I can’t wait to show you my latest quilt I created!
This month I used the Riley Blake fabric Apple of My Eye and made a Raggedy Scallop Baby Quilt with a full tutorial just for you. ENJOY!
Raggedy Scallop Baby Quilt Tutorial
Let’s get started!
Supply List:
2 yards Apple of My Eye-Basket {Pink}
1/2 yard Apple of My Eye-Petals {Pink}
1/2 yard Apple of My Eye-Stripe {Pink}
1/2 yard Apple of My Eye-Dot {Yellow}
1/2 yard Apple of My Eye-Floral {Yellow}
1/4 yard Riley Blake Basic Solids {Pepper}
1 yard Jumbo Ric Rac Teal
and basic sewing essentials.
Start out by cutting 2 pieces of Apple of My Eye- Basket {Pink} at 40” x 28”. This is the main body of the baby quilt. I call these the front panel and the back panel throughout this tutorial. {The back panel is the one with all the scallops!}
Now, grab a circle about the size of scallops you want. I used the bottom of a planter I just bought that has 5” radius. Then I traced half of the circle on freezer paper over and over to create the scallops.
Cut it out and iron it to the fabric to cut your first of 25 scallop strips. I used the first fabric strip as my stencil from here on out. I didn’t want to keep ironing the freezer paper to the fabric. . I did 5 of each fabric design.
Iron them all nice and flat and put 4 aside for the front panel. Get ready to spend a fair amount of time with a pile of your straight pins. You are going to pin 20 scallop strips to your back panel.
I grabbed a ruler and made sure I had the first strip straight all the way across. However, I eyeballed the other strips occasionally measuring to make sure they were going still straight and not diagonal. You don’t want to have them going crooked…on accident, anyway. {It might be cute to do them all at an angle though.}
Now for the sewing!
Start at the top and zigzag stitch the first strips. Remove the pins, fold the strip up to get those scallops out of the way and zigzag stitch the next strip. Remove the pins, fold the strip up and begin again…and again. Do this on all 20 strips.
I folded the strips up and rolled them in so that I was not “wrestling the quilt top” the whole time. It’s a serious party when you get to the last strip; trust me!
Unroll and iron it all out nice and pretty. Put that back panel aside and let’s work on the front panel of the baby quilt.
Front Panel Scallops
You are going to take 4 of your extra scallop strips and place them right sides together. Pin and sew the top (straight edge) and the scalloped edge. Leave the sides open so you can turn the whole thing right side out. Once you have it turned right side out iron it really well…it might take a bit of manipulating to make sure those scallops lay right. Then top stitch the scallops ⅛” seam. Set this finished double-sided scallop strip aside and make another one! These will go on the front of the quilt.
Place one strip 12 ½” from the bottom of the front panel and the other 13” from the bottom. Again make sure they are straight all the way across.
Zigzag stitch the top of each double-sided scallop strip, starting with the bottom one.
Place the Jumbo Ric Rac on top and zigzag stitch it in place (using matching thread). Stand back and admire your finished front panel…Now for the fun part.
Back Panel…AGAIN! Now we are going to sew the scalloped edges of the back panel we were working on earlier. We don’t want them hanging there and fraying like crazy every time you wash it, right?
Start by taking your batting and cutting it to fit the back panel exactly. Now put some safety pins in it; we don’t want the batting to move and bunch while you are sewing ALL these raw edged scallops. {NOTE: DO NOT PIN THE FRONT PANEL TO THE BACK AT THIS POINT. I knew that if I sewed the raw edge scallops to the front panel at this point I would sew through onto the double-side scallops and I wanted those to be free and hanging…and it would look pretty silly to sew over top of those. I promise this will make sense as you go.} Here’s a photo explanation:
Now that that’s clear, let’s keep going.
Start zigzag sewing ¼” seam on the raw edge of the scallop that hits 13 ½” from the bottom (on the back panel, of course). You are going to do the same thing on the scallops below that one until you hit 10” from the bottom. {NOTE: That is if you put your double-sided scallops where I did on the front. If not, sew down the raw edge scallops on the back where your double-sided ones will lay on the front.}
Now lay the back panel, batting, and front panel together and PIN THE HECK OUT OF IT. I used safety pins because I knew I would be wrestling the quilt while sewing the zigzags around each scallop strip and I really didn’t want to get pinned with a million straight pins. I have enough of those injuries already. Let the wrestling begin!
You are just going to zigzag stitch ( ¼” seam) all the raw edge scallops starting at the very top and working your way down. I know it sounds daunting, but I got this done in about 2 hours…give or take a couple of interrupting children. You will use the same technique of rolling the quilt as you go as to keep it somewhat out of your way.
When you sew that last raw edge, shake it out and iron it. Take pride in seeing it all come together…you are working hard.
Now square it off and make sure the edges are measuring straight. When I was done squaring it off the quilt was measuring 39 1/4” x 27 1/2”.
It is time to bind your masterpiece…this part scared the heck out of me since I have never done it before. So I did what any good girl would do and I called my mommy. She walked me through it step by step and I am proud to say I did it ALL BY MYSELF.
HOWEVER, There is a FABULOUS tutorial under the Cutting Corners tab at the top of the Riley Blake website, called Binding Basic Tutorial by Deonn Stott. This is exactly how I did my binding. Follow it and you will be well taught!
Now that your quilt has binding, take a sharp, small pair of scissors and cut the scallop edges a bit to help create a great raggy look. Throw it in the washer starting on the rinse cycle (no soap). Let it spin and throw it in the dryer. When it’s done take and iron to it and give it to a beautiful baby…like this!
Kristi says
Love your scalloped quilt!
link designs says
The quilt is deelish and the faric is awesome.
Amelia Poll says
28″ wide seems awfully small for the width of the quilt. Is that really how wide you made it? I am getting my supplies all ready to make this, but I am just a little confused at the sizing of the main body pieces.
Becky Marie says
Yeah, the finished size is 26 1/4″ wide. You can absolutely take the same technique and make it bigger. I would love to see your finished project!
Jani Jo says
This is THE cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time. BY FAR the cutest! I love it:) Way to go!
Hutchkd says
Just a quick question. If you used the same single template to cut them all it would look from symetrical.
Did you then stagger them to the left and right and trim the excess off to create a more organic feel?
Thanks. I cannot wait to make this one!!
Felie Hempfling says
Super cute quilt, the recipient is truly one lucky gal!
GrannyTo8Boys says
I’m in. Looks challenging, doesn’t it?
Margaret Reid says
Seems to me that this adorable little number could be made much easier. How about a quilt as you go project? Lay the top out on your batting and sew the rows on. One over the other until you’ve reached the size you want. On the backing, attach your two rows (or more). Combine the backing and the batting which is now totally covered in scallops, and quilt the scallops down. Bind, and done !
enderbushy says
Very cute!! What kind of foot did you use on your sewing machine?