Nothing is more satisfying for us quilters and sewists than to accomplish a project from start to finish in just one day or sewing session! They are the best projects to do when you're in a sewing rut, in between larger projects or just for a double dose of dopamine! I got the perfect project to add to your sewing list, the Quick and Easy table runner using the “Kercheif Forklore” panel from Anthology by Bari J. You can complete everything from pulling fabrics, cutting, sewing to finished project in the shortest amount of time yet! View the video below to see how fast it comes together.
The “Kerchief Forklore” has the most gorgeous 8” scalloped square designs with floral trim, floral bouquets and strawberry vine centers. To make the Quick an Easy table runner all you need is a one panel section measuring approx. 17 ½ ”x 44”, backing fabric in "Legacy Stripe Moss” and batting. Sandwich all the layers together and mark your quilting lines.
The square/tile design of the “Kerchief Forklore” panel gives you a quilty pathwork feel without having to piece any fabrics together. It even has floral arrangements on the top and bottom of the panel creating the idea of top and bottom borders for even more of a quilty feel!
I love projects that allow me an opportunity to play around with my quilting skills. For this table runner we quilted diagonal lines going in both directions to create a diamond effect. Since its a medium size project working on free motion techniques or a quilting style you want to become better at is a great choice to get more experience.
Once the quilting is finished frame your table runner with “Memoir Bound” the 2.5 Edition binding created specially for Anthology fabrics. Have fun folding your binding and deciding whether you want plaids or florals to frame your table runner.
Make sure to print out our handy “Quilt Size Chart” to know how many strips and yardage you will need if binding a quilt with AGF’s 2.5 Edition or 42” WOF strips. Choose from a variety of popular size finished quilting projects or use the equation to plug in your numbers for a custom size quilt!
Comment below with your go to projects that could be easily finished in a day! Or what quilting motif you would choose to quilt the “Kerchief Folklore” panel! Hope this project inspires you to create something new and to remind you it doesn’t need to be complicated to create beautiful projects!
This year, let's do things right! The holidays bring so much joy but can also bring extra stress and chaos. So you can truly enjoy the moment and be present to make all those priceless memories. I have found the perfect way to add a bit of homemade into your gift giving with this simple Fabric Stocking Gift Card Holder Tutorial using Adventale Fabrics by Katarina Roccella.
Save yourself the gift bags and wrapping paper and go smaller in size but not in heart. Skip the department store trips and buy someone something that will just clutter their home and take your time getting a gift card to a store where they can buy something they actually need and want. Add your touch of hand made with a mini stocking to hold this gift card. They can reuse it to give someone a gift card or money next year or even put holiday candies in it and give it as a party favor. Make a whole bunch of them and turn them into an advent garland placing small treats in them for your kids to open each day.
Have fun making this tutorial your own adding personalized touches. Try different kinds of quilting and embroidery threads. Maybe even stitch the letter of the person's first name you are giving it to. Trying different fabric combinations, I used “Yuletide Ditsies” its playful holiday florals add such an immense amount of joy to any project. I paired it with AGF “White Linen” flannel to add that soft crisp feel of winter.
Decorating our homes for the holiday season inside and out is a big to do each year, but adds to the magic that this season brings. As quilters, making handmade decor to add to our homes makes it even more special because we can revisit are makes each year, passing them down to generations to come to enjoy and cherish. Join me in making a Holiday Door Banner using the “Merry Everything” panel from Adventale fabrics.
The "Merry Everything” panel is filled with a ton of different size square and rectangle holiday graphics that can be used to create door banners, wall hangings, tablerunners, quilts, pillows, bags, placemats and so much more! Have fun cutting out each design and making it your own.
For my door banner I used the Joyful, Noel, Merry & Bright and fussy cut blocks from the panel. I added sashing and made a few fussy cut blocks myself to add to the banner. Easy as that a banner was created. Attach a casing, insert a wooden rod, tie a decorative ribbon and hang it on your front door or beside it. This will easily welcome visitors and bring cheer to neighbors passing by. My banner measured out around 22 ½” x 40” but make it longer or shorter to fit your door or outdoor exterior.
I used AGF Flannel for my backing which quilted beautifully, adding structure and dreaminess to the banner. As beautiful as the front is, I couldn't stop stroking the back of my project after it was quilted. I used a straight line grid quilting design, about 1” apart and it was the perfect motif to use to make the panel designs pop!
