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This may sound simple, but cutting accuracy is the foundation of a stress-free piecing experience. There are, of course, other important things to consider, but I thought I'd do a video tutorial to show you the things you should pay attention to, so you'll get accurate cutting results! I hope this helps if you've had cutting trouble. Now, you can get straight accurate cuts without elbows zig-zags or bends :) Happy Sunday, everyone! Krista PS: Here's a link to the Spot-On-Dot: https://www.kristamoser.com/product-page/spot-on-dot The quilt behind Krista is Summer Swag. You can buy that here: https://www.kristamoser.com/summer-swag Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I received a terrific request, some time ago, asking for a chart showing how to maximize the cuts you could get from strips in different sizes. I agreed this would be a handy thing to have, so here’s what I did! download triangle chart here download diamond chart here Maybe you have scrap strips and are wanting to cut them into useful shapes, or you are trying to calculate the fabric you’ll need for a pattern… this should help. You can download these here, print them out and keep them with your rulers. I love to make scrap quilts and rarely throw out a usable piece of fabric. I can make one star block with six diamond points and twelve background triangles. If you cut the star points from 2½” strips, you would also cut the background triangles from 2½” strips. By using this chart, you can maximize your stash or leftover bits to make beautiful quilts :) And for even more helpful charts, see Infographics on our Tutorials page. Happy Sunday everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

For Memorial Day :) Okay... barely in time ;) I've been getting some serious use out of my Dresden ruler lately! This festive little runner used up some extra 2½” strips I had lying around. Then, I found this jumbo rickrack that made the perfect border. Wait until you see how easy this is! This is an 18-degree Dresden ruler. It makes Dresden blocks with 20 blades. I cross-cut about (10) 2½” strips into 5” chunks and then used the ruler to cut them into wedges. Lay out twenty blades in a circle and sew them together two at a time. Press the seams between each piece open. Sew the pairs of two into sets of four, and so on, until all twenty blades are sewn together. Give it a good press and maybe a spray of starch. Now for the rickrack. You'll need about 40” of jumbo rickrack to go all the way around one circle. Rickrack is woven on the bias, so it will bend as you manipulate it around the edge and pin it in place. When you get to the end, fold one end of the rickrack back and overlap the tail on top of it to conceal the raw edge. Stitch the rickrack in place, keeping your seam about ¼” from the edge of the Dresden blades. Roll the rickrack around the edge forcing the raw edges under with your fingers. Finger press this in place, then give it a quick press with the iron. The base of the table runner is a 15” x 44” strip of white muslin. Center the Dresden circle right in the middle. Pin in place. Stitch around the outside edge, right in the ditch created by the rickrack that is folded under. If you use a matching thread, this will barely show. Cut a circle big enough to cover the center hole and press the edges under. Then, stitch it in place very close to the edge. I think a yo-yo would be a super cute idea for the center. I repeated this whole process two more times, only with ten blades each time to make half circles. I mounted them on opposite sides at each end of the runner. I quilted the background down with straight lines, and the Dresden blocks have simple quilting in each blade. Wouldn’t this be cute as a single circle on a throw pillow or something?! Done in an afternoon and super festive :) I hope you found something helpful or inspiring here! Happy Sunday, Everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I hope you'll never tire of me coming up with scrap quilts, because I can’t bring myself to throw these odds and ends away! Last week, I showed you my latest pattern, Summer Succulents. These blocks are constructed from strip pieced triangles. And, you know what happens when you strip piece, right? Scraps happen when you strip piece! I had all these beautiful scraps leftover at the end of each strip pieced set. I couldn’t just throw them away! I cut the scraps into triangle wedges, using the dashed line ¼” to the side of the solid center line on the Large 60-Degree Diamond Ruler. Using the dashed lines gives you a ¼” seam allowance. Sewing this triangle wedge to another one makes an equilateral triangle. I cut some 6½” x 4⅝” rectangles out of striped fabric. Place two of these rectangles right side together, and cut a diagonal line by placing the ruler with the 6½” triangle line along the bottom (4⅝” edge) and the left dashed center line down the left side. This will give you mirror image sets. I sewed one pieced wedge triangle to one striped wedge triangle and pressed the center seam open. I have stacks facing opposite directions, but you could do this with stacks going the same way. Once they were all sewn and pressed, I trimmed them up to be 6½” triangles. I cut the pieces big enough so I could trim them down a little. I had a couple of orphan bee blocks left from the Bumblebee Blossoms quilt I made. I’ve had these extra bees for at least three years, and I finally found a home for them!! I filled in the right and left edges with a few more striped wedge triangle pieces. I cut white background triangles from 6½” strips. I also cut some wedge fill-in triangles from 6½” x 4⅝” rectangles, just like I did with the striped fabric. Those fill in the right and left edge, alternating with the striped ones. To sew these pieces together without Y seams, I built units around the bees. I turned the hexagon bee blocks into big triangles by sewing the three background triangles to the sides of the bee block, as shown. The rest of the blocks can be sewn together into rows, then those rows are sewn into units. These units are sewn to either side of the bee triangles to create large rows. With a couple of horizontal seams, the whole top comes together! I quilted it with my go-to, wandering lines, back and forth. This is so fast and easy, but it could be done on a domestic machine too! And here it is!! Another pile of scraps and a couple of cute orphan blocks make a happy baby quilt combo. Now to work on the pile of succulent shade scraps… more to come ;) Happy Sunday everyone Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I’ve been busy working on my latest pattern! This is Summer Succulents, and it’s a very easy beginner-friendly quilt. I made it in a bright colorway, and then I had the idea to make it in a soft succulent inspired palette. I love it so much, I might redecorate my bedroom :) I made a new YouTube video to show you just how simple it is. You can watch that here. Finally, we are trying to make kits available for these quilts! You can buy the succulent colorway in either a Lap size kit here or a Full-size kit here. The bright gumball colorway is available in the Full-size kit here. Happy Sunday everyone! Krista

