After months of planning, sewing, and wrapping, you’ve created real magic this holiday season. I’m so proud of you!
Now it’s time to kick up your feet and rest. Treat yourself to a cup of peppermint cocoa and a warm soak in the tub.
You know, quilters love to give and serve. But sometimes we forget to take time for ourselves. So every Christmas, Jenny plans a special project meant just for YOU.
This year, she is using Shannon’s Cuddle® Cuts Minky 2-Yard Cuts to make a quick and easy throw blanket that is so luxuriously soft, you can wrap it around your shoulders and relax like the quilting royalty you truly are!
When it comes to quilting, we like to think that Jenny Doan is the go-to guru for quick and easy quilting with precuts! Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the amazing inspiration that comes from her tutorials each week, which is why we’ve brought you the Tutorial Reboot series on the first Monday of every month, so we can revisit some of our favorite tutorials from the past!
This month we’re taking a new look at the X’s and O’s Quilt. This is a tutorial that was first released five years ago, but it is a simple block that serves as a beautiful foundation for some of our favorite quilt patterns.
Here’s a list of everything you need to make this version of the X’s and O’s quilt.
There’s no fabric cozier and more forgiving than Shannon Cuddle fabric and since we’re getting into the season of holiday gift-giving, I thought it would be the perfect choice for this oversized X’s and O’s pattern. All you need to do is follow Jenny’s original tutorial, but instead of using 5″ squares and 2.5″ square snowballs, use 10″ squares with 5″ squares to snowball the corners. Since Cuddle isn’t as stiff as quilting cotton, the larger squares will be easier to handle.
You can find some excellent tips on working with Shannon Cuddle HERE. The walking foot is extremely helpful with this project and make sure to lengthen your stitch to 3-3.5mm. The finished size of this quilt is approximately 54×54 inches (I used a .5″ seam allowance). I chose to leave out the black pieces in the precut set, since I had 40 squares and only needed 36 to create the quilt top.
I decided to have this quilt machine quilted using Missouri Star’s Machine Quilting Services and I am so glad that I did! I just love how it turned out (I chose a Simple Stipple quilting pattern)! If you want to add a little bit of extra weight to the quilt, you can use batting, but you actually don’t have to use batting when you’re working Cuddle.
When it comes to binding with Cuddle, you may not know that Jenny has a tutorial that tells you everything you need to know!
Instead of the typical 2.5″ strips for binding, you only need your strips to be 1.75″ – 2″ when you’re working with Cuddle! (Side note: I LOVE using Wonder Clips when I’m doing binding! They’re so much easier to handle than pins)
I used the serpentine stitch for my binding, just as Jenny recommends in the tutorial. Cuddle fabric really is very forgiving, so you can’t even tell what color the thread is. It just creates a fun finished edge!
The result is an extremely cozy Cuddle quilt, which is a perfect gift for the holidays! I love the colors in this particular precut because they’re just perfect for the men in your life!
Whether you use Cuddle or your favorite quilting cotton prints, I hope you’ll give this Oversized X’s and O’s Quilt pattern a try! It comes together so quickly and the result is just beautiful!
Don’t you just love Fall weather? You get to cuddle up in quilts, wear scarves and sweaters to stay cozy, but it’s not freezing cold like Winter! One of our favorite things to cuddle up in this time of year at Missouri Star Quilt Co. is Shannon Cuddle. It’s some of the softest, cuddliest, plushest stuff you’ll ever touch (it’s like wrapping up in a cloud of goodness)!
Over the years Jenny has used Cuddle for a number of projects, and she always uses it as the backing for her grandchildren’s quilts because they love it so much. Check out some of her projects below that would be great to make this Fall!
It doesn’t get much softer than this Cuddly Pillow Quilt! To make the same size quilt as Jenny, you’ll need 8 Shannon Cuddle Charm Packs and there are some darling ones to choose from! Wouldn’t a smaller version of this make a darling seat/floor cushion as well? So many ideas!
Aren’t these hues so cute? Shop all Shannon Fabrics Cuddle Precuts HERE.
Let me assure you that Cuddle is not just for kids! If you’re a fan of scarves, you’ll love these cozy Shannon Cuddle Scarf Kits! They make quick and easy gifts that everyone is sure to love! Jenny even has a tutorial walking you through how to make this simple project. Watch it HERE. These scarves come in several cute colors and prints. Browse them all HERE.
