questions I’ve been getting here and there about fabrics.  If you missed last Monday’s post with all the fabric requirements, you can find it here.

Let’s dig in!

 


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About the Fabric Requirements

Fabric requirements!  So when it comes to a quilt along with a sampler quilt, there’s never any cutting instructions that are specific as you will find in my other quilt patterns.  You know the ones.  It always tells you to cut a 3.5″ strip and then subcut it and blah blah blah.  Very detailed.

In a quilt along like the Little Miss Sawtooth Star Quilt you don’t get those instructions.  Instead you’ll get the fabric cuts that you will need for each block.  So if we are making a 4-patch, you will get fabric requirements that tell you that you need (4) 3.5″ squares.  Doing it this way will allow you to use your fabrics as you please and cut how you want to.  If you are starting with fat quarters, you will butcher your fat quarters to death and end up with scraps leftover by the time the quilt has been finished.  This freedom will also allow you to do your own thing with the fabrics.  For example, just because in that 4-patch, I told you that 4 different fabrics are needed, doesn’t mean you have to do it that way.  You could make a 4-patch with only 2 fabrics.  It’s all about what you want!  This method of making a quilt is especially good for using up your scraps, so if you are inclined, do dig around in your scrap bins.

 


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Quilt above made by Tracy Loukota

 

Prints & Backgrounds

Let’s talk about how the prints and backgrounds are decided.  The print fabrics are for the stars.  This includes all the stars inside and the star points.  When you the pattern tells you to cut fabrics, you want to be sure you are cutting the right fabric.

 

Block above made by Nicole Gendy

 

The block above is block #15, it’s name is Sofia.  In this block you can really tell what’s what.  The star was cut from the main fabric (prints) and the rest of it, the 4 corners and the larger parts of the flying geese are from background fabric.  I don’t spell this out for you in the pattern.  Most of you who are experienced quilters will know this automatically, but a few of my testers thought that new quilters might not realize this.  It’s not the sort of the thing we usually add worded into the pattern, as you may want to use main or prints for your background and solid whites for your star.  It’s always up to you.  In the blog post that will accompany each block release it will be spelled out for you so that you know what I’m using what to go where.  This way you can change anything to suit your own style.

If you’ve been following me for a while then you’ve probably seen how obsessed I am with low volume fabrics as my backgrounds.  I rarely make a quilt not in this style.  So when you do see my blocks for this quilt, you’ll notice that they are a bit more scrappy and patchy looking than the clean style that Nicole has so lovingly made in her block above.  There’s nothing wrong with either method, it’s just two different styles.  If you are interested in instructions that show how I usually cut fabrics for the backgrounds of my quilts, you can read about that here.

 

Quilt made by Lorraine of @notLaverne

 

I’m probably overthinking this next bit, but I don’t want any new quilters confused and it has been mentioned to be at least one other quilter, but you may know that I’ve curated a few fabric bundles for this quilt and the majority of them are saturated colored prints, but there are a few low volume fabrics in there as well.

The fabric bundles only include fabric for the stars, so you can use low volumes as parts of the inside of your stars and use them as your background too.  You’ll notice that Lorraine has done that so prettily in her quilt above.

 

 

In some quilts it really matters which fabric goes where and in some quilts, not so much.  This quilt I tend to let loose a little bit.  If you don’t use more saturated prints for your star points they could get lost in the shuffle especially if you are making a scrappy quilt.  Like I’ve already mentioned, in my quilts I tend to do a scrappy low volume background.  I wouldn’t use these fabrics for my star points at all.  If I did you wouldn’t be able to see the star point from the background.  However, that doesn’t ever stop me from using really light colors as star points.  Notice my quilt above with the pale peach and light mint star points of my flying geese.  I find this perfectly acceptable, but maybe you don’t?  It’s just something to be mindful of when planning your quilt.  Learning what you will like will help you create a quilt you love.

 


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Quilt made by Isabel of @lambandwolfie

 

A Few Supplies

In this quilt pattern, I’m teaching a different way of making half square triangles from strips of fabric versus the usual method of making them from squares in one of the blocks.  I’m absolutely in love with it and can’t wait to use it for more quilts as my scraps tend to be quite a bit of WOF strips.  I always make my HSTs with a ruler that’s pretty popular among quilters.  I also tend to forget that we aren’t all making them the same way!  My testers have asked me to STRESS HOW MUCH THIS RULER IS NEEDED for the Gabrielle block.  To use this method of HST making that I’m so in love with, this ruler is crucial.  Several of my testers talked me into including a template for those who do not have this ruler.  You can purchase the ruler here.  But know that there will be a template in the PDF version of the pattern.  My suggestion is to cut out the template out and tape it onto the corner of one of your square rulers.  It’ll work just the same!

Other than that there aren’t any other supplies required.  You may want some fussy cut rulers, but you don’t have to have them.  There are a gazillion moments available to fussy cut in this quilt if that’s your thing!

I don’t have that many rulers.  I know there are quilters with quite a collection.  I’ve found that the few I have serve me well enough.  The rulers I’ve mentioned above I’ve had since I first began quilting.  I should really do a post all about rulers.

 


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Whispers Low Volume Fabric Bundle

  • 10 pieces
  • Fat quarters or half yard cuts
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Quilt made by Cindy of @Stitchy_Goodness

 

Final Thoughts

There are a few moments in this quilt where I’m showing you techniques that I haven’t shown in any of my patterns before including one block with some partial seams.  I think you are going to be amazed at how easy they are!

There will be video tutorials for every single block in this quilt, so if you are new to quilt making, you will be taken care of.  We also always have such warm and friendly quilters participating, so feel free to ask questions to me or by going on Instagram and using the hashtags to connect with other quilters.

Let me know if I’ve missed a question you need an answer too and I’ll add it to this post.

 


The Ruby Beatrice Quilt

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9 Comments

  1. A great option for people who might want to do some fussy cutting, but don’t want to buy a bunch of rulers is grided template plastic – you can get a package of 6 sheets for probably about $5. They’re marked with lines every 1/8 ” with a bit of a darker line at 1″ intervals, making it super easy to draw exactly the size square (triangle, rectangle, whatever) you need. You can even color in a seam allowance and draw an X across the template to help you center your designs, and see exactly what your piece will look like once sewn. I used this method a ton while making the butterfly quilt…

    I thought of something else that might be helpful, too – but its already slipped my mind. grrrr

    p.s. I feel like your block diagrams make it really easy (even for beginners!) to know what pieces go where, making fabric relatively easy to select for each block.

  2. I’m wondering what batting you use? All of your quilts look so cuddly soft and lightweight. I live in Florida and I want my quilts to be lightweight.

  3. I’m really looking forward to the Quilt-along, but I am not on Facebook or Instagram (nor do I want to be).

    Will it be possible to see comments from other participants, suggestions, tips etc.? Where would these be showing up for those of us not on these social media platforms?

    Thank you for making this beautiful quilt available for this QaL!

    P.S. I do have a YouTube account, and I have subscribed to your channel (I watch all your videos, because I have clicked on that handy “notification bell” )!

    Thanks again, Robin

    1. Hey robin! I’m so happy you are participating. You might find comments on the blog or on my YouTube channel of quilters to connect with. It won’t be as many as on social media, but there are always a few. If you’d like any help or have questions about being completely anonymous and still using Instagram I’m happy to help you with that as well. Just let me know.

  4. I do not have instagram, but would very much like to ask Cindy @stitchy_goodness what fabric she used for her quilt. The colors are so perfect for my granddaughter!

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