Category: Quilt Patterns (Page 1 of 8)

Image of Sample Quilt Patterns

Discover more than 50 quilt patterns designed to use both beautiful sides of fabric.

Firstly, you’ll find a variety of styles, techniques, and genre of quilt patterns that use both sides of fabric. Some quilts are made using a fusible broderie perse method. Also, find designs made only from paper templates. Additionally, find unique pieced patterns that require only a few fabric selections because they use the reverse as the block background fabrics.

Learn how to audition both sides.

Moreover, in addition to making fun quilts, you’ll discover the nuances of value as you learn to audition both sides of fabric. The magical key to this fun way to make quilts is VALUE. It’s easy to choose your fabrics and make easy works of art when you know how. Each of these quilt patterns comes with a guide for auditioning fabrics.

Choose from a variety of size of quilt patterns.

As well as a using a variety of techniques, you’ll find designs in sizes that range from miniatures to large quilts. Some smaller patterns are ideal quilts to make for gifting or holiday decoration because they are so easy and fast to make. Larger designs generally feature a single block which make them great quilts to make at retreats or other group settings.

Most importantly, make quilts that sparkle!

Finally, when you use both sides of fabric, you add a dimension of interest to your quilts that is difficult to achieve otherwise. Your eye catches the similarities of the fabric motif and color as well as the difference in value. When you learn how to use both sides by using these quilt patterns, you can apply your skills to all your future quilt fabric selections.

Reflections of Love – A Cover Girl!

March 26, 2024 /

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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Reflections of Love on Quiltmaker Magazine Cover

Perhaps “She’s a cover girl” is showing my age, but I’m too happy to care! I was stunned when I opened my digital copy from Quiltmaker and slowly recognized the cover quilt. I hadn’t the slighted thought that my quilt would be considered as a cover. Therefore, it took several minutes for my brain to catch up with what was clearly my quilt!

The Pattern – Reflections of Love

As you can see, this is a patchwork-pieced quilt of 20 blocks of “X’s” and “O’s”. These 16-inch (finished) hugs and kisses are alternating, creating a secondary pattern of a chain-like design. Surprisingly, this quilt is made from only one pieced block. Only the fabric value placement in the blocks is different.

Reflections of Love Quilt

The Fabric – Reflections of Love

Admittedly, I affectionately named this quilt Reflections of Love because of the fabric I chose. I made the blocks using both beautiful sides of Anna Maria Horner’s “Love Always” fabric collection for FreeSpirit. Having been a fan of Anna Maria’s bold use of color and scale in her fabric designs, I was thrilled when I discovered their beautiful reverse. In my opinion, Anna Maria’s work is bold and unapologetic, which is why I am passionately drawn to it. In addition to the brilliant Love Always fabrics, I chose a light background called Seeds, by Cori Dantini. This background reads as a solid from a distance, but pairs nicely.

The Use of Value – Reflections of Love

Unquestionably, using the reverse side of each beautiful fat quarter in Reflections of Love adds a certain charm to this design. In addition to the softness of the “medium” value, waves of pastel (the reverse) draw your eyes through the quilt. Incorporating that value contrast in this quilt added a subtle difference and sparkle to the quilt.

Quiltmaker Magazine featuring Reflections of Love on Cover
Reflections of Love shown on newsstand

Quiltmaker Magazine

This Supersize Double Issue of Quiltmaker Magazine is on newsstands now (as of March 26, 2024). Watch for signed copies in my Creative Bee Studios Etsy Shop! Find Quiltmaker in fine shops and bookstores in the United States and selected countries worldwide.

Karla’s Design Story

Pinky, the Baby Octopus

August 19, 2022 /
Home » Quilt Patterns

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Miniature quilts are fun to make!

This miniature quilt gives you a burst of happy for a baby’s room or even coastal decor!

Pinky Mini Miniature Quilt Pattern

Firstly, her name is Pinky Mini. She’s the same baby octopus as the original Pinky (see below). However, this Pinky is a 12-inch square quilt.

Secondly, like the original, Pinky Mini is made using BOTH beautiful sides of fabric!

