The final month in the Moda Letter to Santa SAL! The last five words are NOEL, PRESENTS, STOCKINGS, BOWS and FAMILY. Click here to download the word setting instructions.
The letter pattern is a paid pattern called the Primitive Gatherings Mini Alphabet Quilt Pattern (which you can grab as a PDF download HERE from the Fat Quarter Shop).
This is where these words are in the Moda quilt.
Moda Lissa finished her quilt and it looks awesome! There are finishing instructions that you can follow too.
If you didn’t follow exactly the same words, don’t worry! You might need to add a bit more space around your words. Measure out your rows as you go, and if there are any that need a bit extra fabric, you can pop in an extra piece of background, or trim down the sides of your blocks if needed. The Moda finishing instructions have 2 rows where you add an extra 1.5″x7.5″ piece and 1 row where you have to shave off 1″ from one of the filler blocks (or split from either end)–it will all work out in the end!
A few tips from Lissa after she assembled her quilt top:
- No matter how accurate your piecing is, there are a lot of seams on each row. Fold each row in half to mark the center of the row, and then repeat for the sides to mark the quarter sections. Pin each row together using these points and at the beginning and end. If there is any fullness, it can be eased between the pins.
- Sew into sets of 2 rows, and then join the sets of 2’s into 4’s. There are 13 rows, so add the last row onto a set of 4 to make (2) sets of 4, and (1) set of 5.
- Press each set of rows as you sew them, either open or to one side.
- It’s very easy to accidentally sew a row in upside down, so be careful! (Ask me how I know! – Lissa)
- Stay stitch around the edge of the quilt before sending it to your quilter. This keeps any seams from coming apart when loading it on the longarm.
She has also done a scrappy backing and included her grandchildren’s names… what a wonderful way to do a backing.
As if Lissa hadn’t made enough word blocks, she also put together a bonus project as a gift for a friend, using all the names of their family members to form a Christmas tree.
When making a name or word tree of your own, arrange the words in order from short to long. You can see where there are a few names of the same length in this quilt (Crew and Cleo right at the top), where switching the background/letter color created just a little extra size for the second block down, and keeps the angle going to form the sides of the tree.
And another project you could use the filler blocks for….. ornaments! Just pop them into an embroidery hoop and add some ribbon for bows.
These use a 6″ embroidery hoop, so if you’re using blocks you’ve already made, you’ll want just a dab of glue to keep the short sides of the block (5 1/2″) from popping out of the hoop. If you haven’t sewn yet, just make your blocks a little wider rather than the 5 1/2″ written, to give a little extra fabric to fit into the hoop.
Have fun and I hope you have enjoyed the Moda Letters to Santa Sewalong!
