Brimfield Block Baby Quilt

Today I want to show you how I made my finished Brimfield Blocks into a baby quilt. If you’re not already familiar with the Brimfield Block, it is the original quilt block that Kim and Nisha of Brimfield Awakening introduced. You can read all about their story of finding a vintage orphaned quilt blocK, reviving it, creating templates, papers and a pattern which is the Brimfield Block here brimfieldawakening.com, Since then they have introduced many other beautiful blocks, but the original Brimfield Block is still my favorite and a perfect go to for many projects. I was especially interested in using it for this Homestead Life baby quilt because i knew it would bring an heirloom look when combined with the farm themed fabrics.

I purchased my Brimfield Block templates, papers and pattern. from the Brimfield Awakening website. The pattern explains everything from tracing and cutting the fabric, glue basting, and stitching them together to form the ring, and steps to make the Quilt. This tutorial for my baby quilt picks up from the point where you have created your rings.

My Brimfield Baby Quilt is essentially a whole cloth quilt with a border and the Brimfield Blocks apliqued on top.

I often choose to use a regular 44” wide quilt fabric for my backing because there is so much more to choose from. While I do love a simple cream solid fabric on many of my quilt backs, when I have more negative space on the front I’m likely to want to liven up the back. Because the 44’ fabric is not enough to cover the whole quilt I needed to piece it together. There is a great tutorial for piecing fabric together on Suzy Quilts blog, here https://suzyquilts.com/match-a-print-seamlessly-on-your-quilt-back/ .

The completed Brimfield rings measure about 13.5”. The acrylic templates and papers that you need are the Fat House, the Tall House, the Small House and the Orange Peel. You will not need the Center Piece, because the center is left open.

Next you will make your flowers using 4 Tall Houses and a center square, which I made a template for (shown above). Place 4 tall house papers in the shape of a flower (figure 1) and draw the rounded square shape onto a grided transparent plastic sheet. (EZ Quilting makes one called Quilters Template Plastic). Then draw a line about 3/8” larger around the square for the seam allowance. and cut it out (Figure 2) You will use this as your template to cut out the center fabric. Next, I repeat step one and cut out another template with just the rounded square. This is for the papers you will cut out to glue the center fabric to. (Figure 3) Cardstock is a good choice to make your papers with. This quilt has 9 flowers, so You will need a total of 36 Tall House pieces and 9 center squares. Assemble the flowers by stitching them one at a time to the center square using a flat back stitch, and securing them to the next “petal” with an extra stitch. (The same method you use to sew your Brimfield Rings together.)

After assembling your Tall House flowers, cut the following pieces of fabric.

In the Hey Ewe fabric - 4 pieces 5 1/2 “ X 39 “ for the border (Figure 4.)

In the Hey Ewe fabric - 4 pieces of 5 1/2 X 5 1/2 for the border corners (Figure 6).

In the Homestead Vignette fabric - one piece 51” X width of fabric (approximately 44”) and some smaller pieces, approximately 14 X 32 to patch together with the large piece for the backing. (Figure 8 - This is where I used the Suzy Quilts tutorial mentioned in the beginning) ** This is a busy pattern and you may choose to piece without even matching your pattern.

For the background, a light ivory solid, I cut a 39” X 39” piece (Figure 7)

Keeping the pattern facing the same direction, sew two 5.5” square pieces to each side of a border piece, right sides together. Repeat this step for a second border piece. (figure 10)

Sew the remaining 2 border pieces to the sides of the center panel, with the pattern facing outward and right sides together (Figure 10).

Sew a border piece to the top, and a border piece to the bottom, the top border facing upright, the bottom border facing upside down. Sew right sides together (Figure 11). Below is how your finished pieces should look (Figures 13 & 14).

You are ready to make your quilt sandwich. Use your favorite method for this step. I like to pin baste my quilts. Suzy Quilts has a great tutorial showing 3 ways to baste a quilt here https://suzyquilts.com/how-to-baste-a-quilt/ .

Cut 5 pieces 2 1/4” X the width of fabric, (approximately 44”) for the binding. (I use 2 1/4” strips for my binding, you may prefer 2 1/2” strips) Sew the 5 strips together to make a continuous binding strip. If you are new to quilting here is a nice tutorial by McCalls Qulting for sewing your strips together and binding your quilt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hha94oe3XA . I usually machine sew my binding to the front of my quilt and hand sew the back..

