Hey everyone! Today we're making a whole-cloth quilt, and I'm going to show you how one beautiful wideback can do all the work.
Here we go.
Meet the fabric
This is the Altitude Blue Multi Ombre Cotton 108" Wideback Fabric per yard from Northcott.
It's from the Altitude collection. It was designed by Deborah Edwards and Melanie Samra. And it's 100% premium cotton.
The width is the big story here, folks. This one is 108" wide. That's a true wideback width.
The color is a blue multi ombre. That means the color blends and shifts across the fabric. It's a blended style, soft in some places and deeper in others.
The tags on this one say landscape, mountains, trees, birds, and nature. Think open sky and quiet outdoors. Calm. Peaceful. Really really pretty.
Because it's an ombre blender, it doesn't shout. It flows. Your eye travels across it. Let the fabric be the art. Let your quilting be the detail. Completely up to you how bold you go, of course.
The project: a whole-cloth quilt
We're making a whole-cloth quilt that finishes about 60" by 72".
That's a generous throw size. Good for a couch. Good for the foot of a bed. Good for wrapping up with a book.
A whole-cloth quilt has no piecing on top. No blocks. No seams to match. You use one continuous piece of fabric for the top, layer it, and quilt it.
Why does this fabric suit it? Two reasons. First, that 108" width means your top comes from one piece, with no piecing and no seam down the middle. Second, the ombre blend gives you movement without any extra work. Plain fabric can look flat in a whole-cloth. This one already has depth built right in.
Materials
- 2 1/4 yards of Altitude Blue Multi Ombre wideback for the top — that's about 81" of length, so you have extra to trim
- 2 1/4 yards of backing fabric — if you use this same 108" wideback for the back, you won't need to seam it either; or use a second fabric you love
- Batting cut about 68" by 80", so you have about 4" extra all around
- Thread in a soft blue, gray, or off-white to blend or gently contrast
- Rotary cutter, long ruler, and mat
- Pins or spray baste, and a walking foot or free-motion foot
Those numbers give you room to square up. Don't skimp on the extra batting. We're not reinventing the wheel here.
Brief steps
One. Press your fabric well. Lay it flat and look at the ombre. Decide which direction you want the blend to run. Top to bottom is classic. Side to side works too. Live with it for a minute before you cut.
Two. Trim your top to about 64" by 76" to start. You'll trim to the final 60" by 72" after quilting. Quilting pulls things in a touch, so starting a little big is smart.
Three. Layer backing, batting, and top. Smooth from the center out. Take your time here. A smooth sandwich saves you puckers later.
Four. Baste well. I pin about every 4" on a whole-cloth, or use spray baste if that's your preference. Both work. You pick.
Five. Quilt it. Start in the center and travel outward. Try echo lines following the blend, a soft meander, or wavy lines spaced about 2" apart. Slow down on curves — slow down or your lines get jerky right there. Ask me how I know. I have rushed a curve or two, y'all.
Six. Square up, trim to 60" by 72", and bind. A double-fold binding cut at 2 1/2" wide finishes clean and wears well. Tie off your ends neatly as you go.
Practical tips
Mark lightly, or don't mark at all. Ombre fabric is forgiving. If a wavy line wanders a little, it just looks like wind. Just like that, it becomes part of the design.
Test your thread on a scrap first. Stitch a sample across both a light and a dark area. That five-minute test saves a lot of seam ripping.
And here's the permission beat, because I mean it every time. This quilt does not have to be perfect. You're your own worst critic, and nobody curled up under this quilt is inspecting your spacing. If I can do this, y'all can do it. Take your time. It's not a race. Keep the quilting simple the first time. Super duper doable.
Alrighty. Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the Altitude Blue Multi Ombre Cotton 108" Wideback Fabric per yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