Miniature baby octopus quilt
Pinky Mini, the baby octopus miniature quilt pattern.
Image of large quilt and miniature quilt
The PINKY quilt pattern is available as a 36 inch wall hanging.

Watch PINKY on YouTube!

Fishbone Dance Fabric

Furthermore, both quilts shown above are made using a fabric I designed called Fishbone Dance. This fabric features little curved fishbones swimming around sand dollars with tossed starfish. See Fishbone Dance here on a bubblegum pink background. However, there are several colorways available, including dark blue, lime, and aqua (see products below). These designs are printed on the exquisite Spoonflower fabric called Organic Cotton Sateen. Learn more about Spoonflower.

Image of Fishbone Dance fabric
Fishbone Dance

In addition, you can find matching merchandise and home decor with all my fabric designs, including this one! Be sure to check out my shops at RedBubble, Zazzle and Society 6, too!

Fishbone Dance notebook
Fishbone Dance Notebook on RedBubble
Fishbone Dance sheet set on Spoonflower
Pillow by Spoonflower of Fishbone Dance Lime
Fishbone Dance fabric on Spoonflower
Fishbone Dance aqua fabric on Spoonflower

Seasonal Decorating with Miniature Quilts

These pint-size designs are great for seasonal decorating, too, because they fit perfectly on a 12-inch table-top quilt stand.

See the additional miniature quilts made with patterns using both beautiful sides of fabric:

Felicity tea pot miniature quilt
Felicity, the tea pot miniature quilt is shown here made with both beautiful sides of Pioneer Woman’s “Breezy Blossoms” fabric.

Felicity features a tea pot and lid (made with the reverse) with a bouquet (made using the right side). You’ll also make the binding with the focus fabric! This makes choosing fabrics fun and easy! This is a simple broderie perse technique.

Image of mini quilt
Jacq O’ Lantern quilt pattern.

Finally, quilting friends say that sometimes they like to make miniature quilts because of space, cost, and the fact that they’ve made more large quilts than they know with what to do!

See more fun ways to use both sides with Seven Ways to Use Both Sides of Fabric!

Felicity, the Teapot Quilt

February 9, 2022 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Question: if you had a little Pioneer Woman fabric, what would you do?

Answer: make a little teapot quilt from both beautiful sides of Pioneer Woman fabric!

This mini teapot quilt is the perfect size for a little spot (of tea) in your kitchen. First, this quilt fits nicely on a 12″ table top quilt hanger. Secondly, it’s a sweet little way to learn all about how to use BOTH beautiful sides of your fabric!

Image of Quilt made with Pioneer Woman fabric
Felicity Quilt Pattern

Why is she named Felicity?

The American Girl doll, of course! Felicity Merriman is a young girl growing up in Virginia in 1774. She’s spunky and adventurous at a time when she’s expected to do “sitting down kinds of things”. Needless to say, both my girls devoured the American Girl books and treasured their dolls. Most importantly, they received their first American Girl dolls, each getting Felicity, while on a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia.

Image of Girls in Felicity dresses
Paige and Jacquelyn with Felicity dolls and matching dresses at Williamsburg, Virginia.

We tucked them in bed after traveling all day, with sweet dreams of entering Williamsburg come morning. Much to their surprise, Felicity dolls were sitting on the ends of their beds when they awoke. Furthermore, their grandmother had made them and their dolls matching dresses!

Image of girls in Felicity dresses
Here they were making bread crumbs in the kitchen. They also took dance lessons and watched their dad march in the militia.

Paige and Jacquelyn happily played the role of Felicity while visiting Williamsburg and, to our surprise, the costumed workers played their own characters as well! They talked with the girls as though they WERE Felicity, the character from their beloved books and they were well-versed in Felicity’s adventures!

My youngest daughter, Jacquelyn, responded promptly to my request for quilt names and Felicity was one of her contributions. She also reminded me that Felicity learned to how to “take tea” in one of her books. Thanks, Jacq – perfect!

Why Pioneer Woman fabric?

Ultimately, to fully understand, one must read “Watercolor on a Whim”,

Watercolor on a Whim is an account of a trip to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, home of Ree Drummond, THE Pioneer Woman.

