Nite Owls Hop: Halloween Placemats

Who's ready for a little fall fun with some cute owls? We have several blogging designers working with Judy Hansen's Nite Owls line and we're excited to share their projects! Enjoy today's tutorial, Halloween-inspired placemats by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, and then find out how you can win a fat quarter bundle of Nite Owls to play with yourself! Be sure to stop back this week for more Nite Owls tutorials!

Here's Yvonne!
When I saw the Nite Owl fabric line, I was really drawn to the darker prints in the line. I pulled together a Halloween inspired grouping, and I created a fun placemat tutorial that I am pleased to share with you today.

Nite Owl Halloween Placemat Tutorial 

Materials

Fabric Selection (120-7071, 120-7083, 120-7072, 120-7113, and 120-7102) 

Focal Print (Owls) – ½ yard

Background Print 1 (Orange) – ½ yard

Background Print 2 (Purple) – ½ yard

Backing Fabric (Swirls) – 1 yard

Binding Fabric (Trees) – ½ yard

Cutting Instructions

Focal Print (Owls)

·       Cut (3) 4 ½ʺ x Width of Fabric (WOF) strips

o   Subcut (24) 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ squares

Background Print 1 (Orange)

·       Cut (2) 4 ½ʺ x WOF strips

o   Subcut (12) 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ squares

·       Cut (5) 1 ½ʺ x WOF strips

o   Subcut (24) 1 ½ʺ x 3 ½ʺ rectangles

o   Subcut (24) 1 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ rectangles

Background Print 1 (Purple)

·       Cut (2) 4 ½ʺ x WOF strips

o   Subcut (12) 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ squares

·       Cut (5) 1 ½ʺ x WOF strips

o   Subcut (24) 1 ½ʺ x 3 ½ʺ rectangles

o   Subcut (24) 1 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ rectangles

Piecing Instructions

Half-Square Triangle (HST) Blocks

Using (12) focal print 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ squares and (12) background print 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ squares, make (24) 3 ½ʺ x 3 ½ʺ squares. Place one focal print 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ square and one background print 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ square right sides together. Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side of the background fabric and sew a ¼ʺ seam allowance on either side of the marked diagonal line. Note that to keep the focal print “right side up” during piecing, half of the diagonal lines should go from the upper left to the lower right, and half of the drawn diagonal lines should go from the lower left to the upper right as shown in the image below.

Cut along the marked diagonal line to form two HSTs, pressing the seams open.

Trim to 3 ½ʺ x 3 ½ʺ square, noting that the HSTs are generously sized to allow you to frame the focal print in the HST to your best advantage.

To complete one 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ block, orient your HST with the focal print right side up. Sew a 1 ½ʺ x 3 ½ʺ rectangle to the side of the focal print. Press seam open. Sew a 1 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ rectangle to the remaining exposed side of the focal print. Press seam open. The image below shows how each HST orientation is pieced into a 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ block.

Block Piecing Diagram

Layout (12) 4 ½ʺ x 4 ½ʺ blocks into (3) rows and (4) columns. Sew rows together into rows, pressing seams open. Sew rows together, pressing seams open. The placemat top should finish at 12 ½ʺ x 16 ½ʺ. Use whatever layout pleases you, or follow the layouts shown in the pieced placemats below.

Suggested Placemat Layouts

Repeat with remaining blocks to piece (4) placemat tops.

Finishing the Placemats

Cut placemat backing to be at least 14ʺ x 18ʺ. Layer backing (wrong side up), batting, and quilt top. Baste the layers together using your preferred method. Machine quilt as desired.

From your binding fabric, cut (6) 2 ½ʺ x WOF strips. Cut (2) strips in half and join (1) full WOF and (1) half WOF strip together to create (4) double folded 60ʺ binding roll.

Trim placemats square, leaving 3/8ʺ beyond each triangle point (see image above) and bind using your favorite binding technique.

 

I hope you enjoy the Nite Owl Halloween Placemat tutorial!

Thanks Yvonne! Love the floating triangles in these! Head over to Yvonne's blog to find out how you can win a fat quarter bundle of Nite Owls for yourself! 

And be sure to visit the blog again tomorrow for another Nite Owls tutorial.

Catch all the days of our hop!

Day 2: Throw pillow by Connie at Freemotion by the River
Day 3: Look Whoooo's Here Door Banner