This post is part of the Sparkle Punch Quilt-Along. If you have questions that aren't answered in this post, please check out the others, which are linked on the main page, here.

Read about Mo’s Sparkle Punch quilt here.  

At this point, you should have a finished quilt top and quilt back. Use these pieces to sandwich, quilt, and bind your quilt using your favorite method.

The rest of this post will tell you a little more about how I finished mine. I'm going to describe the steps in pretty basic terms. If you need more specific instructions for quilt finishing, I'll refer you to my book The Practical Guide to Patchwork.

Step 1: Make the Quilt Sandwich

I prefer to roll up my quilt top and batting before unrolling it onto a quilt back that has been stretched on the floor. In general, I find that this makes it easier to ensure a completely flat quilt sandwich. (See Pages 32 and 33 of The Practical Guide to Patchwork.) 

Using this method is doubly helpful with a quilt back like this one. By rolling up the top and batting from both sides (so the 2 halves of the roll meet in the middle) it was easy for me to place the roll right in the center of my quilt back, lining up the seams on the quilt top with the seams on the quilt back before unrolling the top and batting and pin basting.

Step 2: Quilt as Desired

I machine quilted using a free-motion meandering pattern of zigzags/lightning bolts to mimic the points of the stars. (It's the same way I quilted Mo's quilt, but I really liked the pattern for this piecing design, so I stuck with it for my quilt too.)

Here's an illustration of my quilting design. It's actually very similar to a simple curved meandering stitch, but with points instead of curves.

(See Pages 37 - 39 of The Practical Guide to Patchwork.) 

Tip: If you're ever unsure about a new free-motion quilting design, practice drawing it on a piece of printer paper, using a marker and filling in all of the space. Doing this will get you thinking about "where to go next" with the design before you move on to practicing on your machine. 

Step 3: Make and Sew the Binding

I made straight-grain binding using 7 strips 2-1/2" x width of fabric. (See Pages 40 - 44 of The Practical Guide to Patchwork.) 

Step 4: Share a Photo of Your Finished Quilt!

Thank you all so much for participating in the quilt-along. Please consider sharing a photo of your project in my Flickr Group.

This post is part of the Sparkle Punch Quilt-Along. If you have questions that aren't answered in this post, please check out the others, which are linked on the main page, here.

Read about Mo’s Sparkle Punch quilt here.  

Gather Your Materials

To make the quilt back, you'll need 4 different pieces of solid fabric, each 1-1/4 yards. Each of these pieces will be used to make one quadrant of the quilt back.

Each quadrant will also include a star similar to the ones we made for the front of the quilt. For each star, you'll need a set of 5 squares, each 3-1/2" x 3-1/2". The stars will appear to be floating on a solid fabric background, so I recommend picking star fabrics that contrast with the solid fabric with which they'll be paired.

(If you're keeping score at home, you may have noticed that I subbed out the Kona Stone I had originally planned to use for Kona Thistle.)

Cut the Solid Fabrics (follow these instructions for each of the 4 solid fabrics)

1. Cut 1 strip 31-1/2" x width of fabric and trim to 31-1/2" x 34-1/2".

2. Cut 2 strip 9-1/2" x width of fabric and trim to 9-1/2" x 25-1/2".

3. From remaining fabric, cut 8 squares 3-1/2" x 3-1/2".

Note: All seams are sewn with a 1/4" seam allowance and pressed open.

Make the Stars

Follow the instructions from two weeks ago to make 4 sets of Whole Star components. Make one set for each quadrant of the quilt back, using 4 of the 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" solid fabric squares in place of the negative space fabric that you used on the quilt top.

The stars on the quilt back aren't going to be nestled together. Instead sew the components you just made and the 4 remaining solid fabric squares together like a conventional star block (in a nine-patch formation with the solid squares in the four corners).

Repeat this process to make 4 star blocks, each with a different solid background.

Make the Quilt Back

Arrange the 4 star blocks in 2 rows of 2, as you would like them to be arranged on the quilt back. 

From here, we'll sew the rest of the solid fabric onto each star, creating a quadrant of the quilt back.

(Note that the position of the stars in the bottom row in the photo above is different than my finished quilt back. I sewed my pieces together in the wrong order, but decided that I liked it better. It was, as Bob Ross would have said, a "happy accident.")

Sew the 9-1/2" x 25-1/2" strip of matching solid fabric to the left side of the star block in the upper left of your arrangement. Sew the 31-1/2" x 34-1/2" piece of solid fabric to the top, matching 34-1/2" sides.

This is the Upper Left quadrant of your quilt back, but the star should be in the lower right corner.

Sew the 9-1/2" x 25-1/2" strip of matching solid fabric to the right side of the star block in the upper right of your arrangement. Sew the 31-1/2" x 34-1/2" piece of solid fabric to the top, matching 34-1/2" sides.

This is the Upper Right quadrant of your quilt back, but the star should be in the lower left corner.

Sew the Upper Left and Upper Right quadrants together, matching star blocks along the 40-1/2" sides.

This is the Upper Half of your quilt back. The stars should be next to each other at the bottom center.

Sew the 9-1/2" x 25-1/2" strip of matching solid fabric to the left side of the star block in the lower left of your arrangement. Sew the 31-1/2" x 34-1/2" piece of solid fabric to the bottom, matching 34-1/2" sides.

This is the Lower Left quadrant of your quilt back, but the star should be in the upper right corner.

Sew the 9-1/2" x 25-1/2" strip of matching solid fabric to the right side of the star block in the lower right of your arrangement. Sew the 31-1/2" x 34-1/2" piece of solid fabric to the bottom, matching 34-1/2" sides.

This is the Lower Right quadrant of your quilt back, but the star should be in the upper left corner.

Sew the Lower Left and Lower Right quadrants together, matching star blocks along the 40-1/2" sides.

This is the Lower Half of your quilt back. The stars should be next to each other at the top center.

Sew the Upper and Lower halves together, matching star blocks at the center. 

Your finished quilt back should measure approximately 68" x 80".

***

The next quilt-along post, Finishing the Quilt, will be on February 1.