Directions for a Bug in a Bottle Quilt

Turn a basic jar design into a whimsical quilt.

If you delight in collecting unusual figural fabrics with insects on them, showcase those fabrics with a Bug in a Bottle quilt. Also known as the Bug Jar quilt, this design looks like shelves of canning jars filled with creatures. Despite its complicated-looking design, this pattern is made entirely from rectangles and squares, so it's a suitable pattern for a beginner to tackle.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton quilt fabric
• Rotary cutter
• Rotary mat
• Rotary ruler
• Pins
• Fabric marking pencil
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Cut out all of your fabric pieces for the quilt block before beginning to sew. You will need three fabrics for each block: the jar fabric with bugs on it, the lid fabric and the background fabric. Make the last two fabrics the same for all of the blocks and make the jar fabric different for each one.

2. Cut two strips measuring 2 by 8 1/2 inches for the top and bottom of the block. Cut two strips measuring 2 by 8 inches for the sides of the block. You will need two 2-by-3-inch strips to go next to the lid and four squares measuring 1 1/2 inches for the jar corners. All of these pieces should be in background fabric.

3. Cut one strip from the jar lid fabric that measures 2 by 3 1/2 inches. Cut one rectangle that measures 5 1/2 by 8 inches from the jar fabric.

4. Pin the four small squares to the four corners of the bug fabric, with the right sides together. On the upper right square, draw a line from the upper left corner diagonally to the lower right corner. This line comes right across the corner of the jar. Draw similar lines on the other three corners.

5. Sew along these four lines that you drew, sewing all four squares to the front of the bug fabric. Cut off the corners of the rectangle, 1/4 inch away from the stitching line. Open up the sewn fabric layers. They will have created new corners for the rectangles, in background fabric.

6. Pin together the jar lid material with the two strips that go next to it, matching the 2-inch sides together. Sew these three pieces together, creating one long strip.

7. Pin the two side pieces onto the jar body sides and stitch them together. Pin the sewn strip with the jar lid on the top of the jar body and sew them together. Pin the top and bottom strips onto the top and bottom of the block and sew it. You now have one finished jar block.

8. Create more jar blocks until you have enough to make your desired quilt. Sew the blocks into rows and the rows into your quilt top.

Tips & Warnings

• Use fabric with candy and cookies instead of bugs for a holiday quilt, or fabric with any other small figures that look like collectibles or items that might go in a jar.

References

• Bug Jar Quilt: Bug Jar Quilt Tutorial