Rae’s Sashiko Prince Quilt

I’ve been eyeing the Riane Elise quilt patterns since they arrived in the store. The minimalist simplicity really spoke to me, and seemed like the perfect canvas for embroidered embellishments. I found the idea of a hand-quilted piece to be very appealing, and an intriguing challenge.



Pattern: Prince Quilt by Riane Elise
Size Made: Twin
Materials: Roma Linen, Swiss Dot Chambray, Wool batting, sashiko floss



When preparing and piecing this quilt, I found the large cuts of fabric (especially linen, which was especially shifty) to be a bit intimidating at first. The fact that it was two-sided instead of the traditional pieced top with a whole cloth backing also threw me for a bit of a loop, but I’m glad I stuck with it. The key with this quilt is taking your time! I highly recommend using the thread pull method to cut your pieces straight on the grain, if you are using linen or other shifty fabrics. Additionally, thread gloss was a lifesaver for both the hand-quilting and embroidery accents.



Though this was only my second quilt, I already knew that I prefer a LOT of texture differences in my quilts. In addition to the plush depth of the wool batting and the fuzzy dots on the chambray, I wanted random bits of sashiko embroidery accents to lend some tactile interest. After all the hand quilting was done, I added simple stitches meant to mimic a patched Boro look to the quilt, going through only the quilt “top” and the batting. This ended up making an absolutely sumptuous texture shift after washing and drying, and I’m so glad I did it. The washed linen softened up beautifully, and I had to wrestle this quilt away from my family and pets in order to put it on display in the shop!



Though I was definitely questioning my sanity in taking on this project when I was in the middle of it, I think it is one of my favorite makes yet, and definitely my favorite quilt! I look forward to jumping right back into another hand-quilted project--this time with no deadline, so I can really savor the experience. I highly recommend these patterns to both new and experienced quilters, as I think the focus on hand stitching really makes you connect with the quilt in a whole new way.