Orange fabric:
2 – 2 ¼” x 2 ¼” squares
16 – 1 ½” x 1 ½” squares
1 – 7" x 7" square for backing
Blue fabric:
2 – 2 ¼” x 2 ¼” squares
4 – 1 ½” x 1 ½” squares
1 – 2 ¼” x 25” strip for binding (I actually used a small length of
binding left over from another project – yes, I’m a scrap hoarder)
Brown fabric:
1 – 1 ½” x 1 ½” square
You'll also need a 7" x 7" square of batting, a scrap of green wool, green perle cotton or embroidery floss, basting adhesive, and 12” twine.
And here's the pattern:
To make the orange/blue half square triangles, place an orange 2 1/4" square on a blue 2 1/4" square with right sides together and edges lined up. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side of the orange square. Stitch a scant 1/4" on either side of diagonal line. Press seams. Cut on diagonal line and press open towards the blue. Trim half square triangle to 1 1/2" x 1 1/2". Makes 2 half square triangles. Repeat for remaining set of 2 1/4" squares.
Referring to the photo, lay out the 4 half square triangle units, 16 orange 1 1/2" squares, 4 blue 1 1/2" squares and 1 brown 1 1/2" square to form the pumpkin. Join together half square triangles and squares to form rows. Join together rows. Press. The pumpkin top should measure 5 1/2" x 5 1/2".
Cut a leaf shape from the green wool and pin it to the
pumpkin top. Appliqué the leaf to the
pumpkin using green perle cotton and a whip stitch. Stitch veins on the leaf using a big running
stitch. Stitch the vine using a back stitch.
To make the quilt sandwich, spray basting adhesive to the wrong
side of the pumpkin top and with your hands press it to the 7” x 7” square of
batting, right side up. Spray basting adhesive to the wrong
side of the orange 7” x 7” backing square and adhere it to the other side of
the 7” x 7” batting square.
By the way, this was my first time using spray basting
adhesive and I think I’m in love! But I digress.
If you’d like to quilt the pumpkin by machine or by hand, now would be the time. Trim the sandwich to 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" and use your favorite method to bind the quilt.
If you’d like to quilt the pumpkin by machine or by hand, now would be the time. Trim the sandwich to 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" and use your favorite method to bind the quilt.
For
the hanging loop I found a length of twine, tied a knot at either end and
stitched the knots to the upper back of the quilt. And voila!
C’est fini!
If you’d like your pumpkin quilt to look a little more
Halloweeny, try embellishing it with an appliquéd or embroidered jack-o-lantern
face instead of the green leaf. Either
way, happy quilting and Happy Halloween!
