We are super excited about today’s launch, highlighting what may just be a new movement in foundation paper piecing… we’re scaling it WAY down, focusing on the details, working with tiny little pieces to create delightful little mini masterpieces. We owe this fun to Aurifil Artisan Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter. She took on the 100 Day Project last year with the intention to sew 100 tiny blocks. We followed along with each one, admiring those perfect little points and her artfully styled images.
Her hard work even earned her a spot in the 100 Day Project showcase at QuiltCon in Nashville last week!
Kitty drew inspiration from her experience and has today released a brand new mini pattern, the Sew Tiny Sampler. Featuring 16 different blocks that finish at 1-1/4″ square, the pattern includes instructions and templates not only for the blocks, but also for sashing and finishing them all into a 7-1/2″ square mini quilt. She does offer a slew of other finishing ideas and the possibilities are truly endless.
The blocks represent the bulk of the patterns that Kitty used in her 100 days quilt. The pattern is available to purchase via Kitty’s site as of today. You can learn more and grab your own copy right HERE.
SEWING TINY!
As a part of Kitty’s launch, she asked some quilty friends to make a block… to scale things down for March 1 and showcase the mini side of things;). I am thrilled to have had the chance to try my hand at making a few and though I admit to being a little intimidated, I was surprised at how fun it was once I got started!
Before diving in, I read through Kitty’s pattern to get the lay of the land. She has put together such a lovely set of instructions, including preferred tools, suggestions for color layouts, tips for construction, and more. She offers pages of templates for the single mini blocks, but thoughtfully includes bulk print pages at the end of the pattern as well. If you’re looking to make multiples of one block, it’s easy to print off only one page and save some paper in the process.
I chose to make the heart, pulling from my treasured Indah Batiks from Hoffman to bring it to life. I’m a HUGE fan of our 50wt for foundation paper piecing and with the batik colors selected, I couldn’t go wrong with my trusty 2600. And… I always use my Olfa Rotary Cutter, Ruler, and Mat — goodness I just love them!
If you’re thinking about giving this pattern a try but you’re either new to Foundation Paper Piecing or could use a refresher, Kitty also has a wonderful tutorial available on her website. I referred to it before getting started with my own blocks and it was super easy to follow.
All in all, I love this pattern! I’m itching to try some of the other blocks. While not all of my seams are perfect, they are perfectly imperfect, just like me. I loved the process and the detail and am now starting to think about what I’ll do with them all… a pillow for my daughter perhaps? Teeny tiny mini love quilts for my mom? The possibilities are endless!
Will you give tiny piecing a try? What block would you try first? If you are planning to sew tiny, make sure to tag #sewtinysampler and @nightquilter when you post on social media. We can’t wait to see what you’re making!
HANDY LINKS
Love this!!
Adorable and sweet!
Amazing!