Sew A Row Sampler Quilt

This quilt is a Quilt-As-You-Go design, with a mixture of pieced and applique blocks which will be pieced and quilted in strips before sewing together. The quilt is 48”wide by approximately 60”long, but can be made longer by adding rows, or wider by adding blocks. The 48” width allows blocks of 3”, 4”, 6”, 8” to be easily added width-wise and small adjustments can be made for other sized blocks. You will need more basic background fabrics if altering the finished size.

Sew a Row Requirements

Fabric quantities vary depending on how many colours are used, but I suggest you start with:

  • 1 metre of main background fabric
  • 8 Fat Quarters of co-ordinating background fabrics (I used neutral whites, greys and cream, but it could look very dramatic in other colourways)

You will also need:

  • 1m Bondaweb
  • Stitch and Tear stabiliser
  • Wadding 90”wide – 2m
  • Threads – neutral colours for piecing and colours for applique
  • Backing fabric – 2m if using at least 50” wide fabric (please note if using 45” wide fabric you will need more). The back can be made up with a variety of different fabrics, joined by sashing.

If you want some suggestions of good colour combinations I always look at https://www.design-seeds.com for inspiration. Either that or find a focus fabric that has colours you like that will work with the background colour, and choose other colours to match those in the focus fabric. Fat quarters should be fine. Some should be plain-ish, i.e. Moda Grunge, or similar textured plains. Some can be patterned, but not too boldly, and you may wish to incorporate some fussy-cut fabrics as you go.

I started with a selection of Grunge fabrics is softly greyed brights – coral, yellows, greens, teal and few darker ones such as berry and deep grey. I then looked for the same colours in patterned fabrics and collected these to use with the Grunge. I am happy to help suggest colours and variations.

We will start by making a few strips of filler rows. These are the very useful narrow strips, which can be mixed colour or single, and will act as breaks between the bigger blocks and appliques. Thus you can start with a limited amount of fabrics and add as you go along.

You will need the wadding and backing at the same time as making the blocks, so you should purchase these early on. It is best to use a patterned backing fabric, so that you won’t see the applique stitching through, and you can have a mixture of fabrics if you like. You will also need a sashing fabric. On the front this will be some of the 1 metre background fabric, but you can go wild on the back if you like, or use the same patterned fabric as the backing. You can decide the sashing fabric later as we will not be using it until all the blocks are completed.

This quilt does not have a border, but you will require binding – however, it is best to wait to choose this until you see the finished quilt.

This quilt will be fun to do, and has lots of scope for personalising. If you want to have a particular theme to your blocks, we can work this out too…

And don't forget your basic sewing equipment, to include:

  • Rotary cutter
  • Quilting ruler
  • Cutting mat (we do have a small amount number of mats to for you to use but bringing your own may save you waiting)
  • Scissors
  • Pins
  • Fabric marker
  • Bobbin

Husqvarna owners may also wish to bring the following:

  • Green bobbin (these can be purchased individually in the shop)
  • 1/4” piecing foot
  • Open toe appliqué foot
  • Walking foot
  • Free motion spring foot

All of the above items can be purchased from Coles Sewing Centre with a 10% discount in the shop for class attendees!