Want the ultimate stash busting beginner friendly quilt? This is it! Check out the pattern on PayHip!
- only squares and rectangles with detailed diagrams at each step
- the prints require (4) quarter yard cuts or fat quarters, plus just over half a yard for the X in the center. Add in two yards of background and you’re ready to go!
- 55″ x 55″ keeps the quilt large enough to be usable but still within the throw size for batting and quilting on domestic machines.
This quilt is based on the T-Square fractal and I love how fast it comes together! My genuine obsession with the Good Vibes fabric collection from Christa Quilts will be no surprise for people watching my instagram. A big part of that obsession is trying to find designs that let each fabric shine. I used the Gum Balls fabric here plus the Benartex superior solid black as the background. Then free motion quilted it with a darker grey thread. I had enough of the blue leftover to use for binding. My son is currently hiding under this quilt as I’m writing this post.
The basis of this T-square fractal variation is reducing the size of the squares according to the Fibonacci sequence. When we move up in the Fibonacci sequence, we add the previous two numbers to get the next. We are given the first two starting numbers: 0 and 1. So the next would be 1 (0 + 1), then 2 (1 + 2), 3 (2 + 1), 5 (3 + 2), 8 (5 + 3), etc.
The beauty of this design is having a balance of large and small areas. Large prints get ample room, and delicate textures get to shine around them.
My patten testing version came together in one open sew day at my LQS and another evening. I chose to use my stash of the serpent pattern (ok apparently “Dream”, officially) from Rise by Ruby Star Society. Ever have some fabrics where you have zero idea how you’ll use them but you must have them in your stash for that perfect moment? The three color ways of the serpents were mine.
I got one yard of each and was set with a challenge: how to showcase these fabrics but not need more than the single yards that I had? Easily solved with the X-Squared pattern. This print was fantastic to work with because each square I cut became a fussy cut. There was enough slack in each of the strips that I was able to do a little bit of fussy cutting along the way. I used some of the cream background from the line and then some bright pink Speckled for the binding.
I used hand quilting with 12wt thread to echo around the print fabrics, and added a line of red through the the “X” in the center.
I’m new to pattern design, but my pattern testing experiences have shown the need for testing! The amazing Xole volunteered for the job. Her version is spectacular! I love how she used the contrast to also play with the textures.
Which kind of version will you make? I’d love to see! Tag any instagram posts with #xsquaredlavacat. And see the latest here!
Lava Cat Designs 