Here is the double wedding quilt I made for my husband’s sister Cortney. (I blogged about the other sister’s wedding quilt last week). It was a learning curve for me in so many ways. It was the first quilt I sewed using curves! I also learned a ton about machine quilting and marking.
I think every quilter should make at least one double wedding ring quilt as a sort of right of passage. I made this quilt using a precut Quilt Kit from Benartex. This made the top go together easily. The pieces were notched so I could match the seams with lots of pins.
The blocks were sewn a few at a time in partial rows. Melon pieces filled in the edges.
For the machine quilting, I wanted to try a few new things. I stitched around all of the pieced blocks near the ditch with a decorative serpentine stitch. Then I used a washout marking pencil and a stencil to mark a heart motif in each of the block centers. I used a heavyweight variegated thread for the centers and filled in the backgrounds with black metallic thread from Superior Threads.
To get out all of my markings, I filled a small bowl with water and used a toothbrush to scrub them out. It worked pretty well I think. Because this fabric has so much black, the batting bearded a little and I had to use a lint roller on it (next time – black batting!!)
I named this quilt Los Novios (The Lovers) because of the backing fabric. My sister in-law loves the Alexander Henry Day of the Dead fabric so I thought it was a perfect match for the back! When I entered this quilt in a show recently, the quilt judge loved it until she saw the backing. She didn’t think it was appropriate for this quilt, but my sister-in-law absolutely loves it and that’s what’s most important!
I found you while searching for DWR images. Yours caught my eye because of the dark background. I’ve just started cutting the fabric and am also using batiks and want the background to help give the special omph that the batiks deserve. I’ve seen different layouts when the fabric is controlled and am now seriously wishing I had a great big design wall to help with that.
Thanks! The fabrics were all included in the kit from Benartex. It was fun deciding which fabrics to place side by side to make the rings and blocks. I didn’t want any of the same batiks to be next to each other. The kit included a few extra pre-cut pieces so that was nice. I just wish they still offered this one. (I do have a similar quilt available in my shop with traditional 30’s fabrics and muslin – it’s my best-selling kit!)
Hey Christa! I really like the quilt colors. Did you pick them or were they in the Kit? You did a great job. Yvonne
Hi there, coincidentally i am using the exact heart motif as yours which i am hand quilting, but machine quilted around all the rings. i agree, quilters should try the traditional patters as well, although i do love more modern designs. Nicky