Have you ever had your quilt blocks all pieced together, but then been totally stumped on what to do for the borders? Me too! Haha! I will show you what I came up with, and maybe it will inspire some creative ideas in you too! Last week, I was working on my first Dresden Plate quilt (you can see that post here). I made some different kind of block arrangements that are whimsical and maybe a little artsy. So when I got to the border, I had to pause (but not for long because this quilt had to be finished for my friend’s birthday. Yikes!) How in the world do you wrap this thing up with traditional borders? It just wouldn't look right. I decided I'd do three borders (two cut at 1.5” and one cut at 5”). Then, I had the idea to carry the Dresden block design out into the border. This was actually much easier than I had first thought, because I just had to applique the Dresden block down on the corner using the blind hem applique technique from last week's post. Using this idea as a jumping off point, you could carry just about any block from the quilt out into the border no matter what the pattern. Piece it in or applique it down, either way, it makes for a much more interesting border. I finished the quilt just in time to wrap it up and deliver it to the birthday girl :) Just look at her face! Haha! That’s the best! Here are a couple of other quilts I've seen lately that have creative answers to the border question. This ribbon twist one is clever and very simple; it's just a half square triangle style unit rotated 180 degrees to create a ribbon look. My fingers are showing the edge of each unit (each one is 2.5” but they could be resized to fit any quilt). Here is another Dresden Plate quilt where she used up all the scraps from the fan blades to make a colorful border that ties it all together! No scrap left behind I say :) How 'bout that?! I hope this helps if you’re stuck in the Bland Border Backcountry! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. #Dresden #Dresden plate #quilt borders

Dresden Plate quilts are traditional beauties! Can you believe I've never made one?! I’ve been quilting for more than twenty years, and it wasn’t until this week that I finally got the bug. And let me tell you, I am loving the way it’s coming out! I'm not a hand appliquer. (I am forever impressed with those of you who are; someday I will sit at your feet and you can teach me everything you know :) Until then, I will use this machine stitched method-it’s sneaky and actually looks kind of like hand applique. If you’re not sure about hand applique either, then maybe this method will help! I cut dozens of these wedges using this EZ Dresden ruler (you will need 20 wedges for each Dresden block). Fold the wide part in half, right sides together, and sew across the top with a quarter inch seam allowance. Chain stitching this step will save time and thread, and if you turn your stitch length down to 1.8 or 2 you won’t have to backstitch. Clip the folded corner off with a scant quarter inch, being careful not to cut through the stitch line. This will alleviate bulk when the tip is turned right side out. Finger press the seam open, and turn the point out. Use a pointed tool to push the tip out all the way. Press the tip out flat with the seam centered in the middle. Lay the pieces out in a circle according to your preferred color arrangement. Sew them in pairs, matching the outside edge where the pin is. This way, any unevenness will end up in the middle to be covered by the center circle. Sew all the pairs together into a circle, and press each seam open. Lay your Dresden wheel out onto the background square (mine was 18”). Mark the center by pressing the square into quarters, so it makes a little X in the middle to center the Dresden opening over it. Pin the center and the outside edge down. Stay stitch the center down close to the edge. Okay, here comes the fun part. This is a blind hem stitch, it take four stitches down and one stitch swings over to the left. Shrink the stitch length till it has a scant quarter inch between the swing over stitches. Shrink the stitch width until it is just under an eighth of an inch swing in. Use invisible thread in the top and regular thread in the bobbin. (I use whatever color the background fabric is for the bobbin thread color). Turn your top tension down lower than for regular thread use (this will be machine dependant). Stitch all the way around the block, letting the straight stitches slip down past the block on the outside edge and the swing in stitch just catches the block on the inside. Here's how it turned out! And, here it is from the backside: you can see all the machine stitches clearly from this side. I repeated this same process with a circle for the center, covering up the stay stitch from earlier. Just a few more blocks to make :) What do you think? Ready to try sneaky applique?! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Have you ever been given one of these little collections of 2½” squares? They're called “crumbs”, and they are often given out in quilter's goodie boxes or as door prizes… but what do you do with them?! Well, I had an idea! How about a quilted laptop case? I laid out a patchwork grid, alternating the lights and darks, four across and five down. This was for a small 13” laptop, but you could make the grid bigger if needed. Sew the blocks together into diagonal rows, then sew the rows to each other. I pressed all the seams towards the dark blocks in each row so they would nest. I trimmed the points off the outside edges leaving a generous ¼” all the way around for trimming after quilting I picked a cute navy plaid for the backing and cut a panel to match the front (about 10½” x 13½”). Join the front and back panel, along one of the short sides, then quilt the whole piece with batting and backing/lining just like you would a table runner or potholder. I quilted straight lines on the plaid side and did an orange peel style quilting in the blocks. Trim the backing/lining and batting even with the top. Just to make sure of the size, I wrapped the quilted piece around the laptop and marked it about ¾” bigger on either side and 1” bigger at the top opening. I cut a couple 1½” bias strips from my navy plaid and pressed one edge down ¼”. I sewed the raw edge of these strips along the narrow ends that will be the zippered opening. Roll the folded edge of the bias strip around to the front side and topstitch down. Here you can see both narrow ends are now bound off. I opened the zipper and placed the zipper tape right under the finished off edge (with teeth facing out) and topstitched close to the right edge to stitch the zipper in place. Repeat with the other side of the zipper and the opposite bound off edge. Turn the whole thing wrong side out, and pin down the two long edges. I positioned the zipper across the top about ¾” from the top edge. Sew down each side, backstitching over the ends of the zipper a few times to make sure it's secure. Trim the excess zipper tape away. Turn the whole thing right side out, and give it a good press. I added this little zipper pull charm that was in the goodie bag with the little crumb pack. And, here it is… snug as a bug in a rug :) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

