I’m excited to share with you my Bow Appliqué Quilt in CF Grid Group Fabrics.
The Project
I always need an appliqué project. This is just the truth. Appliqué is relaxing, easy to pick up for a few minutes here and there, and it’s a technique that allows you to play with all kinds of fun shapes. For this new project, I liked the idea of taking inspiration from a Rainbow. It’s iconically upbeat, and the series of echoing arcs is elegant and visually enticing.
From an appliqué standpoint, the gentle curves are a lot of fun. They aren’t super fussy, so it’s a great way to start if you are trying out the technique for the first time. If you’re familiar with hand appliqué, it’s good for you too, because there are so many different fabric and color possibilities. I love working through blocks with changing colors and fabrics.
The Fabric
A rainbow quilt would be fantastic in many colors, and I’m eager to see a colorful version of Bow, but for the first version I was really excited to use my new greyscale fabric collection. There’s something beautiful about restricting your color palette down to a focused range. It can really highlight subtlety and variation. This spectrum ranges from white to black, and it feels colorful and rich in the variety of shades and how they play out in the different arcs.
Plus, with the fabrics being a lot of grid-based designs, I like the contrast of the linear motifs with the curving appliqué shapes.
The Quilting
With hand appliqué being so relaxing, big stitch quilting is the perfect followup. I wanted to employ this hand-quilting technique not only because I enjoy the process of making each stitch by hand, but also because I love the effect. And, it’s so soft to touch!
I used black perle cotton thread in a diagonal grid which contrasts nicely with the rounded arcs. With quilting, sometimes I think using opposite shapes and textures (like round and straight) have a fitting way of complimenting the piecing without competing with it.
There we have it! My newest appliqué pattern, Bow, is here. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
Project Details
Pattern: Bow Quilt Pattern
Fabric: CF Grid Group (from Collection CF)
Additional Resources: My favorite needle-turn appliqué tools, thread tips and tricks, hand quilting tools
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