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Quilt As You Go – Everything You Need to Know

March 30, 2016

The Quilt As You Go lessons, videos and patterns are the most popular pages here at Shiny Happy World. That makes sense! It’s a super easy and fun way of quilting, and I don’t know of anyone else who does it quite the way I do.

Over time I’ve added a bunch of tutorials to answer questions, demonstrate specific steps, and make things as easy as possible. It’s time for one page to corral all those Quilt As You Go instructions!

If you want to work through these lessons in a systematic way, you can find them all here.

Let's Make a Quilt! - a free video class from Shiny Happy World teaching you everything you need to make a quilt using Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive

Every single lesson is free, and you can use any pattern to practice all your new skills!

Getting Started with Quilt As You Go

If you’re just getting started and want to know what the heck QAYG is, start with this video – What Is Quilt As You Go and How Do You Do It? Then jump to this video – How to Assemble and Finish Your QAYG Quilt.

Those two videos will give you a basic overview of the process. You’ll find lots more videos in the sections below.

You MUST use cotton batting. I use Warm & Natural and I love it (here’s why).

Cutting the Fabric

I’m currently rewriting all of my patterns to these cutting instructions. . .

Cut the blocks and batting 11 inches square (or even a smidge bigger – it doesn’t have to be exact). This will give you a little wiggle room and I like wiggle room.

After you quilt and applique the block, then trim the block to 10 1/2″ square. (There’s a video demonstrating this here.)

Sew the blocks together using 1/4″ seam allowance so that the finished block size is 10 inches. (Watch How to Join Quilt As You Go Blocks here.)

For half blocks (like adding words to your quilt) cut the initial blocks 11 x 6 inches. After quilting and applique, trim to 10 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Finished blocks will be 10 x 5 inches – exactly half the size of a full block. (Quilt Block Sizes for Alternate Grid Layouts has lots more info about half blocks and double blocks.)

Quilting Patterns

I get a lot of questions about how I quilt my blocks. Here are some specific answers. . .

I don’t baste the batting to the block. I find that the cotton fabric clings just fine to the cotton batting and I don’t have problems with shifting.
I don’t mark any of my quilting patterns – I just jump in and start doodling on the machine and it’s lots of fun.
I don’t use a special needle or thread – just a universal 80/12 needle and regular all-purpose thread.
I do set my stitch length a little longer – a 3 on my machine. I like the look of the bigger stitches and it makes the quilting go faster. 🙂
I do use a walking foot. All the quilting patterns I currently use work fine with the feed dogs and walking foot engaged – through I think this method would also work very well for people learning free motion quilting. That will be me someday. 🙂

You can watch how I do it and see a gallery of quilting pattern ideas in the following videos. . .

QAYG stripes and grids - a video tutorial from Shiny Happy World

QAYG wavy stripes and grids - a video tutorial from Shiny Happy World

Piecing or Applique?

You can use QAYG for piecing or applique – but I especially love it for applique. I quilt all my blocks first, and then I applique over the quilting.

A lot of people ask – don’t the quilting lines show through your applique when you do the quilting first?

I’ve done a lot of experimenting with that and I’ve gotten to a place where that almost never ever happens. Here’s what to do. . .

Use 100% cotton fabric. The worst show through I’ve had is when I’ve accidentally used a piece of mystery fabric that turned out to have synthetic content. 🙁
Iron your quilted block nice and smooth and let it cool without moving before adding your applique. It’s an extra step, but it only takes a few seconds and it makes a big difference.

If you’re really worried about it, you can do the quilting after you applique. I give tips on that for lots of different patterns in these videos.

If you’re thinking about using QAYG for a pieced quilt – take a look at this gorgeous scrap quilt.

More About Applique

This is the applique technique I use for all my quilts. When combined with QAYG it’s a super fun, easy and fast technique – great for beginners of all ages and still fun for experienced sewists.

Outline Stitching

I usually outline all my pieces with all-purpose black thread and a simple straight stitch. I love the slightly cartoony look and I think it works well with the style of my applique designs.

I get a LOT of questions from people worried about the durability of just outline stitching. They don’t want to satin stitch, but they think they have to in order to keep the edges from fraying. I’ve never had problems with that with the materials I use – click here to read more and see some photos of a quilt that’s been washed a kajillion times.

Of course, you can use any decorative stitching you choose if that’s the look you want! I’m more likely to stick with the straight stitch and use a thicker thread if I want a heavier line. Read more about playing with different thread weights here.