One of the most tedious piecing issues emerges when piecing triangles; this is almost always because triangles involve biased edges.... and those stretch. I've received a few requests recently asking for help when piecing with bias, so I thought I would repost this blog I did a while back! When you cut fabric at any angle across the grain, it has a tendency to stretch during piecing, and that can make anyone tear their hair out! Flying Geese blocks are notorious for accuracy issues because of stretching. So, I'll show you my technique for piecing those in the second half of this post. I whipped up a simple kids quilt for a friend made out of 6.5” triangles. These are mostly scraps and odd strips that I could get a few triangles out of. Here you can see my triangles cut from strips have two bias edges, one on each side-those will stretch, but the straight of grain edge along the bottom will not stretch. To lay out the quilt, I lined up all my triangles with their biased edges facing each other on the sides and their on-grain edges at either the top or bottom of the rows. This way, I will be sewing bias to bias when piecing the blocks into rows, and the on-grain edges will be sewn to each other when sewing the rows together. Lay one triangle onto the next one, lining up the bias edges together. If one fabric tries to stretch more than the other, you can give a gentle tug on the one that needs to stretch more to match. If you need a quick way to tell what is bias and what is straight, pick at the edge with your fingernail, and you'll get the straight-of-grain edge to fray. The bias edge will stretch if you tug on it. I use a handy tool called a stiletto as almost a third hand or an extra long pointy finger :) It works wonders holding pieces in place as I feed them into the machine (especially those pointy angles). I would be lost without this tool! Sew the triangles into sets of two and then those sets into rows. Press the seams in Row One to the right and the seams in Row Two to the left (continue alternating each row's pressing direction). This will ensure that the intersections 'nest' together when sewn together. Press all your seams open, if it's easier to stay organized that way. Now, the rows go together and these edges are not biased and will not stretch. Match up each intersection and “nest” the seams as you go. I pressed my cross seams open. Perfect match! What to do when mixing biased edges with non-biased edges, as sometimes happens in Flying Geese blocks. In this block, the gray edges are on-grain and the purple edges are biased. When this is the case, always piece with the biased edges on the bottom against your sewing machine's feed dogs. The feed dogs will do all the work of pulling the fabric along and not letting it stretch out of place. I press these seams open so everything lays super flat for the next piece. I’m going to sew two of these Flying Geese together. This time, the top purple edge is the on-grain edge and the bottom edge of the gray goose is biased. I sew from the purple side, with the gray biased side towards the feed dogs, using my stiletto to hold it in place as I sew. Press these seams to open flat and ta-da… Done! I hope this was helpful and will give you confidence piecing bias edges! Happy Easter everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. bias piecing bias edges stiletto flying geese piecing triangles

How about a cute little Easter project perfect for the kids in your life?! This week, I thought I would share what I made for my nieces :) What’s better than a belly full of Easter candy? How about a stuffed animal with a belly full of Easter candy! I bought a couple of small stuffed animals: a bunny and a chick. I made sure they had seams that attached the head, the arms, and the legs. I also bought two large fillable plastic eggs that were about the size of their bodies. I took the stuffed animals apart at the seams until I had just the heads, arms, and legs. I went through and stitched up the edges of each piece, keeping their stuffing contained. I also ran a stay stitch around the open edge of the head, but I didn’t close that part up. I filled the egg with candy and snapped the front and back together. It’s time to glue this little critter back together. I used a hot glue gun to glue the feet to the front side of the egg. Then, I glued the wings (or arms) to the side of the egg, attaching them predominantly to the back half of the egg… you could glue them over the side seams, but then the egg couldn't be opened easily. To attach the head, I ran hot glue around half of the head opening and pressed it into place over the top front of the egg. Then, I pulled back the back half of the head and ran hot glue around the second half and pressed it back into place. I glued their little bows back into place on the front of the eggs, and voila!! Cute little candy filled Easter critters :) My nieces loved them!! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Here is a super quick idea and a great stash buster! Someone gave me a little pack of three Hawaiian fat quarters. So, what could I make with a few fat quarters of cute Hawaiian fabric? Hmmm, I thought, wouldn’t this make a cute I Spy quilt?! Typical I Spy quilts have quite a bit of variety, but I only had these three fat quarters, so I added an orange woven from my stash and went to work. You could make this with just about any cute novelty print scraps. The smallest size scrap you can use to cut one of these hexagons out is a 4½” x 5½” rectangle. I cut my fat quarters into 4½” strips. Using the 60 Degree Diamond Ruler, I cut four hexagons out of each strip. I centered a turtle inside the hexagon bracket so I was sure to get at least one full turtle in each block. These blocks are easy to cut, just lay the strip down between the 4½” hexagon lines and cut one side out. Then, rotate the piece so the cut end is nestled inside the bracket and trim the other sides off. Here is a perfect little I Spy block! Next, cut 2½” strips from the background fabric. Using the point of the ruler, cut 2½” triangles. Rotate the ruler 180 degrees to make the next triangle cut. Here, I started my layout. With just three block fabrics, it’s a little bit predictable, but I've seen really cute versions where there are only two matching blocks, and it’s sort of a game to have a child find the match! Each hexagon has two triangles sewn to it. Here you can see the placement on opposite ends. Lay the triangles onto the hexagon, and use the flat tip as a matchup point to gauge your ¼” seam perfectly. Press the seams open. This will help during final assembly. I started with a few sets, just to make sure my seam allowance was right, then went into mass production mode and chain-pieced the whole pile of them! Quick! I laid all the blocks out in horizontal rows and sewed them together. Because of the chain- piecing method, I had a few extra triangles sewn to ends that would eventually be cut off… oh well :) Here you can see all the rows sewn together. I pressed all the seams open between the blocks and then again between the rows. This makes for a flat quilt and no bulky seams between angled pieces and points. I trimmed the two side edges even and added a 3” border all the way around. Then, onto the longarm it went. A nice simple swirl design and it was done! Whew, I think I’ll bind it in that bright turquoise color, that’ll really round things out :) I was thinking, this ruler cuts two sizes of hexagons: a 4½” and an 8½”. What you just saw was the 4½” size, but wouldn’t this make a great football quilt pattern or movie night quilt in the 8½” size? There are all kinds of layer cakes out there, with cute collections or larger prints that would make really fun quilts without cutting the print up too much. I just saw a collection of football fabrics that would make a great guy quilt! In that case, the background triangles would be cut at 4½”. Well, there’s a little inspiration for