Chinese Take Out, 33″ × 56″. Machine pieced and quilted by Joy Pelzmann.
There are several reasons for creating a quilt with panels. Creating panels allows you to play with geometry. Your border fabrics also become integral to the design; the border moves through the quilt, not just around it.
Sometimes even though the fabric is lovely and the blocks are beautiful, the quilt top just doesn’t seem to come together. Maybe you don’t want a rectangular quilt. Let’s not forget that special-occasion queen-size bed quilt: perfect fabric, gorgeous blocks, but you bought only 5 yards of fabric. Oops! Here come panels to the rescue.
Petra’s Quilt, 94″ × 89″. Machine pieced and quilted by Maxine Rosenthal.
Now it’s time to play. Sometimes a random thought or image will come to you. Follow that lead—often it is the first step to your design solution. For example, the richly colored paisley pattern of the original fabric below reminded us of a kimono. This led us to design three panels that suggest the body and the sleeves of a kimono.
Original fabric
Panels to reflect kimono design
Once you’ve established the basic form, strengthen the image through the spacing and placement of borders. The selection of border fabrics can enhance this impression.
Maid in Japan, 97″ × 61½″ Machine pieced and quilted by Joy Pelzmann.
Original fabric
4½ yards of fabric for hexagon blocks (6 repeats plus ½ yard to include in the backing)
Black border and binding fabric: 3 yards
Red accent-border fabric: ¾ yard
Backing: 5½ yards*
Batting: 103″ × 68″
*This quantity assumes you will include ½ yard of the original fabric in the backing.
1. Divide the fabric into 6 identical repeats.
2. Align all 6 layers exactly.
3. Trim one edge of the 6 layers and cut 6 strips 3¾″ × the width of the fabric.
4. Using the Clearview Triangle ruler, cut 3¾″ triangles through all 6 layers. Cut as many triangles as possible from all the strips. Keep the triangles stacked together.
1. For the black borders, cut:
8 strips 4½ ″ × the width of the fabric
1 strip 3¾″ × the width of the fabric; from this strip, cut 3 triangles using the Clearview Triangle ruler. Cut more if needed for your design.
1 strip 3½″ × the width of the fabric
1 strip 3¼″ × the width of the fabric
8 strips 2½ ″ × the width of the fabric
3 strips 2″ × the width of the fabric
2. For the red accent border, cut:
11 strips ¾″ × the width of the fabric
6 strips 2″ × the width of the fabric
3. For the binding, cut 9 strips 2½″ × the width of the fabric.
1. Sew the triangles into half hexagons, pressing the seams open. Pin the halves together. You will need 114 blocks to make the quilt as shown.
2. The design is made of 3 panels. Place blocks on the design wall as follows: the left panel is made of 9 rows of 5½ blocks; the center panel is made of 9 rows of 4 blocks; the right panel is made of 9 rows of 3 blocks and has an uneven edge.
3. Assemble the left and center panels by sewing the half hexagons together in vertical rows.
4. For the right panel, which has uneven edges, sew a half hexagon using the 3 triangles cut from the black fabric to fill in the edge as needed. Sew the half hexagons together in 6 vertical rows.
5. To create the uneven border on the right panel, make a strip set by sewing a ¾″ accent-border strip to the 3¼″ black border strip. Referring to Hexagons or Cubes Falling Out of the Quilt, page 68, make a vertical row of half hexagons and border fabric, using the strip set and the 3½ ″ strip of black border fabric. Cut the border strips at a 60° angle to join them to the half hexagon blocks. Sew this strip to the remainder of the panel to create a rectangle.
6. Sew together the remaining ¾″ red strips to form a long strip and use these strips to add borders to the left and center panels and the remaining 3 sides of the right panel. Measure each panel vertically through the center. Use this measurement to cut 2 strips of the accent-border fabric. Sew a border strip to the sides of each panel.
7. Measure the panels horizontally through the center, including the borders just added. Cut strips of accent-border fabric to the measured length and attach them to the top and bottom of the panels. For the top of the right panel, you will need to add a piece of black to the red accent border. Cut a ¾″ × 3½ ″ piece of black fabric and sew it to the red accent strip. Align the seam with the seam of the red accent piece below.
8. Sew 2½ ″ border strips together to form 1 long strip and use this strip to join the 3 panels together.
9. Add the remainder of the 2½″ strip to the top, bottom, and left sides, measuring through the center as before.
10. Sew the 2″ red strips together to form a long strip.
11. Measure and attach a 2″ red border to the left side of the quilt top.
12. Sew a 2″ black strip to the remaining red strip at a 45° angle. Audition this strip unit to decide where you want the change of color to fall. Cut the strip and add it to the top of the quilt. Repeat for the bottom.
13. Measure the quilt vertically through the center. Add a 2″ black border to the right side of the quilt.
14. Measure the quilt and use the 4½ ″ black strips to add the outermost border on all sides.
15. Make a backing. Quilt and bind.
Assembly diagram