Quilted Block

Quilted blocks make a great centerpiece for any project! This tutorial walks you through adding batting to the back of a single quilted embroidery design. In this case, I used this single square to create a Log Cabin quilted pillow. If this was intended to be a full quilt, it would be best to complete the whole top before embroidering -- click here for those instructions.

The design featured in this tutorial is:

Doodle Quilting Square

Gather Materials:

To prepare for your quilt block project, gather these items:

Quilting embroidery design (I'm using the Doodle Quilting Square)
Quilter's cotton fabric of your choice
Batting sheet
Medium-weight cutaway stabilizer
Temporary spray adhesive
Design template
Scissors
Hand sewing needle
Tailor's Chalk or air erase marker
Quilter's ruler
Heavy Book(s)

Scissors, yellow fabric pieces, light blue fabric, black and white patterned fabric, spray adhesive can, rotary cutter, and red dictionary on white surface.

Special notes: This tutorial assumes that you a) already have some familiarity with quilting in general or b) like me, you are cool with rolling through and learning new projects as you go, so we will not be covering how to create the quilt top itself. For beginners to quilting, check out this tutorial for the basics you need to know!

Create your quilt square using the fabrics you've chosen. If you want instructions on how to make this style Log Cabin Pillow, follow this tutorial.

For this project, I am using the largest Doodle Quilting Square design and leaving roughly a one inch border around the design.

Square quilt with concentric fabric borders: solid mint green center, yellow with white floral pattern, black and white herringbone, and solid yellow outer edge.

Use the design template to mark the cross bars and center the design with in the quilted block. (Here's more on printing templates).

Hand drawing red intersecting lines with a pencil on a white square paper featuring a black and white intricate quilt block design, placed on a blue mat over a yellow patterned fabric.

To apply batting, coat the front of the stabilizer with spray adhesive, then lay the stabilizer over the batting as smooth as possible. Lay the batting (stabilizer down) and spray the top of the batting. Then place the center of the quilted block over the batting. Press firmly, while smoothing out the fabric.

Hand with medium brown skin holding and pressing the nozzle of a white spray can with partial red text "GUNOLD" against a white fabric background.

Before hooping, lay the quilted square (with batting and stabilizer) on a flat surface. Then, place a heavy book or two (dictionary, encyclopedia, etc.) on the area that will be embroidered. Leave the books on for about 30 minutes. This will remove the air from the batting-- making it easier to sew and avoid thread skips or looping.

Two hardcover books, Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (red cover) and Roget's II The New Thesaurus (dark blue cover), placed side by side on a yellow fabric with white floral quilted patterns and a blue striped border.

Start Embroidering:

Make sure the quilted block is taut in the hoop before embroidering the design. When the design is finished sewing, remove the excess stabilizer, leaving a half inch border around the embroidered design.