Gingham Plaid Quilt - Stargazer Glowy Edition

My Gingham Plaid Quilt- Stargazer looks like a typical quilt.... BUT... I used Sulky Glowy Thread for the machine quilting so it glows in the dark! It is so awesome!!!! PS - Photographing glow-in-the-dark is super tricky ;)

Sulky Glowy Thread is just sooooo much fun!!! I chose to use Art Gallery Stargazer Fabric Collection for the Gingham Plaid Quilt, which matches perfectly for Glowy Thread! I love the constellations, bear astronauts, plus the moon prints in the Stargazer Collection! 

Guess what ... I also wrote a free pattern for the Gingham Plaid Quilt! I can't stop making Gingham Plaid Quilts so I thought a free pattern would be helpful. Sewing patchwork squares just makes me so happy!

Gingham Plaid Quilt - Stargazer Glowy Edition 50" x 59"

Supplies:

• Gingham Plaid Quilt Pattern - FREE
• 1.5 yards Gray Fabric - Stargazer: To Bearfinity and Beyond 
• 1.25 yards Black Fabric - Stargazer: Connect the Stars
• 1 yard White Fabric - Stargazer: Lunar Stamps
• 0.625 yard binding - Stargazer: Connect the Stars
• 3.5 yards backing (or 3.75 yards if directional fabric) - Stargazer: Spatial Friends
• Thread: 2-4 spools of Sulky Glowy – White (quilting), 1 spool 50 wt. Cotton+Steel™ Thread by Sulky (piecing), and 1 spool Sulky 60 wt. Bobbin Thread (bobbin for free motion quilting)
• Needles: Organ® size 90/14 Top Stitch needle (quilting), 80/12 Top Stitch needle (piecing)
• Warm 80/20 batting from Warm Company

Tips for using Glowy Thread for Free Motion Quilting

• I recommend using an Organ Topstitch needle 90/14. The larger needle eye allows the thicker 40wt thread to glide easily when machine quilting on fast speeds! I had ZERO thread breakage and I machine quilt at maximum speed on my Janome M7 sewing machine. 
• I chose to use Sulky 60wt Bobbin thread for the bobbin. My Janome M7 sewing machine had no difficulty at all with 40wt GLOWY top thread and 60wt BOBBIN thread. The tension was perfect. I didn’t need to do any adjustments at all from my usual free motion setting.
• As you are stitching with only 1 thread, I recommend dense quilting for more “glow” factor. Imagine the “glow” factor with dense machine embroidery - definitely trying this soon!
• Do not iron the Glowy Thread - but you can machine wash your quilt. Sulky Tests have shown NO loss of luminosity after 50 washings.
• Choose the color of Glowy Thread that you want to show on your quilt top as all seven colors will glow the same greenish glow. Example: I used white Glowy thread and the glow was green. 

Tip for cutting squares:

For quick and accurate cutting, I recommend using an AccuQuilt GO! 5” unfinished (4.5” finished) square die OR the Creative Grids Stripology ruler.

I mentioned above that I used Sulky Glowy Thread 40wt with Sulky Bobbin Thread 60wt and the tension was perfect....plus this backing fabric is AMAZING!

I can't wait to see your Gingham Plaid Quilts and I hope you give Sulky Glowy Thread a try! Glowy Thread would be perfect for Halloween projects, Outdoor Themed projects, Kid Friendly projects, or just for fun!!!

Gingham Plaid Quilt Pattern - here

Sulky Glowy Thread - here

Be sure to follow me on Instagram @ABitofScrapStuff  and here on my A Bit of Scrap Stuff Blog for more fabric fun!

Have a great day and happy quilting! 

Melanie

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting A Bit of Scrap Stuff. My family appreciates it!

Give Thanks Gingham Plaid Quilt - Plus it's reversible!

Are you ready for fall quilting?!?!? I do enjoy the summer sun, but fall is always so nice!  

The new Give Thanks Collection designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs is perfect for fall sewing! Just look at the gorgeous fall colors and that panel!!!

 

Can you believe this is my very first Thanksgiving Quilt?!?!? I knew I wanted to make a Gingham Plaid Quilt, but that panel totally needs to be a quilt too.  So I solved my dilemma by making my Give Thanks Gingham Plaid Quilt REVERSIBLE!!!

Don't worry I'm totally going to share how I made BOTH the Give Thanks Gingham Plaid and the Give Thanks Panel Quilts!

Give Thanks Gingham Plaid and Give Thank Panel Quilt 50" x 59"

Supplies:

• 2.5 yards - Give Thanks Olive Main designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs
• 1.75 yards - Give Thanks Leaves Brown designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs
• 1.5 yards - Give Thanks Cream Blossom designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs
• 0.75 yard - Give Thanks Plaid Brown designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs
• 1 panel - Give Thanks designed by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs
• Sulky Thread 30wt Blendables Biscuit 733-4040

Give Thanks Gingham Plaid Quilt

Cutting Instructions:

• Cut (71) 5" x 5" squares - Give Thanks Olive Main
• Cut (42) 5" x 5" squares - Give Thanks Leaves Brown 
• Cut (30) 5" x 5" squares - Give Thanks Cream Blossom
• Cut (6) 2.5" x WOF strips for BINDING - Give Thanks Plaid Brown

Cutting Tips:

I recommend using your AccuQuilt GO! 9" Mix & Match Qube - GO! Square-5" (4 1/2" Finished) die for cutting your squares. They will be perfect!

OR

Creative Grids Stripology Ruler- super quick way to cut all the squares quickly.

Quilt Assembly:

Lay out squares in desired layout ( 11 x 13 grid ). Sew together with 1/4" seam. 

Give Thanks Panel Quilt

Cutting Instructions:

• Cut Give Thanks Panel 36" x 43"
• Cut (2) 10.5" x 35.5" top/bottom border - Give Thanks Olive Main
• Cut (2) 10.5" x 43" side borders - Give Thanks Leaves Brown 
• Cut (4) 10.5" x 10.5" corner squares - Give Thanks Cream Blossom

Quilt Assembly: *

• Sew (1) 10.5" x 43" side border to right and left side of Give Thanks Panel
• Sew (1) 10.5" x 10.5" corner square to each end of the 10.5" x 35.5" top and bottom borders.
• Sew (1) 10.5" x 55.5" border to top and bottom of quilt.

*Backing (Panel Quilt) will be approx 56" x 63". If you are sending your quilt to a long arm quilter - you may need to make the border fabric wider than 10.5". 

Quilt and Bind as desired!

For machine quilting - I used Sulky 30 wt Blendables Biscuit 733-4040 as I love this variegated thread! The 30wt also makes the machine quilting stand out more. Since it is a thicker thread, I recommend using a 90/14 top stitch needle or 100/16 top stitch needle. I used the same thread for my bobbin too - no problems at all on my Janome M7 machine! If you find that your thread breaks while free motion quilting, please make sure you are using the correct size topstitch needle plus a drop of Sewer's Aid on the eye of the needle can be helpful too!

Isn't that variegation so lovely?!?!? It randomly changes colors every 2-5"! You can find the thread at Sulky (here).

This Give Thanks Quilt is ready to be cuddled with - yay! I'm totally using it now as it's almost time for fall decorating!

The Give Thanks Fabric Collection is available now (here)! It's soooo perfect for fall!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram @ABitofScrapStuff  and here on my A Bit of Scrap Stuff Blog for more fabric fun!

Have a great day and happy quilting! 

Melanie

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting A Bit of Scrap Stuff. My family appreciates it!