A very warm ‘welcome aboard’ if you’re joining me from the Moda Bakeshop, I hope you’re enjoying this month’s Building Blocks series and discovering new ways to use those scrummy pre-cuts.
I was thrilled to bits to get the chance to share a tutorial for Half Rectangle Triangles as I love what they can bring to my quilts, whether it’s a steep roof, pointy beak or fluttering sail, they always add so much personality. Now, the best way I know to keep your piecing skills shipshape is by repetition, so I've put together a fun cushion project for you to practise your Half Rectangle Triangles, inspired by a wonderful ferry journey from Falmouth to St. Mawes.
To make a 14” x 24” cushion cover you will need...
½ yd of background fabric
2 white print Layer (10” square)
4* white print Charm squares (5" squares)
4* light blue charms
4* mid blue print charms
4* white print charms
14½” x 24½” piece of lining fabric
2 14½” squares of fabric for cushion back
16” x 26” piece of fusible cotton batting
{Fabric is the delicious 'Feedsacks: True Blue' by Linzee Kull McCray for Moda}
* I wanted my waves to be in the same print so I cut all four 5” Charms from a 10” Layer.
Cutting...
1. From the background fabric, cut 1 10" strip. Subcut 1 10" square before trimming your strip to 8½" wide, then subcut 1 8½" x 13" piece and 1 8½" x 5" piece. Finally, cut 1 2½" strip and subcut 1 2½" x 24½" piece and 1 2½" x 3½" piece.
Piecing the waves...
2. Using your preferred method from the Moda Bakeshop Tutorial and the dark-blue and light-blue Charm squares, make 3 2” x 4” Forward HRTs and 3 2” x 4” Backward HRTs (Please note: that's their finished size and your units should actually measure 2½” x 4½” before they’re sewn together).
3. Alternating the Forward and Backward units, join them, short sides together, to make row.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 with the white print and mid-blue Charm squares.
Piecing the sails...
5. Using the white print Layers and the background 10” square, make a 4” x 8” Forward HRT and a 3” x 6” Backward HRT.
6. Join the 2½” x 3½” background piece to the top of the small sail, pressing away from the sail, then join the two sails together, pressing the seam open.
7. Join the 8½” x 13” and 8½” x 5” background pieces to each side of the sails, again pressing away from the sails.
Assembling the cushion front...
8. Assemble the cushion front in rows, as shown below, pressing the seams open.
9. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to fuse the batting to the cushion front and then follow steps 6-11 of my Festival Cushion Tutorial to finish your cushion cover. I chose my favourite print from True Blue for the back...
I hand-quilted my cushion front - to echo the wave pattern - and added a pair of wheeling Seagull silhouettes, using pale grey embroidery thread and simple back stitch (you can find my tips for adding embroidery to quilt blocks in the Moon & Star tutorial, here).
I hope this project brings back memories of bracing coastal walks, salty air and the soothing sound of the sea wherever you live. Thanks for sailing by...
EDIT: There's a printable PDF of this pattern that you can download, here...
Nicola xx