Pattern: Riley Blake 5” Crazy Papers
Finished Size: 62” x 71”
Cuts Used: About ½ yard each of 17 different prints for the blocks, about ½ yard for border, and about ½ yard each for flange and binding
Skill Level: Intermediate thru Advanced (These blocks should be squared to 4” x 4”. This means there are A LOT of seams to match up. I recommend avoiding this quilt until you are confident with nesting your seams.)
Why I like this pattern: It is an easy way to get a scrappy look. if you choose to use charm packs, you don’t have to pre-starch them. Just remember that when it comes to starching, it is All or Nothing. To prevent uneven shrinking, if you don’t pre-starch your charm packs, don’t pre-starch any of the other fabrics. I highly recommend that if you are a beginner, stick with heavily starched yardage instead until you become experienced with working with fabric.
Design Tips: Since you will be working with small pieces of fabric, I recommend
sticking with small prints.
Note: The Riley Blake Crazy Quilt Paper is made specifically for 5” squares so they are perfect for charm packs. Although I pre-starch most of my fabric, I don’t pre-starch my 5” squares when using the Crazy Paper. Instead, I assemble my blocks, set the seams, press the seams open, and then use spray-starch to give them some body. I find that this makes final assembly much easier. Just remember that when it comes to starch, it is All-or-Nothing. If you don’t pre-starch your fabrics or use spray starch on your blocks, you shouldn’t use any starch on the fabric used for your border or binding. If you use starch on any part of your topper, you should also use it on any border, the binding, and the flange (if you are using a flanged binding). As starching causes a bit of shrinkage, you want to avoid uneven shrinkage in the wash. However, I do not starch my cotton backings. So far (and perhaps strangely), I have not run into any problems when it comes to uneven shrinkage between the topper and a 100% cotton backing.
Creative Grids 24” x 36” Self-Healing Mat
TrueCut 45mm Rotary Cutter
Creative Grids 6.5” x 24.5” ruler
Aurifil 50wt. Thread in 2615 (Aluminum)
Creative Grids Starter Set
Creative Grids 12.5” x 24.5”
Creative Grids 4.5” x 4.5” template
Odif Grippy Non-slip Coating for templates
Panasonic 360° Freestyle Cordless Iron
Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9480 sewing machine
Olfa 45 mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter
(I strongly recommend purchasing your sewing machine from a local store that offers repair services. However, if you don’t have a local store, you can buy it online at Amazon (https://amzn.to/4hujsjN) and other retailers. )
Note: I am a firm believer in supporting local business…especially quilt shops. There are so few left and more are closing all the time. I include these Amazon affiliate links so you can easily see what products I used and because not everyone has a quilt shop or fabric store close by. Even if you do, they may not carry everything you are looking for. In addition, these links help support my channel and website so I can continue to provide you with great content.