Hi friends!
In just a couple of days we will begin our eight week journey into making the Beads Quilt together!
First of all I want to thank you for participating, and hope this is an enjoyable experience for you.
What a Sew Along means to me
A Sew Along is encouraging, motivating, a way to make new friends and do something together as a community! I hope that whatever you take from this sew along is fun and not stressful. I am here to motivate you - to guide you and to help you! This should be fun above anything else, so if you feel like you are getting behind - no worries! Just save your progress for later when you have time to create and know that the newsletters / blog posts will always be there to access at anytime.
Supplies needed
Beads Quilt Pattern - as of today we only have the PDF available. Printed patterns will be arriving midweek so I will have a pre-sale going soon for those (wholesale included).
Fabric - I will be making the throw size quilt. The pattern calls for 3 1/4 yards background fabric and 10 fat quarters or 20 fat eighths. (See the Rainbow scrappy version for an example on how to use scraps for your background and beads!) This pattern is pretty flexible with scraps - there are no rules on how scrappy or not you make your background, and you can use all scraps for your beads - how fun would it to have a different fabric for each one? Use what you have or grab a bundle of fabric from a shop - there is no pressure to spend any more money than you have to on your quilt.
(A note about directional fabric) I made note in the PDF pattern about directional fabric possibly being a challenge when using the called for 10 fat quarters and that you might need additional fabrics. Great news - one of my friends who started making the quilt soon after the release day came up with a genius cutting layout where there is zero extra fabric needed! I will be sharing that info with you on the first week, and will update the PDF pattern to share this diagram. I will be resending the updated PDF to everyone that purchased so you will have the updated copy.
Cutting tools / rulers - I always recommend using a sharp rotary blade and good tools when starting a new project. You do not need to run out and buy new rulers for this quilt, I will share some tricks you can do with larger rulers and washi tape. If you are interesting in looking at what I used for this quilt project see my favorite tools below.
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- Creative Grids Quilt Ruler 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" square
- 24" x 36" Black and White Cutting Mat / Christopher Thompson
- Paula Jean Creations Kwik Klip Brass Tip, Brown
- OLFA 45MM Endurance Blade
Schedule
- Week 1 - March 16th: For the first week of the Sew Along we will be in planning and cutting mode. So if you are still figuring out what fabrics you want to use, or need to plan it out a bit utilizing the coloring sheets this is a great time to do so. This week we will also be cutting our materials so we have everything ready to go!
- Week 2 - March 23rd: Our first week of sewing, we will be making 10 Beads blocks. This is the easiest of the three blocks to sew, so it's a perfect warm up for the next few weeks.
- Week 3 - March 30th: This week we will be making 10 Diamond blocks. We will be learning how to fussy cut these blocks if using a directional print, how to sew - press - trim using the included "how to sew" video in the pattern.
- Week 4 - April 6th: This week we will be making 10 Circle blocks. These are created using the templates in the pattern and might be a new skill for some of you! Sewing curves took me a bit of time to learn, but is one of my favorite quilting block types to sew. Once you master this block it opens a whole new world of sewing patterns for you! Included in the pattern is a link to the video "how to sew" Half circle blocks. This week we will work together on making the 10 blocks needed, chat about ways of sewing curves (you might grab some practice fabric for these if you are new) and the options for pressing and trimming your blocks.
- Week 5 - April 13th: Our final 10 bead blocks
- Week 6 - April 20th: Our final 10 diamond blocks
- Week 7 - April 27th: Our final 10 circle blocks
- Week 8 - May 4th: This week we will be working on our final layout - will it be orderly or more of a random look? Joining our blocks into rows and adding our sashing strips. We will finish this week with complete quilt tops ready to quilt up!
Get your printable schedule here!
How to Join in
- Join the Beads Sew Along Newsletter, this will go out every Wednesday morning during the sew along and give you a link to that weeks blog post - one less thing to remember! You will have the option to follow the regular Modern Handcraft weekly blog post after that if you like, but all emails will end at the end of the Sew Along.
- Instagram - I realize not everyone is on Instagram but I have found that as far as hosting giveaways and viewing all of the participants work this is the easiest route. Ways of participating on Instagram are sharing your fabric pull, your block progress, make a fun sewing reel - just use the hashtag #beadsSAL so we can follow along with your work! The hashtag will also be used at the end of each week to gather names for the giveaway weeks. Giveaway info for that week will be shared in the blog post and will be open to everyone.
- Blog posts - You can keep up with the sew along fun here on the Modern Handcraft blog. I will also keep the blog posts organized in the Main Menu under Sew Alongs. You will be able to access all of these for reference at any time.
- Modern Handcraft Patterns Facebook Group - I will be sharing links to the weekly blog posts, along with additional weekly progress on this page. It's also a fantastic place to ask questions or share your own work throughout the sew along!
Beads Quilt Blog Posts
I made a total of six Beads Quilts before the pattern launch. If you are looking for a bit of inspiration while you narrow down your fabric choices you can check them out below.
- Beads Quilt Pattern Release / Cover Quilt Version
- Beads Quilt / Friendship Bracelet Version
- Beads Quilt / Blue + Green Essex Version
- Beads Quilt / Pink Sugar Baby Version
- Beads Quilt / Rainbow Scrappy Version
- Beads Quilt / Starburst Version
Last but not least Prizes!
I thought it would be fun to support some of my dear quilting friends and buy prizes directly from them for the sew along instead of all sponsor prizes. This not only makes for a fun chance to win for you - supports talented makers too!
If there is a giveaway for that particular week I will share the info on the weeks blog post.
Thanks for stopping by the blog today friends, I am so excited to start sewing with you all!
Nicole
Comments
I love the roller skate fabric. Which collection is this from. Got my pattern and gathering up my fabric!
I’m looking forward to this sew along. I struggle using only solids in my quilts.