Sweetheart Medley Sew Along – Week 2

Hey there! Ready to start making this quilt with me?

Week 1 was all about getting to know the pattern and acquiring all fabrics and materials.

This is now week 2, where it will be time to plan your quilt layout, make fabric swatches, cut pieces for your quilt, and stay organized.

Quilt Layout
Whether you’ve chosen to make the (32) FQ version or the (16) half yard version, there will be a lot of fabrics to plan out for this quilt. Here are three key things to keep in mind when you delegate your fabrics and make your fabric swatches:

1. Fabric Placement: Every row of hearts uses (2) fabrics in alternate fashion. This means, you will essentially pair up fabrics into rows. Also keep in mind that each fabric will be touching the other fabric in its row, (2) more in the row above it, and (2) more in the row below it. Each fabric will be touching (5) other fabrics.
2. Group your Fabrics: based on colors, prints, themes, etc. For the FQ version, I recommend four groups of (8) fabrics. For the half yard version, I recommend four groups of (4) fabrics. Here are my groupings below.
3. Ombré Option: You can certainly aim for an ombré effect, starting with lighter colors and then slowly getting darker down the quilt. That means you will assign your fabrics 1, 2, 3, starting with a lighter color and gradually get darker. This will create an absolutely gorgeous effect, but I will say that if you have fabrics of the same color like these two in my pile, your hearts will be less pronounced and might blend into each other a little bit too much, which is something you will want to be aware of if that’s what you’re choosing to do. You can also plan it so that it goes from a light fabric to dark in the middle, and then back to light at the other end. This way, it can ‘ombré’ itself into the middle and then back out.
4. Balanced Option: If you want your hearts to be fully pronounced and balanced in your quilt, you can delegate your fabrics from each pile in succession. I am going to go for a compromise between the ombre effect and a balanced effect by first organizing each of the piles from light to dark, and then choosing fabrics from each category as I assign them delegation numbers. That way, the quilt will start out a little lighter, and end up a little bit darker, but the colors will still feel balanced out between all the rows.

Fabric Swatches
When you are satisfied with your chosen combination of fabrics, next would be a great time to make your fabric swatches. I’ve cut a tiny corner of each fat quarter, making sure to include any distinguishable characteristics of that fabric. It will be absolutely essential to cut small fabric swatches from each fabric and sew them directly onto the fabric swatch sheet. I recommend posting the swatches nearby where you can easily glance up and look at it to remember which fabric is which.

Cutting Pieces
Now is a good time to cut out all fabric labels and put them in order with fabric one on top. I’ve also arranged my fabrics into three different piles. According to the pattern, all fabrics the in this pile will be cut the same way and will end up with the same pieces. The same is true for the other two piles of fabrics. Before cutting, I have pressed the fabrics nicely to give them a nice and even fold. This will allow me to line up the folds along a horizontal line on my cutting mat while ensuring that every vertical cut I make will be even. I can also save time by stacking pieces from the same pile and cutting them in layers, since they will end up with the same cuts. Just line up the folds at the bottom and trim the edges so that they start at the same spot. Then, flip them over (or rotate the mat to avoid shuffling of the fabrics) to start making your fabric cuts.

Staying Organized
Now that you’ve cut all pieces for your quilt, staying organized with the use of fabric labels will be critical moving forward. Be sure to have all fabrics together and labeled, along with your fabric swatches on display for quick reference.

Optional – Adding a POP of Color
Do you like what Hillary at Quiltberry Hill Designs did with her tester version of this Sweetheart Medley Quilt?! If you want to do the same, I would recommend planning your fabric substitutions using a printed out coloring page. From there, you can see what pieces you will need to add (pop fabric) and subtract (original fabric), along with the HST combinations you will need to make along the way. I would recommend doing this if you feel super advanced and comfortable with this quilt pattern. An extra bit of mindfulness will also go a long way when laying out your quilt pieces before sewing the rows together into the quilt top.