Bree Blog Hop: Day 4

Welcome to our Bree blog hop! We're excited to show you what four different designers have created with the Nancy Halvorsen's gorgeous new fabric collection! If you missed our introduction to Bree, find it here.

The bright and cheery colors of Bree fit beautifully with these sunny August days! With so many aquas and navies in the collection, a sailboat wall hanging seemed like the perfect seasonal project. The Bree by the Sea wall hanging combines an improv-pieced background with applique--two fun techniques to play with! 

Measures 18-1/2" x 20"

Materials:

1 fat quarter each: aqua dot, aqua berries on white, white/gray dot, white berries on navy, navy dot, green vine, red stripe, orange stripe, gray dot circle, yellow dot circle, and navy/aqua plaid

24" square of backing fabric

24" square of batting

Fusible web

Cutting:

Note: Click here to download the template pages. 

From the aqua dot:

(5) 21" long strips, ranging in width from 1-1/2" to 4" (Note: You'll want wider strips for top and bottom; the three strips in the center can be narrower)

From the aqua berries on white:

(2) 21" long strips, ranging in width from 1-1/2" to 2-1/2"

From the white/gray dot:

(2) 21" long strips, ranging in width from 1-1/2" to 2-1/2"

From the white berries on navy:

(1) 9" x 21" strip (for water; see step 5)

From the navy dot: 

Wave pieces #1-#5*

From the green vine:

Boat* 

From the red stripe:

Large Sail*

From the orange stripe:

Small Sail*

From the gray dot circle:
(1) 1-1/2" x 12" strip

From the yellow dot circle:

Sun

From the navy/aqua plaid:

(5) 2-1/4" x 21" strips for binding

*Trace template pieces onto the paper side of fusible web and cut out loosely around each shape. Fuse to the wrong side of indicated fabric and cut out on the drawn lines.

Make the Wall Hanging:

Note: Piecing the sky uses a relaxed improv method to create a strippy, slightly angled sky. Your sky may look different based on strip width or angles of the strips (i.e. you may need more or fewer strips). Follow the directions below and continue piecing sky strips to cover approximately 16" of the batting, from the top down.

1. Position a wide strip of aqua dot right side up near the top edge of the binding. Position an aqua berry on white strip on top, right sides facing, angling it slightly. 

2. Stitch along the raw edge, following the angle of the white strip, and press open. 

3. Continue adding strips, varying colors and widths, and changing the angle of each new strip.

4. This is what our finished background looked like. (Note the wide piece of aqua dot at the bottom--after you position the water, you can trim this so the water just covers the aqua dot.)

5. Position the water fusible shape on the wrong side of the white berries on navy strip so the wavy edge is near the top edge of the strip. Fuse in place and cut out on the wavy line. Position on the background as desired, trim aqua dot strip if needed, and then fuse the water in place. For reference, our sky section measures about 14" to the water's edge in this photo, the water section measures approximately 9". 

6. Apply fusible web to the wrong side of the 1-1/2" x 12-1/2" dot circle gray strip. From this fused strip, cut out a 1/2" x 11" piece for the mast. 
7. Continue adding applique pieces to the background. Lay out the pieces before fusing in place; you may need to trim the mast (tuck the end under the boat as well). When you're satisfied with placement, fuse in place. 

8. Fuse the five navy dot waves to the water, making sure wave #1 covers the bottom edge of the boat. Use the photo below to help with suggested placement. 

9. If desired, machine stitch the appliqued pieces to secure (We did this as part of the quilting process.) Layer the quilt top (which already includes batting) on the backing. Trim batting to approximately 1" past quilt top edges for easier handling. Machine quilt as desired, outlining applique shapes if you haven't already secured them. 
10. Square up the quilt; ours measures 18-1/2" x 20" (yours may vary slightly--center your design and make sure there's at least 1" background extending past all appliques except waves). 

11. Sew the (5) 2-1/4" x 21" navy/aqua check binding strips short ends together into a long strip and bind as desired. Enjoy!

For a chance to win a bundle of Bree fabrics, leave a comment below letting us know your favorite summer activity. Giveaway is open through Monday, August 14th at 11:59 pm EDT. 

Make sure to follow along on all four days of our Bree hop!

Tuesday: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts

Wednesday: Stephanie from Stitched Together Studios

Thursday: Kristen from KD Quilts

Friday: Benartex blog design team

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