your week! I hope you enjoyed that :) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I received an email this week asking if I’d ever done a blog about binding hexagons? Hmmm, now that you mention it, that would make a great blog :) and I hadn’t even thought of it! So, I whipped up this little table center mat out of an orphan block from Vintage Windmill and cut some binding strips. Mark ¼” dots in all the corners. I sewed my binding to the back, then wrapped it to the front to topstitch, and marked my dots on the back. (You could do this same process from the front. ) I used the Large 60 Degree Diamond Ruler and nestled the side angle into each of the six corners. There's a hole in the ruler, ¼” from the outside edge, perfect for dropping a fabric marking pen or pencil through to mark the correct spot. I laid my binding down the first side and put a pin right through the binding into the dot at the ¼” mark. Secure the pin and stitch right up to it from 2-3” back. Once the needle reaches the pin, pull it out, drop the needle, and lift the presser foot. Swivel the hexagon around until the pressure foot is facing out, and stitch straight off the corner. Bend the binding strip down the next side, creating a little fold in the corner you just stitched off. It will not be a big overlapping fold because these corners are so shallow. Place a pin just beyond the corner fold, to hold it in place, while you start stitching down the next side. Start your stitch off the edge of the hexagon. Stitch right up onto the quilt and over the little fold. Do this same process to all six corners, then join the two ends of the binding together. Here is a video I made a while ago showing that process if you need help! Roll the binding around to the front and topstitch into place. Use your fingers to fold the binding corners on the front and crimp into place. It might help to use a straight pin to hold the little folds at the corners until you are just about on top of them with the sewing machine. Here are the results! Nice, crisp, shallow corners all the way around the hexagon. I hope that helps :) Happy Sunday everyone. Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Have you been asked to make a T-shirt quilt for a friend or family member? Just wait, it’s coming. They craftily ambush the unsuspecting quilter and before you know it you are cursing the day you were born! I've actually made dozens of T-shirt quilts over the years and have amassed an arsenal of tricks to make just about any fabric work (including one quilt made entirely out of ski bibs from an Olympic downhill skier). You'll be swimming in the creative deep end in no time ;) Lay out the T-shirt on your cutting mat. Smooth it out as best you can and center the design on your mat. Trim all four sides of the shirt off around the design, leaving a generous amount of background on each side for resizing when all your shirts are prepped. (click to enlarge) Lay the shirt block, face down, on your ironing board and give it a quick press from the back to smooth out any ripples. Unroll enough lightweight fusible interfacing and place it bumpy side down onto the back of the shirt. Line up at least two sides with the edges of the shirt block. Give it a quick press, moving the iron over the majority of the shirt block. You'll want to use steam for this, it helps melt those bumps (glue dots) onto the shirt. Using the nose of your iron, work your way along the edges of the shirt making sure it adheres strongly all the way around. Trim off the excess fusible interfacing, and set the block aside. Do not try and press from the front of the shirt, this is tempting to get it to stick better, but you could melt the emblem right off the shirt! Trim the block down to your final size (whatever size you decide to do). You should have a nice crisp edge with the fusible attached across the whole block. Now, you’re ready to lay out your blocks and sashing pieces or border pieces depending on the look you’re going for. When you go to sew them together, it helps to put the shirt on the bottom towards the feed dogs and the woven fabric (sashing) on top against the pressure foot. This way, if there's any stretch left the feed dogs will do the work of easing it in. Well there you have it! Have you ever tried a T-shirt quilt or are you thinking about making one? I hope these tips are helpful! Happy Sunday, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channelfor free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Who doesn’t like a free pattern? Especially one that uses up scraps and stash :) I’m really trying to use up what I have laying around, and I found this pretty collection of solid colored 2½” strips. Well, what do we have here?! I paired those babies with a bunch of different neutrals and the resulting pattern turned out super cute! I made a new YouTube video showing the whole process, plus you can download the free PDF version of this pattern right here! We also pulled together some little fabric bundles that have just enough fabric for this baby quilt, in case your stash needs some plumping…. Mmmm Hmmm, said nobody ever ;) Anyway, I hope you find this project fun and helpful! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I spent a few days in Chicago, this week, teaching a couple of my favorite patterns. I almost never remember to take class progress photos, but I actually took some good ones and I thought it would be fun to share! On day one, we did Double Struck Star. The big takeaway concept is color value and fabric placement. This class is an out-of the-box experience. Everyone was so pleased with their results! Just look at these beauties On day two, we did Semaphore Stripes. The class is a skill builder experience, it’s all about technique and upping your piecing game. I wish I’d taken more pics in this class, because all the quilts were absolutely stunning! It’s pretty amazing to see each person's interpretation of the same pattern. The difference fabric and color choice makes is always inspiring. Did you know I have several pre-recorded online classes now? I just started filming these and I plan to do more! These are complete classes where I walk you through the entire pattern, packing in all the little tips I would present in an in-person class, but you can watch these from the comfort of your own home, pausing as many times as you like! So far, we’ve uploaded Summer Swag, Ombre Blossoms, Entangled Sky, Semaphore Stripes, and City Girl Chevron. If you’ve been wanting to take a class, but there isn’t one close by, this might be a great option! I’d love to have you in class ;) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Have you ever wondered about the history of some of your favorite quilt patterns? I'm so fascinated by the historical and regional significance of quilt patterns. Maybe, I’ve been spending too much time on Pinterest, is that possible? ;-) Patterns change over time reflecting history and culture. The same pattern can be known by different names depending on where you live, often enveloped in oral tradition, like Civil War quilts, and influenced by native plants and animals. Crystal did a little sleuthing, and we thought we’d share what she found! Jacob's Ladder Jacob’s Ladder is known by multiple names. They all convey the excitement of moving from one place to another. Names like “Underground Railroad”, “Road to California”, “Off to San Francisco”, “Gone to Chicago”, “Stepping Stones” and “Trail of the Covered Wagon” evoke