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Pretty in Plaid – St. Louis 16 Patch finish!

Posted on: September 26th, 2014 by Lorna McMahon
Fall winds and cooler temps are here again.Β  It seems that summer gets shorter and shorter every year.Β  This week I took advantage of the opportunity to have one more outdoor photo shoot on the old hay wagon.

While working on my weekly posts for the Top 10 Tips for New Quilters series, I was inspired to make this plaid 16 patch quilt.Β  Although I normally press my seams open, this time I pressed my seams to the side, to test how much more accurate the piecing would be.Β  Pressing of seams and the strip piecing method were the subjects of week four and five of the Top 10 Tips series.

Although the quilt top was not smooth and flat because I pressed the seams to the side, matching up the seams was super easy using this method.Β  Because of both the ease and the accuracy, I will definitely be choosing this method again in future patchwork projects!

Using 8″ finished size blocks, the Pretty in Plaid quilt finished at approximately 54″ x 54″ after quilting, and is a nice sized lap quilt.Β  The quilt top was made entirely of Kona Cotton Solids: Caribbean, Jade, Emerald, Candy Green, Aloe, Pond and Sage along with Coal, Medium Grey and Snow.

While making this quilt I posted a tutorial for making the St. Louis 16 Patch here.Β  This tutorial is now listed on my Tutorials page and you can find the tab under the blog header.

Finished with my new fave quilting style…. Organic wavy lines from edge to edge.Β  The backing was a new sheet, a geometric print in grey and white, also used for the binding.

This quilt finish was the 14th use of my 100 labels ordered from MyOwnQuiltLabels.

If you are interested in making a Pretty in Plaid quilt, the pattern is now for sale in my pattern shop.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday with Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF! hosted this week with Audrey at Glory Be Quilter.

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40 Responses

  1. Love those colors. Did you free motion, use a walking foot or just do a straight stich moving the fabric as you went to quilt with?

  2. I love that sheet on the back. Great scale and it compliments your piecing so nicely.

  3. This is just pure awesome! I love everything about this quilt, from color till quilting/binding!Bravo!

  4. Jasmine says:

    Such a beautiful finish. I love how the blocks work together to make the plaid. And it was fun to read all the Kona names.

  5. Vicki says:

    Oh Lorna, it is absolutely beautiful! The colors are wonderful, and that back is perfect. I'm really enjoying straight line quilting a lot lately also…fast and fun.

  6. Kaja says:

    It's interesting that you feel pressing to the side made such a difference. The finished quilt is just lovely.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Yes, Lorna, this is so good! I love the simple but clever pattern and the colours are beautiful! x Teje

  8. Vera says:

    Congrats on pretty finish and lovely pics.

  9. Cheryl says:

    I really like how the wavy line quilting softens and adds such movement to the more geometric 16 patch squares.

  10. This quilt is so gorgeous! I will have to make one!

  11. Patricia says:

    Love this quilt. Need one.Patricia C

  12. It's a lovely quilt Lorna … I always press my seams to the side (unless they are super bulky) and it's great for accurate points πŸ™‚ I ordered myself some of those lovely labels after seeing them advertised on your blog. They arrived yesterday and I've used two already – woo whoo!

  13. I like the colour combination and how you've quilted with wavy lines πŸ™‚

  14. Georgi says:

    Absolutely gorgeous! Love the tips on pressing seams to the side for this type of quilt ~ and the wavy lines are perfect!

  15. Carla says:

    I do love this and want to make one. Which colour way I don't know. It would look great in any colour! Well done

  16. Jo Ferguson says:

    I LOVE THIS QUILT. Everything from your colour/fabric choices to your quilting, make this one really speak to me.

  17. Beautiful quilt is great colors!

  18. Your colors look so nice together. You know, I was taught to press seams to the side, not open. I've never tried pressing seams open. What are the advantages to open seams…just wondering for future projects;)

  19. Beautiful finish, Lorna, I love the wavy quilting to give it a bit of motion.

  20. Mari says:

    Very cute quilt! Looks very cool and relaxing. And I'm pretty sure my grandmother would get the vapors from everyone pressing seams open now. Beautiful work!

  21. Beth says:

    I am impressed with the \”plaid\” you brought to the St. Louis 16. It's a wonderful addition & the quilting is awesome. BRAVO!!

  22. You've been super productive lately!! I love the mix of shades you used, as well as the plain block in there.

  23. Julie says:

    I really like this! Your fabric choices are so fun. The wavy quilting is perfect! I'll have to try that out, I've been a little nervous that mine won't turn out fabulous.

  24. It's beautiful, Lorna! The colours are restful, but not boring and that quilting is fantastic. It's funny, I've been experimenting with pressing some of my seams open lately! I find it's helpful when there are a lot of seams coming together, like the center of a pinwheel. I still press to one side most of the time, though. It just makes it so much easier to match up seams.

  25. Love the quilt. I just finished a FWS block with little blocks and my DH said it all goes downhill….giggle….and he's right. Might have to redo that one. Yours look perfect.

  26. margaret says:

    very nice I too press my seams to one side makes butting together so much easier not that I always get it right!

  27. I was taught to press to one side so that's what I do by default, it's nice to know that someone else finds it works for them too! It's a gorgeous quilt as well, all my favourite teals and greys and turquoises!

  28. Vicki in MN says:

    Mostly I press to one side-I like the nestling affect, but once in a while if there are too many seams coming together I press open. Very nice finish!!

  29. Gorgeous pattern – it creates such a great effect. I was always a seams open girl too, but have begun to do a bit of seams to the side, especially when doing rows like your quilt here. It's great for nesting and also make ironing soooooo much quicker – you don't have to prise the seams apart (without burning your finger) and iron it open. However I don't fancy all the bulk at intersections and if I am doing my own design, I don't always feel like figuring out which side to press to ensure nesting. In those cases I usually revert to open seams. Depends how lazy I'm feeling!

  30. Unknown says:

    Thanks Lorna for sharing at TGIFF Linky Party!

  31. Nana says:

    The simple 16 patch stands out with the color choices and the wavy quilting. Excellent job!

  32. Farm Quilter says:

    Love the way you arranged the great colors on this quilt!! Love the quilting too!!

  33. This is one my favourite quilts made by you, Lorna! I really like the colours your used and how you arranged them.-Soma

  34. Love how you made a simple pattern new and refreshing! Love the wavy quilting on this one too, do you use your FMQ foot or the walking foot. I would like to try out out πŸ™‚ Thanks for always having great tips to share.

  35. Unknown says:

    Simple yet so fun, I love this one Lorna

  36. Pam says:

    This is beautiful Lorna!

  37. Anonymous says:

    Love this finish! Simple and stunning- and good to know about the seam pressing experiment!

  38. Unknown says:

    Lovely quilt! And I too am still on the fence on seam pressing. It takes so much longer to press open and it is much easier to nest seams when pressed to the side. just depends on quilt, sometimes open just works better for complicated piecing.

  39. It's gorgeous, Lorna! I love those soft blues and greens πŸ™‚