Citrus Grove Quilt Pattern
Citrus Grove is our newest quilt pattern released last week!
This is a fun and easy scrap friendly quilt pattern. It is perfect for the confident beginner quilter ready to tackle curves. The size of the quilt blocks is great for getting comfortable with curves without being too small and finicky.
Fabric Selection:
This quilt came almost entirely from our scrap bin. Each citrus blossom is made from 2 different prints of the same color, one dark and one light. You could also use large and small prints to help set off the different shapes. The leaves are an assortment of greens. We’ve included yardage for these blocks, but you could always add in more colors and use smaller scraps if you prefer. We are on a mission to use up as most of our scraps as we can this year, so we definitely support using what you have!
When making a scrappy quilt, the majority of the project can consist of gathering fabrics and sorting them into the right placement. We started by pulling all of our scraps out and sorting them into color piles. We knew we wanted six different colors of bunches plus the leaves, so we made 6 main piles. Some of our scraps didn’t make the cut off if they didn’t really read as a solid color or were outside of one of the original colors (like teals, we have lots of teals, but were looking for more of a definite blue for this project). Putting all the piles together, also allowed us to see how the six different colors worked together. We wanted bright and happy, so more muted or pastel colors got removed. Also at this point anything that really stands out and just doesn’t seem to mesh is easy to take out. After we had piles of colors, we were able to start picking out the sets. For this quilt top, we knew we wanted a lighter and darker fabric of each color per citrus bunch. Looking at just one color set (for example, orange) we were able to start picking two fabrics that worked well together, but were also different enough to be seen as two different fabrics. Contrast in value and print were crucial to getting the look we wanted. Since they were both orange, we wanted to make sure that they didn’t blend. Choosing a light and dark fabric is the easiest way to accomplish this, but you can also use scale of the print to achieve the same look. Now that we knew which fabrics were going where, it was a matter of making sure that the sets of fabric stayed together! A pin is more than sufficient for this. Pin the two scraps, then after you cut them out, you can pin the cut pieces back together. You could also stick them in bags, or take a photo with your phone and keep them in a nice stack (the photo is in case anything gets mixed up, we LOVE using our camera to take notes as we organize quilt tops.)
For the greens, we decided to use solids and mixed them randomly throughout the quilt. You can also pick one color of green per bunch. Both ways look awesome!
Quilt Construction:
After the fabric selection, this quilt top goes together easily. All templates are included in the pattern, no fancy rulers are necessary. When using a template to cut things out, we like to trace it onto a cereal box and cut out the cardboard. This will make it much easier to trace around and relieve lots of frustration. We just trace around the scrap onto the fabric and cut on the line.
There are a couple different ways to sew curves, if you are new to quilting, check out our video tutorial on some tips you can use to make them much easier and smoother. This is a great place to use chain piecing. Set your groups up in a stack and feed them all through in one continuous round. We absolutely love chain piecing to make a quilt easier to put together and save thread.
After all the curves are done, this quilt is fast! If you find yourself needing a break from curves, you can always work on some leaves and come back to them. We totally understand needing to mix things up sometimes.
Quilt Sizes:
We include fabric requirements and instructions for four different quilt sizes in this pattern.
- Baby Quilt – 38×56″
- Throw Quilt – 56×74″
- Twin Quilt – 74×92″
- Queen Quilt – 92×110″
So, whether you have a lot of scraps or just a few, you’ll be able to find a size that works for you.
You can purchase your copy in Shop.
If you post photos of your finished quilt top, we would love to see it! Please make sure to tag us on Instagram or Facebook @onwilliamsstreet and use the hashtag #citrusgrovequilt. Any questions? Let us know!