Meadow Mist Designs: layers of charm

Monday, February 9, 2015

Layers of Charm with the Fat Quarter Shop

When I got an e-mail late last year asking if I wanted to take part in the launch of a new Fat Quarter Shop pattern I did not hesitate in sending back a big "yes, please"! In addition to one of the largest collections of fabric for sale (along with super quick shipping), the Fat Quarter Shop produces free, beginner friendly patterns.

The Fat Quarter Shop's newest pattern is called Layers of Charm and the you can download the free PDF pattern here and check out the video tutorial here. The pattern uses one layer cake and one charm pack to make a nice 57.5 x 57.5" lap sized quilt (the pattern also includes instructions for sizes ranging from baby, to table runner, all the way to king).

I chose to make my version using a layer cake of the Mustang collection by Melody Miller for Cotton & Steel and a white charm pack.

Mustang has so many different colors and prints in the layer cake, which gives the quilt a fun, scrappy look.

I quilted pebbles in the white diamonds using a white Aurifil thread and a meandering pattern in the print fabrics using a light gray Aurifil thread. For the binding, I used a print from the PB&J collection by Sweetwater for Moda, which matches surprising well.

As a little tip, you can get a bonus half square triangle (HST) from each block if you make an extra stitch line a 1/2" away from the first stitch line before trimming 1/4" from the first line. I am going to use my 36 extra HST in a pillow top.

This was a fun and easy quilt to make. I really liked the large fabric piece sizes within the blocks which highlighted some of the larger scale Mustang prints. Be sure to download the free Layers of Charm pattern here and then watch the You Tube Video Tutorial here.