Sometimes I make a quilt straight through from start to finish, but more often I move in and out of the process and design as I go. Today’s finish is particularly exciting because it’s one of my longer-term projects that lived on my design wall for a long time as the design developed.
I started this butterfly quilt a couple of years ago when the Modern Quilt Guild announced a pollinator theme for their Make-a-Difference Challenge. Needless to say, I missed that deadline, but I kept working on it off and on, so now I can finally share the result!
Designing Butterfly
My pollinator design was inspired by a butterfly photograph I took at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio.
I chose a square composition focused on the butterfly and the flower it landed on. Using AutoCAD LT, I created a simple line drawing, picking out the key shapes in the photograph.
With the focal point complete, I added a background of simple squares, reminiscent of the panes of glass in the conservatory.
For this type of design, I print off full-sized templates that I use to cut all of the appliqué components. My printer handles 11” x 17” paper, so assembly is minimal. The blue lines show where the templates join, and the red lines (which don’t appear on the final print) help me set up each page so they align properly for printing.
Selecting Fabrics
Choosing fabrics is the most fun (and challenging) part of the project. I tend to select a gradient fabric for the background to add depth to these appliqué designs, and this time I chose a fabric that reminded me of a breezy Spring day. I place the background fabric on the design wall, then pin the paper templates over it. I cut the template into sections and select fabrics for each one.
Fabric selection is an intense part of the process because it’s important to capture the feeling of the original photograph while balancing the designs and placement of the fabrics themselves. I prefer working mostly with commercially printed fabrics to bring in a range of colors and motifs that help move your eye around the overall composition. This does mean that I spend a lot of time building a fabric palette that encompasses a wide range of colors and values- tone-on-tone prints are the best!
For appliqué components that act as a visual background, I try to select fabrics that are approximately the same color and value as the background fabric.
Appliqué
You may have noticed that the edges of the cut fabrics butt up against each other. The background fabric is only revealed during the appliqué process, when 1/8” seam allowance is turned under on each raw edge, creating a quarter-inch-wide line of background fabric between the pieces.
Quilting
For Appliqué designs, I like to stick with simple, linear or grid quilting that doesn’t overwhelm the graphic nature of the appliqué components. We also view much of the natural world through screens or glass, and a simple grid over nature imagery tends to act as a filter that melts away, allowing us to experience the image as a whole.
Before basting, I mark my first set of quilting lines with 1” wide masking tape, leaving 2” wide gaps between strips. I can then pin-baste between the tape lines.
I use a walking foot on my BERNINA 770 QE PLUS for most of my straight-line quilting. Once the first set of lines is quilted, I mark the perpendicular set using the same method.
This quilt is quilted in a half-inch grid.
Finishing
Striped fabric makes a dynamic binding, especially when it’s cut on the bias. For this design, I selected a batik with an organic feel and a blue-green palette that coordinates with the backing fabric.
Quilt Show Entry
The first quilt show entry for Butterfly is QuiltCon, which requires the following information along with three photographs:
- Title: Butterfly
- Category: Appliqué
- Size: 36.5” x 36.5”
- Techniques: Hand appliqué, Machine quilted without a frame (domestic), walking foot quilting
- Materials: Cotton fabric, Cotton thread, Cotton/wool batting
- Description: A captured moment of stillness in the chaos of a busy conservatory butterfly exhibit brings together the rapid flutter of gossamer wings and the gentle sway of a vibrant bloom. Each shape in the image stands alone, surrounded by an ombréd background of swirling blue revealed through hand-needle-turn appliqué. Simple, gridded quilting gently reminds us that we view most of the natural world through a barrier like a screen or glass.
The three photographs must include a full view of the quilt and a detail image. Starting last year, they also now require a detail shot of the quilt’s edge.
Butterfly is one of the four entries I submitted for consideration at QuiltCon 2027. You can see Violet Rose here, and the other entries here.
Quilt Stats
- Title: Butterfly
- Size: 36.5” x 36.5”
- Techniques: Hand appliqué
- Quilting: Walking Foot quilting on a BERNINA 770 QE PLUS
- Fabric: Violet prints and solids from my stash (and some that I purchased to fill in the color gaps)
- Batting: Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Wool blend
- Thread: 50-weight Aurifil in a variety of colors
- Edge Finish: Bias Binding
Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday (TGIFF) Link-Up
Now that you have seen my recent finish, I can’t wait to see yours! Add a link to your recent finish below, and check out all the other fantastic finishes!
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