This post has more information to help you plan out the order of your outline stitching.

This post has tips for outlining small pieces like eyes and noses.

Final Assembly and Quilting

After trimming, I sew my blocks together just like any quilt. Just sew through the top and the batting – pretend the batting isn’t there. Watch me sew QAYG blocks together in this video.

I press my seams open to eliminate bulk. You do NOT need to trim the batting out of the seam allowance. That would very quickly turn this into a not-fun technique. 😛

You don’t need to stick with the layout suggested in the pattern. This post has a bunch of fun variations to try.

Baste your finished quilt top to your back using whatever method you like. I have had nightmare experiences with spray basting, so I stick to pins. You can see how I baste a quilt here.

Quilt the top to the backing just along the major seam lines. Sometimes I stitch in the ditch using a straight stitch, sometimes I stitch 1/4″ to each side of my major seams. Sometimes I use a zigzag or decorative stitch to quilt those seams. All of those options work equally well.

This video has general machine quilting instructions.
This video has tips for quilting a full-sized quilt on a regular machine.
This video shows exactly how I quilt my quilts with cuddle fleece on the back and answers a lot of reader questions.
This post has lots of tips for using decorative stitches to quilt.

Bind your finished quilt just like any other quilt using your favorite method. This video shows my favorite quilt binding method.

Whew! That’s a lot of information! Please email me if you have any questions that aren’t covered here. I’m always adding new info as needed!

Happy quilting!

If you’re ready to jump in and start quilting – here are a few posts to help you choose (or design!) a pattern. . .

A Peek at My Shiny Happy Neighborhood-in-Progress

March 28, 2016

I’m putting the finishing touches on the new house block patterns going out this weekend and I thought I’d share a look at all my house blocks so far. Remember – I’m working on three different house quilts in three different styles and color palettes. Most people in the club are only making one. 🙂

Up top is my whimsical neighborhood – with houses in colors that most people don’t use in real life. I love them! There’s an extra house in this group because it’s what I used to make the video demo showing how to put everything together. 🙂

This is my more conventional neighborhood. The houses are still wonky and fun, but the colors are more like what you’d see driving down the streets of an actual neighborhood.

And this is my gingerbread quilt. 🙂 All the houses are gingerbread color with candy trim and lots of extras – like beading, extra stitching, buttons, and rickrack “snow” on the roof.

I’m having so much fun with these blocks! And it’s been absolutely fantastic to see the houses that members are making! Pop into the Shiny Happy People group on Facebook to see! Here’s just one fabulous example – this one from Terri.

Want to join the club? It’s never too late! If you sign up now you get instant access to all the pattern pieces and all the emails that have gone out so far. The next mailing goes out this Sunday 4/3.

Updated – The club has finished, so if you order the pattern now you get it all in one big download.

Get the Shiny Happy Houses pattern here.

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi

Make Your Amigurumi Faces Kawaii!

March 26, 2016

This post contains affiliate links. That means I make a little commission if you buy something after clicking through. All affiliate links are marked with an *.

Kawaii means ‘cute’ in Japanese, and when it comes to amigurumi… there’s a lot in the face!

Make it kawaii

(You might be interested in reading about what amigurumi means!)

I make most of my amigurumi as bigger plush toys, that are cute… but not super cutesy. Real human people have their eyes at the halfway point of their face, and this is where I put a lot of my animal’s eyes:

amigurumi crochet owl kit by FreshStitches

Cute, right?

I’ve drawn up a little graphic of what it looks like to put eyes at the halfway point on a sample bear:

animal face

But what if you want to make your amigurumi even CUTER? Even more kawaii?

Try putting the eyes even lower on the face, and spaced further apart! Check out this cutie!

kawaii bear drawing

Even cuter! Squee!

Play around with eye placement on your next stuffed animal!

If you’re interested in cute Japanese characters, I highly recommend reading Manga for the Beginner Kawaii: How to Draw the Supercute Characters of Japanese Comics*! As I explain in my Craftsy course Amigurumi: Design Your Own Monster, you can crochet animals from drawings, so a drawing book is a great resource!

Best,
Stacey

Quilt As You Go – Wavy Lines and Grids

March 25, 2016

In these Quilt As You Go videos I showed the lines I was stitching on paper. I did this so you could get a bird’s-eye overview of the whole block, and also so you could see how to quilt around the applique, in case you choose to do things in that order. (I like to do my quilting first, then applique over it – but you can do it either way.)

