STEPPING SIDEWAYS OVER THE RAINBOW

QUILT

TECHNIQUE

Overlap Method

A bright and cheery quilt to complement your selvage collection with every color of the rainbow!

Materials

Yardages are based on fabric that is at least 40˝ wide.

•  Red fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Orange fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Yellow fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Green fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Blue/turquoise fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Indigo/dark blue fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Purple fabric: ⅓ yard for blocks

•  Binding: ⅝ yard (Or, you can use the leftover solid fabric for a scrappy rainbow binding.)

•  Wide-cut selvages: 65 yards

•  Scrap fabric: 63 rectangles, each at least 1½˝ × 4¼˝

•  Backing: 3½ yards

•  Batting: 61˝ × 76˝

•  Glue stick

•  White thread

Cutting

WOF = width of fabric

SOLID FABRIC FOR BLOCKS

From each of the 7 solid colors:

•  Cut 2 strips 4¼˝ × WOF.
Subcut 9 rectangles 4¼˝ × 8˝ (63 total).

BINDING

•  Cut 7 strips 2½˝ × WOF. (Or for a scrappy rainbow binding, cut 1 strip 2½˝ × WOF from each of the 7 solid-color fabrics.)

WIDE-CUT SELVAGES

•  Cut 450 strips 4¼˝ long to start. Cut additional strips, if needed, as you go during construction.

SCRAP FABRIC

•  Cut 63 rectangles 1½˝ × 4¼˝.

CONSTRUCTION

Make the Selvage Blocks

Referring to the Overlap Method, use the scrap rectangles and the selvages to make 4¼˝ × 8˝ selvage rectangles. Depending on the width of your selvages and how much you overlap them, it will likely take 7 or 8 selvages to complete each block. If it takes more or fewer strips, that’s fine. You don’t have to use the same number of selvages in each block. Glue, sew, press, and trim. Make 63 blocks.

Make the Quilt Top

Use a ¼˝ seam allowance and press seams open throughout.

1. Referring to the quilt assembly diagram, arrange the solid rectangles and selvage blocks in a layout of 14 blocks across and 9 down. Follow the colors of the rainbow in order from left to right: red, orange, yellow, green, blue/turquoise, indigo/dark blue, violet/purple. Alternate between solid rectangles and selvage blocks. Use each solid color in 2 consecutive columns.

Tip

Be sure the top selvage or bottom scrap rectangle in each selvage block isn’t the exact same color as a solid block it is being placed directly above or below. If so, the fabrics will seem to blend together from a distance and your design will seem off.

Quilt assembly

2. Sew the blocks in each row together. Press.

3. Sew the rows together. Press.

FINISH THE QUILT

Quilt and bind as desired.

Tip

Although an allover quilting pattern looks great on this quilt, the solid color rectangles do allow for a bit of fancy feature quilting. Or, if you’re feeling really ambitious, quilt each color section in a matching color thread.