a true sense of time and place. Often quilt's had names, like “Jacob’s Ladder”, in biblical names at a time when Bible reading was a daily activity. “Underground Railroad” is often associated with the Civil War, but historians say the pattern did not exist at that time. Four patches set on point in strips gave the sense of paths and the “Underground Railroad” pattern may have evolved from that earlier pattern. Bear's Paw Each claw in the “Bear’s Paw” Quilt block began as a sawtooth border in early American quilts. The sawtooth block appears in many early nineteenth-century quilts, arranged first in strips for borders and later as blocks. The earliest date-inscribed version is dated 1823. In Ohio, it is called “Bears Paw” due to all the bear stories and bear paw quilts, made prior to 1850. On Long island, NY, it may be called "Ducks-Foot-in-the-Mud" because they have more ducks than bears. Another name is “Hand of Friendship" from the Quakers in Philadelphia. “Bear Paw” quilts have been attributed to a hand signal for the Underground Railroad, but historians say using quilts as directional devices are more folklore than fact. Mariner's Compass "Mariner's Compass" is the name quilters use to refer to star designs that radiate from the center of a circle as opposed to the star designs that grow from a square, like "Ohio Star" or "Sawtooth Star". A "Mariner's Compass" should probably have 16 or 32 points like the compass card on a magnetic compass or a map. This is one of the earliest named quilting designs and is probably based on the windrose, a navigational chart used prior to the magnetic compass. The first known quilt to use this design was made in 1726, in England. Quilts with this design have names like "Chips and Whetstones", "The Explosion", "Sunburst", and "Rising Sun". Irish Chain The "Irish Chain" actually originates in America in the 1800s, but may have been inspired by a Single “Irish Chain” pattern, done on point, making the chains appear in the shape of squares rather than diamonds. The space between the chains may be why the quilt is so popular allowing the quilter's work to be highlighted or to add signatures for an autograph. 1814 is the earliest known date for an “Irish Chain” quilt in America. The pattern has never lost it popularity over the centuries and is still popular with quilters today. Double Wedding Ring The “Double Wedding Ring” pattern may be inspired by a motif of interlocking rings going back to the 4th century. Gimmal rings, also interlocking, were popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. Interlocking rings were seen on ceramics, decorative objects and coverlets in America, since the late 17th century, possibly brought by German immigrants to Pennsylvania. The pattern, first published by Capper's Weekly in 1928, added a bit of romance, writing: "When some good but unknown man conceived the idea of a double wedding ring ceremony it gave his wife an equally good idea. She worked two circles into a double wedding ring quilt." "Pincushion", a forerunner to the DWR is in the Shelburne Museum and dates 1825-1850. The DWR appears to have been rarely used until the 1920’s, but It is difficult to be sure since the quilt is known by more than 40 names, including: "Rainbow Around the World", "Pickle Dish", "Coiled Rattlesnake", "Endless Chain", "King Tut", and "Friendship Knot". It was first sewn together and appliqued on solid fabric until the beginning of the 20th century when it was sewn as a pieced quilt. The DWR was a great distraction during the Great Depression showing up as kits with precut fabric and featured in many magazines and newspapers. Log Cabin Perhaps one of the more interesting quilt patterns in history is the “Log Cabin”. Though associated with the Heartland and Westward expansion, there is evidence of the “Log Cabin” pattern in Egyptian mummies referred to as the Mummy Theory. In the early 19th century, when the British opened Egyptian mummy tombs, they found small animals wrapped in fabric with patterns similar to log cabins. Another theory is runrig farming, beginning in the Middle Ages, where fields were laid out in patterns very close to "Log Cabin" designs. Like other patterns with historical and regional significance, the “Log Cabin” pattern has multiple names. In the British Isles, it is often called “Canadian Logwork”. On the Isle of Man, they call it “The Roof Pattern”. Other variations are: “Barn Raising”, “Sunshine and Shadow”, and “Straight Furrow”. Early blocks were pieced on foundation fabric, often scrappy, using narrow pieces of fabric. It is easy to construct with scraps or yardage, and the pattern appeals to beginners and advanced quilters alike. Inspired by everything from travel to animals, quilt patterns and names change as they go from generation to generation. Since they are affected by the history of their time, the materials available, and even immigrant travel patterns, it is difficult to know the true origins, original names, and even what is true or folklore. Regardless of the name, they continue to delight, encouraging new creations and designs. Though the names we know today may not be the names we recognize in the future, our favorite patterns are an expression and tapestry of our shared history, traditions, and experience. I hope you enjoyed this little trip down history lane :) For more about these quilts patterns, see: Womenfolk: The Art of Quilting: Quilts and Quiltmaking Yesterday and Today Happy Sunday, everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Amy Smart, Diary of A Quilter, Modern Gray and White Neutrals Quilt I had lunch with a quilting friend recently, and she was stumped. She’d been racking her brain trying to figure out how to make a white quilt for her niece. That’s all the direction she had gotten from the niece, she wanted a “white” quilt. It made me think about how we get inspiration for the quilts we make, especially the ones intended as gifts. Since the niece is a modern gal, I figured she might not actually want a quilt made out of only white fabric, so I googled some images of neutral quilts and screenshot a few of the more modern ones. I sent this batch of photos to my friend and told her to pass them on to her niece to see if she liked any of them. Well, in minutes the niece had enthusiastically responded, and now we had a plan! It really made me appreciate the benefits of having a “road map”... just give me a photo and I can go from there! Don’t leave me twisting in the wind with some vague idea of the right shade of peachy pink you're planning for the nursery! Haha! I thought I'd share how I build my “road maps” for the different quilts I design! This is the way I stay on track and don’t lose sight of the “road”. I always start with a collection of inspirational photos. I often just do a google image search for the theme I’m going for and any color inspiration that would narrow the search. I don’t always build these fancy collages, most of the time I just screenshot the images and put them in their own little album on my phone. For instance, I could search for “neutral home decor”, or “calm home decor”. You can see the direction I was going with this color palette. I wanted something with a fresh, but calm, almost natural feeling 'plant' vibe… succulents to be exact :) Here are the fabrics I collected after building my road map! I can’t wait to show you this quilt! It is everything I was aiming for, and I love it! Here is another one of my maps that I did a while back. This is the collection of projects I made out of those fabrics! Here is my map for the icicle blue version of Snowflake Lane. And, this is the inspiration board for the Fresh Fruit quilt. I really try to catch the vibe and the colors in these collections, I think it helps when picking the perfect shades, not just going with something that’ll “work” I hope this was helpful! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