But I’ve had several people ask for a video showing exactly how I sew these patterns at the machine. They want to know. . .

What kind of needle are you using?
How are you basting the block? Pins? Spray baste?
Are you using special thread?
What stitch length are you using?
What are you using to mark the lines?

So here’s a video with all those answers! This one shows how I do Quilt As You Go with wavy lines – all the wavy stripes and grids that I love so much.

You can see the video about straight stripes and grids here.

In the video I promised to show a gallery of quilt as you go designs – a menu of sorts that you can refer to when you’re looking for ideas. Here that is. If you click on any image you can see it a little bigger.

I almost always quilt my blocks before I applique. Some of these blocks are shown after the applique is added, but I did the quilting first. You can do it in any order you like, but if you quilt after you applique you have to go around the shapes.

Ready? Jump in and have fun! Quilt as you go makes your quilting super fun and easy.

If you’re not excited about quilting without any markings, take a look at these fabric squares printed with my favorite quilt designs. They may be just what you want!

Here are links to all the posts about cutting your blocks.

Here are links to all the posts about quilting your blocks.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about how to applique.

Quilt As you Go – Stripes and Grids

March 18, 2016

In these Quilt As You Go videos I showed the lines I was stitching on paper. I did this so you could get a bird’s-eye overview of the whole block instead of seeing it at an angle as it is in the machine. (You can see the video on straight line stripes here.)

But I’ve had several people ask for a video showing exactly how I sew these patterns at the machine. They want to know. . .

What kind of needle are you using?
How are you basting the block? Pins? Spray baste?
Are you using special thread?
What stitch length are you using?
What are you using to mark the lines?

So here’s a video with all those answers! This one shows how I do Quilt As You Go with straight lines – all the basic stripes and grids that I love so much.

There’s another video here that’s all about wavy lines.

Ready? Jump in and have fun! Quilt as You Go stripes and grids are super fun and easy. 🙂

If you’re not excited about quilting without any markings, take a look at these fabric squares printed with my favorite quilt designs. They may be just what you want!

Here are links to all the posts about cutting your blocks.

Here are links to all the posts about quilting your blocks.

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about how to applique.

Learn to Applique! Student Reviews of My Craftsy Class

March 11, 2016

Did you know I have a class on Craftsy? (now called Bluprint) It’s called Fusible Applique Made Easy. You get the pattern for the Woodland Critters quilt you see behind me. That pattern on its own is a $14.99 value! But you also get videos showing . . .

How I choose fabric
How I true up my fabric and cut background blocks
How I quilt my blocks before adding applique
Fusible applique basics – my favorite products and how to use them
How I assemble every single block in the pattern
My tricks for marking faces and how to handle overlapping bits
Lots and lots of options for doing the eyes (the hardest bit)
How I outline stitch all the pieces
Fancy stitching options
How to appliqué on knits (you’ll see me appliqué a fox on an adorable baby onesie)
How to join those already-quilted blocks
How to back the quilt and finish quilting it
How to bind the quilt

It’s a terrific value!

Instead of showing you the quilts I made with the pattern, I thought I’d share some outstanding finished quilts and comments from students in the class. It has an average rating of 5 stars!

Suebee made this beauty. She writes. . .

Thank you so much for this class! I had a blast and am sure that I will using the techniques you have taught many more times! In fact, I have already started one of your flower quilts for my granddaughter!

Starbank64 made this lovely quilt. She writes. . .

So LOVED this class! I finished and learned a lot of nifty techniques. Thanks Wendi for sharing. I now have the knowledge and confidence to proceed with different appliqué quilts. ps thanks for the moose design will definitely go into the next woodland quilt, there will be another!

Look at the Woodland Critters quilt France Houde made! She even used the fox block as a starting point to create a skunk block! She writes. . .

This was so wonderful to have done this quilt. My first one in my life, and my daughter loves it very much. Thank you!!! When we went to the store to choose the backing & the binding, the person at the store asked us to participate to a quilting exposition, as they never saw a quilt like this before.

I love this quilt that gorillamama made. She added the moose, Buzz and the butterfly (three free applique patterns) and the mouse from the Noisy Farm quilt. I love it when people mix and match like that! She writes. . .