I topped it off with the “Jolly Ribbons Festive” print which tied everything all together with its candy cane striped design!
Enjoy the video below and get inspired to create your own DIY Holiday Door Banner.
Panel prints have easily become my favorite fabrics to sew with because it gives you a great head start on the creative process. With larger designs to cut out you will have a finished project in no time at all, making it less stressful for last min holiday sewing! For more inspiration and sewing with Adventale fabrics page through the our Fabric Lookbook!
Are you ready to make a quilt block that requires no piecing at all? Join me in making the Reverse Applique block featuring Costeria Fabrics by AGF Studio!
What is your favorite part of the quilting process? I am in love with each stage from choosing fabrics, ironing, cutting, sewing, piecing, to quilting and binding! What if I told you, you can create a whole quilt with no piecing at all? I know, wild, right!? I haven't tried my hand in Reverse Applique too many times in the past but when this block was created for the Costeira Lookbook I was like I got to give this a try! In all honesty, at first, I was a little nervous!
Once I got started I realized how relaxing and fun it was to slowly reveal my organic stitched design by cutting the upper layer of fabric. This project was great because it gave me an opportunity to use my free motion foot. Another thing I was scared to try in the past but now I love it! What is something you held out on trying and don't know why you waited so long to try? Below are more blocks we created using the Reverse Applique technique.
Can you imagine making enough of these blocks with Costeira Fabrics to sew to make up a whole quilt! That would make the most EPIC Summer beach quilt! I also love that with this method it is using the quilt as you go method. Here is a video showing two different ways to piece your quilt as you go blocks together just in case you decided to go for making that epic summer beach quilt!
AGF is always creating the most gorgeous quilting designs using this technique and I feel like you can express yourself more artistically with this organic method.
If you are ready to dive head first into reverse applique projects? Here is another project to get you started below!
I am so excited to announce 12 NEWPure Solids to our always growing list ofsolid fabrics and bundles. Let’s all pause for a moment as we welcome “Ethereal Edition” to our sewing tables! This soft, pastel color palette has got me in a dream-like state! Honestly these fabrics look good enough to eat but I promise they sew better than they taste!
Colors play a major role in quilting and finding the right colors to match back with all of the prints used in your quilting projects will decide how the overall design will look. Color determines the mood, and the visual appearance and movement the quilt will appear to have. For example a way to conduct a sense of liveliness , warmth and coziness is to use warm colors like yellow, orange, and reds. A great way to add a sense of calm and peacefulness is to use cool colors like blues, greens, and purples.
Understanding color and how it affects the look of our quilt designs is something every quilter learns with each of the quilts they complete. Here at AGF we like to make your life so much easier by providing just about every color you have ever dreamt of to add to your quilting tool box!
Add soft muted shades of peach, pink, blue, green, and yellow to your quilting projects to add a light, delicate touch that invokes a state of peacefulness.These gentle tints create a sense of elegance and sophistication that provides you a feeling of new beginnings and hope.
We created some inspiring projects using the “Ethereal Edition” pure solids that I know you will fall in love with. Scroll through the projects below and let me know which one is calling your name to make!
Asphodelic Pillow
Asphodelic Pillow is the perfect project to sew using this graceful, light toned bundle. The addition of the high loft batting has made the floral template design pop off the pillow, making it such a dream to look at. This is an excellent project to also practice your embroidery skills and zig sag stitching. This pillow comes together in a breeze but makes a giant impact to any space you decorate it in.
Thehourglass blockis such a great way to show off colors. By creating two half square triangles and then using thistechnique to turn them into hourglass blocks you can create the most intricate looking designs that play with color. Have fun arranging them in the order that feels good and create stunning colorful masterpieces.
Check out this video for Hour Glass Block technique here: Hourglass Block
Disappearing Hourglass Quilt
All you need are two 10” squares of fabric to create one of the blocks for this playful quilt. This magical techniqueis fantastic because you do less sewing and the magic happens in the horizontal and vertical cutting and the rearranging of your cut pieces. If you haven’t tried this block yet you are in for a real satisfying treat! Like the table runner you will be in pastel bliss arranging your finished blocks to create your quilt top!
