Hey everyone! Today you're going to learn how to make a patriotic lap quilt that lets a bold flag celebration print shine against a black background.
Here we go.
Meet the fabric first
This is the Black Background Flag Celebration Cotton Wideback Fabric Per Yard from Benartex.
It is cotton.
It is 108 inches wide.
That extra width changes everything, folks.
You get a lot of fabric in every yard.
The design is a flag celebration print.
It sits on a black background.
That black makes the celebration colors stand out.
It reads bold from across the room.
Because it is a wideback, it was made with quilt backs in mind.
One piece can back a lap quilt with no seam down the middle.
No piecing the back together.
No matching a seam you wish was not there.
Just like that, one fabric can do two jobs here.
We will use it on the front as the star.
We will use it on the back, too.
Why this fabric suits a lap quilt
A lap quilt finishes about 56 by 66 inches.
It is big enough to cover your legs on the couch.
It is small enough to finish in a weekend or two.
This fabric suits that size really, really well.
At 108 inches wide, one cut gives you a generous backing.
The leftover width gives you a big front panel.
The flag celebration design is the whole point of the quilt.
So we are not cutting it into tiny pieces.
We are framing it, like a picture.
A simple border keeps the focus right where it belongs.
And when you flip the quilt over?
The celebration is on the back, too.
Super duper fun, and super duper easy.
It is also a sweet gift size.
Completely up to you who gets yours.
Materials list
- Black Background Flag Celebration Cotton Wideback Fabric — 3 1/2 yards; that covers a front panel, a one-piece backing, and binding strips, thanks to the 108 inch width
- Coordinating cotton for borders — 1 yard of 44/45 inch fabric, cut into 6 1/2 inch border strips
- Batting — 1 piece about 62 by 72 inches
- Matching or dark all-purpose thread for piecing and quilting
- Sewing machine with an 80/12 universal needle
- Rotary cutter, long ruler, pins, and a fabric marker
We're not reinventing the wheel here.
If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Brief steps
- Press the wideback well. Lay it flat on a big table or the floor. Check which way the flag celebration design runs before you cut anything.
- Cut the front panel about 45 by 55 inches. Keep the design centered and running the right way up.
- Cut the backing about 62 by 72 inches from the same wideback. Set it aside, right way up marked with a pin.
- Add the borders. Sew the 6 1/2 inch strips to the two long sides first. Press the seams away from the panel. Then add the top and bottom strips.
- Layer the sandwich. Backing wrong side up, batting in the middle, bordered top right side up on top.
- Baste the layers. Pin every 4 to 6 inches, or spray baste in small sections.
- Quilt it simply. Stitch in the ditch around the panel and the border. Then echo in from the border edge about 1/4 inch. Use a 2.5 mm stitch length, about 10 stitches per inch.
- Keep your quilting open in the panel. A gentle meander works, as long as it does not fight the print.
- Trim the sandwich square. Check both corners and both diagonals.
- Cut binding strips 2 1/2 inches wide from the leftover wideback. Attach the binding, miter the corners, and stitch it down.
Practical tips from my table
Check the direction of the design twice.
Cut it once.
I have turned a print sideways before, folks.
Oh my goodness, I only saw it after the borders were on.
The fix was not hard.
I took the borders off, turned the panel, and sewed them back.
Take your time pressing the black fabric.
Press from the back when you can.
It's not a race.
And go slow when you stitch in the ditch.
Slow down or your line wanders onto the border.
Nobody wants to rip that out.
Now, the permission beat.
Your corners do not have to be perfect.
Your meander does not have to match mine.
You are your own worst critic, I promise.
Fold this quilt over a lap, and all anyone sees is the celebration.
That is the whole point.
Alrighty, thank y'all so much for quilting along with me today.
We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the Black Background Flag Celebration Cotton Wideback Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
