Guest Tutorial | Lazy Halfsies Quilt | by Deanna McCool

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Today we are thrilled to celebrate the release of the Feather River line by Jay-Cyn Designs with a guest tutorial from the very talented Deanna McCool of Sew McCool!  Deanna shows us how to whip up this pretty darn cool quilt!  And what's cool about this is you can add or take away blocks to make an altogether different size if needed!  

It doesn’t take much to inspire me to head outside and be “at one” with nature.

Our family home backs up against acres of woods, and we’ve taken our daughters fishing and camping. Birch’s Feather River line of fabrics brings that peaceful feeling of nature indoors….into our sewing machines...so we can create something magnificent that can be used while snuggling up inside after a swim, or during a picnic near the river.

Because I love the “lazy days” of summer, I didn’t want to design a quilt that was too complex. Plus, the prints of Feather River beg to be shown off, and not cut into too many small pieces.

The “Lazy Halfsies” quilt is suitable for a near-beginning quilter - maybe you’ve made one quilt before? And better yet, the large blocks mean that it’s a quick sew.

Quilt size: 48” x 48

Features 16 half-square triangle blocks, 12” finished each

Fabric Requirements (assumes 42”-wide fabric unless otherwise stated)

For quilt top:

½ yard of Feather River Quail and Poppy

½ yard of Feather River Blue School

½ yard of Feather River Schroom School

½ yard of Feather River Bear Hike Schroom

½ yard of Feather River Bobbers Orange

½ yard of Feather River Bobbers Sun

½ yard of Feather River Lures

For quilt backing:

2 ⅔  yards of 42” wide fabric (you’ll have to piece the backing) (We suggest Feather River Patch, or Feather River)

-or- 1 ½ yards of 54” wide fabric

For binding:

½ yard of fabric (We suggest Mod Solid Shroom)

In the diagrams below, “beige” fabrics refer to the Bobbers Orange, Bobbers Sun, and Lures fabrics. They can be used interchangeably or placed in a more organized pattern, as with the quilt here. Also, in the diagrams below, the gray fabrics refer to the Schroom School and Bear Hike Shroom.

With your rotary cutter and mat, follow the cutting and half-square-triangle piecing instructions below. When sewing your blocks, you can speed up the process by chain piecing.

Now cut the blocks apart on the drawn line and open them up. You’ll have 64 half-square triangles. Follow the pressing instructions below.

Now you’ll need to trim each of these blocks to 6 ½” square:

Admire your perfectly square blocks, and start piecing them together as shown below.

When sewing the squares together, make sure you nest the seams so they match perfectly! This will help create perfect points that we all crave:

Now you can start assembling the 12 ½” blocks (12” finished). The Quail and Poppy and Blue School block is shown below. Sew both halves right sides together, taking care that the points match.

Once complete, you’ll have sewn 8 orange/blue blocks and 8 gray blocks, just like these:

Now sew them into rows, following the piecing and pressing instructions below.

Then stitch your rows together, and quilt and bind as desired.

This quilt is the perfect size for a picnic for two, a lap quilt for your lake cottage, or a throw for a rustic room or a boy’s room!

Deanna McCool writes for sewmccool.com and has sewn quilts for more than 10 years. She also enjoys garment and small project sewing, in addition to ribbon crafts. Deanna is the author of “50 Ribbon Rosettes and Bows to Make,” published in August 2014 by St. Martin’s Press.