Better Homes And Gardens Sew Scrappy Volume Ii

With Marcea Owen of Cotton Street Commons

It is time to startthe sew-a-long! Hopefully you have chosen your fabrics and have your pattern. The quilt we are focusing on is the Winter Version of the Coventry Garden Quilt from the Quiltmania Magazine #137 which uses (12) 1/2 yard fabrics plus the background fabric. We will also go over the Original Pattern which uses (24) fat quarters.

Find all the instructions to start the quilt in our first article: click here .

quilt coventry garden winter

Choosing Your Fabric & Placement

If you are making the Winter Version with 12 fabrics, divide them in to 4 groups with 3 fabrics in each group.

winter fabrics for coventry garden sew along

HINT: The Individual Blocks will be made from the groups you are putting together, so make sure you like the combinations.

2. If you are going with 24 Fat Quarters, divide them into 4 groups with 6 fat quarters in each group.

3. You have several choices when using the 24 Fat Quarters. In the first picture, the groups have been divided into color waves. In the second picture, the color waves have been mixed together, which will give a more scrappy look.

4. You will be cutting (2) Block B's and (3) Block A's from each of the 4 Groups of fabrics. From 2 of these 4 fabric groups, you will make (1) additional Block A.

5. Since the Large Block B's are the most prominent, I chose my favorite print in each group to use for Template F. Piece G's are cut from the other two prints in the group. Piece H can come from any of the fabrics in any of the groups. Cut the Piece H's last, after you have layed out the other pieces in the blocks.

6. For the Block A's, you will use your second favorite print in your group to cut Template B's. Piece C's will be cut from the other two fabrics. Piece D can come from any of the fabrics in any of the groups. Cut the Piece D's last, after you have layed out the other pieces in the blocks.

How to Cut with Templates

There are some easy tips to make cutting with Templates easy. Are you ready?

1. The Templates are in the Center Pull Out Section of your magazine. Bonus: all subscribers of Quiltmania magazines can download the digital version of the patterns: click here.

If you are like me, I am going to trace those templates and keep the originals in tact.

2. The question is, what to trace them on. Start with a thin piece of paper that you can see through. You will need to add 1/4" to the template all the way around for the seam allowance. I use my ruler to add these line.

3. Ok, you almost have your template ready. You can use your thin piece of paper, just cut out the template on the seam allowance lines. Since, we are going to be tracing quite a few pieces, I like to transfer my templates to a stiffer medium.

There are several options for this: Card Stock Paper, or Clear Template Plastic, which comes in two thicknesses. I prefer the Heavy Duty. I like the clear plastic, because it allows me to see my fabric and helps me line up the TEMPLATE evenly on the print.

HINT: If using directional prints, think before cutting. Make sure the print is going the direction you want it to.

4. One last help for your cutting. There are a lot of TRIANGLES cut from the background fabric for Pieces A and E. You will start with a square and you can either draw diagonal lines of just line up your ruler. After you have your triangles, I use a little template to trim the Corners of the long side of the triangle. This helps the triangles line up better with the Templates for sewing.

Time to cut !

Follow the instructions to cut out all the pieces for the quilt. For the Block C's, you can choose fabrics for Pieces I and J from any of the groups. Cut these Pieces last.

TIP: Label, Label, Label. When you have this many pieces it is important to label them. You can either put the pieces into baggies, or hold them together with a binding clip. Either way, organization is an important start to sewing a quilt.

We will start sewing in the next blog post. Can't wait!!

As you are working on your pattern, if you have any questions, you can email me at info@cottonstreetcommons.com.

Coventry Garden – Queen/King Size
(90" x 102")

Border Cutting Instructions

You will need to make an additional 12 Block C's from the original pattern.

Background fabric

Cut (4) 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" for Piece B1
Cut (8) 2" x 5 1/2" for Piece B2
Cut (4) 21 1/2" x 8 1/2" for Piece B3
Cut (2) 22 1/2" x 8 1/2" for Piece B4
Cut (8) 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" for Piece B5
Cut (4) 8 1/2" x 22" for Piece B6
Cut (2) 8 1/2" x 31 1/2" for Piece B7