Stella Lane Quilt: Quilt Top Assembly

We’ve made it to the third and final blog post all about the Stella Lane Quilt!!  We’re wrapping things up today and finishing our lovely quilts! 

Feel free to check out any of the earlier blog posts if you need a refresher on anything before we finish.

Don’t have the pattern yet?  You can pick up your copy here!

Looking for a little backstory?  I share about the inspiration for the pattern and share a little behind the scenes when designing the pattern here!

Before you’re ready to sew up a block, make sure you have all of your cut pieces organized!  You can read all about tips and find a video to help you out.

Still working on any of your blocks?  You can read all about making your blocks in Part 2 of this series!

Color Movement

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me share that one of my favorite parts about this quilt pattern is that there is no trimming!  And while that is true (and awesome!) my absolute favorite part about this quilt is the color movement you get with only 5 fabrics and one simple block.

This movement is achieved by being methodical with your block placement.  The colors rotate positions within the blocks and we will also rotate the block position in the final layout to give us a dreamy cascade of color.

So, as we dive into our quilt layout make sure you have your blocks labeled (A through E) and also in order.

Quilt Layout

Turn to the “Quilt Construction” section of your pattern for a little cheat sheet on block placement for the size quilt you are making.  Then, either on a design wall or your floor begin to layout the blocks using the diagram in the pattern as your guide.  You will begin to see the color movement in your quilt.

If you have a mix of lights and darks or prints and solids, this movement will become very noticeable and groupings will begin to appear.  It is darker in the upper left corner of your quilt or perhaps something draws the eye more to the middle of your quilt.  

Take a moment to snap a picture and look at the layout both at the quilt itself and also in your picture.  Trust your gut and see how you feel about it.  Does it feel right?  If so, awesome!  If not, let’s adjust your block placement a bit.

A note about adjusting block placement:

Take a moment and think about the color groupings and/or gaps that you see in the quilt and what you think you would like to adjust.  This will help you think about what new order you’d like to arrange your blocks in.

It is important to be aware to keep the sequencing the same - meaning in alphabetical order.  For example, we started with Block A in the upper left corner and then following our diagram placing the blocks in alphabetical order.  We can start with any Block in the upper left corner, provided we don’t change the sequence.

For example, maybe you want to start with Block C, then you’ll follow it with Block D, then E, and then A and B. 

Because the quilt creates a diagonal color flow, adjusting this order will allow the eye to spot new color groupings and clusters.

Let’s take a look at the difference in the quilt I made for the cover of the pattern.  When I originally lined the blocks up, there was a light diagonal line to the quilt and the edges were darker.  I then rearranged the blocks starting with Block C as my starting point and that moved the darker blocks into the middle of the quilt with lighter edges.  I found this look more appealing to me.

But, my word of advice.  Don’t overthink this step!  If you’re happy with the first arrangement, awesome.  If you move things around a bit just go with your gut instinct.  And, if you find yourself thinking about it a lot, close your eyes and go with your gut!

Finishing your Quilt

So, we’ve all made up our minds and we’re ready to get these bad boys sewn up and ready to quilt!  This is a simple quilt top to finish as there is no sashing and no points.  You will want to match up your seams as you go, but you don’t need to worry about cutting off any points…yay!!

You’ll start by sewing your blocks together row by row and then you’ll sew the rows together.  Now, there’s no sashing or points to worry about, but block positioning is important.  

Usually when I make a quilt, I sew all of my rows first and then sew the rows together.  However, with this quilt, I actually sew one row at a time and then sew it to the body of the quilt paying special attention to make sure I don’t sew it upside down which throws off the color placement.  It’s a little slower than usual, but worth it to me - I really loathe pulling out that seam ripper!!

Once all of your rows are sewn together you are finished!!!  It’s time to congratulate yourself.  Your beautiful quilt top is finished!  Personally, I like to drag the family out to snap pictures of it :) #quiltsinthewild anyone??  LOL! 

I will be having my Stella Lane quilted on the longarm and it will be going to my son…his first big boy quilt that with any luck he will still like when he’s older.

I’ve enjoyed sewing this quilt with you and I’d love to see pictures on the gram if you feel like sharing!!  Until next time, happy sewing!!