Best. Class. Ever! Learned so much, had tons of fun, and ended up with a project that I feel so happy to have made! Thank you so much, Wendi! You’re the bee’s knees!

You can read lots more reviews here. (Scroll down – they’re near the bottom of the page.)

If you want a tiny taste of what the class will be like and what kind of view you’ll have – watch this video.

Click here to read about why I love online craft classes – and the Craftsy platform in particular. In a nutshell – you can take the class any time you like and watch it as many times as you need to – and you always have a front row seat with a terrific view. 🙂

I’m especially proud of how many people made their very first quilt with this class!

Want to make a quilt? Get the class here!

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi

Easter Craft Ideas – Free Embroidered Felt Egg Pattern

March 9, 2016

Looking for some easy and fun Easter craft ideas?

You (yes, you!) can stitch up a lovely felt egg just like this one. What do you need? Some felt. Preferably wool felt. It’s dreamy to stitch on and you can find it in hundreds of gorgeous colors.

You’ll need embroidery thread. Use any colors you like – either an assortment of colors like the sample above, or one color for a very simple, classic egg.

You’ll need a needle. I stitched my sample with three strands of thread – for that I recommend a #5 or a #8 embroidery needle.

You’ll need the pattern – of course. Download that here. It’s full-sized, so no enlarging needed.

You’ll need a bit of stuffing. A handful of cotton balls will do the trick.

Finally, there are a couple of optional items that I strongly recommend to make your stitchy life better. Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy is fantastic for transferring patterns to felt (as you’ll see below) and Thread Heaven just makes your thread behave really nicely.

You can find a list of my favorite tools and supplies (with links to sources) here.

Do you have questions about working with felt? I answer a bunch of common questions here – including info about how to transfer an embroidery pattern to felt.

Here’s how to make it. . .

Step 1

Download the pattern here. Print or trace the pattern pieces onto Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy. (Learn more about how to use this fabulous stuff here.)

Step 2

Rough cut around each piece and stick it to the felt.

Step 3

Embroider the design. You’ll be stitching right through both the stabilizer and the felt. I used a combination of the following stitches – the links below take you to videos teaching you how to do them if you’re new to embroidery.

Easter craft ideas - free tutorial to make a pretty embroidered felt egg

I used three strands of thread for all my stitching. It’s all white thread on Norwegian blue felt. The top sample used straw felt.

Repeat for all four wedge shapes.

Step 4

After you’re done with all the embroidery, cut the four pieces out neatly on the outline.

Easter craft ideas - make a pretty felt Easter egg

Step 5

Soak off the stabilizer. This is the magical part! Drop the pieces face down in a bowl of cold water and let them sit there for about an hour. The stabilizer will get all mushy and soft. Rinse it off under cold running water. If any bits are stubborn, just hit them with a kitchen sprayer and that should do the trick. Don’t rub the surface of the felt – just let the running water do its thing.

Easter craft ideas - pretty felt egg pieces waiting to be stitched together

Set them flat on a towel and let them dry. Don’t wring them out, twist them, or even smoosh them. Just lay them sopping wet on a towel and let them dry.

Step 6

Place two egg pieces wrong sides together and stitch them together along one edge. I used running stitch, which leaves a nice ridge that I like along the seams of the egg. If you want a smoother finish you can use whipstitch instead.

Easter craft ideas - two embroidered egg pieces stitched together

Repeat for the second pair of pieces.

It’s easy to mix up the ends – one is a little pointer than the other and has a bit more lattice. Make sure you put matching ends together.

Step 7

Put your pairs together (make sure the matching ends are together) and sew the last two seams. Leave a couple of inches of the last seam open for stuffing.

Easter craft ideas - embroidered egg is almost finished

It will be easiest to sew your egg together if you let it collapse into a deflated football kind of shape.

Step 8

Stuff your egg and finish sewing up the opening.

Easter craft ideas - free tutorial for a pretty embroidered felt egg

You can totally make this!

Looking for more Easter craft ideas? Click here for all kinds of Easter crafts – sewing, quilting, crochet and embroidery. 🙂

If you like this free pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Subscribers get a weekly newsletter full of sewing tips and tricks, free patterns, special discounts, and other things to make you smile. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Easy Doll Clothes Patterns – Shirt, Shorts and Skirt – Free!

March 7, 2016

New easy (and free!) doll clothes patterns for the Dress Up Bunch!

