This quilt is the easiest quilt I have ever made! Have you heard of Crazy Quilt Paper? It is an insanely simple way to make a quilt. Perfect for the quilt you need to make in a weekend or, even better, perfect for the beginner quilter. Lori Holt, an absolute genius, is the mastermind behind the product Crazy Quilt Paper. I am not sure if you have seen any of her other creations, but there are many ranging anywhere from note cards, ribbon, purse charms, pattern templates, and so much more. I dare you to click over to her site Bee In My Bonnet (or to shops that sell her products like the Fat Quarter Shop) and wander down the rabbit hole of goodness. 

Making a crazy quilt is something I have always wanted to do. I remember when I was around 10 years old, my mom had a book on them in our home. I longed to make one even before I started quilting. This project was perfect for me. I got to finally make a crazy quilt like I have always wanted to, and I was able to do it my way. As an added challenge, I decided I wanted to make something modernish out of this classic delight. I wanted to add a small strip randomly that really popped out of the crazy quilt (like sprinkles). Hopefully I did the fabric, paper, and idea justice.

The Fabric

I think the fabrics I picked allowed me to achieve my goal. They are absolutely beautiful. Sweet, fun, and romantic. I have an urge to pair them with lace (something that would actually be perfect in a crazy quilt; they were such a big hit in the 1800s because of the embroidery and embellishments they were finished with). These fabrics really make me want to start sewing nightwear. I can perfectly see it. But no, no it’s just quilts for me.

I love the way that these fabrics from Cyndi Walker blend. They are full of soft pinks, light blues, dull grays, and pops of coral with a great contrast of navy. My favorite thing that Cyndi designs are flowers and they appear in the Main Print. They are so full of detail and character. I don’t know how she does it, but I love it. This, ladies and gentleman, is Charmed and it’s brought to you by Riley Blake Designs. With these lovely threads in the corner of my office, I have been daydreaming of romantic movies based on the books of Jane Austen. 

The funnies thing is I have paired this fabric designer, Cyndi Walker with a project from Lori Holt before. Click here to see how that turned out.

Crazy Quilt Paper – How to use it

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided on creating this project. When I got my package of paper, I opened it and jumped right in. Having a love for paper piecing, I ironed the first page of paper to the back of my 10” square. I even stitched two cut pieces together having a definite feeling that I was doing something wrong. I searched for a video on the Crazy Quilt Paper and found a great one by Fat Quarter Shop. Here is a link to that video. Right away I realized that I was supposed to iron the paper to the top of the 10” square of fabric.

Note: I don’t really think it matters too much. You can iron them all to the top or to the bottom. The important thing is that you keep it consistent. If you cut one with the paper on the top and one with the paper on the bottom, your pieces won’t match. Luckily, I only cut one block as a test. In the video from the Fat Quarter Shop they keep the numbers together in groups, however I like to keep my fabrics together. Here is a time-lapse I created on making one block and below you will find a quick tutorial on it too.

How to make a Crazy Quilt Paper block with a modern twist

For this project (baby sized quilt) I used: 
8 different fat quarters – for the blocks
1 yard of navy – for the binding and strips
two fat quarters – for binding

Cut each of the seven fat quarters into two 10” squares, saving the excess for the back. Iron the Crazy Quilt Paper to the top of all your squares.

Use the lines on the Crazy Quilt Paper as a guide for your ruler and cut your pieces. Keep your pieces together grouping each fabric separately. 

Pull a piece from the different groups. Make sure there is an even amount of color in each block. Take off the paper and lay them out as a block. Note – If you want to change a piece, you can always iron the cut paper back onto the piece, put it back in its proper pile, then select that number piece from a different fabric pile. 

Select one piece out of the five that make up the block and trim 1” off of the middle edges. Do this for each block and change the piece you selected so the navy strip has different angles and strips. I avoided using the outer edges so there weren’t exact straight lines. But if that’s your jam feel free to use them. 

Cut a 1 1/2 ” strip of your border fabric. Placed the trimmed off 1” scrap on top of the navy strip. I added about a 1/2” on both sides of the scrap. Cut the strip. I centered and sewed the strip on the same edge I trimmed it from. Iron flat. 

Refer to an uncut piece of Crazy Quilt Paper.
Sew piece 4 to piece 5. Trim off any excess if needed.
Sew piece 2 to piece 3.
Trim off any excess if needed. Sew piece 1 to piece 2/3.
Sew piece 1/2/3 to piece 4/5.
Iron seams open.

Trim your block down to 8 1/2″ making sure all your edges are inside the 8 1/2″ square. Lori Holt has the perfect ruler for this. I found my smallest block and trimmed it down to that size which was slightly large. Mine way took more time but had a little less waste.

Sew four blocks together to make one row. Repeat for a total of four rows. Iron the seams for the first and third row to the right.
Iron the seams of the second and fourth row to the left.
Sew the four rows together making a square. Iron seams open.

Borders: Cut five 5″ strips of the border fabric. Measure the top and bottom width. Cut two 5″ strips of fabric to that measurement.  Pin and sew a 5″ strip the top and bottom quilt top. Iron seams open. On the short edge of the 5″ strips, sew three together making one long strip. Measure the length of the quilt on the right edge and the left edge. Cut two 5″ strips of fabric to that measurement. Pin and sew a 5″ strip the right and left edge of the quilt top. Iron seams open.

Mine baby quilt finish as a 41″ square. I don’t have a baby to give mine to so this quilt might go on my wall or on top of my dinner table.  

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Stay healthy. Stay happy. And let’s enjoy the small stuff.