What’s this? A woven heart gift bag for your favorite valentine! This would make great gifts for teachers or maybe even cute party favors for a bridal shower… and it’s so easy, you’ll love it! Take two strips of fabric, cut about 4” wide (you’ll trim them down to 3.5” after fusing). I cut these from a pink and a red fat quarter, so my strips were about 21” long. Put fusible web, like Wonder Under or Steam a Seam, on the backside of one of the strips. Once it’s fused, peel the paper side off and fuse it to the other strip (back to back). Now, you have a two-sided piece of fabric. Cut this into two smaller rectangles, 3.5” x 10”. Press each one in half, one with the pink side out and one with the red side out. From the folded end, mark a line 3.5” in, then cut slits ⅞” apart up to that line. Do this to both pieces. I used a water glass to mark a rounded end on the non-slit end, then rounded off the square edges. Now, you’re ready to weave! Take the red side and thread it between the layers on the first pink strip. Then, open the red strip and thread the second pink strip through it. Repeat this twice more, closing the strip to thread it through, then opening it to let the next one pass through it. The next red strip starts in the opposite way, as the first one, and so on and so forth until each of the four strips are woven together completing the heart. When it's done, the heart should open like a little pouch. I decided to attach a ribbon to each side to tie it closed. You could also make this into a handle for a kind of basket. You could even make it with a layer of fabric fused to paper and that would make it a bit stiffer. Well, what do you think?! A festive little crafting idea to fill with sweet treats :) Happy Sunday, everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I love to use metallic fabrics in my quilts. I think in the right places it makes a huge impact. I can’t always find a good metallic in quilting cotton, soooo I go to the garment department :) Sew Kind of Wonderful's Urbanologie Here's a quilt I made with a gold metallic swimsuit knit! That’s right, I found a swimsuit spandex/knit in a fantastic antique gold color and just had to see if I could get it to work. I used the lightest weight fusible stabilizer (featherweight) and pressed it to the back of a large piece of the knit. Use a lot of steam so the metallic doesn’t melt, you may even want to use a pressing cloth or a piece of muslin to shield the fabric a bit more. Notice the little glue dots on the fusible, you’ll want to keep pressing until those disappear. That means they have melted to the fabric and the stabilizer will not peel off. Once the fusible is pressed across the whole piece, you can cut your pieces like you would with any other fabric. Here, I have cut some triangles to use in a star block. I'm mixing my stabilized metallic knit pieces with regular quilting cotton pieces. And in this case, as long as I kept the knit pieces on the top during piecing it went together beautifully! Honeycomb Hexagon Here's a quilt where I used another unconventional metallic fabric… satin. I prepped the satin in the same way, as the knit, with the lightest weight fusible and then cut strips from the stabilized satin. Now, I can piece it between regular quilting cotton with no problem at all! One more way to use unconventional fabric that makes the coziest quilts is to use sweatshirt knit as the backing. This knit is heavier than Jersey knit, and it adds a little weight in a good drapey way to quilts making them very cuddle friendly. I first used sweatshirt knit in place of batting some years ago. I liked the feel of that quilt so much, I buy it now in whatever colors I can find, and it goes on the back of my favorite quilts. If you've had a hard time finding gold metallic fabric, this is the one I've been using lately. I guess the moral of the story is, don’t be afraid to try something a little unorthodox. You might really like the outcome! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Have you ever wanted to mix and match different sized blocks, but didn’t know how to make them all fit together? I’ve had several people ask recently about combining different blocks from several of my patterns to create a totally unique quilt. That wouldn't be any problem at all, if they were all the same size, but what if they are different sizes? Here's the watermelon block from my Fresh Fruit pattern; it finishes as an 8” hexagon (8½” unfinished). All the fruit blocks in the Fresh Fruit pattern finish at 8”, but what if you wanted to combine them with the ice cream cone or candy blocks from my Two Scoops pattern? Those blocks finish as 12” (12½” unfinished) hexagons. Let me show you an easy way to make them all the same size! Take 1½” wide white strips and cut sections long enough for two sides at a time. Sew them on, press them out, then use the outside angle of the ruler (both mini and original size rulers will work for this) to trim off the little tail ends. Once you’ve cut off all the tail ends, you're ready for the next two sides. Do this to all six sides of the hexagon block and you’ll have a 10½” hexagon. If you did this with 2½” wide strips, you’d have a 12½” block in the end. I wanted a few border rounds, because I was going for a 16½” hexagon to make a pillow top. So my next color was this light pink, and I cut 1½” strips for that. I repeated the same process, adding strips to two sides at a time, then pressing and trimming before adding the next sides. This round brought it up to 12½” across from flat side to flat side. Next was the darker pink round, also made with 1½” strips. This brought it up to 14½” across. I decided to add a pop of lighter green with these 1” strips, followed by 1½” strips of darker green. Now, the hexagon measures 17½” across from flat side to flat side. A little bigger than I had planned, but enough for any shrinkage while quilting and trimming. I added corners to fill it out to make it pillow top size, and I’m ready to quilt! Here it is all finished! I thought I'd give you a chart of the different hexagon blocks in my patterns. These smaller blocks can all be brought up to the size of the bigger blocks by adding one round of 2½” strips or two rounds of 1½” strips. The possibilities really are endless! Okay, and before I let you go. We promised to announce the details for the Fresh Fruit Sampler quilt-a-long after the 1st of the year, so here it is! I will be filming a new block tutorial each week starting, Tuesday, Feb 22nd. These tutorials will be loaded into the private FaceBook group for those who bought the pattern and want to partake in this virtual class style quilt-a-long! (If you can't find the Facebook group or you're having trouble with the link, type "fresh fruit sampler quilt along" in the Facebook search bar.) There is no cost to view the tutorials, but you do need to have purchased the pattern. Here's a link to the my original video introducing Fresh Fruit. I’ll do a new tutorial each week for six weeks. You’ll get all my tips in video form for each block, plus the sashing and finishing process. What better way to ride out the last weeks of Winter than making a cheerful quilt in time for Spring/Summer?! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Here’s a little free-bee table runner quick enough to finish this weekend! I made this SIMPLE table runner with just two different shapes: 2½” triangles and 4½” hexagons (that can be cut with both of my rulers). This would be perfect for the scraps you’ve been saving. If you have a 4½” x 5½” piece of anything, you can get one of these hexagons out of it! I had a little collection of fat quarters in just the right colors :) I did a video tutorial for Fat Quarter Shop using Christmas fabric to make this table runner. I showed how to cut both pieces, and how to do the final assembly. But it’s super cute for Valentine's Day, too, so here you go! If you want to embellish it a little, use a contrasting thread to stitch hearts here and there… and if you don’t want to freehand your own hearts, we've included this heart drawing template in with the cutting and layout info in this free PDF download! Quick little sweet treat seasonal decor :) Happy Sunday everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I’ve been asked several times lately about my binding method. I do a double machine bind, where I sew the binding on both the front and back of the quilt, with the sewing machine… no hand sewing involved :) I started doing my bindings this way, out of sheer necessity years ago, when I just didn’t have time to finish them by hand and they were piling up. It took a little patience and a little bit more practice, but now I’m super happy with my results and it takes a fraction of the time that it used to. I’m no longer stressed about the time it takes to get things done! I made a new YouTube video showing my step-by-step process for this double machine binding method. I sure hope it helps! If you haven’t tried binding this way, maybe this will inspire you to give it a try. Here are the links to the two other resources that I talked about in the video. I think these will help guarantee the most successful outcome. How to join the ends of your binding… foolproof! https://youtu.be/xfQNwCxWP5o How wide to cut your binding https://www.kristamoser.com/post/how-wide-to-cut-your-binding Happy Sunday everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

There are just a few things I use every single time I quilt, and I would be lost without them! It struck me this week how much use I get out of only a few simple items, and I thought I would share what they are. If I made up a kit of must haves for quilters, it would include these things! My favorite scissors Thread snips are one thing, but a nice little pair of good quality scissors is the best for all kinds of quilting needs. I have these little Gingher scissors within reach at all times, and I pack them from place to place as I am working at the machine or ironing board or longarm… I couldn't be without them…. Plus, they are pretty cute if you buy the ones with fun patterned handles. I use the bigger ones (5” scissors) for clipping everything from curves and “dog ears” to cutting through several layers of fabric and batting. They are sturdy enough for thicker cuts, but not clunky like dressmaker shears. 5” gingher scissors I use the smaller ones (4”) for snipping thread and quick clips here and there. These are the ones I use at my longarm most often. 4” gingher thread snips My favorite rotary cutter I love, love, love the Olfa Quick Change Rotary Cutter! I know there are many rotary cutters out there, and I’m sure many of them are great, but I’m not crazy about a heavy rotary cutter (I just can’t get used to the weight). This cutter is average weight and feels good in my hand. I change my blade often, and it has the easiest quick change slide feature on the back. It takes literally seconds to change the blade and I’m back in business! Olfa Quick Change Rotary cutter My favorite seam ripper Don’t laugh! It’s so simple and not one of these wiz bang contraptions that slices and dices ;) I’ve used this seam ripper for years and years, I have several others, but I keep coming back to this one. I like to pull the thread out of the seam, instead of ripping through the stitches (that might come from my years of garment sewing). This seam ripper has a sturdy enough head on it to take the stress. It also feels good in my hand, so that’s a bonus. Seam ripper My favorite stiletto I know I’ve shared my love of using a stiletto so many times, but man, I couldn’t do much without it! I use this pottery tool as my stiletto while piecing. It feels like a pencil in my hand, but it’s weighty enough to really hang onto, and it has a wicked sharp point so my pieces aren’t going anywhere. My pottery stiletto My felted wool pressing mat I have this in three sizes, and I am so glad I made the investment! I have this big one (22” x 60”) on a table top, and I use it the most to press strip sets and big pieces of fabric. The table top is coated in some indestructible stuff, so I haven’t had a problem with steam coming through the mat and ruining the surface. The nice thing about wool pressing mats is that you get a press from both sides. The heat penetrates the wool and gives a nice even heat from the backside of the block too. I use steam and haven’t had any trouble with it on these wool mats (it does smell a little though, haha). I put one of my smaller wool pressing mats on a wooden cutting board so I could set it up anywhere and use it on surfaces that might otherwise be damaged. Felted Wool pressing mats My Stella light Sometimes, you just need extra light and I love a good bright task lamp. I have several different true color lamps in places I need them, but this one is my favorite. It has three different color temperatures and a sliding scale for brightness. I took these pics in a dark room where this is the only light and you can see how bright it is. The best part is the ability to manipulate the gooseneck. I can twist it towards the wall to get an indirect glow over my working surface, or bend it up or down to have the light focus exactly where I need to see. Stella light I think the next one I buy will be this version that clamps onto the edge of a desk. I like the versatility of the desktop version, but I like that this clamp style wouldn't take up any countertop space. Clamp style light Okay, well, there's my list :) I’m not really a gadget girl, so I tend to find something I like and stick with it. I’d love to know if you use any of these items yourself or if you have found something that you love and can’t quilt without. I’m always curious about new ideas! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