In case you didn’t click on that link (you really should, it’s quite fun), I should tell you the fabric choice had nothing to do with brand name. I didn’t even think about the (loose) timeline connection to Felicity until writing this post. (To be accurate, though, Kirsten is the pioneer girl doll.)

Pioneer Woman fabric (and, I dare say, everything else she makes) is about happy, beautiful flowers. As my daughter, Paige, says, “Ree makes no apologies for pretty!”

Ree makes no apologies for pretty!

Paige Cook

To be fair to Ree, she’s mostly all about her cooking show, but don’t let that fool you, she’s also a talented writer, and so much more!

Altogether, when Pioneer Woman fabric began showing up at our local Walmart, that’s when things began to click. In case you still haven’t read the post linked above, here’s a quilted wall hanging made from another design of Ree’s fabric:

Quilt made with Pioneer Woman Fabric
Dazzling Kate Quilt Pattern outside The Mercantile in Pawhuska, Oklahoma!
Image of Felicity Quilt
Felicity Quilt Pattern

Simply put, this teapot quilt is as easy to make as it is pretty (not exactly a quote, but I should credit Ree for that statement.) Make the teapot and lid from the REVERSE side; make the bouquet and binding from the RIGHT side. Add a fun, scrappy background to make the quilt sparkle with happiness!

This quilt is made with easy fusible applique and broderie perse techniques.

While supplies last, get Felicity focus fabric kits! (This is a pattern and focus fabric fat quarter; you add the five scrappy background fabrics.)

SHOP more than 50 quilt patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides HERE.

Image of Bubbles with Stuffed Animal

Bubbles Cuddle Stuffed Animal

January 28, 2022 /

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

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Make a Bubbles Cuddle stuffed animal for your favorite baby in just a few steps!

Bubbles Cuddle is made with, you guessed it, both beautiful sides of fabric!

See Bubbles the Baby Whale Cuddle on YouTube! Learn more at Creative Bee Studios on YouTube

Not only is this fun stuffed animal sewing project made with both sides of fabric, it only has THREE pieces (plus his eyes)!

Image of stuffed animal
Bubbles Cuddle

Obviously, this stuffed animal matches the Bubbles the Baby Whale character from the original wall quilt, mini table quilt, and soft book panel. Likewise, this little, baby whale is made with both beautiful sides of “Bubbles Geometric” fabric, also designed just for Bubbles!

Image of Bubbles with Stuffed Animal
Bubbles the Baby Whale

Of course, you can make Bubbles with both beautiful sides of your favorite fabric! Learn more about How to Use Both Sides HERE.

This stuffed animal sewing project goes together quickly. Here’s how!

  • First, you will trace the template and cut your fabrics. You only need two “sides” and one “belly” for the body of the whale. Also, you’ll cut two small circles from the template for his eyes, which you will fuse in place.
  • Next, with a bit of hand-stitching, using an embroidery hoop trick, you’ll quickly have the eyes and mouth in place.
  • Then, you are ready to sew this guy together, leaving an opening for stuffing.
  • Finally, after stuffing the baby whale, you’ll hand-stitch the opening closed.

Lastly, give your little Bubbles Cuddle a hug!

Red Truck Quilt Pattern

Old Barns, Red Trucks, Mercantile and More

December 18, 2021 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Nostalgia at Christmastime

There’s a nostalgia that happens at Christmastime for me more than any other time of year.

Nostalgia at Christmastime includes food, music, and decorations.

Does everyone have vivid memories from childhood? From an old rendition of a Christmas song (Time Life Collection) to “holiday” foods we made when I was a kid (Pizza Fondue), Christmas brings back strong and warm memories for me. Sometimes I wonder if everyone reminisces their childhood and feels strong nostalgia at Christmastime as me.

For instance, one display in my dining room this year holds a host of happy and varied memories. I’d like to share these with you. Some are from long ago and some are very recent.

