Sew a quilt

1. Cut material into 14cm squares; 20 pieces from fabrics ‘A-D’ and 10 from fabric ‘E’. Cut from the short edge to leave the remaining cloth as wide as possible. Taking four squares of ‘A’ and ‘C’, and one of ‘E’, arrange in a three by three grid with ‘E’ at the centre and ‘C’ in each corner. Sew together with a 5mm seam allowance and press.

2. Arrange and stitch a second three by three grid using four squares of fabric; ‘D’ in each corner, one square of ‘E’ in the centre and four of ‘B’ in the remaining spaces. Keep these two blocks for reference and make up the remaining squares of fabric in the same way.

3. Take each square and cut into quarters, straight through the middle of the centre square. Lay out the smaller squares into an alternating pattern so that the smallest pieces from fabric ‘E’ all sit in the top left corners. The narrow bands of ‘A’ and ‘B’ will form zig zag lines running diagonally up the quilt top, which should be five blocks wide by eight blocks long.

4. Stitch the blocks together with a 5mm seam allowance, lining up all seams neatly for a precise, geometric finish. Cut several 7cm squares from fabric ‘E’ and 7cm x 14cm rectangles from ‘A’ and ‘B’. Join together in an alternating pattern to form borders for the lower and right hand edges. Stitch in place, ensuring the zig zag theme is continued.

5. Press the entire quilt, along with the remaining piece from fabric ‘E’. Lay ‘E’ face down on a clean floor and place wadding centrally over it, then position the quilt top above, facing upwards. Pin all layers together and cut the wadding to the size of the quilt top. Trim backing fabric so that it is 4cm larger all around, fold over 1cm, and again over the front of the quilt to create a border.

6. Pin in place, mitring the corners neatly, then lay onto a large flat work surface and hand quilt around each large square with running stitches. Start from the centre of the quilt and work evenly towards the edges to avoid the backing fabric puckering. Slip stitch the border around the front of the quilt.

Make a padded cushion

1. Cut plain backing fabric in half to make two squares and set one aside. Stack one piece of backing, the wadding and the section of patterned fabric right side up. Working from the centre out, pin all three layers together.