Chapter 5 is Live — Layout and Quilt Assembly

Chapter 5 of the Soulshine Quilt Class is now available, and this is where everything begins to come together. After weeks of block making, we’re finally laying out the full quilt and assembling the quilt top.

If you’d like to join the class or follow along, you can find it here

Or grab the pattern and a quilt kit here

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Lesson 13 — Layout

In this lesson, we lay out the full quilt.

I’m using a design wall, but you can use whatever space works for you. A bed, the floor, a large table. Anything that allows you to see the whole quilt at once.

The biggest tip I can give you here is to take your time.

Leave your quilt laid out for a day or two if you can. Each time you walk past it, you’ll notice something new. A fabric that feels too concentrated in one area. A color that needs to be moved. A block that would work better somewhere else.

For my version using Calm + Content fabrics, I paid close attention to how the colors were distributed. I wanted my pinks and corals scattered throughout the quilt, not clustered in one section. The same was true for my darker greens and lighter greens.

I also watched for my palest fabrics. When several very light fabrics end up close together, they can create unintended blank areas in the quilt. Moving them apart helps the whole quilt feel more balanced.

And the checkerboard prints needed the same attention. Scattering those throughout the quilt keeps the eye moving across the surface instead of stopping in one place.

This slow, thoughtful step makes a big difference in the final look of your quilt.

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Lesson 14 — Quilt Top Assembly

Once the layout is set, we move on to assembling the quilt top.

We begin by sewing the blocks into rows. This part is very straightforward, since there are no seam intersections between the blocks within the row.

When sewing the rows together, you’ll begin matching the seams between blocks. Because we’ve been pressing our seams toward the Soul blocks, the seams naturally nest together. This makes alignment easier and helps keep your rows straight and accurate.

Taking care during pressing earlier in the process really pays off here.

Before long, your quilt top is fully assembled.

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This is always one of my favorite moments in a quilt. Seeing all the blocks together, seeing the colors spread across the surface, and watching the design finally become whole.

The Soulshine quilt top is officially taking shape.