Comfort and joy

15 min read

This cosy row-by-row Christmas quilt will bring comfort and joy to your home with its seasonal shades of red and green plus a pretty pop of pink!

Designed and made by NICOLA DODD Quilted by JAYNE BRERETON AT QUILTER’S TRADING POST

ROW-BY-ROW PROJECT

BEHIND THE QUILT INSPIRED BY ESTONIAN CRAFT

“A gentle nod to the colour-work knitting that adorns many a Christmas jumper, my inspiration for this row-by-row quilt is the vibrant craft traditions of the tiny island of Muhu in Estonia. Their fine gauge knitting is embellished with cross-stitch and crochet and its traditional colour palette of reds and greens is enlivened by hot-pink, or Muhu pink as it’s become known. A dash of your favourite colour is an easy way to add a personal touch to your Christmas quilts!” – Nicola Dodd

You will need

■ Cream fabric – 3¼yds

■ Green fabric – 2¾yds

■ Aqua fabric – 1¾yds

■ Pink fabric – 1yd

■ Red fabric – ½yd

■ Backing fabric – 4¼yds

■ Batting – 75in x 84in

■ Binding fabric – ⅔yd

Finished size

■ Quilt: approx. 67in x 76½in

■ Tree block: 11in x 13½in

■ Reindeer block: 11in x 13½in

Fabrics used

■ A selection of prints by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Fabrics

Notes

■ Please read through the pattern before you begin.

■ Assume a ¼in seam allowance.

■ WOF = width of fabric. Assume a width of 42in.

■ RS = right side(s).

■ WS = wrong side(s).

■ Nicola’s website has helpful tutorials on her blog: www.cakestandquilts.com

Cutting out

1 The quilt is constructed in rows (Quilt Row Layout Diagram), so to help keep you organised, individual cutting instructions are given for each row. You will make two (2) sets of Rows A, C and E and one (1) set of Rows B, D and F. You could make each row different – just make sure to contrast the background between rows to achieve the colour-work knitting effect.

2 Cut the backing fabric into two (2) equal length pieces and cut the binding fabric into eight (8) 2½in x WOF strips.

Row A

Make two (2) rows.

3 From the cream fabric, cut the following:

■ One (1) 4½in x WOF strip. Subcut into four (4) 4½in x 9½in pieces.

■ Four (4) 3½in x WOF strips. Subcut into four (4) 3½in x 11in pieces, four (4) 3½in x 6½in pieces and twelve (12) 3½in x 4½in pieces.

■ One (1) 3in x WOF strip. Subcut into four (4) 3in x 5in pieces and four (4) 3in squares.

■ Nine (9) 2½in x WOF strips.

Subcut three (3) strips in