GramMER

Our eldest grandson has just been declared cancer free and I wanted to make a quilt for him and his wife. So just before we came back to India the last time, I ordered what I thought would be ample cloth for a queen sized quilt. I purchased Moda "Snow Days" because it had the shades of blue and gray they liked and have begun putting it together in what looked like an easy pattern "16 Patch plus Pinwheels" (http://www.maryquilts.com/16-patch-and-pinwheels/). The pinwheels have turned out very well and today I have begun the 16 patches which seem pretty too.

Now here is my problem. I have realized I probably should have bought border fabric before we left too because it is extremely hard to find online now. I ordered four charm packs (makes 40 pinwheels) and three jelly rolls, but what about the borders? Hancock's of Paducah (http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item...-Days--srcin-1) seems to have a few colors left and they are on sale, but they do not have any jelly rolls.

Question #1. The directions on the pattern call for 31 pinwheel blocks and 32 16-patch blocks for a quilt size is 56x72 (twin maybe?). Should I double that for a queen? The blocks are 8 1/2" unfinished. I am concerned I will not have enough.

Question #2. For sure I need material for borders. IF I have enough to make the top, how much cloth do I need to make at least two 5" to 6" borders all around? I plan to make a dark "stopper border" of the navy and then add at least two other colors.

This is a big problem for me and I appreciate anyone who would be willing to help me. I already emailed the lady who made the green 16-patch pattern to ask if she had measurements for a larger quilt and she said she did not have time to answer individual questions like that. What to do?

Please email me if you have any suggestions. I surely would appreciate any help I can get at this point.

Lee in Richmond

I have a book that says the following for queen size overall measurements:
Bed top: 60" wide by 80" long
Quilt used w/dust ruffle: 84"x92"
Quilt to cover entire box spring: 92"x106"

Figuring out your blocks' final dimensions sounds too much like homework (1/2" here, 1/2" there...) for me. I would figure out the 60x80 using your blocks and then add whatever borders make it drop as far as you want.

x7lillies

1. A queen sized mattress is 60" x 80" across the top. If they have a pillowtop mattress, I'd give another 8"-12" drop to cover down the box spring, and another 6" on top of that to cover the box spring. Since most beds are raised, a little extra drop never hurts, but I know you're tight on fabric.

Your dimensions suggest that your quilt pattern calls for 27 blocks of each type (9 rows with three of each block per row), for a 6x9 block quilt that measures 48"x72" before your border. I would suggest not doubling the original dimensions, but adding two blocks to each row and adding 2 more rows. In other words, your finished quilt would be 8x11 blocks (44 blocks of each type), and would measure 64"x88" before your border. If you add a 4" border, you'll end up with a finished quilt size of 72"x96". You can get a queen-sized Warm and Natural pre-packaged batting piece to fit the quilt (they are 90"x108").

2. If you take the advice in #1, then you'll need about 1.25 yards of fabric cut into 4.5" strips. If you can find a jelly roll, you need a total of 335" (~8.5 strips 40" long and 4.5" wide). Those measurements have an extra 12" built into them just in case.

I hope this helps, it's a beautiful pattern and I love your fabrics

willferg

It sounds like with 31 pinwheels and 32 16 patches, you are making a quilt 7 blocks wide and 9 blocks tall, for a total of 63 blocks. You could up it to 9 x 11, and make a total of 99 blocks. Then you'd be at 72" x 88", plus borders.

Or, if you are out of fabric, you could stick with the original blocks and just get creative with the borders.

sharoney

I found some of the fabric on Etsy. Just go to Etsy and put Moda Snow Days quilt fabric in the search box.

GramMER

Kim,

You did the math! Aren't you special?!?!? I tried to visualize the blocks and needed graph paper for my brain to do the work, but I could not find any. Maybe just using the top of the mattress measurements will give me a finished top and I can add borders for the finish. I wish I had been more careful in ordering in the first place!

GramMER

I have never used Etsy. What kind of company is it? I did a search on Google and came up with Amazon.com over and over. Are they in the fabric business?

jillybean

I love this line--go to www.quiltshops.com , in search, enter Snow Days--they have lots of shops that have this line-you can shop around for a price also with all choices. Good luck

Jill

Lee in Richmond

I think etsy.com started as a way for homemade things to get sold on-line. Maybe has migrated from that by now. Just type it in like you would to get to amazon.

GramMER

Thanks Jill, this looks line a handy link for sure.