How To Create a Fun Elephant Motif with New GO! Fabric Die

Hi everyone! It’s Bea from beaquilter.com. I’m excited to show you how to create a cute Elephants on Parade Quilt (42” x 42”). This pattern has become one of my favorites this summer.  You also get a free GO! Elephants Embroidery download available to finish your project.

Materials You Need:

• The new GO! Elephants die

• The GO! Qube Mix & Match 12" Block (shapes #1, 2, 4, 5)
• The GO! Qube 12" Companion Set-Corners (shape #9)
• The GO! Qube 12" Companion Set-Angles (shape #16)
• The GO! Strip Cutter-3½" (3" Finished)
• The FREE embroidery file that's available for the elephant die
• Stabilizer

 

Fabrics Requirements:

• You can choose from a variety of fabrics, I chose the gray for my elephant.
• White – 1¼ yd
• Light Grey – ¼ yd
• Grey – 1 yd
• Blue – ¾ yds
• Binding – ½ yd
• Batting – 45" x 45"
• Backing – 48" x 48" or 2 yds

 

Assembling Your Pattern:

• 1 strip 7" white WOF (width of fabric)
• 3 strips white 4" WOF
• 1 strip white 4¾" WOF
• 1 strip white 4" WOF
• 1 strip white 7½" WOF
• 1 strip white 4" WOF
• 1 strip white 7½" WOF
• 1 strip 7" light grey WOF
• 2 strips 7¾" WOF
• 2 strips 7¼" WOF
• 1 strip blue 7¾" WOF
• 2 strips blue 4¾" WOF

Start cutting your fabric. I’ve laid out all of the cut fabric in the image below.

• 4 white #1 squares that are 7" WOF strips
• 24 white #2 squares that are 4" strips
• 16 white #5 triangles that are 4¾" strips
• 4 right and four reversed white #9 chisels that are 4" strips
• 3 white strips from 3½" strip die that are 4" and 7½" strips
• 5 light grey #1 squares that are 7" strips
• 24 grey #4 QSTs that are 7¾" strips
• 16 grey #16 trapezoids that are 7¼" strips
• 16 blue #4 QSTs that are 7¾" strips
• 40 blue #5 triangles that are 4¾" strips

I added a stabilizer on the back of the dark and light grey fabrics, then cut out four sets of elephant and ear shapes with the GO! Elephants die!

I prepped the white squares too by ironing the stabilizer onto the back of them. Then, I centered a 5"x7" hoop and stitched out four elephants.

Isn't it adorable!

For the 4 elephant blocks I sewed 4 #4 QSTs to each side. Meanwhile, I made 4 sets of grey #16 trapezoids with corner #5 white triangles.

Then, sewed them together as seen in the picture below.

Next, I sewed four gray flying geese #4 QSTs to each side. Meanwhile, I cut 4 sets of grey #16 trapezoids with corner #5 white triangles and here’s how they look sewn together.

I then sewed these to the sides of the large #1 grey squares and also small #2 squares to the sides of 10 flying geese.

Then, sewed the blocks together like this (5 blocks).

For the border, I made four sections like this with grey #4 QSTs and #9 white chisels.

From the 3½" strips, I subcut eight 12½" rectangles, then I laid out all the pieces and added the remaining white #2 squares in the corners.

I actually sewed the top together into a large nine patch by sewing the borders to the blocks first, then the large nine patch. Check out details on how this looks here.

I quilted a simple meandering and added 5 grey binding strips.

I chose to not quilt over the elephants to have them sort of stand out within the design.

I love how the trapezoid and star blocks create a beautiful secondary pattern! The great thing about this style of quilt is how flexible the design can be. There are so many great options when choosing an appliqué for the middle square, but remember to choose an appliqué that will fit within the middle square.

I hope you like this quilt and have as much fun making it as I did!