How do I piece this medallion?
 

I am going to make a quilt for an old friend. We did a lot of sailing, so it will have a nautical theme. I have attached what I have designed for a medallion in the center of the quilt. Now I can't figure out how to put it together, how to group the pieces into segments, what order, partial seams, set in seam? I do know how to do each of the individual little sailboat blocks. And the center part will be appliqued. Can anyone help me figure this out? Thanks!

It will be a stunning quilt!!!

I certainly don't have the expertise to help you but it will be a beautiful quilt! Please keep us posted on your progress!

I'd paper piece the small flags on the borders. The rest will have to be appliqued, probably raw edge applique. I think I would start with the center and work my way out, in the order in which it appears to be layered.

One stitch at a time around the outline of the Yaht and sails.i would also do the reflection. I would either use invisible thread or match up colour with picture. I would go slow and possible because I enjoy hand stitch as it would be easier to manage the stitching. No long lengths to uNdo.

Enjoy it will be stunning.

I would begin with the sky, and applique the sun/moon onto it. Then add the sea along the bottom. Then applique the boat, shadow and palm trees.
It's a beautiful design!

Unbelievably stunning already. A nautical delight!!!!

I agree, I would paper piece the small flags. and start with the applique in the middle. You have got to take things slow and be so accurate with your cutting and seams otherwise the quilt will be wonky. Good Luck !!

Nice design! I feel your pain...I'm forever designing things with no idea how I'm going to actually construct them. That's part of the great adventure for me. :)

For yours, I'd definitely go with partial seams for the small boat elements and use a braid-like sequence of adding straight segments. I'd have the corner anchor attached to the shorter boat section to give me more flexibilty (longer piece) going around the triangles. The blue triangle bases can be sewn to the 'under' units in advance if you're sure of your measurements or 'as approached' if you're not quite as sure. Either way has a bit of a risk for distortion but is easily fixable if caught before moving on. To add the dark blue borders that square the whole thing off, set in (Y) seams would probably be the best option.

I hope that sparks some ideas for you. When faced with pieces like this, I've learned that it takes less time in the long run if I hand baste each section first to make sure it's going to fit/look right. It's much easier to take out basting than machine stitching and there's less stress to the fabric. Good luck to you!

ETA: Another option would be to just make two full squares of the small boats, slit one at an 'under' point, weave them together as one unit, and then stitch the whole thing with inset seams onto the octagon of your central piece. You'd have a double layer of fabric at each crossing point, but it is an option.

OR...do that and then trim out the overlaps so it's just one layer...hmmm. I can't seem to stop........ :o

I would do fusible applique, then hand stitch using embroidery floss and a buttonhole stitch, for your center. Good luck, its going to be beautiful!!

Looks like you should do a partial seam on the first strip of little boats with the skinny navy blue strip under them as one piece. This will have the corner stones attached. Then add the blue triangle and boat/triangle piece. Then you are ready to attach the next long strip of boats and continue all the way around.

Wow, that will be gorgeous

it looks like a lot of partial seams will be needed as you go along. You designed it, so it can be done. Just take it slow and give it a try perhaps with scraps that are the same size as the pieced areas. Good luck.

I would foundation piece it. I would start with an oversize piece of navy fabric, probably a piece of 108" backing. Create your center applique. Mark the surrounding octagon stitch line. Extend the octagon lines so they form the 2 squares for the boat border. I would use matching navy thread and stitch on the marked stitch lines. This will create a permanent guide and stabilize the portions of the octagon that are on the bias. This is called 'stay stitching' in garment construction. Chalk will just wear off as you are probably going to be handling this a lot. Next, paper piece all your little boats, INCLUDE the narrow navy band in your paper piecing pattern. Remember to include seam allowances. Piece full boats for ALL the boat segments with the exception of the solid portions that go underneath the other border. Make the 8 anchor blocks. The anchor blocks should be the same width as the boat segments (which is why you want to include the navy border in your PP). Join all your boats and blank filler for the top border. (boat, filler, 5 boats). No anchors. Press the seam allowance over on the outside (top) edge. Using the 'stitch & flip' method, sew the top horizontal boat border. Use a 2.5 stitch length. Do the same on the horizontal bottom,pressing the outside (bottom) border over. Now create the vertical side strips, and add the anchor blocks to both ends, press the outside seam allowances. Stitch them on. The inner edges of the square will be stitched and the outer edge will be loose, but the seam allowance will be pressed under. Now do the 45 degree borders. Start with the NE one. Create the border with the boats and blank. Press the seam allowance over on both long edges. Position this on your quilt. You will need to unpick the top border where the 45 degree one goes underneath. Pin securely. Next do the SW one (no anchors), then add the anchors to the SE & NW ones. You will need to finagle these in place, so I wouldn't stitch them down until all four are laid out to your liking. You can now top stitch all the loose edges really close to the edge, or hand applique them. To reduce bulk, turn the piece over and cut out the backing under the boat borders, leaving about a quarter inch. You can also carefully cut out the portions of the borders that go underneath the others. Trim the backing to desired size.