Crazy Quilt Block 98 Pattern and Hand Embroidery Details

Crazy quilt block 98 is a dark 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. This block is part of a dark diagonal line that runs across the quilt.

My challenge with this quilt was to have all the crazy quilt blocks reading properly while also  pulling everything on the quilt from my stash!

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

Crazy Quilt Block 98 Fabric content:

Piece 1: Soft dress linen
Piece 2: After 5 wear metallic fabric
Piece 3: Crepe
Piece 4: After 5 wear metallic fabric
Piece 5: Cotton Satin
Piece 6: Polycotton
Piece 7: Polycotton
Piece 8: Silk

Item Count: 

When I made this quilt I set myself a challenge to use 2001 unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons as it is a Y2K quilt. The list below represents the items documented to date in this series.

Fabric: 8
Lace, braid and ribbon: 3
Buttons and charms: 7
Total items on this block: 18

Total tally of items on the quilt so far: 1875

Crazy Quilt Block 98 free Pattern

How I hand embroidered the seams on Crazy Quilt Block 98

This seam is embroidered with half Herringbone and half Cretan Stitch using a hand dyed silk thread before adding bugle beads.

Here two line of detached chain stitches are laced with chainette thread before adding bugle beads.

The edge of the velvet ribbon was decorated with detached chain stitches and bugle beads.The charm is a souvenir I collected in London. I took it off a key ring.

This lace was added tot he block while I peace it. I picked out the pattern  with seed beads. Along  the edge I worked a line of half buttonhole wheels before adding seed beads to the middle of each one.

This line of Chevron Stitch was worked in cotton perle #5 before using jewellery findings  as little flowers. Each is secured to the block with the seed bead in the middle.

On this seam I worked a line of Feather Stitch before adding the seed beads.

The button cluster on Block 98.

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.