Welcome!
I'm so excited to be here for the Dot Crazy Blog Hop with Benartex. These vibrant, cheerful designs by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr were so fun to work with. I had a hard time narrowing down the palette since I loved all the prints! I decided to feature the Fun & Games print in blue so I could fussy cut for a kaleidoscope effect. Check out Weeks and Bill's fussy cutting video tutorial.
My table runner is made of three blocks and finished at about 10" x 30". It is quilted with 50 wt Aurifil #2600 (Dove) and features Small Dot in yellow, Jax in blue, Maze in purple, and Fun & Games in blue, all from the Dot Crazy line.
Here's a peek of the Fun & Games prints that I fussy cut for my block's centers. You could get quite a variety of centers from this one print.
BLOCK TUTORIAL
My 10" finished blocks are made from four identical sections. Here's how to create your own!
Fussy cut four 3 1/2" identical squares. (You'll only see about half of the print in the finished block.) Note: These squares are not cut on grain. You'll have bias edges on these squares, so take care to not stretch the fabric as you sew. New to fussy cutting? There are great tips for how to mark your ruler to help with precision in Weeks and Bill's video.
For each section of the block you'll need (1) fussy cut 3 1/2" square, (1) 4 1/2" square of background (yellow), and (2) 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles of a contrasting value/color (blue and purple). Remember, you'll need four of these sets for one finished 10" block.
Sew 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangle to 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" background square. Press seams open.
Sew second 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangle to unit as shown. Press seams open.
On the wrong side, mark 2" from the edge of each 1 1/2" rectangle.
Using a ruler, mark a line connecting these two dots. (Top edge of ruler shown.)
Align unit from above with fussy cut square, right sides together so edges line up as shown. Corners of fussy cut square should touch dots from previous step.
Flip over this fabrics, your marked line is your sew line. Sew on this line. Then trim 1/4" from sewn line and press seams open.
Tada! Here's the first of four sections for your block. Paying attention to placement of each fabric, make 4 identical sections. These should measure 5 1/2" square.
Putting four identical units together will create a kaleidoscopic center to your block!
GIVEAWAY (US addresses only) - GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED
For your chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Dot Crazy fabrics, leave any comment below. Newsletter subscribers can leave a second comment for a bonus entry. (Not a subscriber yet? Subscribe in the purple bar at the top of my blog, click to confirm your subscription in the email that comes to you, and leave a comment on this post telling me you're a new subscriber.) Entry deadline is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, December 26. I will email the randomly selected winner and they will have 48 hours to reply with their (US) shipping address or I will select a new winner. EDIT: Angela J Short is our winner! :-)
Be sure to visit the other stops on the Dot Crazy Blog Hop:
Dot Crazy Intro and Interview @ Sew in Love with Fabric
Technique Tuesday Fussy Cutting Tutorial @ Sew in Love with Fabric
Dots Squares @ Love to Color My World
Thank you for visiting!