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| Flower Pops Quilt |
Whether you are seeking a lively, happy project with a perfect mixture of structured piecing and appliqué, the Flower Pops Quilt is a great option. This pattern is designed by quilting legend Alex Anderson for RJR Fabrics with the amazing longarm quilting of Angela Walters.
It is 58” x 58” and it's a very versatile project: make this a generous lap quilt, a splendid wall hanging or even a bold splash of color in any room.
This is a detailed explanation of the pattern, materials required and how it is put together to determine whether this is the next sewing room project for you.
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Design & Layout Overview
The nine-patch is the foundation of the Flower Pops quilt, with nine 10" finished appliqué blocks that are the focal point. Mini canvases are created for each block, featuring a stylized, whimsical flower with a thin stem, colorful stacked circles and accent leaves.
The dynamic framing of this design is what sets it apart from a typical appliqué project:
The floral blocks are set apart by clean background strips and complimented with fun polka-dot cornerstone squares.
A bold, graphic 116 half-square triangles (HSTs) frame the entire center assembly. The geometric forms of the border and the organic forms of the center flowers provide a wonderful contrast in forms.
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Fabric & Tools Breakdown
The pattern uses a variety of crisp background fabrics, bright solids or tone-on-tone prints, and special notions that make appliqué easier to successfully reproduce the lively model created for Quilters Select.
Material Requirements
4 yards (for background blocks, sashing, and borders)
Bright Prints (Flowers & Accents): 2¼ yards total (excellent for making use of a coordinated fat quarter bundle)
- Polka Dot Print (Cornerstones): ⅛ yard or scraps
Green Prints (Stems & Leaves): ½ yard
- Binding Fabric: ⅝ yard
The Ultimate Appliquee Tools.
As this technique is machine appliqué with clean, puckle-free edges, some specialty stabilizers are featured to get the perfect finish:
Used to trace the circle and leaf templates, to fuse them with the fabric and to neatly cut the circle and leaf with clean edges.
A stabilizer (e.g., TearAway): A piece of fabric that is put behind the background square before stitching. This will keep the fabric from tunnelling or twisting when it is very tight in the zigzag or blanket stitch.
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Construction Snapshot
1. The Focal Blocks
The construction is started from the nine floral blocks. One of the clever hacks in this pattern is that the squares in the background are cut oversized at 11 ½″ at first. Since heavy decorative stitching will cause some shrinkage, beginning large will give you enough room to finish your appliqué and then cut the block down to a perfectly sized 10 ½” unfinished square.
2. Sashing & Center Assembly
When the nine flower blocks are stitched and squared up, they are pieced together using the sashing strips of the background and cornerstone squares. This stage merges rapidly and it instantly provides the quilt with its "grid structure".
3. The HST Border
The last, and most significant, is the building of the border. The half square triangles will be made and cut to 3½″ square using the traditional two at a time method. The border is joined together in rows to form a zigzag frame. The four corner blocks of the border have a small appliqué flower bud for a unified look.
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The Finishing Touch: Longarm Quilting
One of the most unique and special aspects of the original Flower Pops quilt is the custom quilting done by Angela Walters. If you want to be inspired for quilting in this project, try to do it in a similar fashion to her:
Filler quilting: Linear, geometric or dense quilting to create "background areas" that will make the appliqué stand out.
Floral areas: Swirls and concentric circle emphasize the round shapes of flowers.
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The Flower Pops Quilt is available for a free download from Quilters Select:
The Flower Pops Quilt is available for a free download from Quilters Select:
Final Thoughts:
Flower Pops Quilt is a wonderful quilt to make for intermediate quilters or ambitious quilters who want to learn machine appliqué. Alex Anderson's careful design will assure you that all the technical elements of the design (such as oversized background blocks and regular sashing) will get you started toward a perfectly flat and square finish.
It's very versatile, as it's absolutely gorgeous in the bright, modern solids that are in the original sample, but yet it'd be gorgeous in the moody autumn colors, or the soft, romantic florals that are available in the reproduction palette. For lovers of projects with playable edges and sharp lines, this pattern will make it to your to-make list.
