Marti Michell Mini Quilt Mania ~ A Tree Quilt Tutorial

So let’s get started…

What You’ll Need;

Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates Set S (you’ll use three of the four templates from this set; S98, S99 and S100)

Fabric for;

• the tree (I used two or three fabrics for each tree, use as many as you like!)
• the block background (I used a low volume fabric for each block)
• the trunk
• sashing (I chose a black Cotton and Steel print)
• setting squares, triangles and cornerstones (I used a Robert Kaufman linen in Ivory)
• border fabric (optional)

To make the 6″ tree block;

Cutting Instructions;

Tree fabric one;

Tree fabric two;

Block background fabric;

Trunk fabric;

Piecing Instructions;

Step One;

Lay out your pieces as below;

Step Two;

Step Three;

Sew rows together (note there are three 5-piece rows and two 3-piece rows, the trunk section will be pieced later). Press seams open.

Step Four;

Sew the two sections together as below.  I used pins at this step. Press seams open.

Step Five;

Piece the trunk section…
Centre the trunk strip between the two background triangles and sew. These are the only seams I didn’t press open, instead I pressed the background fabric towards the trunk strip to give the trunk a little bulk.

This piece is now ready to be trimmed to size. Template S98 is perfect for this, line the template up so that the angled edge is aligned with the trunk edge, as below.

Turn the section around so that the newly trimmed edge is at the bottom. Line up one of the marked square lines on the ruler with the straight bottom edge and trim the right edge (see below). We now have two straight edges with the trunk running through the corner. The trimmed piece is shown below.

Trim the remaining two edges by matching the line marked X on your ruler with a straight edge on the block. Trim the right hand edge by cutting then sliding the ruler up the block. Repeat for the last side.

Now trim the top of the tree trunk by matching the left and top edges on the S98 template with the left and top edges on the block as below. Trim the corner.

Sew the trunk fabric triangle on to the corner to complete this section.

Step Six;

Nearly there!
Piece the two bottom sections together.

Now sew the bottom section to the top section.

If you’re making the mini, you’ll need four tree blocks.

Piece the Quilt Top;

Cutting Instructions;

Background fabric;

• one 6 1/2″ square for the centre
• two 6 7/8″ squares cross cut once on the diagonal to yield four side setting triangles.
• one 7 1/4″ square cross cut twice on the diagonal to yield four corner setting triangles
• four 1″ squares for cornerstones
• four 1 3/8″ squares cross cut once on the diagonal to yield 8 triangles, for the cornerstones on the edge of the quilt
• two 1 1/2″ x WOF strips for a border (optional), two strips 18 7/8″, two strips 20 7/8″

Sashing Fabric;

• sixteen 6 1/2″ x 1″ strips

Piecing Instructions;

The quilt top is pieced in diagonal rows as shown above. I pressed all seams towards the black sashing fabric. Once all the rows have been pieced, sew rows together, use the cornerstones in the sashing to match each section. When attaching the top right and bottom left corners to the sashing, fold both the triangle and the sashing section in half and match these folds to centre each piece.

Optional border; sew the two 18 7/8″  border strips to left and right sides then sew the two 20 7/8″ strips to the top and bottom.

Finished size without borders is 18 3/8″. Finished size with borders is 20 3/8″.

Quilt and finish as desired! I’m still thinking about how to finish mine!!