Free Projects and Ideas - Advanced Embroidery Designs

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Poinsettia Table Quilt

For this table quilt we used designs from the Poinsettia Linen Set and Christmas Miniature Sets II and III.

The finished size of the table topper is 37" x 37". Five100% cotton fabrics with different patterns were used for the top. 100% cotton batting, and rayon embroidery and cotton quilting threads were also used.

You'll need a fat quarter of light fabric for the central part. The first border and the outer border are made out of one poinsettia patterned fabric, you'll need 3/4 of a yard.

You will also need 1/4 yard of red fabric, 1/4 yard of green fabric, and 1/2 yard of light fabric for the star border. It's possible to use the same light fabric for the central part and for the star border, then you'll need about 1 yard of it.

You'll also need fabric for the binding (about 1/2 yard) and for the backing. For the binding, we recommend to use one of the fabrics used on the quilt top. For the backing we used the fabric of the outer border.

Cutting

The central square with embroidery measures 16" x 16" when finished (cut it 16 1/2" x 16 12/")

The first border is 3" wide (cut it 1 1/2" wide). You'll need two strips 1/1/2" x 16 1/2" and two strips 1 1/2" x 18 1/2".

The second border is formed out of sixteen 6" x 6" Star blocks. See our instructions for making these blocks below.

The third border is 3 1/2" wide. For a border with mitered corners you'll need four strips 3 3/4" x 45" (cut down the length of the fabric).

Star Block

You will need two different fabrics to make this block. It consists of five squares and four flying geese units.
Out of light (background) fabric cut a strip measuring 2" x 22"; cut it into four rectangles 2" x 3 1/2" and four 2" x 2" squares. Out of the same kind of fabric, cut a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" square.
Out of the red (or green) fabric for the star points cut a strip 2" x 16" and subcut it into eight 2" x 2" squares.

To make a flying geese unit, take a 2" x 3 1/2" rectangle and two red 2" x 2" squares. Place one of the squares on one end of the rectangle, draw a diagonal and sew over it. Trim the excess fabric, leaving 1/4" seam allowance. Press the seam, unfold the red triangle and press again. Repeat with a red square on the other side of the rectangle.
For one block, make four flying geese units.

Assemble the block in accordance with the diagram below.

For this quilt you'll need eight red star blocks and eight green star blocks; so, you'll need 24 red flying geese units and 24 green flying geese units.

Assembling the Top

Stitch the first border strips to the central square as shown on the diagram.

Stitch three star blocks into a row in the following sequence: green star, red star, green star. Stitch this row to the upper edge of the working piece. Repeat for the bottom.
Stitch five star blocks in a row in this sequence: red, green, red, green, red. Make another similar row. Attach the rows to the left and right sides of the quilt.

Mark the center of each side of your quilt with a pin. Match the center of your third border strips with the center of one of the sides. Stitch the border to the quilt, starting and stopping 1/4" from the quilt edges.
Repeat with the remaining three borders. You should get something like this:

Make the mitered corners using your favorite method. The method that we describe here is the one that we find easiest.
Spread the quilt top on a flat surface, face up. At the corners, one border will overlap the other.
Take the protruding part of the top border and fold it at a 45 degree angle. Press carefully. Secure in place with pins. Slip stitch the top part to the bottom part by hand, as indicated on the diagram by the red line. If you prefer to work on your sewing machine, just top stitch the upper piece in place along that line. Trim the excess fabric to 1/2". Press.

Embroidering

Stabilize each star with your favorite tear-away stabilizer and embroider the centers of the stars with designs from Christmas Miniature Sets I and II. Tear away the excess stabilizer.

To embroider the central part, you can either use your favorite stabilizer, or stabilize the fabric with your batting, which is what we did. You'll need 100% cotton batting. Cut out a piece slightly larger than the quilt top and place it underneath your working piece. Do not attach the backing yet! Spread the top evenly and pin two layers together in a few places and embroider the designs from Poinsettia Linen Set one by one.

Finishing

Now place the backing on a flat surface (table) face down. Spread your working piece over it.

Note: If you embroidered the central part with regular stabilizer, do not forget to place batting between the backing and the top.

Pin all three layers together with 1" pins and start quilting. We quilted with the invisible thread. The central, embroidered part, is quilted around the embroidery and with stippling; the borders are stitched in the ditch, the outer border is quilted repeating the pattern of the fabric.

For the backing we used the same fabric as for the outer border. It was 54" wide and that was very convenient for this quilt.

After the quilting is finished, press the work with heavy steam and square the work -- all corners should be 90 degrees and the opposite sides should be of the same length.
Finish the raw edges with the binding.