Check out this video for Disappearing Hourglass technique here:
Boho, florals, vibrant colors, maximalist, are just a few words that come to mind when sewing with Bari J’s fabric collection over the years. I started working for AGF back when Bari J’s, Emmy Grace collection came out. It was the first photoshoot I modeled for and it is what made me become the Bari J fan I am today! This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit down with her new collection called Anthology and I was so blown away by the striking, gorgeous designs and the way she put this collection together. With an amazing assortment of florals you feel like you can smell them as they bloom out of the fabric, perfect for fussy cutting or using as a focal point in a quilt or sewing project. The stripes offered in this collection are like no other. I knew right away that using strip piecing was the best way to break into creating patchwork and block designs for quilts, bags, and decor projects with this collection. I followed along to the Quilting Tips- Learn to Strip Piece Three Different Ways video on the AGF youtube channel.
I got lost in the quilty magic that is strip piecing and it was literally the most therapeutic and absolutely best way I have spent a Sunday in a long time. For someone who is used to designing on the computer and having everything planned out before starting a project, this sewing session really reminded me of why I love all things fabric and sewing. Allowing yourself the freedom to play and be creative, improvising as you go, really helps to think outside the box and come up with unique and rewarding pieces you can be proud of.
I started by cutting up 2 of Bari J’s panel fabrics Plaid Tales and Stripped Narrative. I knew right away I wanted to use the Stripped Narrative in the strip piecing method to create the easiest chevron design. Playing with the direction of the different stripes in the collection was one of my favorite things to do because it allows you to create even more fun movement in your quilting projects bringing your project to life. I paired the strips I cut from the panel with more strips and prints from the collection that complimented it and that also gave me a good amount of contrast to make things flow and each print shine. To help with this I also used AGF Decostitch and Floral Elements.
One of the best things by far I am so happy AGF supplies us quilters with is the blenders and Pure Solids that match back with every new collection that comes out, which takes out the guess work when creating quilts and matching back fabrics. They do all the hard work which gives us more time to sew! I highly recommend you take advantage of this great tool by clicking on any collection you are sewing with and click on a fabric swatch in the collection and at the bottom of the page you can scroll through the curated blenders AGF chooses to match back beautifully with the collection.
Placing my strips at varying width 2 ½” apart I sewed strips together and lined up my 45 degree line on my ruler to the bottom of the strip set and cut a clean edge and cut out as many 3” strips as I could.
I followed the video and made another strip set with my strips going in the opposite direction to get the other half of my chevron design and alternating my piercings to get a chevron design below. You can use this technique to create a full quilt or make a big enough section to make bags, pillows, even garments to add a bit of patchy boho style to your wardrobe!
I also played around with sewing strips together and using different rulers to cut out triangle shapes to create intricate looking HST’s.
I used square rulers on point to create a string block and cut out four of them to create this X block design below but have fun turning your pieces and creating different style blocks just by placing them in different directions. For this block I cut out strips from the Plaid Tales panel showcasing the fun plaids and cross stitch folk art designs, mixing them back with AGF blenders to really make them stand out.
If strip piecing wasn’t already magical enough you will find that you can even create additional blocks by using your left over scraps. With the scraps left over after cutting out my string blocks to create the block above I was able to use these left over triangle scraps to create this block below!
Using another triangle ruler and shape you can sew your strip piece triangles together to create a whole quilt, maybe alternating solids or AGF blenders triangles to add to the quilt design. It's just as easy as that!
Or sew your triangles into octagon designs. I would love to turn the octagon block I made into a placemat or make a bigger one to make a large mediation poof to sit or lounge on!
I loved the main design on the Plaid Tales panel that I needed to give it some love by fussy cutting out the two birds perched facing each other with the beautiful cross stitch floral looking designs and elements. I used strip piecing units I cut to create a border to frame it. I decided to pair it back with some AGF Floral elements as well.
My first impression after creating this block was I need to turn it into a tote bag! Even continuing another border to make it larger and turning it into a pillow would be so dreamy!
I had left over sub-cut strip pieces and started playing around with sewing them to other left over strips I didn’t use and made a striped patch block. The sky is the limit here with the directions you can take and explore when sewing with Anthology Fabrics. I can see this patchwork piece inserted into a back of a jean jacket for a upcyled new look.
