Hi and welcome to week 579 of Free Motion Mavericks! Last week I made a crowd of hot pads 😁. I always thought that Cathedral Windows were very difficult. I watched the video, and it looked easy. Then I made a crowd of them and it turns out that they're not so easy! 😉
Cathedral Window Hot Pads & a Layer Cake
Many years ago, I got a great deal on a Layer Cake (10" squares from a collection of fabrics), in this case, Figures by Brigitte Heitland for Zen Chic and Moda. When I needed 10" squares to make Cathedral Window Hot Pads, I found my package of Layer Cake and started the production.
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| My first crowd of Cathedral Window hot pads |
I made the first one for myself, since I was sure that it would turn out wonky...and it did, but not terrible. I got an air fryer for Christmas and I wanted to have a hot pad that would stay nearby. Don't they look good together 😀
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| My first hot pad - made to hang out with the air fryer |
I'm afraid that I didn't take any process pictures but if you want to learn how to male these, I highly recommend a tutorial by Shabby Fabrics (see link below). The thing about Cathedral Windows is that it's all about how those windows look in the centre and in the corners. Here's an image from the video on how they should look. You can see that the centre and the corners of the Cathedral Windows are well defined and relatively pointy.
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| Look at those corners - that's what they should look like! |
Unfortunately, mine didn't all look like this. Some came out really good while others sort of continued into space 😁. I'm sure that my non-quilting friends won't mind but if I'm going to make these, I may as well figure out how to make them well.
Here are close-ups of the three that I made for a friend. Aren't these fabric amazing?
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| A white background with blue accents and yellow Cathedral Windows |
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| I love this blue and yellow combination |
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| There are so many lovely blues in this one |
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| This is what they look like from the back |
You may have noticed that the top blue hot pad on the right is double stitched around the Cathedral Windows. I was trying different variations of making these, and for this one, I managed to forget to stitch down the Cathedral Windows before adding the backing and turning it over (like a pillow case). It didn't make that much of a difference, except for the double stitched line.
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| Cathedral Window Hot Pads gift |
- In theory, making Cathedral Windows is not difficult.
- When I first watched the Shabby Fabric tutorial, the instructor said to be very careful with the centre of your Cathedral Windows. So I put all of my attention on the centre but sort of forgot the corners. Generally my centres do look good.
- I'm still trying to figure out how to get some lovely bottom corners in my Cathedral Windows. When I figure it out, I'll let you know! 😊
- Many people would like some of these hot pads, so when I make my next crowd, I'll be extra careful with my corners and take lots of pictures and notes so that I can get them consistently right.
- I used my walking for making the hot pads. Now that I've gone back to piecing the Mystery Quilt with my ¼" foot, I've noticed that my accuracy is much better. I'll have to take that into consideration the next time I make these hot pads.
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check some of them out?
Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, TGIFF,
Great news! My project was featured on Sew & Tell!
Project details
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Four Cathedral Window hot pads
following Shabby Fabrics Tutorial
Size: 10" x 10"
Material: 4 - 10" fabric each with batting
Technique: stitching with walking foot
Free Motion Mavericks
Thanks to everyone who linked up their projects! Here are those projects that involved FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.
Kat from Scrapbox Quilts finished a lovely 3 yard quilt named Charlie as part of the 2024 3YD Quilt Series with Material Girlfriends. She quilted it with flowers in the centre of the blocks, using "Every Leaf " templates by Amanda Murphy. I'm sure that the child who will receive it will love it!
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| A lovely 3 Yard Quilt by Kat |
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| Some lovely FMQ as seen from the back. |
It's now your turn 😍
Your hot pad crowd looks wonderful! I really like that background fabric that has spikey flowers and little yellow centers.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Vicki. I was really pleased with some of the fabric in the Layer Cake. Those were the cutest, I think!
DeleteThe hot pads are too pretty to use in the kitchen. Thanks for the link to the tutorial, I think I know how to make the blocks. Thank you for the linky party.
ReplyDeleteHi Denise, I know the feeling about them being to cute to use, but they should wash up well.
DeleteI love the hot pad/cathedral windows project. They are fun to do. Mine has been recently unearthed. We will see if it crawls back on to a list!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen, I hope that your project also crawls back to the list. They were a lot of fun and hopefully I'll master those corners in the next crowd made!
DeleteJe les trouve très réussis, et beaux en plus. Le jaune et blanc est mon préféré ;)
ReplyDeleteI love these. Your cathedral windows look great in those fabrics and it's a great idea to use them as hot pads :)
ReplyDelete