A Small-Scale Print That Says It With Flowers — and Hugs and Kisses
Love You Always Ditsy Red Cotton is a quilting cotton from the Love You Always collection by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs. It is 100% cotton, measures 43"/44" wide, and is sold by the yard. The print features scattered blossoms, X's, and O's on a red ground — the classic shorthand for hugs and kisses, worked into a small-scale floral. Riley Blake Designs describes Love You Always as great for quilting, apparel and home decor, and this ditsy print fits all three.
Ditsy prints are defined by their scale: small motifs, closely and evenly scattered, with no single flower demanding the spotlight. That even coverage is exactly what makes this fabric so useful. From a distance it reads as a rich red with lively texture; up close, the blossoms and the little X's and O's reveal themselves. It can carry a romantic or Valentine's theme without large novelty motifs, and it works just as well anywhere you want warmth, color, and a handmade feeling.
What This Fabric Is Best For
This print shines as a supporting and blending fabric in quilts. Use it in patchwork blocks alongside larger prints from a coordinated project, as sashing or an inner border that adds color and movement between blocks, or as a binding where its small scale wraps neatly around an edge. It also makes a cheerful backing for a Valentine's, anniversary, or baby quilt, and a strong choice for whole-cloth-style small quilts where the repeat itself is the design.
Beyond quilts, it suits apparel and home decor. Think of a child's dress or skirt, an apron, cushion covers, and a table runner for a romantic or festive table. Its small motifs are also well suited to small gift makes — drawstring bags, zip pouches, fabric hearts, and sachets — where a large print would be lost once the piece is cut down.
Cutting, Piecing, and Color Pairing
Before cutting, press the fabric flat and check the direction of the print. The blossoms, X's, and O's are scattered, so there is no strict repeat to match at seams, which makes this a forgiving fabric for patchwork. Still, for a focal piece such as a cushion front, position the cut so the distribution looks balanced rather than clustered in one corner.
Scale is the main piecing decision. Pieces large enough to show several blossoms — squares, rectangles, and strips — preserve the ditsy character. Very small pieces still work, but they will read mostly as textured red, so use them deliberately for that effect rather than expecting the motifs to show. In a block, let this fabric do one job: either pair it with calmer solids and basics so its pattern provides the energy, or use it in smaller amounts to bridge two larger prints that need a common color.
For color pairing, look first to the red ground. Cream, white, and soft pink lift it and suit the Love You Always theme; deeper tones from your project palette add contrast and keep a quilt from feeling one-note. Avoid placing it directly against another busy, small-scale print in a competing color — two dense patterns side by side can blur together. A solid or a larger-scale floral between them gives each print room to be seen.
Project Ideas and Care
Try this fabric as sashing and binding on a heart-themed lap quilt, in simple patchwork squares for a Valentine's throw, or as the backing for a baby quilt paired with softer colors on the front. For quicker makes, sew it into a table runner with cream accents, cushion covers, a lined tote, or a set of small gift bags and stitched hearts for weddings, showers, and anniversaries.
Care follows the instructions given for this fabric: machine wash cold and tumble dry low. Washing cold and drying low helps preserve the red ground and the contrast of the blossoms, X's, and O's.
Shop the Love You Always Ditsy Red Cotton 43"/44" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
