Making a Granny Square Quilt

For years, I’ve seen quilters rave about Tilda fabrics and it’s always been intriguing. With curiosity getting the best of me, I finally purchased a 10 fat quarter bundle of Sunday Brunch Tipsy Blenders. The collection is absolutely adorable; the print is the same petite flowers in a variety of muted colors.

I’d also recently purchased a 24 fat quarter bundle of Andover’s Pebbles by Laundry Basket Quilts consisting of beautiful petite prints with neutral backgrounds. Admittedly, I had no idea what I was going to do with either bundle.

After seeing a lovely IG post featuring a granny square quilt pattern, I had my inspiration; I’d make one with smaller blocks using those two bundles.

Because granny square quilts are historical and timeless, my idea was to make mine with modern fabrics that give a vintage vibe.

I committed to making this quilt as a ‘slow process quilt’ where I didn’t rush during any part of it—just enjoy what I was doing. I had no other projects going and didn’t have the need to finish in a hurry, and I’m happy to say goal accomplished.

To get started, I chose the Tilda prints for the inner and outer squares due to the darker colors and wanting block consistency. I chose the most heavily printed and darker toned Pebbles fat quarters for the middle squares. I decided on Meadows from the collection for the background (which was an expensive additional order!). I usually go with a solid background but I wanted something different for this one.

For cutting and sewing, I could’ve cut for strip-piecing to save time but I didn’t think of it, and had I, I wouldn’t have chosen it. I cut everything into 2 1/2″ squares and chain pieced accordingly. Again, to enjoy the process.

Another different choice was to not press open. I pressed to the dark side so nesting would give crisply joined seams.

To keep pieces organized, once pressed, I clipped same-fabric block strips together and stacked them together. I couldn’t go any further at that point because I didn’t have the background fabric yet.

To keep my mind organized, I’d sew one outer square color combination at a time. I made 3-5 blocks out of one color. I also tried to not repeat the exact same fabric combination for a nice variety of blocks.

Once I received my background fabric, I was able to sew blocks together.

Right now I’m still working on blocks and am loving the whole process. It’ll be a while until they’re done and the quilt top is put together, but I’ll post again once I finish.

If you’d like to make your own granny square quilt, take a look at my tutorial using this same pattern from my Quilting on a Whim post.