Simply put, some things we have are more than just things when they spark memories of loved ones, here and gone, and things we’ve experienced throughout our years.

image of plaster water wheel mill

Let’s start with this water wheel mill. Oddly enough, I painted it (probably during finals week) when I was in college. My aunt’s family owned a plaster shop. My friends and roommates and I would walk down to the shop on Broadway to pick out affordable gifts that we could paint for family. I suppose it was also a form of procrastination from studying, but let’s say it was a “break”!

The trees are made from the old red barn to add to the nostalgia at Christmastime.

See three wooden trees? These are made from an old red barn at our family farm. The barn is no more, but here, in it’s place, is a pavilion and cross. Notice the roof line of the pavilion mimics that of an old red barn?

image of pavilion and cross
Image of Lighted Church

Next up is this lighted church. This belonged to my mother-in-law, Pat. It plays “Silent Night” and the lights blink.

As the video scrolls, you can see a wool-wrapped candle with a snowflake made of fringed cotton fabric. Only a few years old, I made this wrap to add another texture to my Christmas decorations.

Image of P.Town

Behind the candle comes the lighted P. Town. and Mercantile. These are two buildings in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) renovated these buildings (and more), making the town a tourist and vacation destination.

In addition, my daughter Paige and I spent her spring break on a “creative getaway” here and had a blast. We ate pizza in the corner of the balcony shown here! See Watercolor on a Whim to read about our adventures and the creation of “Watercolor Whimsy” fabric and more! These decorations will spark new memories in years to come.

image of mercantile
Pioneer Woman Mercantile

At the very least, click on the link above to shop for this lighted Mercantile building and see more items fun things from Pioneer Woman!

Crafty nostalgia at Christmastime.

Do you notice how many of these memories are connected to crafts and creativity?

Lastly, you find Merry, the good ol’ red truck quilt. One of my favorite pattern designs and, of course, made with both beautiful sides of fabric, she’s sure to be a part of our decorations for years to come. Merry reminds me to stay focused and never give up on goals, dreams, and creativity.

As always, you can learn more about quilt patterns, fabric, and merchandise at Creative Bee Studios.

See more Christmas fun at Coastal Christmas Decor and Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Image of Little Joy at the quilt shop

Add a Little Joy

December 18, 2021 /

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

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Use both sides of Christmas scraps to add a Little Joy to your gifts!

I think every stitcher has a Christmas stash. You might have leftover fabric from a quilt, stockings, or napkins. Personally, I don’t keep a lot of Christmas stash, just two cubbies (!). However, you don’t need much to add a little joy to your gift decorating.

About a year ago today, I was part of my local quilt shop’s Christmas Open House. See the sample gift bag with Little Joy. Download the free pdf (further below) on gift bags using your Christmas scraps. Consider adding Little Joy to craft paper covered boxes as well.

Image of Little Joy at the quilt shop

This mini pattern mimics the JOY and Joyful quilt patterns which both use the large template of JOY.

You can see that the tree is made with the front side of a Christmas motif and the gifts under the tree are made from the reverse.

Like all my patterns, it requires auditioning BOTH sides of fabric to test their values. You’ll want to see the tree first, then notice the gifts under the branches. In the quilt patterns, you’ll also audition your background fabrics and try to pull a fun variety of fabric styles together to give the quilt an added interest.

Of course, for your gifts, just choose a surface with the contrast you desire. If you choose blue bags and have blue fabric, your design will be subtle. Use white bags for a high contrast.

It’s just a simple and fun way to use up some fabric scraps and get a little playtime in!

Image of Joy
Joy Quilt Pattern
Image of Joyful Quilt Pattern
Joyful Quilt Pattern
Little JOYDownload

Shop #usebothsides quilt patterns in my Etsy Shop: CreativeBeeStudios

Image of Red Truck Quilt
MERRY Quilt Kit
Red Bubble

See the new products on Red Bubble by clicking the button above! Read A Christmas Passed HERE and Christmas (Quilts) in July HERE.

Wishing you JOY and MERRYiment this Christmas season and God’s blessing throughout the New Year!

Find more Christmas quilting fun at Traditional Christmas Colors or NOT for Quilting and Christmas and Quilts and JOY!