I also couldn’t pass up the chance to fussy cute the elegant bloom in the,“Ribboned Blossoms Tart” print! For this block I wanted to make it a lil bit less loud and busy and go more monochromatic. I knew I wanted to frame it using a four patch square design. The easiest way to do that is sew two strips together, sub-cut and arrange your units to create a four patch block.
As you can see there are so many ways to quilt with Bari J’s Anthology collection but I haven’t even made a dent into all that you can do with this collection. I hope this is a great starting point for you and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on this collection and have a well needed weekend cutting into the beautiful works of art Bari J created for us! You know the question: “If you ever get stranded on a desert island and you can only bring one thing, what would it be?” Well, if I had to choose one fabric collection to sew with for my entire life I would hands down never get tired of sewing with Anthology Fabrics! Make sure to tag us using the hashtag #AGFAnthology with all your creations!
Raise your hand if you enjoy the binding process of a quilt or sewing project? That's so great if your hand is up but I know for me and many others the binding process can get a bit stressful, tricky, and never come out the way you hoped. For years after I started quilting I was terrified of the binding stage and never actually finished a quilting project. Making quilt tops was my jam, starting a new one before finishing the first one and a lot of times working on 4 quilts at a time. What can I say, I like to switch it up and keep it interesting! So it's easy to say I have tons of quilt tops in my closets that need to be turned into quilts and be loved and cherished the way a quilt should be, not sitting unfinished, in a closet collecting dust. Which is why I am so excited to start working with AGF’s 2.5 Edition binding.
Since having my first child almost 4 years ago, (she will be four in June) I have been out of the quilting/ sewing game. I stopped sewing maybe two months before she was born and never really got back into it. I would force myself to do projects here and there but life always seemed to get in the way. Sewing throughout my life has brought me so much joy and comfort in hard times, so not doing something I loved started to weigh heavily on me. Can any one tell me, why do we stop doing the things we love during stressful times?! I know life doesn’t always make things easy and we can easily be swung off course but I am so excited to be back in a space creating and talking to this amazing community of sewing friends.
I know AGF’s 2.5 Edition binding is going to be a game changer for everyone. When I heard AGF had came out with this unique product I was thrilled to get my hands on it. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the AGF headquarters in March and was able to play with all of the 2.5 Edition prints. I got lost for hours cutting and folding the strips in all the different ways to show off all the adorable small scale designs. Before I dive too deep into the amazingness that is AGF’s 2.5 Edition, we have an amazing video playlist on Youtube where you can learn the ins and outs of binding with AGF’s 2.5 Edition. The videos show the process of binding a quilt, gives you an idea of the variety of print options, and will spark creativity for your next sewing project.
What struck me most about this revolutionary product was how versatile it was. You can choose the prints that show up on the back and front of your projects and I loved that it was 2.5 width, my only and favorite way to bind! Also there are so many different 2.5 prints to choose from at least 40 prints and counting. For many of our new collections we release we come out with a binding curated just for that collection as well as previously designed options that were created to mix and match back perfectly with our previous collections that you may own.
Another thing that fascinated me so much about the 2.5 Edition is it can be used for so much more than binding. When I was going through the 2.5 strips I had cut I saw how you can use it as trim, embellishments, piping, strip piecing projects, wherever you want to add a splash of detail to in any project you are working on to take it to the next level. Check out our 2.5 Edition Fabric Lookbook below for all the inspiring ways to use it in your projects.
I literally can’t say enough great things about AGF’s 2.5 Edition except that you need to touch it and play with it yourself to really grasp how amazing it is. Below is a list of shops that carry our 2.5 Edition Binding so you can get your hands on some today. I am so delighted to see what you all think, so please comment below or reach out to us with all your thoughts and make sure to show off all your makes using our 2.5 Edition!
Want to get into some cute fun projects right now using AGF’s 2.5, check out this fun tutorial with tips and tricks for binding curves making this useful potholder to add a pop of homemade into your kitchen.
As I continue to use AGF’s 2.5 Edition in my upcoming projects I would love to take you on my journey showing clever hacks and techniques in using this product in all your quilting and sewing projects! This fool proof way of binding has got me feeling extremely confident and ready to tackle all those unfinished projects!
Fastest Project Yet- Quick and Easy Table Runner using Anthology Panel by Bari J