When your whole cloth quilt is finished, depending on how you plan to quilt it, you may want to quilt first and aplique your Brimfield rings and flowers after. I quilted straight lines along the border and free motion quilted the inside. If you are going to do this, you can do your straight line quilting around your border first so you don’t have all of the start and stop points around the flowers.

You are ready to applique your finished Brimfield rings and Flowers to your quilt. Place the flowers as shown above. You can pin them in place and/or glue them down with a washable fabric glue pen. Machine applique your flowers onto your finished quilt, keeping in mind the thread color for the back because this is going to be seen as the quilting on the back.. I used Aurifil 50 Wt color 2310, Light Beige for my quilting on both the front and back.

If you are like me, your finished whole cloth quilt and your Brimfield rings will not be the exact size as the pattern. Use this formula to place your Brimfield Rings.

Measure your center square between the seams of the border. Round to the nearest 1/2”. Measure your Brimfield rings. Round to the nearest 1/2”. Multiply the measurement of your ring X 2. Subtract that number from the measurement of your center square. Divide that number by 3. That is the space between your ring and the edge. It is also the space between your ring and the next ring. Each arrow above Represents that number. Pin or glue your Rings in place as you did with your flowers. Machine applique to your quilt.

Finish with your desired quilting.

Happy sewing, Judy

Homestead Life Softies Free Pattern and Tutorial

Sometimes we need a little project to make just for fun. I designed these softies for just that time. I wanted something cute and squishy that could be a little gift topper, a toy or even a home accent.

These little guys have a simple farmhouse look on the front, and yep, party on the back :) I used a top stitch first and trim after technique for a clean and quick finish. Pellon Shape Flex gives them just the right amount of flexible support.

I have a FREE pattern download with instructions for how to make these cute little guys. There is also a video tutorial so you can see just how I made my softies. If you post photo’s of your finished softie on instagram, you can use #homesteadlifesoftie so we can all see what you made :)

Happy sewing, Judy

Make a Zippered Pillow Cover With Your Quilt Block

In this tutorial I will show you the method I use to make a quilted pillow cover from a completed quilt block. I love making pillow covers because its a relatively quick project, they make great gifts and, are such a perfect way to freshen up a chair or bed. While you might have a perfect new fabric in mind, this can also be a great use of your fabric stash. Sometimes I start them from scratch, but often I use a quilt block that I made for practice, or one that was for a larger project that I ended up putting on hold.

Fabric Requirements

Piece of batting - 22” square - Backing for top quilted piece - 22” square

Back of Pillow- 1/2 yard - Binding - 10” strip width of fabric 44 Fabric to add to

* Fabric to add to quilt block to make 21” square - 1/3 yard - Zipper - 15” to 18”

* This will change depending on the quilt block you use. See below to calculate what size pieces you will need.

Here is how I do my math. I like to round up or add a little because it’s a lot easier to trim a little off later than end up with a too small finished piece. I don’t, however, make the pillow cover any bigger than the pillow insert because I prefer a snug fit. Even if there is some shrinkage, I prefer that to a saggy pillow cover.

My finished quilt block is 12 1/2 “ square. (Figure 1) I am using a 20” insert. I add an inch for seam allowances (this pillow top will have 4 seams) I use a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Plus I add an inch for a little extra.

20” + 1” + 1” = 22” 22” - 12.5” (the quilt block size) = 9.5 “ I’ll round up to 10”

I will need 10” total of border fabric width, divided in half for each side. So, 5”.

The top and bottom pieces will be 21” (the size of pillow insert and the extra 1” buffer) by 5”.

The two side pieces will be 12.5” by 5 “ (Figure 2)

Sew your quilt block to each of the side pieces, right sides together. Press your seams and sew, right sides together, to the top and bottom pieces. Press your seams and trim. (Figure 3 )

Now you can make your quilt sandwich. If you haven’t quilted before this is where you layer your quilt block on the top (right side up), your batting in the middle, and your backing on the bottom (right side down). Trim your pieces so they are manageable if needed, but save the accurate trimming for when you finish quilting. (Figure 4)

You can baste your pillow top however you like. My preferred way is to pin baste. I start in the middle and work my way toward the edges, smoothing as I go and making sure to get all three layers. (Figure 5)

If you are planning to use straight line quilting you may want to mark your lines. I use a hera marker to sort of “score” my lines. (Figure 6)

There are endless ways to quilt from straight lines to intricate free motion designs. For this pillow cover I chose a grid pattern which is my latest favorite for a clean and modern finish. (Figures 7 & 8) If your quilting doesn’t end up near the edge of your pillow top, you may want to baste a simple stitch around the perimeter for easier handling when assembling.

