I have a finished quilt to show you today, just in time for Halloween. This Halloween quilt pattern is actually a halloweenified (real word) version of my Easy Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt pattern. (Blog post here on this pattern in alternate colours.)
The Easy Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt pattern has instructions for 5 sizes – baby, throw, twin, queen and king. For my Halloween quilt I chose the throw size as I knew I wanted something decorative for the couch.
Fabric for a Halloween Quilt Pattern
Lucky for me I have quite an assortment of fabric stashed away, so it was easy to find what I needed. I lit a candle and communed with the spirits – they advised that I needed a mix of orange, light grey, dark grey and black fabrics. I had a nice mix of fat quarters, partial fat quarters and fat eighths. It was great to use up all these odds and ends in a quilt.
If your Halloween quilting fabrics are running low, there are some very cute collections like these over at the Fat Quarter Shop (if you’re in North America) or check out The Next Stitch if you’re in Australia.
Quilting and Backing
Dear Reader, this is where our tale takes a dark and foreboding turn into…minky. I chose to back this Halloween quilt pattern with minky.
Minky is a very soft and snuggly substrate that is perfect for a couch quilt, which is exactly why I chose it. I have used minky one time in the past – to back a small baby quilt (blog post about that can be found here). Let me say that backing a small baby mat and backing a large throw are two very different situations.
Minky is heavy compared to quilting fabric. This gives it wonderful warmth and weight, but it does make the quilting experience a bit of a horror story. (Okay, so it wasn’t a horror story, I’m just trying to keep the Halloween vibe going, ha.) It was however, hard going for my machine, and required a bit more wrestling and weight-supporting than I’ve been used to.
I’m happy to say that my favourite 505 basting spray was able to hold the minky without a problem. As I rolled my quilt edges up in preparation for quilting I could feel all the weight in it. I had originally planned some medium-dense straight line quilting but immediately began to question my plan as I lifted the quilt to my machine.
After I sewed my first straight line down the middle of the quilt, my checkerboard design quickly became “minimal straight lines along the length of the quilt”. It was slow going, but I got there in the end. (Some solid tips for successful straight line quilting, on quilting cotton, can be found here :)
Binding my Halloween Quilt Pattern
My choice of binding fabric was guided by what was in my stash (no Ouija board required). I had the perfect three-quarter yard of an Alison Glass fabric in charcoal. Excellent.
I machine sewed the complete binding, using a zigzag stitch to sew the final finish. You can read more about my zigzag binding method in this blog post.
Trying to get some cat photographs
While I was taking these photos of my Halloween quilt, our cats were hanging around.
I thought “this is a great opportunity to photograph the cats in those Halloween costumes I impulse-purchased at Kmart last week”. Because what says Halloween more than cats in angel and devil costumes on a quilt?!
Unfortunately the cats didn’t agree. This was the best photo I could get of Tigger and Lulu on the quilt:
Oh dear. I thought maybe if they won’t pose together, perhaps photographing them separately would work. I even roped in one of the kids to help me.
Well, Tigger live up to his costume:
Seriously, what an angel!
Then I spoke to Lulu about posing and she flat out refused.
NOPE.
Ah well, it was worth a try. It’s also funny how fitting each costume is to each cat’s personality. (When I asked the kids which cat should get which costume, it was unanimous – Lulu is the devil!)
Thanks for dropping by and reading about my latest Halloween quilt. And if you’d like to make an easy, FQ and remnant-friendly quilt then head over to the shop and grab yourself a copy of my Easy Disappearing Nine-Patch Quilt Pattern!
What adorable cats. Cats and quilting go together !
Definitely – it’s a perfect match!
We thought about buying those wings for your puppies, but they would have eaten them in no time flat. They are puppies, but big, and they eat everything they can lay their paws on.
Yes, the eating is a problem, ha. Our cats did have a little nibble attempt but I think they realised quickly that they weren’t terribly tasty.
Oh Heavenly Stars! What wonderful models. Can we expect more from them in Vogue? I love the new quilt as well. I have one (ok several) in process then this will join the queque. Promised a neck tie quilt to nephew who is the 5rd Joseph in the family and have collected ties from all generations. Now – I actually need to do it!
A necktie quilt – what a fantastic idea! Good luck with it.
The cats send their love :)
Always good to catch up with what you’re sewing. Reading your blog every week has kept my sewing vibes going this last 6 months as we moved from one coast of the US (Florida) to another (Oregon). I was finally able to get the machine out and doing a sewing last week. It felt so amazing! Thanks for all the pics and joy
Hi Bev, I’m so glad you were able to get your machine out again and that the blog/newsletter has kept sewing in your mind.
Have fun getting reacquainted!
‘- LuLu and Tigger. No doggies? I still have 1 cat- he will be the LAST! Once had 8 dogs but 2 died, so down to 6. I know- you can subtract! But I’m trying to keep the count in my head! 3 weeks ago yesterday I rescued yet another dog. The lady that brought her said she’d rescued Izzy from shiztue(sp) place & if I didn’t take her, Izzy would go to a shelter. Alrighty then! So back to SEVEN dogs. the 3 girls stay pretty much inside, 4 boys pretty much outside. I’ve been quilting since 1980- yeah, I’m an old woman. I just found you today & am enjoying what you’ve posted! Also, I needed that quarter square chart so that’s what brought you to my attention. THANK YOU! OH- my grand daughters would LOVE those wings and horns for their cats. Where could i find those?
Hi Alicia! No, no doggies in this house. The cat costumes were from Kmart in Australia, but I’m sure there would be something similar in the US (Kmart or Target or that sort of big box store). Good luck with your menagerie!