A Sweet Prairie Custom Quilt

I take a handful of custom orders each year. I have to turn down a good amount of requests, but when a loyal and repeat customer asks for another quilt, I gladly reply with a yes!

This quilt was yet another joy to make! I’ve talked a bit about the pros and cons of taking custom orders, but this one hit all the pros. This client is a joy to work with. She knows what she wants yet I don’t find myself going back and forth with her continually narrowing down all her favorite fabrics.

She sent me an inspiration picture of some Sweet Prairie Fabric, and we worked from there.

This quilt finishes just over 60 by 70 inches. I cut the squares six inches each. There are 13 squares down and 11 squares across.

You can see I used a scrappy yet curated palette of greens, pinks, and browns.

You can see in the image above that I added a bit of variation with a few four piece squares sprinkled throughout the quilt. The only goal was to add a bit of interest.

To create these squares, I simply sew 3 1/4 inch squares together. If you sew flawlessly, those squares make a perfect six inch square.

Since I don’t sew flawlessly, I used 3 1/2 inch squares and then trimmed down the final block to a flawless six inch square. Trimming always works well for me when there’s the option. Everything goes together so much better when all the squares are the right size. 🙂

While digging through my stash of vintage sheets, I came across this sheet. It was in great condition and had floral bouquets that matched so perfectly it was almost too good to be true. I was tickled when my client agreed to this backing. I didn’t think I could find anything that matched much better.

Some of you may ask if I enjoy using sheets as backing. Truthfully, I do. First of all, I love the interest they add to a quilt. You have crisp cotton quilting fabric on the front and then a soft vintage sheet on the back.

I enjoy the eclecticism of it all. Plus, vintage sheets add an element of softness that you don’t find with cotton fabric until a quilt is worn and used for a couple years.

Whenever sewing with vintage sheets, I tend to use a good bit of starch to hold shape during the basting process.

Interested in other vintage sheet posts? Feel free to sift through these below:

How to Get the Smell out of Vintage Sheets

A Large Vintage Sheet Quilt and my Best Tip for Buying Vintage Sheets

Where am I Currently Finding Vintage Sheets?

A Finished Quilt made from Vintage Sheets

How to Sew with Vintage Sheets

How to Use Vintage Sheets and Where to Search for Them

Sewing with Vintage Sheets: A Few Tips I learned Along the Way

Why would a Quilter buy Vintage Quilts?

The Story of my Very Own Vintage Chalkboard

Log Cabin Blocks made of Vintage Sheets

Vintage Sheet Dresden Plates

I used another vintage sheet for the binding. I cut strips 2 1/2 inches wide. Yet again, I enjoy the spark of whimsy combining the quilting cottons with the vintage sheets.

I used a wide array of fabrics that fell within a specified color palette, but most of the florals, like I mentioned above, are from the Sweet Prairie line by Sedef Imer. There is a yellow colorway of most of the florals you see here. It’s a pretty line of fabrics with lots of sweet florals.

Custom orders always come with deadlines, but it sure does feel good to finish a large quilt in such a short amount of time. Plus, working with and connecting with sweet customers is always a blessing too!