Making a Center Leaf Spray Pattern Traditional Basket Wall Hanging Washington DC

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This little wall hanging has a very traditional design style but is constructed with a modern twist: The appliqué style mimics time-consuming hand appliqué, but you actually use machine stitching and clear nylon monofilament. This project looks best when made with random fabric scraps, but you can easily change the colors to suit your own tastes or décor. And because it’s a quick project to stitch up, you may want to consider making one for a friend! The finished size of this wall hanging is approximately 24 x 24 inches.

Stashing your materials
Because this is a scrap-basket project, I list the following required fabrics according to their measurements rather than yardage. If you can’t find the right sized piece in your own scrap basket, I suggest raiding a friend’s stash.

One 141⁄2- x 141⁄2-inch piece of light tan print fabric

Two 11- x 11-inch pieces of dark blue print fabric

Four 21⁄2- x 20-inch strips of red-checkered fabric

Four 21⁄2- x 21⁄2-inch pieces of deep yellow print fabric

One 12- x 12-inch piece of medium brown print fabric

Two 3- x 5-inch pieces each of light green, medium green, and dark green print or solid fabrics

Four 5- x 7-inch pieces of print fabric in assorted colors

Four 3- x 4-inch pieces of print fabric in assorted colors

One 26- x 26-inch piece of coordinating fabric

3 yards of navy blue quilt binding

One 26- x 26-inch piece of low-loft batting

All-purpose thread in assorted colors

Clear nylon monofilament thread

Wax-coated freezer paper

Creating appliqué shapes
Follow these steps to create the appliqué shapes featured in this project:
1. Using the appliqué shapes provided at the end of this project section, trace six leaves, four flowers, four flower centers, and a basket onto the unwaxed side of the freezer paper. For the basket, join the basket handle to the basket base and then trace it (not including the little tidbit hidden by the basket base). Reverse the pattern and trace the other half of the basket so that you have the full pattern

2. Cut out the freezer paper shapes with scissors. Be sure to use the scissors reserved for paper or other uses — don’t use your fabric-cutting scissors.

3. Start pressing with the waxed (shiny) side pressed to the wrong sides of the fabrics.

Press the paper leaf shapes to the wrong sides of the light, medium, and dark green fabrics.

Press the paper flowers to the wrong sides of the 5- x 7-inch assorted print fabrics.

Press the paper flower centers to the wrong sides of the 3- x 4-inch assorted print fabrics.

Press the complete paper basket to the wrong side of the medium brown print fabric. To accommodate the turned under seam allowances you need when appliquéing, be sure to leave at least 1⁄2 inch between the pieces.

4. Using fabric scissors, cut out each shape 1⁄4 inch to 1⁄2 inch from the edges of the freezer paper. If you’re uncomfortable with eyeballing this distance, feel free to draw a line around each shape 1⁄4 inch to 1⁄2 inch from the edges of the paper.

5. To prepare the leaf, flower, and flower-center pieces for appliquéing, fold the seam allowances to the wrong sides of the appliqué and secure them in place with pins. To accommodate the curves of your paper shape, notch the seam allowance of the fabric so that you can fold it over the paper in sections. Clipping small notches in the fabric gives you a smoother curve in the fabric edges.

6. Starting with one appliqué, thread a hand-sewing needle with matching all-purpose thread, and carefully stitch through the seam allowance using a running stitch. Pull the thread gently to gather the seam allowance around the paper shape. The running stitch should go through the seam-allowance fabric only — not through the paper.

7. Repeat Step 6 with the remaining appliqué shapes.

8. Mist the shapes with a spray bottle containing water, and press them
until they’re dry.

9. Carefully peel the freezer paper from the appliqués, leaving the running stitches intact.

Appliquéing the shapes
Follow these steps to appliqué the shapes onto your quilt top:
1. Arrange the fabric appliqué shapes on the light tan print square Feel free to alter the arrangement to suit yourself.

2. Pin or thread baste the bottommost layer of pieces in place on the tan foundation to prepare them for machine appliqué.

3. Load light tan all-purpose thread in your sewing machine’s bobbin case, and load clear nylon thread in the top of the machine. Set your machine for the blind-stitch.

4. On a scrap of fabric, test sew a length of blind-stitch to make sure the settings are right. If you notice that the
bobbin thread is being pulled to the top of the fabric, loosen the tension of the upper thread slightly until the problem is corrected.

5. Machine appliqué the pieces to the tan foundation fabric, adjusting the fabric as necessary so that the straight-stitch portion of the stitch is off the edge of the appliqué and the zigzag portion barely catches the appliqué Remember that you want to hide the stitches close up against the edge of the appliqué. With hidden stitches in clear nylon thread, everyone will think that you hand appliquéd the project, and you’ll be a quilting hero.

6. Repeat Steps 2 and 5 with each layer of appliqué pieces. After appliquéing all your shapes in place, remove your pins or basting stitches.

Assembling the quilt top
Follow these steps to assemble your quilt top:
1. Cut each of the two 11- x 11-inch dark blue print squares in half on the diagonal. Fold each triangle in half, and press the fabric to mark the center of the long bias edge. You should end up with four large, folded triangles.

2. Fold the tan appliquéd square in half, and pinch the creases at the edges. Unfold the square, fold it in half the other way, and pinch the other two creases. Pinching the creases temporarily marks the center point of each side of the square.

3. Align the center of one side of the tan center square with the center crease of a blue triangle from Step 1. Using a neutral shade of thread, machine stitch the blue triangle to the side of the tan square.

4. Repeat Step 3 with the other three blue triangles; then press all the seam allowances towards the blue fabric. Your triangles may look a little rough or downright crooked, but that’s okay. Because this may be the first time you’ve ever attempted this type of medallion, I’ve padded the triangle measurements slightly to ensure you end up with an accurate square. You’ll have a medallion larger than you actually need and will trim down the excess at the sides in the next step.

5. Trim the blue triangles with a rotary cutter and ruler so that they extend just 1⁄4 inch from the corner points of the tan square. Stay squared by using your quilting ruler to make certain the sides are at right angles to each other.

6. Measure the width of the entire quilt center, and trim the redcheckered border strips to match your measurement.

7. Stitch red-checkered strips to the left- and right-hand sides of the quilt center.

8. Stitch the 21⁄2-inch deep-yellow print squares to the short ends of the two remaining red-checkered border strips, and press the seam allowances toward the darker fabric.

9. Stitch the strips from Step 8 to the top and bottom edges of the quilt center. Press the seam allowances toward the border strips.

Quilting and finishing the project
Follow these steps to complete your Traditional Basket Wall Hanging:
1. Transfer your quilting design to the quilt top. At the end of this project section, you can find a full-size quilting pattern that works really well in each of the blue triangles.But feel free to use any pattern you like or come up with a freehand design to fill the empty space.

2. Lay the quilt top facedown on your work surface. On top, lay the batting and backing fabric, right side up.

3. Thread or pin baste the layers together to prepare the project for quilting

4. Hand or machine quilt as desired.

5. Machine stitch close to the raw edges of the quilt top in straight stitch;
then trim away the excess batting and backing that extends beyond the edges of the quilt top.6. Bind the quilt with the navy blue binding to complete the project.

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For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.

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