Diamond blocks glow with golden prints from Dear Stella's "Palladium" collection. See the Materials and Cutting chart for fabric details. Dear Stella fabric is available online and in select sewing and quilting shops worldwide. DESIGNED BY MISSY SHEPLER www.missystitches.com Quilt Strip-set diamonds sparkle against a bright white background in this mod quilt! The patchwork portion works up quickly with simple strip-piecing. www.dearstelladesign.com
Materials and Cutting Use the following chart to determine yardage and cut pieces for a twin- or full-size quilt. Full-size yardages and cutting quantities/sizes are given in parentheses following the twin-size information. To cut width-of-fabric strips, fold yardage wrong sides together, with selvages matching, and use a rotary cutter and ruler to cut the indicated number and width of strips from each fabric. Trim the selvages from each end of the cut strips. Notes: Prewash all fabrics. Use a 1 /4" seam allowance and press seams open unless otherwise indicated. Twin Size Full Size 55" x 75" 78" x 84" Yardage Quantity/Size of width-of-fabric strips Diamond Blocks Teardrop Stella-10 Gray 1 /8 ( 1 /4) yard Peacock Stella-6 Gray 1/8 ( 1 /4) yard Aerial View Stella-19 Sand Gray 1/4 ( 1 /2) yard Cut 2 at 2 1 /2" (3 at 2 1 /2") for Block A 1/4 ( 1 /2) yard Cut 2 at 2 1 /2" (3 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* 1/4 ( 3 /8) yard Cut 1 at 2 1 /2" (3 at 2 1 /2") for Block C1 Gridlock Stella-3 Sand 1/4 ( 1 /2) yard Cut 2 at 2 1 /2" (3 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* Stella Dot Stella-1 Gold 3 /8 ( 3 /4) yard Cut 4 at 2 1 /2" (6 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* Chevron Stella-11 Sand Dunes Stella-20 1/2 ( 7 /8) yard Cut 4 at 2 1 /2" (6 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* Cut 2 at 2 1 /2" (6 at 2 1 /2") for Block B 3/4 (1 3 /8) yard Cut 6 at 2 1 /2" (9 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* Cut 3 at 2 1 /2" (9 at 2 1 /2") for Block B 3/4 (1 3 /8) yard Cut 6 at 2 1 /2" (9 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* Cut 3 at 2 1 /2" (9 at 2 1 /2") for Block B Ikat Stella-12 5/8 ( 7 /8) yard Cut 6 at 2 1 /2" (9 at 2 1 /2") for Block A* Background Stella-Solid White 3 3 /8 (3 3 /8) yards Cut 8 at 2 1 /2" (8 at 2 1 /2") for Blocks C1 and C2 Cut 12 at 8 1 /4" (12 at 8 1 /4"), then cut three 9 1 /2" background diamonds from each strip.** From end scraps, cut 10 partial blocks to use at the top and bottom edges of the quilt top. *Reserve half of one strip for a C1 or C2 block. **Sub-cutting Diamonds To cut background diamonds from the 8 1 /4" strip, align the ruler's 60º guideline with the raw edge of the strip to make the angled cuts. Make the fi rst cut at the strip end. Measure 9 1 /2" from the cut end, re-align the ruler, and make the second cut. 9 1 /2" 8 1 /4" PAGE 2 OF 7
The quilt back is made from larger diamonds, set in diagonal rows. Quilt Back Aerial View Stella-19 Sand Gray Chevron Stella-11 Sand dunes Stella-20 Twin Size Full Size 55" x 75" 78" x 84" Yardage Quantity/Size of width-of-fabric strips 1/2 ( 3 /4) yard each for a total of 6 (9) yards If you prefer a single-fabric backing, you'll need 3 1 /2 (5) yards of one fabric. (See quilt panel layout, below.) From each fabric, cut 2 at 8 1 /4" (8 at 8 1 /4"), then cut three 9 1 /2" diamonds from each strip. (There will be extra diamonds.) From end scraps, cut 14 (19) partial blocks to use at the top and bottom edges of the quilt back. Charcoal Gridlock Stella-3 Sand Tear Drop Stella-10 Gray Stella Dot Stella-1 Gold Ikat Stella-12 Peacock Stella-6 Gray Binding Charcoal 1/2 ( 5 /8) yard Cut 7 at 2 1 /4" (9 at 2 1 /4") Batting 60" x 80" (84" x 90") Thread to match Quilt Panel Layout QUILT BACK PANELS Cut the backing fabric into panels of equal length, according to quilt size. Twin Size Full Size PAGE 3 OF 7
Block A Make 18 (30) Block B Make 12 (29) Make the Diamond Blocks Sort the 2 1 /2" strips according to the block diagrams shown here. Note that some fabrics appear in more than one block, or more than once in a single block. Be sure to reserve the half strips for blocks C1 or C2, as indicated in the Materials and Cutting chart, and place the remaining half strips within the same block. Starting with Block A, further sort the strips according to rows within the block. Row 1 Row 1 Working with one row at a time, sew adjacent strips together along the long raw edges to make one strip set for each of the rows in the block. Row 4 Row 4 Block C1 Make 3 (3) Block C2 Make 3 (3) PAGE 4 OF 7
