Hey everyone. Today you will learn how to make a puff biscuit quilt from scrap squares, stuffed puff by puff with high-loft batting.
Here we go. A puff quilt looks fancy. It really is not. You make one pocket. You stuff it. You close it. Then you do it again. Just like that, a throw grows in your lap.
Why high-loft batting? Loft is the puff height. Low-loft batting lies flat. That is perfect for a bed quilt you fold small. High-loft batting is thick and springy. It fills each little pocket and stays round. That bounce is the whole biscuit look.
I love this for scraps. Those leftovers too small for blocks? Perfect here. Mix prints and solids. We're not reinventing the wheel here.
And listen. It does not have to be perfect. If one puff is fatter, let it be. You're your own worst critic. Take your time. It is not a race.
Materials You Will Need
- Scrap fabric for top squares — cut 1 inch larger than your backing squares
- Plain fabric for backing squares — muslin or light cotton works great
- High-loft polyester batting, torn into small handfuls
- Backing fabric for the finished throw, cut to match your puff top
- Binding fabric, cut into 2 1/2-inch strips
- Thread — a good all-purpose 50-weight for piecing
- Scissors or rotary cutter, pins or clips, and a chopstick for stuffing
- Sewing machine set to about 10 to 12 stitches per inch
For a throw about 45 by 60 inches, plan on 12 rows of 9 puffs. That is 108 puffs if your finished puffs are about 5 inches. Want a baby size? Do 8 rows of 6. Completely up to you.
How To Make It
- Cut two sizes. Cut tops at 6 inches and backs at 5 inches. That extra inch is not a mistake. It creates the dome. If tops and backs match, your quilt will just lie flat.
- Pleat the top to fit. Lay a top square over a backing square, right sides up for the backing and right side out for the top. Pin the corners first. Then take a tiny pleat in the center of each side. Pin it. Fold all pleats the same direction if you can.
- Sew squares into a row. Join your pleated squares with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Press the seams lightly from the back. Do not press from the top. You will squash the shape you just made.
- Join rows on three sides. Sew one row to the next along the long edge. Work row by row. Leave one short end of each puff open. You now have a row of little pockets waiting for stuffing.
- Stuff each pocket. Tear, do not cut, your high-loft batting into soft handfuls. Tearing gives feathery edges that blend inside. Push a handful about the size of a lemon into each puff. Use your chopstick for the corners. Full is good. Bursting is not. Slow down here or seams will strain.
- Close as you go. Pin the open edge shut. Sew it closed as you attach the next row. That seam does two jobs at once. Stuff. Close. Join. Once your hands learn that rhythm, it goes really really fast.
- Finish the back. Lay your puff top right side down. Lay backing fabric right side up underneath it. Baste around the edges. Add a simple tack stitch in the ditch between rows every few puffs to hold the layers. About every 5 inches is plenty. Then bind the edges just like a regular quilt.
Tips and Variations
Pick the right weight. Here is what I use and why. For puffs, I reach for high-loft polyester like Polydown. Cotton can settle flat inside a puff. Poly springs back after sitting and washing. That is personal proof from my own couch, folks. Too thin? Double it. Too thick? Tear it thinner.
Plan your color story. Go scrappy. Or sort light to dark for ombre. Lay rows on the floor first and take a phone photo. Your eye will spot a swap fast.
Washing without lumps. Keep stuffing even. Wash gentle, tumble low. Fluff by hand while still a touch damp. Oh my goodness, it puffs right back up.
Change the size, not the method. Smaller squares make a sweet baby mat. Bigger squares make a fast dorm throw. Super duper cute as a reading cushion too, if you stop at 5 by 5. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop Hobbs Polydown Batting Package at Linda's Electric Quilters.
