Hey everyone. Today you'll learn how to make a cozy Christmas lap quilt that shows off a big, beautiful floral print.
Here we go.
Meet the fabric first
We're working with Adorn Bloom Burgundy. It comes from the Adorn Collection. Makower UK designed it for Andover Fabrics.
This is 100% premium cotton. It is 44/45 inches wide. It is sold by the yard. That width is your standard quilting cotton width, folks. It cuts clean. It presses nice and flat.
Look at the print. You get poinsettias, holly leaves, and delicate blooms. You get sparkling snowflakes, classic ornaments, and graceful scrolls.
The collection colors are rich and traditional. Think green, cream, red, and burgundy. This colorway leans into that deep burgundy. Then there are metallic gold accents on top. Just like that, it feels warm and a little bit fancy.
For a lap quilt, that large floral is the star. We are not reinventing the wheel here. We let the fabric do the talking.
Why this fabric suits a lap quilt
A lap quilt lives on a couch. It gets draped over legs. It gets folded, unfolded, and loved hard.
You want a print that looks good from across the room. You also want one that looks good up close. This bloom print does both.
Cut it into big pieces and nothing gets lost. The poinsettias stay whole. The scrolls still flow. A small, fussy cut would chop all that beauty up.
Materials list
- 2 yards of Adorn Bloom Burgundy for the main blocks and outer border
- 1 yard of a coordinating solid or small print for sashing and inner border
- 1/2 yard for binding, cut into 2 1/2-inch strips
- Batting, about 54 inches by 66 inches
- Backing fabric, about 3 1/4 yards of 44/45-inch cotton, pieced to 54 inches by 66 inches
- 50-weight cotton thread for piecing
- 40- or 50-weight thread for quilting, in a soft gold or burgundy
- An 80/12 needle for piecing, and a 90/14 needle if you quilt it on your home machine
- Rotary cutter, ruler, mat, pins or clips, and an iron
Finished size is about 48 inches by 60 inches. A generous lap size, finishable in a weekend or two.
Brief steps
Step 1: Press and cut big. Press flat. Cut nine squares, 12 1/2 inches each. Center a pretty bloom in each square when you can. Fussy cutting is worth the extra minute.
Step 2: Add sashing. Cut your coordinating fabric into 2 1/2-inch sashing strips. Sew strips between the squares in rows of three. Then join the rows with long sashing strips. Press seams toward the sashing.
Step 3: Add borders. Add a 2-inch inner border, then a 4-inch outer border from the Bloom Burgundy. Measure through the middle so it stays square.
Step 4: Layer and baste. Lay the backing right side down. Center the batting. Center the top right side up. Smooth from the middle out. Pin every 4 inches or so.
Step 5: Quilt it simply. Stitch in the ditch around the sashing first. Then add a gentle meander or echo quilting inside each square. Try 10 to 12 stitches per inch. Slow down on turns, or the needle can snap on a thick seam.
I have rushed that ditch before. Oh my goodness, yes. The fix is not hard. Pull those stitches, press lightly, and sew it again slower. Nobody has to know.
Step 6: Bind it. Trim the sandwich square. Join your 2 1/2-inch binding strips. Sew the binding on, fold it over, and finish by machine or by hand. Completely up to you.
Practical tips from my table
Let the metallic gold do the sparkle work. You do not need glitter thread too. A plain thread lets the fabric shine.
Take your time, it's not a race. If a corner sits a hair off, it is still handmade. It does not have to be perfect. You're your own worst critic, I promise you that.
Wash it once before gifting. It will crinkle up soft. Super duper cozy.
Alrighty. Press it, cut it big, quilt it slow, and drape it over your favorite chair. That is a Christmas quilt folks will reach for every year.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the Adorn Bloom Burgundy 44"/45" Cotton Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