Place a strip set right side up, and align the 60º guideline of a rotary ruler with a seam in the strip set. Trim the end of the strip set at a 60º angle. Using the cut edge as a guide, cut 2 1 /2" sections from the strip. Repeat for the remaining strip sets. Align the 60º guideline on the rotary ruler with a seam line in the strip set to cut the angled edge. Referring to the Block Diagrams on the previous page, join the block rows together, making sure that seams align. TIP: Use a straight pin to help align seams. Place a pin through the seams, 1 /4" from the raw edge to align strip sets. Strip ends will be offset 1 /4". Repeat Steps 2-4 to complete the B Blocks. Make 1 (2) additional block(s) using strip set remnants. The block(s) will be used along the edge of the quilt top. To make Blocks C1 and C2, sew adjacent strips together along the long raw edges to make strip sets for rows 2 and 3. Trim the end of the strip sets at a 60º angle and cut 2 1 /2" sections from the strips as in Step 3. Referring to the block diagram, join the angled sections to a 2 1 /2" background strip along one edge. Press, then trim the joined rows by aligning a rotary ruler with the angled ends. Finally, sew rows 2 and 3 together, matching seams to complete the blocks. Assemble the Quilt Top Refer to the Construction Diagram for block placement, placing remnant and partial blocks at row ends as indicated. Join the blocks together in diagonal rows, aligning seams. Join the diagonal rows together, matching seamlines, to complete the quilt top. TIP: When sewing blocks together, offset the block ends so that block edges will align when sewn. To check alignment before sewing, place blocks right sides together and pin directly along the seamlne at each seam end. Flip pinned pieces open to check alignment. PAGE 5 OF 7
Assemble the Quilt Back To make the diamond-pieced quilt back, randomly place the quilt back diamonds in diagonal rows, mirroring the quilt top. Join the diamonds together in rows, then join the rows together, aligning seams, to complete the quilt back. Finishing Layer the quilt back, batting and quilt top. Check the alignment before basting. Quilt as desired. In the sample shown here, we quilted different-sized diamond shapes in the background, and tacked the pieced diamond blocks so that the printed fabrics stand out. Use a large ruler or square to mark and trim the quilt to the finished size. Using a walking foot, stitch around the outer edge of the quilt, 1 /8" from the edge of the quilt top. Bind the quilt. Construction Diagram Twin-size is indicated in gray tones; full-size is in pink. The heavier pink lines are guides for trimming the fi nished quilt to size. PAGE 6 OF 7
Binding the Quilt With right sides together, place the ends of two binding strips perpendicular to each other, forming a right angle. Mark and then stitch a diagonal line from corner to corner where the strips intersect. Trim the strip ends 1 /4" from the seam and press the seam open. Repeat to join all the strips into one long binding strip. Smooth the binding end under the angled start of the binding. Using the pressed angled edge as a guide, mark a 45º line on the binding end. Move the angled start aside, and mark a second line on the binding end, 1/4" toward the binding start. Trim the binding end on the second line. Use the first marked line as a stitch guide when sewing the binding ends together. With the strip wrong side up, trim the left end of the strip at a 45-degree angle. Press 1 /4" to the wrong side along the angled edge. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, with wrong sides together. Press. Place the angled ends right sides together, so that the strips will align when stitched with a 1 /4" seam. Stitch the strips together along the angled edge. Finger press the seam open, then fold the binding in half. Align the raw edges of the binding with the raw edges of the quilt and sew the binding to the quilt. Fold the binding to the back of the quilt, encasing the raw edges of the quilt top, and mitering the corners. Slip stitch the binding to the back of the quilt, covering the previous stitching. Beginning with the angled end of the binding, align the raw edge of the binding with the raw edge of the quilt top. Starting about 6" from the binding end, stitch the binding to the quilt, using a 1 /4" seam. Stop stitching 1 /4" from the corner of the quilt and backstitch to secure. Cut the threads and remove the quilt from the machine. Fold the binding back on itself, making a 45º fold, then fold the binding down to align with the next edge of the quilt. Begin stitching 1 /4" from the corner, backstitching to secure the seam. Repeat at all corners to secure the binding to the quilt. Stop stitching about 9" from the binding start, and backstitch to secure the seam. Use this finishing method with bias- or straight-cut double fold binding. PAGE 7 OF 7