How this quilt came to be
I love hearts!! All types and all forms. I don’t think anyone can have enough of them. Nor do I think we can have enough love. I have wanted to create an English Paper Piecing project for Valentine’s Day for a long time now. This is definitely not that project. The project I visualized was an embellished wall hanging with totally different hearts. But this project is perfect for our time. I feel like it is symbolic, in a sense, in that we are all on different paths going in different directions. We all have so much love to share. That is why I made this Whole Lotta Love quilt pattern and the best part is, it’s free!
Free Whole Lotta Love Quilt Pattern
I created an English Paper Piecing Template! EEK!!! The first of many I hope. This pattern allowed me to dip my toes into the EPP world. I really enjoyed myself. Yes, I gave myself a crazy deadline and yes, I had heart parts revealing themselves to me in every nook and cranny of my home, but the final product was well worth it. I had so much fun creating it. I thought I would share the love with all of you.
This pattern is a free downloadable PDF. Click here to Download your Free Whole Lotta Love Quilt Pattern. Inside, you will find the directions along with the printable template so you can cut them out yourself. You can buy a heart set from my shop. I think the Whole Lotta Love quilt pattern is pretty easy, though a little time consuming, but I will share some shortcuts with you a little later in this post.
Art Gallery Letters
Now let’s talk fabric! I used 100% Art Gallery Fabrics in this quilt. Most of the fabrics are from their Letters line, which is a bite-size collection of hip and fresh designs. I really love the style of all of the Art Gallery fabric designers. They are super artistic. Most of the collections feature a painted print. The painted print in the Letters Collection is Roses & Letters. The electric blue is a fun surprise in this love themed fabric collection. My favorite prints include xoxoxo, Love Blooms, Roses & Letters and Love Speckles. I added a few close up images of them so you can get a feel for the line.
Spoiler alert: I might be jumping ahead but I can’t wait until Art Gallery releases Charleston by Amy Sinibaldi. I already know what I want to do with it.… [Insert evil laugh]
Breaking Down the Pattern with Shortcuts
The Template: In the Whole Lotta Love pattern, you will find a page that has all of the pieces to the heart. The pieces are at the correct size so you don’t need to shrink or enlarge them. Print and cut them out yourself or buy heart sets from my shop. If you print your own, use card stock so you can use your template more than once. After you remove the paper from your completed heart iron (I recommend ironing the heart to your block because when you iron two fabrics together, they stay together better) and sew it to a block with a few days. I think it is smart to do this because the fabric will start to lose the folded shape as time goes by.
Cut time by using glue: I tried these three different glues. If you want to use glue instead of hand stitching, that is okay. Use the glue pen. Put the glue on the paper (unless on a fold and there is no paper only fabric). The pen is precise, it isn’t messy and releases easily. Try not to get glue on the edge of the paper. It seems like a good idea because it seems like it will make the fold better but it takes more time and effort to take the fabric off the paper.
Lessons Learned: Don’t baste stitch with hand quilting thread (this was wax coated) and then iron it on high; the thread will melt right to your fabric. Cotton is the best thread to use.
I really hope you like this free Whole Lotta Love Quilt pattern! If you make it, share your images on Instagram using #wholelottalovequilt and tag me @brownbirddesigns. If you don’t want to make a full quilt, just make one heart and make it into a mini quilt. Thanks for stopping by!!
The Comments
Mancha
This is is fantastic. I truly like your craft. Fantastic colors and patterns.
Elisabeth DeMoo
> ManchaThanks!! I am very happy how this project turned out.
Mancha
This is is fantastic. I truly like your craft. Fantastic colors and patterns.
Elisabeth DeMoo
> ManchaThanks!! I am very happy how this project turned out.
Kristine Clay
I love the open heart! I need to get in on EPP and this looks like the perfect project to jump in with. I know I don’t have the talent or patience to do the larger pieces but a few hearts for a mini quilt is delightful! Thanks for sharing and I’ll post it to my instagram too (cristinalovescrafts)!
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Kristine ClayThanks for the share!! I am so happy you won the last Rug Quilt-A-Long prize!! I will mail it out on Monday.
Kristine Clay
I love the open heart! I need to get in on EPP and this looks like the perfect project to jump in with. I know I don’t have the talent or patience to do the larger pieces but a few hearts for a mini quilt is delightful! Thanks for sharing and I’ll post it to my instagram too (cristinalovescrafts)!
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Kristine ClayThanks for the share!! I am so happy you won the last Rug Quilt-A-Long prize!! I will mail it out on Monday.
Mara
This is so cool! Thank you for the free pattern.
Elisabeth DeMoo
> MaraThanks!! I will be sending out the templets on Monday!! I would love to see what you make.
Mara
This is so cool! Thank you for the free pattern.
Stitch Your Heart Out With a Ton of Valentine’s Day Quilt Patterns — Knitting
[…] GET THE PATTERN […]
Stitch Your Heart Out With a Ton of Valentine’s Day Quilt Patterns — Knitting
[…] GET THE PATTERN […]