Crazy quilt Block 75 is a neutral colour scheme that fits the set of the I dropped the button box quilt. It is part of the light the diagonal line of blocks that runs across the quilt. If you click on the image of the quilt you will see a larger photograph of it.
The I dropped the button box quilt is made up of 100, 6 inch blocks and I have diagramed each block my readers. I have written a series of articles about each of the 100 blocks each with a free block pattern. Links in the article lead to tutorials on how to work the hand embroidery stitches that I used at the time which means the series has become a huge offering of free crazy quilt block patterns, techniques, and tips on how to decorate seams with hand embroidery. Links to these free pattern pages are listed on the CQ details FAQ page.
Fabrics and Items used in Crazy quilt block 75
This quilt was a Y2K challenge as the idea was to use 2001 unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons. The on going item count list below is the ongoing count. This block is made of cotton. Rarely in this quilt is a block of one type of fabric. The bottom left hand corner is cotton covered by vintage lace.
On this quilt I used 2001 unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons. Each piece is different as it I wanted to have 2001 different pieces to make it a Y2K quilt. The on going item count listed below represents the items listed to date in this series of articles.
Fabric: 6
Lace, braid and ribbon: 3
Buttons and charms: 10
Total items on this block: 19
Total tally of items on the quilt so far: 1434
Details on Crazy quilt block 75
The first detail I would like to draw your attention to is a seam covered in vintage cotton lace that I have then decorated further with long tail chain stitches, French knots, Fly stitch, Detached chain stitches and seed beads. I used cotton perle #5 (the white thread) , #8 (the tan thread) and #12 (the pink thread)
Feather stitch is worked in cotton perle thread #5 along the seam that runs alongside piece 3. The piece is a patch of cotton that has been covered with vintage lace. I tucked the lace into seam as I pieced the block. The butterfly is hand carved from China.
Running alongside some antique hand made lace is a simple embellishment of straight stitches in hand dyed cotton perle #8 and added seed beads to the end of each stitch. It is a little addition that did not over power the lace.
The seam embellishment on the block that could easily be missed consists of few stitches of twisted chain stitch worked in cotton perle # 5. I think the eye is drawn to the buttons and people miss the seam but that is not a problem as I don’t want everything on block screaming at you.
This is the last detail is made up of a cluster of vintage and modern buttons. I call these button clusters as that is what they are. I love adding buttons to a quilt but it does make the quilt heavy particularly if the buttons are vintage or metal!
Here is what I call a button tassel. It is made of seed beads and this case the button is vintage. The seam that can be seam is a row of herringbone stitch which I worked using cotton perle # 5 thread and I then laced it with white cotton perle # 3 thread.
Free tutorials and Crazy quilt block patterns
Have you enjoyed this series? If so you may be interested in a tutorial I have written on how to work decorative crazy quilt seams. When I converted it to a PDF file I realised how comprehensive it was. At 19 pages of information it is a mini ebook and resource worth investigating!
This article is part of a series that highlight the hand embroidered seams and Crazy Quilt details on my I Dropped the Button Box quilt. The patterns provided in this series are free for personal use. For the rest of the blocks see the list on the CQ details FAQ page.
Have you seen my book?
My book The Visual Guide to Crazy Quilting Design: Simple Stitches, Stunning Results
Follow Pintangle and have it delivered to your inbox
You can have Pintangle delivered to your inbox by using the subscribe feature in the sidebar. Enter your email address, and when you get the confirmation email make sure you respond to be all set!
If you are on a mobile or tablet scroll to the bottom to find the subscribe feature.
