My NYC Blog Hop - Free Puff Quilt Tutorial and GIVEAWAY

I have a confession to make: I have never been to NYC.

When you think of New York City, what do you see? I instantly think of tall buildings, pizza, yellow cabs, steam coming out of the manholes all along the side streets, subway systems full of daily commuters, and of course Carrie Bradshaw walking flawlessly down the sidewalk in 6" heels, while rocking a straight-off-the-runway dress.. ya know?

NYC has always been somewhere that seems exciting, fast, loud, and full of possibility. Here in Indiana (spoiler.. I am from Indiana) we don't have quite the same vibe. So when Gotham Quilts sent me fabric from their new collection featuring NEW YORK CITY inspired prints.. I was totally not disappointed. 

I knew I wanted to use each of these prints and really showcase all of them and what they had to offer.

A PUFF QUILT!!

Supplies Needed:

99- 6" squares (which with this collection of 11 prints, I cut 9 from each)

99- 5" backing squares (I keep a lot of scraps from projects, so I pulled white/cream colored fabric from my stash of scraps and was able to use those rather than having to purchase yardage. SCORE!)

1 Yard of backing fabric- (I decided to use a minky fabric that I found at Hobby Lobby)

Thread

Embroidery Floss - to be used to tie off the quilt rather than traditional quilting

Poly-fil - I purchase a LARGE box from Michaels with the intention of using this for a variety of other projects

Binding Clips

Step 1: Cut all of your fabrics into the 6" top squares, and the 5" backing squares. 

Step 2: Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the top 6" square onto the bottom 5" square.

You will fold over in the center-ish to ensure that the finished square will measure 5"x5".

Only sew three out of the four sides (leaving one side open so you can stuff the square later with your poly-fil).

Step 3: Once you have your squares made,  you will lay them out in a design that you choose.

I went for a type of ombre effect, with the darker squares toward one side and the lighter squares on the other. Be sure you orient your opening to the left. 

**In order to keep things as organized as possible, I placed each row into a bag and labeled the row number onto the bag to ensure I would not get them mixed up. As I tend to sew when time allows, there is always a chance I will move something and mess the order up, so this is a great tip to ensure that your project stays organized.

Step 4: Sew your rows together. **BE SURE to leave the opening of each square on the left of the row.

To do this you will attach the bottom of one square to the top of the next. Do this until you have nine rows of 11 squares ensuring that the openings of each square are on the left side.

Step 5: Taking the first row, stuff each square with your poly-fil and clip (temporarily) them closed using your binding clips. 

**Couple of tips and tricks.. do not over stuff these babies. Remember that you will need to sew these closed in the next step, and overstuffing can make this process a lot more painful than it needs to be. Also be sure to keep the stuffing consistent. You don't want some of your puffs to be less *puffy* than the others, so once they are clipped shut, I would give each a good squeeze and feel to make sure they all felt about the same in terms of density.

Step 6: Using your sewing machine and a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the row of puffs closed. This will be best if you go slow to ensure that the openings are flush for the top and bottom fabrics, and remember to fold over the top piece so that it fits/aligns with the 5" backing square. 

Step 7: Grab the next row of squares, with right sides together, and the openings of the second row facing away from the edge to be sewn, sew the second row to the first row using a 1/4" seam allowance. Be sure to pin the squares to that they align at each square. 

Step 8: Just as we did in step 5, fill each of the squares for row two with poly-fil and clamp them shut using binding clips. 

Step 9: Sew the second row shut using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Step 10: Repeat steps 5-9 until all of your rows have been sewn together giving you a 9x11 puff square top.

Step 11: Place your puff quilt on top of your backing fabric with wrong sides together. (I left 4" of my backing because I intend to use my backing fabric for my binding.)

Using safety pins, baste the quilt together.

I then sewed the perimeter of my quilt to the backing fabric to hold it in place.

Step 12: Add your binding. To do this, I used my backing fabric, and mitered the corners. But you could also attach your own binding from a different fabric. Dealers choice!

Step 13: Hand tie your quilt! I used embroidery floss that perfectly matched the color scheme of this collection and the backing fabric. Making an X on the quilt top with three knots in the back to keep it secure. I then trimmed it down so that it would blend into the minky fur. 

And here you have it!

I LOVE how this turned out. Oh and if you need to enlist someone to help get the perfect picture.... totally do it. My husband happens to be great at this haha

If I had to change anything, I would recommend using a 1/2" seam allowance. It would have given me more control and easier access during the piecing portion of this project.

There will be a GIVEAWAY! I will post more details early next week on instagram or you can check out Jennifer's posts for more details.

Also be sure to check out all of the other participants in the blog hop! This group of talented artists and sewing fans have created some amazing projects from this collection. You totally do not want to miss them!

• August 1 - Jen Strauser of Dizzy Quilter
• August 1 - Becca Fenstermaker of Sugar Sand Quilt Co.
• August 2 - Kim Niedzwiecki of Go-Go Kim
• August 2 - Deborah Fisher of Fish Museum and Circus
• August 3 - Emily Leachman of The Darling Dogwood
• August 4 - Siobhan Fitzpatrick of CDM365 Studios
• August 5 - Sherry Shish of Powered By Quilting
• August 6 - Autumn Shatto of Geometry and Joy <-- YOU ARE HERE :)
• August 6 - Lissa LaGreca of Lovingly, Lissa
• August 7 - Laura Piland of Slice of Pi Quilts