Prepping for fall? Check out this Sweet Pumpkin Applique project!

image of baby quilt

Seashore Friends Baby Quilt

August 31, 2021 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Brand New: Seashore Friends Baby Quilt Pattern!

Create a fun, fast baby quilt using one block, four fabrics, and BOTH beautiful sides!

Firstly, the new Seashore Friends quilt is made with this one block – Rippling 4-Patch.

Image of Reflecting 4-Patch

To start, the Rippling 4-Patch block is made with seven squares and two 4-patch units. You’ll make the swell of the rippling wave “reflect” by using the reverse of each fabric to mimic the sunlight on the crest of the waves.

Use both beautiful sides of four fabrics!

Next, use four fabrics to make the blocks that repeat outward from the center diagonal line.

In this baby quilt you see four fabrics from Seashore Friends Fabric Collection (my own designs), printed by Spoonflower on the exquisite Organic Cotton Sateen. Learn more about Organic Cotton Sateen HERE. This fabric is a delight for quilters and PERFECT for baby!

image of baby quilt
Seashore Friends Quilt Pattern

Gentle rippling waves come to shore in this one-block quilt. Use the reverse side of four fabrics to mimic the sun’s reflection on the crest of the waves. No matter what your fabric motif, the reverse will add an “I Spy” activity for baby.

Seashore Friend Baby Quilt
Image of baby quilt fabric
Seashore Friends Fabric Collection

See the full Seashore Friends Fabric Collection

Furthermore, you can find more baby quilt gift ideas, including matching accessories like bibs, drag-along blankets, even personalizable gifts right in my Etsy shop. Together with my personal touch for customized orders, these print-on-demand items will ship straight to you from the print shop where my artwork is applied.

baby quilt with soft book panel
The Adventures of Bubbles the Baby Whale Soft Book Panel

Stitch up a quick little soft book for your special baby using the fat-quarter panel of Organic Cotton Sateen to go with your baby quilt!

Additionally, see more about The Adventures of Bubbles the Baby Whale soft book DIY panel. Watch on YouTube!

Not a nautical nursery?

Finally, suppose you (or the baby’s parents) aren’t into nautical baby. What to do? Consider other motifs like tractors, frogs, flowers, hearts – anything really, as long as they have beautiful reverse sides that work for your quilt!

image of babyquilt and merchandise
Use the easy-link, blue SHOP buttons for patterns, fabric, and merchandise at Creative Bee Studios!

Follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Enjoy your quilting journey!

Image of Bubbles with Stuffed Animal

Old Friends Fare Well

July 3, 2021 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

Old friends might not be those you’ve known the longest.

Old friends might be those you connect with instantly. Or maybe its someone you haven’t seen in a while but you pick up right where you left off, not missing a beat or…a word!

That’s what I mean by “old friends”. Not age. Not how long you’ve known them. It’s those people who connect with your soul. Who KNOW you. Really KNOW you!

Actually, old creations can be old friends, too.

When you’ve work on something so long that it becomes a part of you, it becomes a friend. It’s like when you know every inch of a quilt, or a drawing or a garden or whatever it is into which you pour your heart and hands and time.

You might not always like your this creation of yours. But a good thing rarely comes without hard work, glitches, and maybe the need for a seam ripper…right?

In the end, when you have accomplished what you set out to create, you can take stock in that process and friendship. Like when you see an old friend in passing and you both talk “a mile a minute”. When you turn to walk away, you are smiling. Old friends truly are the best!

All of this talk leads me to announce the culmination of a long creative process for one simple thing: this guy.

image of whale quilt
BUBBLES the Baby Whale Quilt Pattern

I know you’ve seen BUBBLES before…but now he’s sporting his very OWN fabric!

It’s called Bubbles Geometric and it’s part of my Seashore Friends Collection!

Read “Uncork the Bubbles” if you want to take a look at the original guy, made with Kaffe Fassett’s Paint Pots,

To review, the whale and binding are made from the RIGHT side of the fabric. His under-belly, blowhole, and the floating bubbles are made from the REVERSE.

