Patchwork of the Crosses

It’s time to start thinking about background fabric.  Lucy Boston used a plain white fabric for the background of her quilt, but I chose a soft creamy background with a subtle vine print for mine because  I liked the added visual texture and softness of the print.

Folio Basic by Henry Glass & Co., Inc.

Whatever you decide to use, be sure to pick something neutral that will show off your beautiful blocks to advantage. 

Background honeycombs need to be added around each block –that’s 24 honeycombs per block. Just a word of wisdom:  Don’t get caught up in the creativity of making the blocks and leave all the background honeycombs for the end.  They’re way to boring to do all at once – better to space them out and add them as you go!

It’s always difficult to calculate exactly how much background fabric to purchase, but if you’re planning to make a quilt the size of the original quilt, 88” x 99”, you will need approximately 8 – 8½ yd. after washing.   If you’re planning a smaller version, purchase accordingly.  The Henry Glass Folio fabric I’m using for my background is available on our website – click here to order by the yard.  If you prefer a background fabric closer to the original quilt, I would recommend either Kona White (pure white) or Kona Snow (soft, antique white) both of which are available by calling the shop.

You will not need to fussy cut the background fabric.  I found it easy to cut my fabric into 2½” strips and then subcut using the acrylic honeycomb template.  There will be almost no waste with this method.  Of course, Inklingo is ideal for this step allowing you to print large quantities of perfect honeycomb shapes onto your background fabric quickly and accurately on your Inkjet printer.  Check out Inklingo here for more information.

Once shapes are cut, glue baste them to the papers and they’re ready to add to your quilt.

Don’t forget:   If you need additional honeycomb paper pieces or glue refills, they are available on our website.  Honeycomb papers are also available in economical 600/pack or 1200/pack bulk packages.

For those of you new to Patchwork of the Crosses, click here to follow the Blog Along from the beginning.  It’s not too late to join in the fun!

June fabric packs are available - don't forget to stop by the shop to pick up your pack!