I redesigned the Play Clothes pattern for the Dress Up Bunch to get rid of the set-in sleeves and fussy collar facing on the shirt. Yay! The new shirt is so much easier to make!

These are the basic doll clothes patterns that are included with all of the human dolls so I was looking at replacing it in Every Single Doll Pattern – which would take forever. Instead I decided to just make it free for everyone!

Download the pattern pieces here.

Click here to jump to the skirt pattern.

Use 1/4″ for all seam allowances unless otherwise noted.

Doll Shirt Pattern

Step 1

Join the 2 shirt pattern pieces into one and cut it out. Place the shirt and shirt lining fabric right sides together and cut the single shirt pattern piece out of them at the same time. That way the pieces lines up perfectly. 🙂 .

It’s a weird-looking pattern. Here are some quick labels to help you make sense of it.

Please note! This pattern only works with non-directional fabric. Since it’s all one piece, whatever is right side up on the front will be upside down on the back – so choose something that looks good both ways. Those fizzy, swirly polkadots are from the perfectly-named Pop collection from Timeless Treasures, and the shirt lining and shorts are in my favorite Sketch.

Step 2

Sew the main shirt and lining (right sides together) up one front side, around the neck, and down the other side. Clip the curves and corners.

This video has tips for handling tight curves, and also info on the how and why of clipping curves.

Step 3

Turn the shirt right side out.

Carefully smooth out the curve around the neck, poke out the corners, and press. From this point on you’ll treat the two layers of fabric as one.

Step 4

Hem the sleeves. Turn up the raw edge 1/4” and press. Turn it up another 1/4” and press. Stitch the hem in place.

You can hem to the outside, so the contrasting lining shows (like I did) or hem to the inside for a more traditional finish.

Here’s a closer look at one of my sleeve hems.

Here’s a little trick so you don’t have to measure that skinny 1/4 inch. Sew the two layers together 1/4” from the raw edge. Use that stitching line as a guide for turning up the first 1/4.” No measuring! Then turn the second 1/4” and stitch.

Step 5

With the shirt inside out, sew the underarm/side seam.

Start sewing at the armhole so that edge is perfectly lined up and finish at the shirt bottom. Any unevenness there will be hidden once it’s hemmed. Clip the seam allowance in the curve.

Step 6

Turn the shirt right side out and press.

Almost finished!

Step 7

Hem the shirt bottom the same way you did the sleeves in Step 4.

Step 8

Press everything and add three snaps. I like using these pretty colored snaps.

For the youngest doll-owners you might want to use velcro instead. I have special skinny hook & loop tape ideal for doll clothes in the shop. And if you’re extra fancy you can use buttons. 🙂

Finished! But your doll can’t just wear a shirt!

You can find instructions for a super easy doll skirt here.

Doll Shorts Pattern

Step 1

Cut out two shorts pieces. Unlike the shirt – this fabric can be directional. 🙂

Hem the bottom of the two shorts pieces. Turn the raw edge up 1/2″ and press. Turn it up another 1/2″ and press. Stitch the hem in place.

Step 2

Sew the center back seam using 1/4″ seam allowance.

If you want critters with tails to be able to wear the shorts, leave the tail opening (as marked on the pattern piece) unstitched. Make sure to backstitch at the top and bottom of the opening.

Step 3

Press the center back seam open.

If you are leaving a tail opening, stitch a box around the opening to stabilize it.

Step 4

Start to make the casing for the elastic. Turn the raw edge at the top of the shorts down 1/2″. Press. Turn it down another 1/2″. Press.

Don’t sew this yet. It’s just easier to measure and press when it’s one flat piece.

Step 5

Unfold the casing creases you made in Step 4.

Match up the center front edges and sew, using 1/4″ seam allowance.

Step 6

Refold the casing creases and stitch it down almost all the way around the top of the shorts.

Leave a couple of inches open at the center back seam so you can get the elastic in.

Step 7

Cut a 12″ piece of 3/8″ elastic and thread it through the casing. Overlap the ends of the elastic 1 inch and sew them together. Slip the stitched elastic up into the casing and finish sewing the casing closed.

Watch this video for more info on using elastic in a waistband.

Step 8

Sew up the inseam/crotch of the shorts using 1/4″ seam allowance.

Press anything you can get to with the iron. 🙂

Finished!

And here’s a view from the back.

