Anna has been working on this gorgeous patchwork Liberty quilt made from our Liberty sample packs. Anna tells us about the process..
“This summer, I embarked on a project I’d been daydreaming about for a while – creating a king-size quilt for our bedroom. The idea was to use our Liberty sample packs and incorporate rich, dramatic colours like dark green to match the room’s décor. Here’s how it went, and what I learned along the way…”
“I started by trimming all the sample pieces into squares. I’d never used a rotary cutter before, and wow, what a difference it made! Everything came out so crisp, which made the whole process feel wonderfully precise, albeit it took a while to get used to how hard to press per how many layers of fabric. Once I had all my squares ready, I sorted them by scale – large, medium, and small prints. I felt that this would help with balancing the design across the quilt.”
“Next came the maths. I worked out how many squares I’d need for the entire quilt, dividing them into blocks and figuring out how many of each scale should go into each block. I also decided how much repetition I could live with – after all, a quilt this big inevitably involves repeating some fabrics, but it was all about balance.”
“I turned to YouTube for help with sewing basic patchwork. The tutorials made it easy, and I started by stitching groups of three squares together. This gave me a good foundation for piecing the blocks. Initially, I thought I’d stick to plain patchwork, but after laying out the first blocks of nine squares on my wall, I realized that some sashing between them would really help each block stand out. “
“I tried to make sure no block blended too much with its neighbours. As I worked, I noticed a natural colour story emerging: there’s a definite blue vs. pink vibe, with hints of greens and teals tying everything together. It felt good to see that pattern develop organically.”
“I’ll admit, I got a little obsessed at points! One Saturday night, after a neighbour’s party and perhaps one too many gins, I found myself sewing past midnight. I was bleary-eyed but determined – the quilt was coming together, and I couldn’t stop. (Don’t examine my stitch-in-the-ditch too closely please!).”
“For the border and backing, I took the quilt top into the Alice Caroline studio to experiment with different fabrics. I was torn between going for a bold “Liberty” look with wild colours or something more muted. In the end, I chose a black-and-white non-Liberty lawn for the backing, which contrasts beautifully with the dark green and monochrome tones on the front. It felt like the right balance of bold and subtle.”
“And finally, it’s done! I’m absolutely in love with how it turned out. It’s the perfect weight for spring and summer, and I know it will add an extra layer of warmth when winter rolls around. Making a quilt this size was a real challenge, but seeing it finished and on our bed – especially knowing it matches the room’s dark, dramatic palette – was incredibly rewarding.
If you’re considering using our Liberty sample packs to create something big and bold, I say go for it! You might just find yourself getting wonderfully obsessed along the way too.”
