Rae's Gifty Double Star

This year for the holidays, I had my heart set on making Fancy Tiger's Double Star Quilt for my husband. He loves patchwork quilts and wants to learn to make them himself. I was a tad intimidated, as I had never actually pieced a quilt top before, much less actually done large-scale quilting of any kind. However, with the supportive power of my fellow Tigers at my back, I was determined to make it happen!

Pattern: Double Star Quilt by Fancy Tiger Crafts
Materials: Robert Kaufman Essex, Kokka Double Gauze, Robert Kaufman Double Gauze Chambray, Robert Kaufman Ponderosa Plaid Shirting, Assorted quilting cottons, Cotton Select batting
Size Made: Throw

Well-armed with an assortment of printed quilting cottons, I decided I wanted to also incorporate a variety of textures within the quilt top and backing. In my knitting designs, I always tend toward texture variety, and I'm discovering that this is something I will likely find coming out in my quilting, as well! This led to me using a variety of batiks, cottons, and even shirtings in my final design.

The Robert Kaufman Ponderosa Plaid Shirting, in particular, was a special element to this quilt. My husband has a small collection of western plaid shirts that were handmade by his grandmother and great-grandmother. He loves patchwork quilts, but I felt that this detail would make it extra special. Sure enough, it was the first fabric he noticed!

For my backing, I decided to go with a chambray double gauze, to make it extra soft and cuddly. While a bit more of a challenge to work with than a traditional quilting cotton, I had good results with using a sharp microtex needle and slightly lengthening my stitch length while quilting.

All in all, this was a great intro project for a baby quilter, and I highly encourage anybody who has been considering getting into quilting to give it a go! I can't wait to get cracking on my next quilt!