This past Tuesday we did a Facebook Live Video on Panels and how to use them in various projects.
I will share with you tonight some of our favorite quilt patterns for patterns, and what to use panels for besides for in a quilt.
Panels have come a long way in the past few years. They used to be about 20" wide by the width of fabric, and their wasn't a lot of patterns designed for panels. Now they come in a wide variety of sizes, any where from small individual blocks, to 54"x60" which is large enough to be a lap quilt. And there is so much pattern support, from fun coordinating prints, to a wide variety of patterns written specifically for panels.
Mountain Peak Creations is one of our favorite designers for panels. There patterns are fun and add some fun elements to dress up a simple pattern. They provide options to make quilts from narrow panels, with out making them look like an odd shape. Some of their patterns are written for a variety of different sized panels which is great because there is not necessarily a standard size anymore. They also have patterns for horizontal panels which are starting to become really popular too! The patterns are well written and easy to follow.
Castilleja Cotton is another of our favorite pattern designers to use for panels. They are based in Calgary. A good selection of their patterns are written for the Hoffman Call Of The Wild prints, and we have made kits for several of them, and they always sell out so quick.
One Block Wonder Quilts are fun to make and use 6 or 7 of the same panel. Each and everyone turns out so different. The one pictured below is one Esther did last summer, she has another one in progress, but it is set aside at the moment for other more pressing projects.
For those panels that are printed as blocks, we often put them in our quilts in place of blocks. So if our panel blocks measure 12" we will make a bunch of 12" blocks and mix the panels into the layout. 
Now if you feel you have enough quilts panels can work really great for a few other things.
They work great as door decor, rather than hanging a wreath, just hang a panel that you have quilted, on the wreath hooks instead. We always add 2 loops onto the back when we sew on our binding to hang them. It is fun to switch them out for each season. I know several people that made them as gifts for relatives or friends that were in senior centers or longer term care facilities, it adds some cheer to the door and doesn't take up any extra space in the room. 
You could also hang them on a wall in your home this way to, or quilt a larger baby panel as is and gift it as a baby play mat.
Some panels are great to make tote bags from. Esther used a Sweetwater Panel to make this fun tote bag, and just adjusted the measurements in the pattern to fit her panel. Tote bags are generally pretty straight forward to adjust, especially if the lining is cut the exact same as the exterior. 
Do you use panels at all? We have over 200 panels listed on our online shop, which you can view here and more than that in store, so come on in to check them out. We recently hung new rods to display our panels and now have a good selection hanging there for you to see.
Have a great weekend,
Kayla
No comments:
Post a Comment