It Happens in a Blink

Carolina Flower Quilt Square Tutorial

If you come here frequently, then you know I love sewing projects, but not necessarily quilting projects. I actually joined the Mommy By Day, Crafter by Night Quilt Along two months ago to make a zig-zag quilt and gain some quilting expertise. Did you like my quilt? Probably not, because I haven’t finished it yet. It’s coming, but parts of it have been particularly daunting for me.

So it may seem ironic that I would make a quilt square, or even that I would post a tutorial about it, but something about making just one square didn’t see nearly as overwhelming as an entire quilt. And to motivate me even more, my bloggy friend Adrianne at Happy Hour Projects is having a quilt square contest!



I am pleased to say that I designed this quilt square completely on my own. There’s nothing more satisfactory than planning something in my head that actually turns out exact as I had imagined. This quilt square combines traditional quilting (piecing and sewing together fabric pieces to create a square) and applique. While I am not an accomplished quilter, traditional quilt looks are my favorite, so I wanted to maintain a traditional look without all the fancy cuts and the math. In other words, I wanted to create a polished quilt block that anyone can replicate without advanced quilting techniques.


I’m naming it…the Carolina Flower Quilt Block (for my little princess, of course)



Skill: Intermediate Begiiner
This tutorial makes a 12×12 quilt block.
Supplies: 
  • Light blue fabric
  • Light/medium green fabric
  • Darker green fabric scrap
  • Yellow fabric scrap
  • Pink (or color for flower) fabric
  • Heat N’ Bond  
  • 13″ x 13″ square of batting
 Begin by cutting strips 9  of light blue fabric that are 1 1/2″ by 12 1/2″ (the extra “half” inches are to account for seam allowance and trimming uneven fabric). Cut 3 strips of light/medium green fabric that are are 1 1/2″ by 12 1/2″. 

Place two of the light blue strips, right sides together, and sew down the long edge with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Open the fabric strips. Sew another blue strip to the right side of one of these with a 1/4 seam allowance. Continue this until all the light blue strips are sewn together. 

Next, sew a green strip to the bottom of the last blue strip (right sides together). Sew a second green strip to the right side of the first green strip. Continue until the green strips are sewn together. The base of the quilt block is now sewn together. 

This next step is highly important- iron the quilt block so that the seams are flat. Something as simple as ironing can make or break the look of the square.
Pin the batting square to the back of the quilt block.

After ironing and attaching batting, head back to the sewing machine and sew down both sides of all the seams close to the seam. Set the quilt block aside. 
Print off the hexagon shape (the seam allowance is already included)–OOPS! Forgot to add this printable- I’ll load it soon!. Use it to cut out one yellow shape, six pink shapes, and two dark green shapes. Use any dark green scraps to cut out 3 1 1/2″ by 2″ rectangles for the stem. 

Using the yellow as the flower center, sew a pink hexagon to each side of the yellow using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Once the pink is attached to the yellow center, go back and sew each pink hexagon to the one next to it, using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Continue this all the way around until the flower is completely joined together.



Assemble the stem by sewing the three rectangles, right sides together, to form a long stem. Sew the remaining two hexagons to the stem, right sides together, one on each side of the stem.



Sew the short end of the top of the stem to the bottom of the pink flower (right sides together).



Iron the flower and stem so that the seams are flat.


Next, attach the flower to the quilt block. The easiest way to accomplish this is by using Heat N’ Bond to attach the flower. This creates an extra bond and keeps the flower in place while sewing. Follow the directions on the package.

Applique the flower on the block. Do this by sewing a zig zag or applique stitch around the perimeter of the shape. I used a lower stitch length than was on the default on my machine to get around the small corners. 

Trim up the edges and remove any extra batting, uneven fabric, etc.

Almost finished! After applique, I wanted to really grasp the traditional quilt look, so I quilted around each seam of the flower for additional definition. 



I’m so happy with this quilt block! I’m dreaming of a quilt with different color variations of these all in the quilt….

I may link this project to these linking parties.

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