Striped quilting cottons are some of the hardest-working prints in any fabric stash, and the Seven Days stripe from Jennifer Long's Created with Love collection for Riley Blake Designs is a perfect example. This 100% cotton quilting fabric pairs an uplifting sunshine-yellow colorway with a repeating story stripe inspired by the seven days of creation — a print that reads as both a classic stripe and an inspirational text design. Whether you're planning a faith-themed quilt or just want a cheerful stripe for everyday projects, here's how to get the most from it.
What this fabric is
The Seven Days print is a Riley Blake Designs quilting cotton designed by Jennifer Long, sold by the yard in a continuous cut. It is 45 inches wide and part of the Created with Love collection, so it coordinates with the rest of the collection's prints and blenders. The sunshine colorway keeps the stripe bright and readable from across the room, which makes it a strong choice for projects where you want the fabric itself to carry part of the design.
Cutting striped fabric for quilts
Stripes give you two layout options, and the direction you cut changes the look of your quilt. Cutting strips parallel to the selvedge keeps the stripe running lengthwise along your pieces — ideal for sashing, borders, and binding, where a long continuous line frames the quilt. Cutting across the stripe turns each strip into a repeating band of color, which works beautifully for strip-pieced blocks, binding, and bias-style accents. If you want a deliberate chevron or zigzag effect, rotate alternating pieces 90 degrees before piecing. One tip: when stripes need to match at seams, pin at each stripe line rather than just at the ends, and sew a scant quarter-inch seam so the lines meet cleanly.
Color pairing ideas
Sunshine yellow is warm and dominant, so pair it with partners that let it shine without overwhelming the quilt. Soft neutrals like cream, stone, and warm grey calm it down and give an inspirational quilt a serene feel. Denim blue, navy, and chambray are classic stripe partners that keep the look crisp and traditional. For a coordinated scrappy look, pull in the other Created with Love collection prints — matching collection coordinates were designed to sit together, which takes the guesswork out of fabric selection.
Five project ideas
- Inspirational or prayer quilt: Use the Seven Days stripe as a wide center strip flanked by pieced blocks. The creation-story print gives the quilt its theme, so keep the piecing simple and let the fabric speak.
- Strip-pieced table runner: Cut 2½-inch strips across the stripe and sew them into a bargello-style or straight strip set. The repeating stripe creates movement with almost no effort.
- Nursery or baby quilt: Pair the sunshine stripe with soft cream sashing and a simple block like rail fence. Bright, cheerful, and quick to finish.
- Tote bag or market bag: A directional stripe cut lengthwise makes a sturdy, good-looking bag exterior. The 45-inch width means you can cut generous panels from a single yard.
- Binding and borders: A stripe cut across the grain makes one of the best bindings in quilting — the bands of color frame any quilt beautifully, and it pairs especially well with quilts made from the collection's coordinates.
Care and quilting tips
As with most 100% cotton quilting fabrics, decide before you cut whether to prewash. If the finished quilt will be washed regularly, prewashing evens out shrinkage between this fabric and your batting and backing. Use a standard quarter-inch seam, press seams to the dark side or open depending on your quilting style, and quilt at a density your batting requires — a stripe like this forgives a lot of quilting sins, so it's a great candidate for practicing new free-motion motifs.
Shop the Created with Love - Seven Days - Sunshine 44" / 45" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
