Chic patchwork throw

Despite what it looks like, this quilt is suitable for levels of stitchy skill. Quilts take real willpower to complete, not least because of all the measuring and cutting involved. This often scares away less accomplished sewers, but it shouldn’t. The key is to take your time, which we know is hard when you’re excited about the finished project, but it’ll be worth it. Enjoy!

Cutting

Work the quilt top one large square block at a time. You will need three 15cm squares, eight 8cm by 15cm rectangles, and eight 8cm squares for each large block. Cut the fabrics according to the diagram, paying attention to the different patterns A to J.

Stitch the blocks

Stitch the pieces right sides together with a 5mm seam allowance. Begin by sewing the smaller squares to one another, pressing out the seam and stitching to a rectangle to make a 15cm square (two rectangles sewn together will make a 15cm square).
Once all the pieces are assembled into squares, join them together to make a three by three block that measures 43cm square, taking care to match up the seams as you do so.
Create two more blocks using the same fabrics. Change the letters of the fabric so that A becomes C, B becomes D etc. Make up three blocks using this combination. Change the letters again to create a final set of three blocks.

Join the blocks

Press all the large blocks and pin right side up onto squares of lightweight quilt wadding. Machine quilt the blocks by sewing through both thicknesses along all seam lines. Add extra embellishment to some of the individual pieces by quilting parallel lines, diagonals or squares over the surface.

Quilt

Trim the quilt wadding to the edges of the fabric. Lay out the quilted blocks in a three by three square on a flat surface. Move and rotate the blocks until no two pieces of the same fabric touch. Pin and stitch the blocks together to make a panel approximately 127cm square.
Pin the quilt top to the white cotton sheeting and cut away the excess fabric. Put this to one side as this will be used to bind the edges of the quilt. Stitch the quilt top to the backing fabric by sewing along the four main seams that joined the nine blocks together.

Bind

Cut the excess fabric into 4cm wide strips. Pin and stitch a strip to one edge of the quilt top. Tuck over to the back of the quilt, then fold under 1cm on the raw edge and slip stitch to the backing fabric. Repeat for the other edges, folding under the short ends of each strip at the corners as necessary to neaten.