It's finally Freebie FRIDAY!!
I know I've teased this quilt for probably a month +, so I'm sorry - I finally got my act together and it's ready today!
Welcome to the 3rd installment of Friday Freebie - a fun day to release a free pattern to all y'all who keep showing up and supporting me and this quilting bug I keep getting!
For those who are new, or have forgotten (cause it's been awhile), Friday Freebies are a mix of a tutorial that will be shared on my blog, along with a pdf pattern. Some are brand new patterns, some are patterns from when I used to make up quilt tutorials - before my official pattern days.
So, if you just want to skip straight to the pattern - you can!
If you want a little more explanation, tips and tricks (great for beginners) - you can!
So for those who just want the pattern... look not further.
Get The Jake Quilt Here
The Jake Quilt is a quick + simple block based quilt, sewn on point. I used the beautiful Palette Picks Fat Quarter Bundle curated by Emily Dennis of Quilty Love for Robert Kaufman. The colors were the perfect blend of vibrant I was looking for. (More details on fabric later on).
Have you ever sewn a quilt on point? I avoided them for years - they terrified me! I still am not super comfortable with them today, but keep trying cause the visual impact is one of my favorites.
Slow and steady is my suggestion and motto when working with blocks on point.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED:
Why call it the Jake Quilt? Well, this quilt is one I made years ago (circa 2015). This was when all my kiddos were 6 and under and we were immersed in the world of Jake and the Neverland Pirates - DAILY. So I made this quilt for my kids using Treasure Map by Lesley Grainger for Riley Blake and named it Jake - cause he was basically part of the family at that point!
This is a precut friendly quilt, perfect for fat quarters - you could even use a Charm Pack + Jelly Roll (I just didn't include over all requirements for that...) or if you are feeling adventurous, use up those scraps! I also included requirements if you wanted to do a more modern, 2-color quilt. My original was also a small crib size and I have included a large throw as well.
Now that we've talked about the quilt - let's get MAKING the quilt! Here are the fabric requirements.
What tools do you need? Well besides your basics of fabric, a sewing machine, thread, rotary cutter, cutting mat, etc...I always have on hand starch and a couple rulers.
I say it all the time, but I highly recommend a BlocLoc ruler. They have a groove down the ruler that "grabs" your seam line and helps keep your ruler from slipping when trimming up your blocks - which is extremely handy for those HSTs. It's in my top 5 of must have tools! I also suggest a marking tool (hera marker, fabric pen, etc. ) and/ or diagonal seam tape.
To start off, you are going to make your block centers which are the classic half-square triangle block. If you've followed me for a bit, you know this is one of my favorite blocks and it is in A LOT of my patterns, I'm not going to go into much detail on this.
If you are starting out and want tips or tricks, be sure to check out Friday Freebie No.1 - Half Charmed, which was all about HSTs.
Next, you are going to make the center strip using your HSTs and short strips. This is a step where chain piecing becomes your friend. Orient all your HSTs so that they are all facing the correct way. Then make a pile of your short strips on each side of the HST to make the contrasting fabrics touch. Sew the 1/4" seam and press the seams open. Check to see that you have a 1/4" seam at each end of the HST diagonal (see the picture above on the right). You want to make sure you have this seam allowance good so that when you sew on the side pieces, you don't chop your points off.
Next comes marking. I actually rarely mark my squares anymore when a pattern calls for it - that is how much I love and trust my diagonal seam tape from Cluck Cluck Sew. But feel free to mark your 2.5in squares on this step to help you get that accurate diagonal seam. If I do mark, I love using my Hera Marker - you never have to worry about it running out of ink or wondering if it's really gonna wash out.
Left: Using the Diagonal Seam Tape line up the red center with my needle and use as my guide to feed my square thru.
Center: my favorite marking + 1/4" cutting tools: Magic Wand 1/4" ruler, Diagonal Seam Tape + Hera Marker
Right: What the square would look if using my Hera Marker
Next comes my favorite - MASS TRIMMING. I know this is scary for so many of you, but trust me, once you try it, you will never go back to one at a time. Your wrist will thank you!
After you have sewn on the small squares, trimmed and pressed seams open, match the triangle color with the short strip color and sew together. Press seams open and ta-da! You have your block.
Once all your blocks are done the trickiest part of the quilt is the set in + corner triangles. I don't know about you, but angles give me anxiety. I always measure the math wrong or hate that you are asked to cut 5/8ths or 7/8ths etc. SO, I usually just round up and then center my triangles and trim once the quilt top is pieced. Since I started to do it this way, I'm not so scared of on point quilts!
How do you find the right size of set in + corner triangles to make? I personally don't have the brain power most days to figure that out, so I let the brilliant people behind the Robert Kaufman Quilting Calculator app do that for me! Let me share real quickly about this go-to app of mine.
It looks like this.
I use this for ALL my quilts. It tells me how much I need for backing, binding, batting and so much more! I actually just learned it helps with these triangles! So let me show you have easy it is.
You open up the app and it looks like this.
For this example I clicked on the Set-in and Corner Triangles option.
You open it up and it will explain what to do and on most will even give you an illustrated example just to make sure you understand!
So it asks for the finished block size - which in this case is 8in. So type that in and click calculate. Ta-Da! * This is where I round up, I hate dealing with 1/8ths!
So quick, so simple. I seriously love this app - so if you don't have it, I suggest you get it!
Back to the quilt.
The original Jake Quilt was a crib size and used a 12 piece Fat Quarter Bundle. I made my pairs then used remaining parts of fat quarters for my set in + corner triangles. I also split my two large corner triangles into two for a more scrappy look.
I made this quilt before my long arm days as well, so I chose to do echo quilting around the diamonds and it actually turned out pretty cool on the backing!
My newest Jake Quilt used a 20 piece Fat Quarter Bundle + yardage for the triangles.
Yardage: Kona Cotton White ( K001-1387)
Backing: Classic Plaids White by Sevenberry from Sevenberry: Classic Plaids (SB-51010D407-1 WHITE)
Binding: Kona Peach (K001-1281) - *This print is included in the bundle*
Quilting: By Simply MackBeth Design Co (me ;) ) using Cross Hatch by Julie Hirt
Lastly, don't forget to finish up that quilt with a fun quilt tag from Ever Emblem. Choose from so many great options. I am partial to the cotton sew in tags! Use code: SIMPLY10 for 10% off your order!
Tag #simplymackbethquilts and #thejakequilt to show everyone what fun combos you come up with!
Missed past Friday Freebies? Don't fret, get them below.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy The Jake Quilt as much as me!
Like these Friday Freebies? Sign up below to get notified of future releases!