It’s Spot the Puppy wearing these and he likes to have room for his tail to wag. 🙂

So there you have it – three basic doll clothes patterns – all super easy and free. The shirt, skirt and shorts will fit any of the Dress Up Bunch dolls.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

The Dress Up Bunch is a collection of cute and cuddly rag dolls. Get patterns for the dolls, plus all their fun outfits and accessories!

My Favorite Online Crochet Classes

March 3, 2016

This post contains affiliate links. That means I make a little commission if you buy something after clicking through. All affiliate links are marked with an *.

I learned how to crochet when I was a kid – but I only learned the most basic stitches and for 40+ years I only ever made flat, rectangular things – afghans and scarves. Last summer I decided to explore some online crochet classes to learn how to make not-flat things. It was so much fun!

Here’s why online craft classes are always my first choice for learning a new skill. In a nutshell – I can watch any time I want, as many times as I need to, and I always have a front row seat and close-up view. 🙂

I started off with a hat-making class. I love handmade hats, but I’ve stopped buying them because they’re always too small for my head. I decided I would finally learn to make my own – to crochet round things!

I chose the class Crocheting in the Round: Mix & Match Hats* because it’s on the Craftsy* platform – which I love – and is taught by Stacey Trock. I’ve watched some of her videos on FreshStitches and I knew she was a good teacher. 🙂

This was a terrific class! Not only did Stacey teach me to make several different hats – she also teaches the why behind everything she does, so when she gets to the section about designing your own hat patterns, it totally makes sense! Now I can make any hat, any style I want – and it will always fit. And it’s actually super easy!

Jo (age 12 at the time) took the class with me and she loved it too. As you can see from these photos, she really got into the unit on colorwork. 🙂

Jo is still making tons of hats. I think she’s made at least one for every kid at her school. She even figured out how to make the top pointy instead of flat and made a bunch of elf hats too. So cute! But she’s not just making hats. . .

From hats she moved on to this class – Design Your Own Monster*!

Monsters are great for this kind of class because you can never do anything really wrong. So maybe the body is a little weird and the arms are super long and the eyes bug out way more than you expected. It’s a monster! Nobody can say, “Monsters don’t really look like that!” 🙂

Stacey teaches basic formulas for different shapes – cones, spheres, etc. and how to attach arms and legs and how to add faces and excellent stuffing tips. I can’t show any finished cuties because Jo keeps giving them away before I can photograph them. Also – all of a sudden she can read crochet patterns and design her own! Her current obsession is making amigurumi turtles with spiral striped shells. 🙂

Jo and I aren’t done with online crochet classes – here are a few more on our wish lists.

Jo is definitely ready to learn some new stitches. She’s already figured out some weird crochet cable stitch and how to bobble stitch with YouTube videos, but now she says she wants a class that will take her through a bunch of new stitches in a systematic way. I’m getting her this Textured Crochet Stitches class* for this summer.

She also really likes to make Useful Things That Everyone At School Will Wear so I think she’ll really like this class on making mittens and fingerless gloves*.

And for me? I think a fancy little edge on the bottom of one of my hats will be just the thing, so I’ve got this Fantastic Finishes class* on my list.

The number and variety of classes is truly astounding! I’ll be reviewing some of my favorite cooking and embroidery classes next week. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Video Tutorial: English Paper Piecing

March 2, 2016

I’m obsessed with English Paper Piecing (EPP). And because I want to you to share in the love of this awesome craft, I’ve put together two video tutorials so you can learn to do it too!

Watch them and then start stitching! You’ll probably end up addicted to these little hexagon-shaped fabric pieces of candy… but that’s okay!

Video one: how to prepare your fabric and baste the hexagons

Video two: how to sew hexagons together and remove template

I also love rainbows. So… I teamed up with Shiny Happy World to put together a kit that’s great for beginners or old hats!

Sorry – the kits are no longer available – but they used a lots of the fabrics from the Rainbow Brights fat quarter bundles.

I also highly recommend the book All Points Patchwork: English Paper Piecing beyond the Hexagon for Quilts & Small Projects by Diane Gilleland. It’s amazing and inspiring! (That’s an affiliate link, which means I earn a tiny commission of you buy it.) You can read Wendi’s review of the book here.

Best,
Stacey

Getting Started with Quilt As You Go

Cutting the Fabric

Quilting Patterns

Piecing or Applique?

More About Applique

Outline Stitching

Final Assembly and Quilting

Doll Shirt Pattern

Doll Shorts Pattern

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