The real fun was choosing fabrics from the collection to help make the background for BUBBLES. In addition to seven fabrics from Seashore Friends, you’ll find batiks, ombre, and white on white stash fabrics.

AND…(drum roll)…how fun will it be for quilter moms and grandmoms to be able to choose little extras to go with their quilts?

image of quilt and onesie
A BUBBLES Onesie!
image of wallpaper
Peel and Stick Wallpaper
image of pillow
A pre-made pillow – because you just made a quilt!

These are just a few of the BUBBLES items available – I hope you’ll take a look! Use the easy-link blue SHOP buttons!

I’ve been waiting for the day when I could share this with you all – my “old friends”. (Even if you don’t know me in person, I think you KNOW me by now.)

BUBBLES is an old friend of mine. I hope he’ll be yours, too.

Image of Dazzling Kate Quilt

Meet Dazzling Kate

January 22, 2021 /

Add sparkling borders to turn beautiful Kate into…Dazzling Kate!

First, a short history of how Dazzling Kate came to be: A short four years ago, I began designing quilts using both sides of fabric. Many of the new patterns were based on a 36-inch size wall hanging. The first phase were of a bee, butterfly and dragonfly. The next series of three were bouquets and vases. All of the first six patterns were made using a combination of fusible applique and broderie perse. Click here to learn more about Broderie Perse.

Basically, you take one focus fabric and use both sides of it to gain a difference in value. Sometimes that difference is subtle; sometimes it is stark. It all depends on the style of your quilt and what you are trying to achieve.

For instance, take a look at both sides of this fabric. While the front is very bright, the reverse also has movement and interest. It has a lighter value than the front but still catches your eye.

Image of Front for Dazzling Kate
Front of Kaffe Fassett Collective Japanese Chrysanthemum by Philip Jacobs
Image of Reverse of Fabric
Reverse of Kaffe Fassett Collective Japanese Chrysanthemum by Philip Jacobs

What makes Dazzling Kate sparkle is the use of both sides of this one focus fabric!

While the center section remains the same as the original Kate, the borders sparkle around the center with half-square triangles.

Add a “stop” flange to surround the center section using the RIGHT side of the focus fabric. Connect the borders with cornerstones. Even the binding is made with the focus fabric!

Overall, this makes planning this large quilt so easy! Just add interesting “neutrals” and fun accent strips. There’s even a tiny flange attached to the outer edge of the quilt. Dazzling Kate finishes at 60 x 60 inches.

Image of Dazzling Kate Quilt

SHOP for Dazzling Kate Quilt Pattern

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Have yourself a happy, wonderful day and ENJOY your quilting journey!

Karla

Image of Mini Punch Needle

Mr. Snowman Punch-Needle

January 4, 2021 /

Meet Mr. Snowman!

Mr. Snowman is a fun, little punch-needle design. He’s hitting the slopes of trees and swirls in colors to match the quilt you see in the background.

Image of Mr. Snowman with quilt

This design is fast and easy. It’s slightly less than four inches square. The cute size fits perfectly on a mini art canvas. Add the little easel to display your mini stitched artwork.

Since punch-needle is a compact, hand-held craft, Mr. Snowman is easy to pack for travel. You can even work it while you ride. If you aren’t familiar with punch-needle, check out the many tutorials on Pinterest and Youtube. Click HERE for an introductory tutorial on Pinterest. There are also numerous books and patterns on the subject.

Image of Mr. Snowman

Generally, punch needle requires a good hoop that tightens well. You’ll want your surface tight like a drum at all times. That makes it easy for your needle to punch into the cloth.

Next, when you make a punch-needle stitch, the need head is punched downward through the back side (top) of your hooped cloth. When you pull your needle back up, it leaves a tiny loop on the front (underneath) side of your hoop. The size of the loop depends on the size of your needle punching length and thread.

You’ll work Mr. Snowman punch needle from the back side of your hoop. You can turn the hoop over periodically to see your progress.

You might want to practice getting your punches evenly spaced, but the learning curve for learning punch needle is quite easy to achieve.

Mr.-SnowmanDownload

See Love Notes Punch Needle

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