Saturday, January 16, 2016

Slopes: a Tutorial

One of the Modern Quilt Guild Quilt Con challenges this year was to use a Darlene Zimmerman triangle template to make an original quilt design. I signed up for the challenge and got the 45 degree (2.5") template in the mail, and this is what I came up with.

Slopes Quilt

I named it "Slopes", because it reminds me of a ski hill. Please ignore the sub-par quilting; I'm still a novice free-motion-quilter. But hey! At least I'm trying, am I right?! 

My goal was to make a simple quilt that would make a fun design for kids. I thought these small bits of printed fabric strewn across a solid quilt would be fun for a kid to explore. Although my choice of white might not be ideal for kids, this quilt design could be made up in any color. I just had a lot of white kicking around, and I thought it would look great with some blue scraps. Personally, I'm OK with my son getting stains all over it as long as he enjoys it.

The finished Slopes quilt measures about 42" x 60", and here's how you do it:

1. Cut 30 (2.5" x width of fabric) strips from your solid. 

2. Use your triangle template to cut 30 triangles from print scraps.


3. Lay out your strips and use your template to cut out one triangle from each strip in random spots. Replace each solid triangle you just removed with a print triangle, and piece it (sew) in place.


4. Sew your strips together lengthwise: 1 strip = 1 row. 30 rows total with one triangle randomly placed in each. 

5. VoilĂ ! You're done with the top! Now just quilt and bind as desired.  

Triangle Template

This quilt is so easy and fast, and it would make a great baby gift. 

I think it would also make a fun Jelly Roll quilt. You could reverse the pattern to use prints for the strips and solid triangles. 

You can get an acrylic triangle template like mine here. Or you can make your own with some cardboard by drawing a 2.5" tall triangle with two 45 degree corners on the bottom (use the 45 degree line on your quilting ruler). 

If you decide to make your own Slopes quilt, I'd love to see it! Tag me on Instagram or send me a pic!  

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