Overwhelmed by the holidays? Me too! Still feeling that holiday urge to craft and nest and decorate? Me too!
I decided to make a quick Christmas tree wall hanging to get all those "I created something" endorphins we all love without the "I don't have time to actually finish this" stress. This came together in less than 2 hours for me of active time.
At first, I was having a hard time deciding how to quilt this. I don't do many small projects anymore so I had to switch mental gears, but once I did it was amazing to feel free to play around and try a few different things all in this one piece.
Let's dive into the steps (hint: there aren't many!).
1. Gather your supplies and print your FPP Christmas tree template.
This project is great for large scraps or a couple fat quarters so gather whatever fabrics you want to try out. You'll also want a a 19" x 19" pieces of batting and the same size (or larger) backing piece. Other than that, you'll need your sewing machine, scissors, iron, etc, etc. You'll need 8 1/2 x 11 paper and a printer to print your tree template.
2. Piece the tree using the template.
If you're new to paper piecing, check YouTube to find a variety of great intro videos. This would be a great first FPP pattern! Your center tree should finish at 7.5" x 10". If it's smaller (perhaps because your print settings were a bit off), you might need to add a little extra fabric in the next step.
I forgot to take a photo of just the center piece before I assembled the block so here's a close up of just the center part of my finished hanging!
Here's a little assembly diagram you'll use for the remaining steps:
3. Add background pieces.
Using your background fabric, cut out 2 strips (A) at 3.75" x 10" and 2 strips (B) at 2.5" x 14". Attach the A strips to either side of the tree and then the B strips to the top and bottom of the assembled center. Your center square should measure 14" x 14" at this point. Feel free to square up or trim a bit.
4. Add border pieces.
Please read all the way through this step before you start cutting.
The strip widths used here do two things:
First, they result in a wall hanging that has an extra wide border so you have room for squaring up your wall hanging after you've quilted it. This allows things to lay a lot flatter.
Second, I knew I would be using a frame with this and I still wanted there to be a true square shown. To achieve that the top and bottom borders on this are an extra 1/2 inch wide (the extra portion ends up behind the frame). If you want your wall hanging to be a true square, you'll cut your D strips at 2.75" wide instead of 3.25" wide (or just trim down more after you quilt).
Onwards!
Using your border fabric, cut out 2 strips (C) at 2.75" x 14" and 2 strips (D) at 3.25" x 18.5". Attach the C strips to either side of the assembled center and then the D strips to the top and bottom. When pressing your seams, consider the colors you're using. In my piece, I pressed my seams open to keep the green from showing through the bright white.
5. Quilt & bind.
That's it! Press your top well, make a quilt sandwich with your preferred batting and backing fabrics, and quilt. Square it up, bind it, and then get it up on the wall.
6. Hang it up and relax!
And post somewhere and tag @katebrownquilts so I can see what you made!
I hope you enjoy this Christmas season and give yourself the time and space to enter the new year full of joy and hope and fresh creativity.