One of the things people often ask me is, “which iron do you use?” I have used so many different ones over the years and I think you’ll be surprised at where I’ve landed… though I do have a couple favorites. The experts at The Ironing Lab (TIL) and Quilters Review (QR) tested and rated their favorites. According to The Ironing Lab, the things to consider when choosing an iron are: power, steam, weight, and price. Primarily, it works with or without steam, is lightweight and ergonomic, has a fast heating time, a long auto shut off or none at all, and can handle all fabric types. I agree with them… especially that long auto shut off part ;) I’ve pulled together and highlighted some of the best features of each iron, but to get a full picture and a review, click on the links below. 1. The Ironing Lab awarded Best Sewing and Quilting iron for 2021, to the Rowenta Steamforce DW9280. “This is one of the most impressive irons I’ve ever worked with, also making it our winner. With “incredible steam output, dreamy glide, so easy to check heat settings and it’s so sleek and comfortable. Plus, that precision tip makes seam work so much easier.” Review 2. The Rowenta Focus is considerably less expensive with very similar attributes. “The Rowenta Focus is an incredible all-purpose steam iron which is perfect for quilting and sewing. It has most of the features of the Rowenta Steamforce (shown below) but at around $60 cheaper! “ Review 3. Laurastar Lift is a portable 3 in 1 steam generator that irons, steams, and purifies your fabric. TIL says “ If you want to have an almost unlimited amount of steam production with delicate, even flow, this is a good choice. A little pricey, but worth every cent.” More information 4. Rowenta Steam Generator Quite a bit cheaper than the Laurastar. The 47 ounce water tank and no auto shut off feature offers up to 90 minutes of uninterrupted ironing. Review 5. Rowenta First Class: “This is the best mini steam iron with 1000 watts of power making it quick to heat up.” Collapsing handle. Great for sewing classes. Review 6. Black and Decker Budget Quilting Iron: “If budgets are a concern, this is the best of the cheaper irons we’ve tested.” Includes LCD display and ready alert. Review #7. Panasonic Cordless: “This is a great cordless iron for sewing classes as well as home use.” Heat resistant case. Portable, Double-sided detailing soleplate. Review Quilters Review (QR) agrees that the two Rowenta irons, the Rowenta Steamforce (DW9280) and the Rowenta Focus (DG8520), are the two best overall irons for quilters. Their #3 pick is the Oliso Pro TG1600 Smart Iron. They say: “If you are an avid quilter, we feel that this is the best iron you can buy today. Hovers above the fabric and lowers down with the touch of your hand, eliminating the need to continuously lift and lower your iron.” Another favorite of QR, is the Oliso TG1050 Smart Iron. “It has scorchguards built in, which lift with the touch of the hand and lower down once you’ve stopped ironing. The beauty of this technology is that it prevents burns and scorching.” And they like the Oliso TG1100 Smart Iron with iTouch Technology, but “it’s pricey.” Their #6 choice is the CHI Professional Steam Iron. “ “One thing that really makes this iron stand out is the electronic temperature control function. The illuminated control allows you to choose your fabric and the iron chooses the temperature automatically. This completely eliminates the guesswork.” Rowenta DW6080 Steam Iron: “This was the first energy efficient steam iron in North America, and it saves users 25% on energy compared to the leading iron.” The Black and Decker Digital Advantage D2030 is their choice for the “Best steam iron for those on a budget”. Auto shutoff, digital temperature controls, stainless steel soleplate.” Wrapping up the list is the Singer EPS2 Steam Press: “Delivering 100 pounds of pressure, this press delivers professional results with ten times the pressing surface of a conventional iron.” It’s expensive, but lightweight and transportable. For more about Quilters Review’s picks for 2021, read their pros and cons here. So, what is my favorite iron? Well, I have the Panasonic Cordless Iron that I love for pressing blocks, but it loses heat when pressing big pieces, cause, well, it isn’t plugged in! I also have the CHI Professional Steam Iron, it is a little new to me but, I love it! I am a steam junky and this iron has great even steam and heat. It also has a long auto shut off time and a pointy little nose for pressing finer piecing… So far I am a big fan of this CHI iron :) I hope you found something helpful here! Happy Sunday, and Happy New Year! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

So you have a few quilts stacked up, huh? And now they’re lurking precariously behind closet doors ready to assault you as soon as the door is opened. Yeah, that would be a personal confession about my life :) This is a current pic of my living room, these are all trunk show quilts...sigh. So, it’s time to do something about it! I did a little research and here’s what I found. If you, too, have a monster pile of quilts, maybe this will help. Rolling quilts is a good way to keep them from being permanently creased. If you plan to store your quilts for a long period of time, this is an important thing to keep in mind. The longer they are folded, the harder those creases are to get out. I ask my local fabric store for their empty cardboard tubes, the ones the home decor fabric comes on. They work perfectly for rolling quilts, because they are very sturdy and can hold quite a bit of weight. It would be a good idea to make a muslin “stocking” for the tubes before rolling the quilts onto them, so the cardboard won’t leak acidity onto the fabric. You could hang the tubes, one after another, in a closet the same way they do at the fabric store! Or, you could get a clever sling-like contraption, like this one, to make the best use of your closet space. This quilt is rolled around a flexible foam water toy. This would be perfect for storing quilts rolled up and stacked in a closet. How about hanging quilts on the wall?! What a novel idea :) One thing to remember about hanging quilts on display is they can fade if they are in direct or even indirect sunlight. This is no reason to leave them in the closet. Just be sure to swap them out from time to time so they don’t lose too much color over time. Here's the quilt hanging rack I have in my sewing room. It works like a big clamp with a channel groove cut out that fits the binding just perfectly. I had it made many years ago. I wish I could find that guy again to make me another one. Another easy way to hang quilts would be a curtain rod with clips like this. You wouldn’t have to add a sleeve to the back of all your quilts this way, although a sleeve would make the quilt hang very flat and straight, in most cases. How about a quilt ladder? These are super cute, and they don’t take up much room. If you have a collection of quilts that match your decor, or maybe you just want them to be on hand for cuddling on the couch, this is a great option. Okay, okay, okay, if you absolutely must fold quilts and put them in the closet, I’ll show you the best way to do that ;) Folding quilts on the bias is the best way to avoid obvious crease lines. Once you shake them out, they tend to lose any crease lines quicker than if you’d folded them the typical way. Take one corner and fold it down like a napkin, then do the same with the opposite corner making it look like a burrito. If it’s a little too big, then one more fold lengthwise will narrow it down. Finally, I fold it in thirds to make it a stackable size. You won’t want to stack too many quilts on top of each other, because the weight will crush the bottom one after a while. But, you can rotate them from time to time and that helps. Or better yet, use them! A field trip to the bed or the couch would probably be fun :) P.S. One last idea is to lay them out flat on a guest bed. I don't have a guest bed, or I would be doing this. You can stack them several quilts deep, and they will stay fresh and wrinkle-free for a very long time! I hope this helps! Happy Sunday, everyone. Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.