A Finished Low Volume Quilt Top

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Isn’t this the most peaceful color palette ever? This simple quilt top has turned out so beautifully, and I can’t wait to finish it up. Once it’s finished, it will head to a sweet customer’s home.

What a privilege being able to sew each little square together knowing this quilt will be heading to a new home. It sounds like it will be loved well!

I picked out a good variety of fabrics from my current stash. I’d consider almost all of them low volume. What is low volume? For me, it’s a low amount of saturated color. Most of the fabrics in this quilt have white, creamy white, or off white backgrounds.

I have lots of different shades of blue and white and gray included in this quilt. I’ve included a few shades of yellow, and I love the little bits of pink here and there. There’s not too much pink but just enough to give it a bit of variety.

That pretty yellow and pink floral above is Luminous Field from the Printemps line by Art Gallery Fabrics. I think it’s quite pretty.

(If you can’t find the Luminous Field print anymore, try looking for some other Art Gallery Floral Fabrics. Kiwi Fabrics has a pretty good selection, and Polka Dot Secrets has tons of beautiful florals.)

I mixed in a little bit of linen here and there. The mix of mediums and texture is wonderful for me. I used a LOT of Robert Kaufman’s Kona in white. It’s a great true white. If you are looking for lots of varying shades of white, like in this quilt, it’s perfect. I’ve learned that most fabrics with a ‘white’ background often have a creamy background compared to Kona white fabric.

It really is a bright white. Perfect for a low volume quilt. The white makes the quilt so fresh and clean.

The darker gray floral fabric pictured above is from Cotton + Steel’s Sienna Line. It’s called Wildflower Stone.

I purchase fabric from a variety of places, but if you’re looking for some great fabric shops, here are my current favorites:

Kiwi Fabrics
Morgan Kelly Quilts
Field and Cloth

You’ll be able to find selections of low volume fabrics at any of the three shops I mentioned above.

Since there isn’t a lot of intricate piecing in this quilt, it makes for a low stress matching of corners and seams.

The large blocks are each six inches square. The smaller blocks are four 3 1/4 inch square blocks sewn together. After considering seam allowance, those four 3 1/4 inch squares make a perfect six inch block. (If you have trouble making that perfect six inch block, be sure to double check your seam allowance. That’s the first place to look when there’s trouble!)

I take care to nest the seams. As you can see, I almost always square my fabric with the prints on the fabric. I like the uniform ‘non-wonkiness’ when all the prints are going the same way and squared with the fabric. It takes a bit more brain power to ensure all the prints are going the right direction, but it’s worth it in the long run.

This quilt will be finished as a twin size quilt. I really think that’s the perfect size for cuddling. The standard throw sized quilts are just a bit too small for my liking. It’s hard for me to really wrap up or cover up fully with the throw sized quilts.

For this quilt, I will finish it with 13 blocks across and 17 blocks down. Nice and big. Big enough for two people to snuggle under on a couch.

For the backing, I recommended three different options to my customer. Originally, I figured the back would be solid Kona white. For a low volume quilt, you can’t go wrong with white.

I also proposed searching around for another low volume backing that suited my customer. I suggested something like this criss cross fabric.

Then I saw this vintage sheet on my shelf. I had found it a while ago. It is really hard for me to pass up any vintage sheets with blues in them. I am drawn to blue florals so quickly, and I feel they are much harder to find than the yellows and oranges so often found in vintage sheets.

I really thought the soft blues looked so complementary to this quilt. I draped it over the quilt for a day, and then I proposed using it to my customer.

It grew on me more and more as it hung over the back of my sewing chair in our bedroom. What a good use of a pretty vintage floral.

Really, my friends, it’s a blessing to be able to make time to create these quilts. But it really is so much fun being able to make them for others. I’ll be sure to post once this quilt is finished! I’ll take lots of pictures before sending it off to its new home!

Click HERE if you want to see my post of this quilt all finished up!