Need a quick, easy and cuddly baby blanket (or increase the size and make one for yourself!)? This simple method will have you in awe. Click HERE to watch how easy it is and to snag up some of that darling Cuddle that Jenny used!
If you’re looking for a beautiful, cuddly quilt project yourself, then look no further! Shannon Cuddle Quilt Kits are so cozy and come in some beautiful designs for adults! The Bella Vita kit is one of our favorites, so we’re giving one away along with a few scarf kits!
On the first Monday of every month, we invite a guest quilter to come and join us on our blog to try out one of Jenny’s tried and true tutorials and of course, put their own little spin on it! Whether it’s the fabrics they use or a new tip, we’re always excited to see how it turns out! For June’s Tutorial Reboot, we welcome Heather Valentine of The Sewing Loft to join us! We hope you enjoy her take on the Double Slice Quilt! #tutorialreboot
Hello Missouri Star Quilt Peeps! I’m Heather from The Sewing Loft.
On the average day I’m in one of two places; I’m either behind my machine or behind my keyboard. When I’m not stitching up a storm, I’m sharing sewing tips and tricks on my blog. One of my latest passions is using up every last scrap. That’s right, I’m a scrapaholic.
I think that’s why I love Jenny’s Double Slice Layer Cake tutorial so much. With just a few quick passes of the rotary cutter you are well on your way to creating a random scrappy pattern.
Cuddle is a specialty fabric that is knit based and has a directional pile. Normally, I would pay close attention to the direction of the pile but since I knew each block would be turned in all different ways, I didn’t sweat it. Instead, I just jumped right in and decided it would be a fun textural factor on the final quilt.
After watching the video you can see that from start to finish this is going to be fun. Thank goodness the cutting went super fast because with each pass of my rotary cutter I began to get more and more excited.
The bursts of color were like a visual rush of sugary eye candy. Seriously, I could hardly wait to get stitching on this one. Just look at all those yummy colors stacked together.
When it comes to matching fabrics, this double slice technique really takes the pressure off! Just grab your favorite layer cake, rotary cutter and get set to slice and go. You can see that I layered the cuddle squares into my fabric stack. Then it was all about the chain piecing. With each stitch I could see this was gonna be good.
The quilt top really comes together in a flash and is the perfect weekend project.
I pretty much love everything about this quilt but the random placement of colors and patterns makes my scrapaholic heart sing.
Here are a few additional fav’s for me:
Super fast cutting (who wants to spend time cutting when we all just want to sew!)
NO pins!! This is big for me because I like to just put the pedal to the metal.
Scrappy outlook.
Touch-ablity factor! All I want to do now is veg out on the couch and pet it!!
P.S. Don’t forget to label your work! This is so much easier than you think.
Quiz: What’s the softest thing in the universe? Teeny baby kittens? Not even close. Downy ducklings? Spring lambs? Puffy white clouds? Nope, nope, nope!
Truth be told, you just don’t know how soft “soft” can be until you wrap a chubby-cheeked baby in Jenny’s new Self Binding Baby Blanket made out of super-fluffy Shannon Cuddle fabric! This blanket is as cute as it is soft, and it can be whipped together in mere minutes! This self binding technique is even easier than in our original Self Binding Baby Blanket tutorial! With Cuddle, they edges don’t fray, so you don’t even have to fold over the edges. It really comes together so quickly!!
Mary Gay Leahy, who is a teacher for Shannon Fabrics and a Cuddle Expert, likes to travel with the first quilt she ever made with Cuddle, which also has flannel on it. The flannel parts are all pilling and faded now, but the Cuddle all still looks as good as new, even after over 150 washes! So, not only is this a quick, easy project, but it will last forever!
Jenny creates this blanket with two layers of Cuddle, but you can also use two layers of Embrace Double Gauze or one layer of Embrace with a layer of Cuddle!
If you’re new to using Cuddle, here are some tips to make life easier: Use a walking foot, a longer stitch length (about 8 stitches per inch), and if you have a stretch needle handy, that will make things go a little smoother. And when you first cut it, it will shed, but if you throw it in the dryer with a clean lint trap, so it can finish shedding, then it will never pill or shed again!
Click on the button to watch the tutorial and get all the supplies you need to make your own Self Binding Baby Blankets!
