Hey everyone! Today we're making a cheerful holiday wall hanging, and you'll learn how to let a star stripe line up your cuts and your quilting for you.
Here we go.
Meet the Fabric
This is the 12 Days of Christmas Star Stripe Gray cotton, from Quilting Treasures.
It comes from the 12 Days of Christmas collection by Julie Lynch for QT Fabrics. The fabric is 100% cotton. It measures 44/45 inches wide.
The collection features beautifully illustrated holiday characters, elegant birds, and florals. Ornaments, stripes, and stars round it out, with coordinating prints too.
The colors feel rich and happy. Think teal, jade, and joyful red. Charcoal, gray, and soft aqua join in, with touches of lime green.
This print is the star stripe in the gray colorway. That gray ground is soft and calm. The stars bring the holiday sparkle. Oh my goodness, it really glows against a wall.
I reach for quilting cotton like this for wall hangings all the time. It presses well, sews clean, and hangs flat. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
The Project: A Star-Stripe Wall Hanging
Our project is a simple wall hanging. It finishes at about 24 inches wide by 36 inches tall. That is a nice size for an entryway, a hallway, or above a small side table. Completely up to you where it lives.
Here's why this fabric suits it. Stripes give you built-in lines to follow. Stars give you a clear holiday theme. And the gray colorway plays nicely in almost any room. It feels festive, but not loud.
We're not reinventing the wheel here. Cut one pretty center panel from the stripe. Frame it with two simple borders. Quilt right along those stripe lines. Just like that, you have a fast finish to gift or keep.
Materials
- 1 yard of 12 Days of Christmas Star Stripe Gray cotton, 44/45 inches wide, for the center panel and outer border
- 1/2 yard of a coordinating solid or small print cotton for the inner border and binding
- 1 1/4 yards of cotton for the backing and hanging sleeve
- One piece of cotton batting, at least 28 inches by 40 inches
- Matching thread, 50-weight for piecing, plus thread for quilting
- A size 80/12 universal needle for piecing
- Rotary cutter, long ruler, cutting mat, pins or clips, and an iron
- A wooden dowel or slim rod, about 26 inches long, for hanging
Brief Steps
Step 1: Cut the center with the stripe. Press your fabric first. Line your ruler up with a stripe edge, not the raw cut edge. Cut a center panel 16 1/2 inches wide by 28 1/2 inches tall, keeping the stripes running top to bottom. Go slow as you trim. Stripes will tell on you if you rush this cut.
Step 2: Add the borders. From your coordinating cotton, cut inner border strips 2 inches wide. Sew one to each long side, press away from the center, then add top and bottom strips. From the star stripe fabric, cut outer border strips 3 inches wide. Sew, press, and trim the top to 24 1/2 inches by 36 1/2 inches.
Step 3: Layer and quilt it. Lay backing wrong side up, batting on top, then your top right side up. Smooth from the center out and baste well. Quilt in the ditch along the stripe lines, about 10 stitches per inch. Add a little echo quilting if you like. Completely up to you.
Step 4: Bind and add the sleeve. Trim the sandwich even with the top. Bind with 2 1/2-inch strips and a quarter-inch seam. For the sleeve, sew a 4-inch-wide strip to the back near the top, leaving the ends open. Slide your dowel through and hang it up. Super duper cute.
Practical Tips From My Sewing Room
First tip: let the stripe do the measuring. Check your ruler against the printed line before every cut. Small shifts add up fast on a small project.
Second: press, don't push. Let the iron do the work. Dragging it can stretch a stripe edge just enough to wave.
Third: keep your quilting simple. The print is already pretty. Straight lines along the stripes let the stars shine.
And remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. A stripe that drifts a tiny bit won't show once it's hanging. You're your own worst critic. Take your time, it's not a race. If a border goes on crooked, take it out, press, and sew again. We've all done it.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today, y'all. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the 12 Days of Christmas Star Stripe Gray Cotton Fabric 44"/45" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
