Crazy Quilt Block 99 Pattern and Hand Embroidery Details

Crazy quilt block 99 is another favourite from my I Dropped the Button Box quilt. Regular readers will know that when I made this quilt one of my personal challenges was to use up some of my stash and since it is a Y2K quilt I wanted to find and use 2001 unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons.

Sometimes when you have to pull from your stash you end up doing something different and selecting a colour scheme you would not normally work. That is what happened with this block.It is far more softer than I usually worked at that time. You can click on the photo to see a larger version.

Crazy Quilt Block 99 Fabric content:

Piece 1: Synthetic mix brocade
Piece 2: Synthetic
Piece 3: Silk Brocade
Piece 4: Soft furnishing fabric
Piece 5: Silk
Piece 6: Velvet
Piece 7: Synthetic

Item Count: 

The on going item count list below represents the items documented to date in this series of articles. As I have said my aim was to use 2001 unique pieces of fabric, lace, braids, charms, buttons or ribbons. Since this is block 99 you can see what is happening- I am going to be short. I realised this as stitched blocks too but I did come up with a solution which I will share on block 100. ( I am mean I know…)

Fabric: 7
Lace, braid and ribbon: 2
Buttons and charms:8
Total items on this block: 17

Total tally of items on the quilt so far: 1892

Crazy Quilt Block 99 free Pattern

 

How I hand embroidered the seams on Crazy Quilt Block 99

When I pieced the block I included this nylon lace.I decorated it with Detached Chain stitches, Oyster stitches, Quarter Buttonhole Wheels, Straight stitches and seed beads.

This seam started with fly stitch worked in a hand dyed cotton thread. I then added Detached Chain Stitches and French  Knots.

These stitches are Quarter buttonhole wheels worked in cotton perle #5 thread

This seam is hand embroidered with Feather stitch worked in cotton perle #5 and decorated with detached Chain stitches and seed beads.

The stitches used in this floral motif is whipped chain stitch for the stems, the flowers are Bullion Knots wrapped in Detached chain stitch, with a French knot in the middle. The leaves are made from detached chain stitch.  The threads are a hand dyed silk.

The button cluster is a mix of modern plastic buttons and vintage buttons.
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. I cover such topics as fabric choice, tricky challenges like balancing colour, texture and pattern, and how to direct your viewers eye around the block. I cover 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

My templates aim to help you take your stitching to the next level. Designed by an embroiderer for embroiderers. With them you can create hundreds of different hand embroidery patterns to embellish your seams  with flair. These templates are easy to use, made of clear plastic so you can position them easily and are compact in your sewing box.

These are simple to use. You simply position the template in place and use a quilter’s pencil to trace along the edge of the template. Stitch along this line to decorate the seam. I have a free ebook of patterns to accompany each set which illustrates how they can be used.

TO ORDER your Stitchers Templates

Crazy Quilt Templates set 1 you will find here 
Crazy Quilt Templates set 2 you will find here 

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