How to Sew a Rose Wreath Quilt Block
The Rose Wreath Quilt design requires highly skilled hand appliqué techniques. It takes practice to appliqué the pieces while maintaining the perfect scalloped edges of the flowers and curved shapes of the leaves. This historically significant design was used by the Underground Railroad to convey messages. It's believed that the display of the Rose Wreath Quilt pattern signaled that someone had died along the way and thus would not be meeting as planned.
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Things You'll Need
- Cotton fabrics
- Pattern templates
- Scissors
- Thread to match the fabrics
- Sewing needles
- Straight pins
- Fabric glue stick
- Ruler and straight edge
Instructions
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1
Cut a 16 inch square of foundation fabric for the block. Baste it to a large piece of same-weight fabric and attach to a frame. Download the pattern (see Resources) and create templates of tin or plastic.
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2
Trace on fabric and cut out the 12 leaves, 4 flowers and 4 flower centers from the selected cotton fabrics. Cut a bias strip 1 1/4 inches wide for the wreath and press it in half.
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3
Stitch the wreath in place using a 1/8 inch seam. Fold the strip over and carefully stitch it in place.
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4
Appliqué the flowers in place around the wreath. Position them at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00. Turn under 1/8 inch around the edges while stitching the pieces in place.
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5
Add the colored centers to the flowers. Use fabric glue stick to secure the center in place, then appliqué it to the flower with tiny stitches, turning under 1/8 seam around the edge.
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6
Add the leaves in groups of three between each of the four flowers. Position the leaves so that they are all pointing the same direction around the wreath. Appliqué in place with a 1/8 inch seam.
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7
Trim the finished block to 15 1/2 inches overall. Frame the finished block or add a border and create a pillow top.
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