Monday, February 17, 2020

We Scream for Ice Cream (Fabric, That Is)!


With only being in the new decade for two months, and new resolutions being kept and new habits
created (dang healthier eating resolutions), ice cream has been on my mind constantly! It doesn’t
matter that there’s a snowstorm passing through Eastern Idaho — all I can think about is ice cream. 


This ice cream-themed quilt has been in my head for a couple years, so when Shannon Fabrics came
out with 2 Scoops Digital Cuddle® print, I knew it was time. 


Want the “scoop” on making one of your own? Here are the fabrics I used:
Background - Cuddle® 3 Navy
Binding - Cuddle® 3 Lime
Scoops - Luxe Cuddle® Hide in Lime, Banana, and Carnation





Let’s get started. 


The first thing I did was hand draw my ice cream cone on craft paper in the approximate size that I
wanted it to be, and labeled my pieces — top scoop, middle, bottom and cone. Feel free to draw
yours from your own idea, or use the ice cream cones on the digital print as inspiration. 


Pro Tip: Find your centers on the ice cream cone. Make a gentle fold by bringing the tip of the cone
to the top of the top scoop, and mark your center. Make a gentle fold by matching the sides of the
cone/scoops, and mark your center. This will help you place the ice cream scoops and the cone
directly in the center of your background piece. 




Next, carefully cut out each of your scoops and cone from your paper. 


Place them right-side down on the back of your fabric, taking care to make sure the nap goes from
the top of the scoop to the bottom. Trace around your pattern piece. 


Pro Tip: When tracing, add a little bit of extra fabric to your tracing to allow for any fabric movement.
Also, you can actually use a lightweight soft fusible iron-on adhesive on Cuddle®  (be sure to read the
tips and tricks” on their website so you don’t melt your fabric), but for my scoops/cone, temporary
adhesive spray and a few pins worked perfectly. 




Find the vertical and horizontal centers of your background fabric. Make sure your nap is going from
top to bottom. 


Starting with the cone, lay your pieces on the background. Use your center line guides and your
templates to lay your pieces out where they should go. Once you have them in place, starting with
the cone, use the adhesive spray to make it stay in place. Pin for added measure. 


Once all the pieces are pinned, and, using the tips and tricks guide for applique available on the
Shannon website, use a similar color thread for each piece and stitch down to the background fabric. 


Once your ice cream cone is stitched in place, baste together with batting and backing. I used Quilters
Dream Poly in my quilt to provide a warm and stable center for such a large quilt. Quilters Dream Poly
is the perfect loft and is super easy to work with and stitch through. I think if I make another one
(because I may know a kid or two who will want their own ice cream quilt), not only will I use Quilters
Dream Poly for my batting, but I will also use Quilters Dream Puff under my scoops/cone to give my
quilt top more of a trapunto feel and look. 



I want to give a big “shout out” to Quilters Dream for providing their Quilters Dream Poly for this quilt.
It is so warm and gives the quilt a nice weight without being super bulky or heavy.