I’m excited to share another guest post today from Lindlee Smith of Plains and Pine quilts. I’m such a big fan of Lindlee’s quilts and style. A bunch of her heirloom-inspired star quilt patterns are on my bucket list. This week Lindlee is sharing an intro to cutting and sewing on a 45 degree bias and matching up the diamond points.
This is such a great tip for using any time you are matching lots of bias diamonds or triangles and want to get perfect points!
My name is Lindlee Smith and the one-woman operation behind Plains and Pine where I’ve been designing modern star quilt patterns since 2020. My goal in designing quilt patterns is to make intermediate and advanced star quilt patterns less intimidating. In addition to quilt patterns, I hold online workshops and am launching a membership called Quilt Company in February.
I am excited to share this brand new, free pattern with you!
Tutorial: Cutting and Matching Perfect Bias Diamonds
I designed the Windrow Quilt pattern as an intro to cutting and sewing on a bias and matching diamond points. I think matching diamond points is one of the most intimidating parts of a star quilt. (I know my first couple of star quilts had very few points that matched!) So I wanted to design a quilt pattern that focused on that aspect to give practice in that area for someone who wanted to eventually move on to a more complicated quilt pattern with confidence.
There are 2 sizes in this pattern: Baby and Throw. The quilt is made up entirely of 2.5” strips which can be cut from yardage or fat quarters. Jelly Rolls also work well.
I made the Baby size with some extra fat quarters of Alexia Abegg’s Warp and Weft solids from a previous project. First you will need to cut your 2.5” strips. If you are using yardage that is 42” wide, you will need to cut the strips in half so you have 2.5” x 21” strips. (See the pattern for the exact number of strips needed for each size.)
Once you have your strips cut, you will group them in pairs. You will sew each pair RST along the long sides.
After each pair is sewn, you will press your seams open. Yes, I know pressing preference is a very real thing, but in this case (trust me) you will want to press them open to get the best diamond points.
After your seams are pressed open, you will cut one edge of the strip set off at a 45 degree angle.
Then you will pair 2 strip sets together. Use your ruler and a marking tool (I use a Sewline pencil) to make a mark on the seams ¼” from the edge of the 45 degree angle.
Put your pin through the marked seam on the top strip set through the mark on the seam of the bottom strip set. Then sew a ¼” seam which will go directly over your marks.
You will then press your seams open once again and admire your perfectly matched points. But don’t be discouraged if they aren’t quite perfect. Trust me, it takes a little time and practice but you will get there – I promise!
Free Modern Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern
After your strip sets are sewn together, you can sew the units together into a section of 10 strip sets. You can either press your seams open as you go or wait until the entire quilt top is sewn together.
If you are making the Baby size, you are done! Yay! If you are making the Throw size, you will make 3 more of these sections and all 4 will be sewn together.
If you make this quilt, I would love to see the version you make so please share a photo of your quilt on Instagram with the hashtags: #windrowquilt and #plainsandpinepatterns.
My quilt was longarm quilted by Ashlee Doyle of Crinkly Quilts. The quilting pantograph is called Retro Lines.
Modern Jellyroll-friendly Windrow Quilt – more inspiration
I wanted to leave you with more inspiration, so I’m sharing three more beautiful versions.
The first is by Daphne (Website & Instagram @octopurse).
The next version is by Angela (Instagram @angela_belovedquilter).
Finally, one more by Amber (Website & Instagram @madisonrosequiltingco).
If you have any questions on the pattern, do not hesitate to reach out! You can email me at lindlee@plainsandpine.com or say “Hi!” on Instagram @plainsandpine.
Get the FREE pattern here.
A little bit more about me:
I grew up on the Plains of northeast Montana and now live in Bozeman, MT with my husband, two young kids, and dog. You can usually find me hanging out with my toddler and baby or doing some early morning or naptime sewing with a big mug of coffee when the house is quiet.
I love to get outside when I’m not in my sewing corner – spending time in my garden, going for a walk, and a hike in the mountains are a few of my happy places.
Thank you Lindlee! That is such a great tip for sewing those perfect points! Check out Lindlee’s previous guest post here to make a giant star quilt with Half Square Triangles.
This week Lindlee is also hosting what looks like a very fun sew along to bust through your scraps. I’m dying to make some of these scrappy star blocks! Looks like such a fun new way to use up favorite scraps!
Dianne Mann
Thank you so much for the pattern to make beautiful quilts. I love your style