Crazy Quilt Block 95 Pattern and Hand Embroidery Details

Crazy quilt block 95 is weird mix of stuff! As readers know when I made this quilt one of my personal challenges was to use my stuff on it since it is a Y2K quilt not only was I drawing from stash but I wanted to find and use 2001 unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons.

So… some blocks like this one were a challenge. That said it was on blocks like this that I learnt the most. By this stage of the process I was using anything that would make up a block so that piece 4 is Elastic lace used in underwear construction in order to stabilise it I backed it with cotton. I guess no one can accuse me of being a fabric snob.

As usual you can click on the photo to see a larger version of the block.

Crazy Quilt Block 95 Fabric content:

Piece 1: Soft furnishing fabric polycotton
Piece 2: Quilters cotton
Piece 3: Soft furnishing fabric polycotton
Piece 4: Elastic lace used in underwear backed with cotton
Piece 5: Soft furnishing fabric polycotton
Piece 6: Quilters cotton
Piece 7: Soft furnishing fabric polycotton
Piece 8: Cotton covered with nylon lace

Item Count: 

The on going item count below represents the unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons documented this series of articles. In other words I am using this series to check the count!

Fabric: 8
Lace, braid and ribbon: 3
Buttons and charms: 9
Total items on this block: 20

Total tally of items on the quilt so far: 1818

Crazy Quilt Block 95 free Pattern

How I hand embroidered the seams on Crazy Quilt Block 95

On this patch (Piece 7) I covered the plain cotton with some nylon lace. I then embroidered these small motifs. I created them using cotton perle #5 thread to work Oyster stitch. I added some straight stitches in a Metallic thread to and then finished them off by adding a small bead.

This seam is covered with Twisted Chain Stitch worked in Rayon Ribbon Floss and then I added the black bugle beads.

This extended seam started off with a line of Buttonhole stitch worked in cotton perle #5 thread, to which I added detached chain stitches that are worked in a hand dyed fine crochet  cotton. I left the space for the bagel beads and added them last. On the other side of the buttonhole I added straight stitches and Oyster stitch worked in stranded cotton floss (2 stands).

Ric Rac was first attached to cover this seam, then I secured it firmly with Zig zag chain stitch. I then worked straight stitches using a hand dyed,  fine crochet cotton before adding the black seed beads.

Two seams can be seen in the photo above. The most noticeable consists of two lines of Detached chain stitches laced with Chenille thread.  Above the buttons is a smaller seam that  is Herringbone stitch that is laced with a second thread. Also you can see a piece of recycled jewellery that I added as charm. It is hand painted and quite delightful.

These are some of the vintage buttons I used on the block.

If you are a new reader to this site the I Dropped the Button Box Quilt is set with blocks that are arranged by colour in diagonal lines.   My challenge was to have all the crazy quilt blocks reading properly while also  pulling everything on the quilt from my stash!

This article is part of a series that offers a free block patterns from my crazy quilt called I dropped the button box while also documenting each block which are listed on the CQ details FAQ page. You can read more about the quilt there.

 

Have you seen my book?

 

My book The Visual Guide to Crazy Quilting Design: Simple Stitches, Stunning Results  shares detailed practical methods on how to design and make a crazy quilt. Topics such as fabric choice, tricky challenges like balancing colour, texture and pattern, and how to create movement to direct your viewers eye around the block are covered in detail. I also explain how to stitch and build decorative seam treatments in interesting and creative ways. My book is profusely illustrated as my aim is to be practical and inspiring.

 

Stitchers Templates

As someone who loves crazy quilting and embroidery, I designed these templates with other stitchers in mind. With my templates, you can create hundreds of different patterns to apply to your stitching and crazy quilting projects. They are easy to use, totally clear so you can position them easily and they are compact in your sewing box.

To see what they look like, find out about the free ebook of patterns that come with them visit the information pages. Or go directly to the Pintangle shop to purchase them.