For the bottom of your pillow cover cut one piece 21” X 17” and one piece 21” X 7”. Along the bottom (21”) of the top piece ( 21” X 17”) , fold and press about 1/3” toward the wrong side of the fabric, and press another 1/3” in the same way. Repeat for the top (21”) of the bottom piece. Then sew the inside edge of each piece. For the top piece only, fold over and press again 2”. Then sew along that edge. (Figures 9 & 10)

Center your zipper top side down along the inside edge of your 2 inch seam on your top piece, and pin. (Figure 11) Sew a seam along the zipper. (Figure 12) A zipper foot is helpful if you have one, but it will be fine if you need to use a regular presser foot. You may want to sew most of the way, slide your zipper over to where you have sewn, and finish sewing the rest.

Next, place your top piece wrong side down and fold back your 2 inch flap exposing your zipper. Line your bottom piece up with the top and along the zipper and pin in place. (Figure 13) Sew the bottom piece to the zipper, again moving the zipper head back to where you have sewn and continue sewing to the end. (Figures 14 & 15) Zip it up and you have completed the bottom. (Figure 16)

*** (If you would rather not add the binding to your pillow cover, you can place your pillow cover top and bottom right sides together, pin in place, and sew around the edge of the whole square. Trim it up, flip right side out, and you are finished. One reason I prefer the binding method, aside from the added accent fabric around the edge, is that it gives you a completely finished pillow cover with no raw edges inside or out.)

Place your quilted pillow cover top and your zippered bottom wrong sides together with the zipper toward the bottom of the pillow cover, (Figure 17) Pin and baste around the edge. (Figures 18 and 19) Trim around the edge (Figure 20)

Now you are ready for the binding :) This is my favorite step when I make a quilt or pillow cover. Sew your 2 1/2 “ strips together to make one long strip. There are a few ways to do this but for a pillow I actually just sew them straight end to end and press my seams open. When I have one long strip I fold in half and press lengthwise. Then fold a 45 degree angle and press. (Figure 21) Fold over and press the end. (Figure 22)

Place the angled tip of your binding on top of your quilted pillow cover lining it up at the raw edge. (Figure 23) You can pin or clip around the edge, but I usually just hold the binding in place making any adjustments as I go. (Figure 24)

Sew the binding, beginning a few inches past the end, to the pillow cover with a 1/4” seam. (Figure 24) When you reach the corner, stop about 1/4 inch from the edge with the needle in the down position. (Figure 25) Rotate the quilt top and fold the binding 90 degrees toward the top, making a 45 degree fold in the binding strip. (Figure 26) Fold the strip back down and continue your 1/4” seam, making a little back stitch before proceeding. (Figure 27) When you reach your starting point, trim your binding at the same angle as your beginning folded piece, tuck it inside and finish stitching the binding down. (Figure 28)

Now you have your binding secured with a nice 1/4” seam. (Figure 29) You could fold your binding over at this point and machine stitch along the edge of the binding from the pillow bottom. You will see the stitched line from the pillow top but it still looks nice. I prefer to hand sew this last step. It just feels really polished to me, and at the same time I love the hand sewn finish. You can use any stitch you like from a hidden flat back stitch or a fun big top stitch with a contrasting thread. I don’t find pinning or clipping necessary at this point, except for the corners which I pin in place to get a nice mitered corner. (Figures 30, 31, & 32)

Once you have finished your binding, you are finished. Flip your pillow cover right side out, fill with your insert, and enjoy your pillow :)

Happy sewing, Judy

Coming Soon :) Homestead Life Fabric Project Tutorials

I have several tutorials, printable instructions and even a free softie pattern and tutorial coming soon with items in my Homestead Life Look Book for Windham Fabrics. So stay tuned.