Playful Textures for Easy Appliqué Quilts

Class Preview

Learn to easily enhance the texture and interest of any quilt through three fun projects. Create sweet fusible appliqués, darling dimensional embellishments and much more.

Pumpkin Quilt Background

Meet your instructors, DIY artists Kris Thurgood and Kim Christopherson. They’ll be tag-teaming to teach you a variety of fun techniques for creating and embellishing three adorable quilts. You’ll dive right into your first lesson with Kim as she shows you how to create a colorful disappearing nine-patch border for a pumpkin quilt, using simple techniques that produce stunning results.

Pumpkin Quilt Appliqués

Using the templates included with your class, Kris will guide you through the creation of a fusible pumpkin appliqué. Then learn to make your own chenille fabric for more delightfully dimensional pumpkins. Kris shares tips for laying out and securing your design elements before fusing them or sewing them on by machine with a blanket stitch. Add curly rickrack trim for vines and your pumpkins are ready for quilting!

Snowman Quilt Background

Welcome winter with an adorable snowman quilt in bright colors or more traditional hues. Kim points out the features of this fun quilt and gets you started on the snowball border. The snowballs’ rounded edges are created with lots of small patches, but Kim shares easy strategies for quickly cutting and chain-piecing them.

Snowman Quilt Appliqué

With your border and background prepared, Kris walks you through building a snowman using the templates from your class materials. See how to assemble and fuse the snowman’s body, hat, arms and nose, then create a chenille scarf, pink yo-yo cheeks and yo-yo pompom. Finally, you’ll hand-embroider a smile on your friendly snowman.

Kite Quilt Background

Playful pinwheels form the border of a charming kite quilt. Kim gets you set up for success as you choose appropriately contrasting fabrics, then cut and assemble your pinwheel blocks. If you’ve ever been frustrated by the bulk at the center point of your pinwheels, you’ll be delighted to discover Kris and Kim’s “twist and shout” technique for taming those intersecting seams.

Kite Quilt Appliqués

A cheerful kite floating above puffy, ruched flowers will brighten your day, especially when you see how easy these appliqué elements are to make. Kris walks you through the creation of the four-patch kite, then shows you how to make ruched flowers and three-dimensional bows. Your kite will need a tail, which you can make with rickrack or by using your sewing machine’s decorative stitches to couch and embellish yarn. Kris will show you how!

Quilting & Applications

No matter which quilt you choose to make, you’ll want to do some finishing before adding the final embellishments. Kris and Kim explain how you can quilt your project or what instructions to give if you’re having someone else do the quilting. Once your quilt is bound, follow Kim and Kris’ instructions for adding the pumpkins’ leaves, snowman’s scarf, and the flowers for the kite quilt. Then enjoy a trunk show of other fun projects you can make to incorporate the techniques you’ve learned!