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Welcome to Debbie Shore's Block of the Month Quilt (2024)
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Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps
Suitable for quilters of all skill levels, follow along with Debbie Shore's 12-part nautical sew-along.
The 2024 quilt-along project is a gorgeous picture quilt that’s absolutely packed with fun techniques. Once you’re finished, you’ll have something beautiful, and you’ll feel like a confident quilter.
The 2024 Block of the Month Quilt, ‘A Day at the Coast’, is a 36 x 52in (91.5 x 132cm) seascape, which could be used as a large wall hanging, a topper for a single bed or a throw over the sofa – use it wherever you like. Hopefully, it will be a bright and breezy reminder of happy days spent at the seaside. I’ve designed the quilt in varying sizes of blocks, some horizontal and some vertical, which will all come together in its final assembly towards the end of the year. It will take you 12 months to complete; some blocks will take longer than others, but there’ll be time between blocks to catch up if necessary. If you’re a more experienced patchworker, please feel free to add your own adaptations and additions to create a unique piece of work.
As you’ve come to expect, we’ve included a selection of techniques, so use this BOTM quilt as a learning experience if you’re relatively new to patchwork. Techniques include seminole patchwork, raw-edge machine appliqué (I zigzagged but straight-line stitching, blanket stitch or another decorative stitch, free-motion stitching or hand appliqué could also be used instead), foundation paper piecing (FPP), half square triangles (two at a time and four at a time), flying geese (four at a time), clamshell English paper piecing (EPP), Dresden plate, prairie points, general machine piecing and one-seam bunting.
There are twelve blocks in this quilt. In order to give you time to assemble the quilt, the two simplest blocks, the Bunting and the Seaweed, will be completed in the same month: July. This way, all your blocks should be completed by the end of November 2024, giving you time to assemble the blocks and finish the quilt by the end of the year.
So, let’s get started and enjoy!
Finished quilt size: 36 x 52in (91.5 x 132cm)
TIPS:
- Read through all instructions for each block before you start to sew.
- When cutting out, be conservative with your fabric. Keep all fabric scraps as you may be able to use these in subsequent blocks.
- Stitch with an accurate ¼in (5mm) seam allowance throughout, unless otherwise stated.
- Stitch all seams with the right sides of the fabric facing, unless otherwise stated.
- Before pressing seams, set the seam first by running a hot iron along the length of your stitching. This helps the stitches to sink into the fabric and will encourage the seams to press flat.
- Generally, seams should be pressed towards the darker fabric. However, in some cases, to avoid bulk, it’s necessary to press seams open or towards the lighter fabric. If you prefer to press all seams open, that’s fine.
- Be aware that in some instances the fabric edges will be on the diagonal, so try not to stretch the fabric – a light spray of starch may help to stabilize those edges.
- When cutting fabric, the size indicates the width of the piece first, followed by the length (unless otherwise stated).
- Chain piecing is a useful technique when piecing together multiple segments (often identical units within a block) one after another, in a long chain with a continuous stitch. Just join one pair of pieces and then the next – there’s no need to cut the thread between stitching each segment, just continue to run a few stitches between each unit. Don’t worry, it won’t harm your machine, and it will save you time and thread. Cut the units apart at the end of the run. For some guidance, take a look at my video.
- Templates – the appliqué templates have been produced for use with fusible web adhesive sheets (e.g. Bondaweb or Heat n’ Bond). If you prefer to use spray adhesive, you will need to reverse the templates.
- Block 1: Sea Snails
- Block 2: Riding the Prairie Point Waves
- Block 3: Sunny Dresden
- Block 4: Seminole Waves
- Block 5: Sand Dunes
- Block 6: Sail Away
- Blocks 7 and 8: Bunting and Seaweed
- Block 9: Who Doesn't Love a Beach Hut?
- Block 10:Three Little Fishes
- Block 11:Nautical Blocks
- Block 12: On the Lookout
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler
- Scissors
- Pins and/or quilting clips
- Quick unpick/seam ripper
- Erasable fabric marker pen or pencil
- Fabric glue pen
- Hand-stitching needle
- Optional: square ruler (useful but not essential)
- Optional: spray starch
- Optional: basting spray
- Dark blue (FAB1) –½yd (0.5m) of 42/44in (106/112cm) wide fabric
- Blue multi (FAB2) – ½yd (0.5m) of 42/44in (106/112cm) wide fabric
- White on white (FAB3) – ½yd (0.5m) of 42/44in (106/112cm) wide fabric
- Yellow multi (FAB4) – ½yd (0.5m) of 42/44in (106/112cm) wide fabric
- Plain ochre (FAB5) – one Fat Quarter (a Fat Quarter is approx. 20 x 22in, or 50 x 56cm)
- Plain pale yellow (FAB6) – one Fat Quarter
- Plain wine colour (FAB7) – one Fat Quarter
- Plain olive green (FAB8) – one Fat Quarter
- Plain red (FAB9) – one Fat Quarter
- Sky blue multi (FAB10); mine has a star pattern – ½yd (0.5m) of 58in (147cm) wide fabric
- 4 x 7in (10 x 18cm) of black or dark fabric (for the appliquéd birds)
- Backing fabric – 1¾yd (1.5m) x width of fabric, 42/44in (106/112cm)
- Wadding/batting – one piece 40 x 56in (101.5 x 142.25cm)
- Binding fabric – 13in (33cm) x width of fabric, 42/44in (106/112cm)
- 12in (30.5cm) of thin piping cord for the anchor
- Neutral thread (medium grey) for piecing the blocks and zigzag appliqué; if you prefer to use a matching thread for the appliqué, that’s fine
- Black thread for the bird appliqué, lighthouse and beach-hut windows
- Blue or dark thread for the bunting binding
- White thread for the anchor rope
- Photocopier paper (for reproducing appliqué templates, EPP papers and FPP templates)
- Piece of card (for FPP block)
- Fusible web adhesive sheets for appliqué (Bondaweb/Heat n’ Bond)
- Block 3: One 4½ x 10in (11.5 x 25.5cm) strip and one 14½ x 10in (37 x 25.5cm) strip
- Block 9: One 18½ x 8½ (47 x 21.5cm) strip and one 10 x 12½in (25.5 x 31.75cm) strip
- Block 12: One 8½ x 19in (21.5 x 48.25cm) strip
Find all of the blocks linked below:
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You will need:
Equipment
Materials
Fabrics:
Cord and threads:
Everything else:
Before you start:
I would suggest that before you start to make any of the blocks you cut out the following larger background pieces from FAB10 (sky) to ensure you have enough fabric to complete the quilt:
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Project steps:
Step 1
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Step 2
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