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Checkmate - Meet the Quilt

Missy Winona

Tags Beginner Quilter, Foundation Paper Piecing, Meet the Quilt, Quilt Pattern

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Meet the Quilt: Checkmate

Construction Type: Foundation Paper Piecing

Recommended Sewing Level: Confident Beginner

Quilt Size(s): Baby, Throw, Twin and Queen

One of my favorite reasons for spring is the color.  Nature starts to wake up and gives us an amazing array of color through flowers.  Flowers make me happy and it doesn’t even matter what kind.  I do have my favorites, but overall, I just love flowers.  Which is no surprise that flower quilts are some of my favorites. 

We also love to layer patterns on top of each other in quilts.  This FPP flower quilt gives us a really fun checker board background with the flowers on top.  And of course, making it not symmetrical is icing on the cake. 

The more we played with colors on this quilt the more we determined that it needed to be completely scrappy.  There are more than 100 different fabrics in this quilt and I don’t think we used the same fabric twice. 

This quilt can pretty much be made in any size you want by adding or subtracting blocks.  It is also perfect for so many different color options.  While scrappy can be really fun and a great way to get an almost free quilt, it also looks great with a collection or even a single color.

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FAQs:

  • How do you FPP?
    • There are multiple ways to foundation paper piece, and we suggest trying them all to determine which you prefer. Missy prefers to use the paper method, tearing the paper off afterwards is therapeutic to her.  If you don’t want to deal with that, there are other options to try like the freezer paper method.  Check out the tutorials that we offer on YouTube.
  • Do I have to print out so many copies of the templates or can I use just one copy?
    • It all depends on which method you prefer to use. If you are going to tear the paper off then yes, you will need one copy for each square.  If you want to use the freezer paper method or the paper method where you fold the paper just to the inside of the line and sew right next to it off the paper, then you only need one copy per piece.
  • What machine settings should I use for FPP?
    • We recommend decreasing your stitch length so they are smaller, this helps the paper tear off when you are finished. That is the only setting we change.
  • Do I need to iron seams when FPP?
    • This is probably more of a preference, some people like to iron after each seam is sewn and others prefer to finger press and then just iron the final block. Missy finds that ironing after each seam helps ensure the block is nice and flat when it’s finished.
  • How do I match up my squares and flowers?
    • I know it’s not the most used quilting tool, but I learned how to sew clothes and stuffed toys before I started quilting so I use pins regularly. Pinning on each side of the seam helps to keep things in place and lined up while sewing.

 

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Here is a list of our YouTube video tutorials that may be helpful as you put this quilt together.  There are many others as well so you might want to check out our channel and subscribe so you are notified when we upload new videos.

 

Color ways

We love to play with color and have provided you with a few different color ways to consider for this quilt.  We hope it helps inspire you to create your own version of our quilt.

 

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