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Today, we’re sharing our favorite new trends in the quilting, and how you can jump onboard.
With spring quilt shows in full bloom around us, here are the top four trends that we at AccuQuilt are seeing all around us. From live shows to social media to new patterns and fabric lines, we’re seeing quilted and handmade clothing, all kinds of amazing quilt labels, wonderful handmade bags and upcycled clothing projects that are taking top billing with modern and traditional quilters alike. So, let’s jump in and look at these trends – and how AccuQuilt can help you participate in all of them.
Quilted and Handmade Clothing
You simply can’t attend a quilt show these days without seeing fellow quilters wearing stunning garments they’ve made themselves! Early in the trend, we were seeing quilted jackets made from vintage quilts, which sparked a huge debate in the quilting community, so we’re avoiding that entirely with our ideas and suggestions.
The first step is to find a pattern you love, and there are some wonderful ones available to choose from. AccuQuilt GO! Getter Eliane Bergmann of Patchwork and Poodles designs quilted coat patterns for both you and your canine companion! Eliane has been a guest on some of our live shows in the past, and she’s certainly a fan of using her GO! dies to piece together blocks and designs to become jackets.
I recently received some completed and uncompleted quilt blocks that needed a good home, so I’ve decided to continue working on these blocks and use them to make a jacket. These blocks have been passed along from quilter to quilter for years, and I think it’s time to put them to good use! If you don’t happen to have a stack of quilt blocks just waiting to become a coat or jacket, think again because maybe you do! How about those “orphan blocks” and test blocks you have sitting around? Since many jacket patterns are reversible, you could show off a whole lot of blocks this way!
Do you have a favorite block? Maybe an AccuQuilt Block on Board (BOB) die you would love to work with? Maybe you just want to try something with solid fabrics first? That’s a great idea, but think about using just a couple of small blocks to create pockets or maybe one large block for the back. I recently saw a jacket made from selvedge edges that were all pieced together, like a quilt-as-you-go project – so many options!
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GO! Star & Cross-10" Finished Die (Die to Try, March 2024)Special Price $109.99 Regular Price$129.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Crossed Canoes-9" Finished DieSpecial Price $59.99 Regular Price$69.99You Save $10.00 -
GO! Wonky Heart-6" Finished DieSpecial Price $69.99 Regular Price$79.99You Save $10.00Out of stock -
GO! Signature Circles-6" Finished DieSpecial Price $79.99 Regular Price$94.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! Arkansas Traveler 12" Finished DieSpecial Price $89.99 Regular Price$104.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! Mariner's Compass-12" Finished DieSpecial Price $129.99 Regular Price$149.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Lotus Block-10" Finished DieSpecial Price $139.99 Regular Price$164.99You Save $25.00 -
GO! Starry Path-9" Finished DieSpecial Price $99.99 Regular Price$119.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Ohio Star-12" Finished DieSpecial Price $69.99 Regular Price$79.99You Save $10.00 -
GO! LeMoyne Star-9" Finished DieSpecial Price $79.99 Regular Price$94.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! Kite-4" Finished DieSpecial Price $54.99 Regular Price$64.99You Save $10.00 -
GO! Full Blown Tulip-8" Finished DieSpecial Price $109.99 Regular Price$129.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Turkey in the Straw-10" Finished DieSpecial Price $109.99 Regular Price$129.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Palm-8" Finished DieSpecial Price $119.99 Regular Price$139.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Whirling Star-12" Finished DieSpecial Price $109.99 Regular Price$129.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Morning Star-12" Finished DieSpecial Price $89.99 Regular Price$104.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! Chinese Lanterns-8" Finished DieSpecial Price $94.99 Regular Price$114.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Priscilla Stripe-6" Finished DieSpecial Price $69.99 Regular Price$84.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! Star of the East-9" Finished DieSpecial Price $109.99 Regular Price$129.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Friendship Chain-10" Finished DieSpecial Price $99.99 Regular Price$114.99You Save $15.00
The fun really doesn’t stop there with handmade clothing. One of our newest licensed designers is Tiffany Turner, better known online as TipStitched. When she learned to sew, she fell in love with it, and started designing her own clothes. Designing clothing eventually led her to designing the GO! Paper Doll and GO! Paper Clothes dies. These unique dies work together to provide so many possibilities – from assisting designers of all ages with creating their own wardrobe to a wide variety of applique and no-sew projects.
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GO! Paper Doll Die by TipStitchedSpecial Price $79.99 Regular Price$94.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! Paper Doll Clothes Die by TipStitchedSpecial Price $99.99 Regular Price$114.99You Save $15.00 -
GO! I’d Rather Be Quilting Embellished Shirt PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99 -
GO! Soccer Mom Zip-Up Bomber Jacket PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99 -
GO! Plant Mom Zip-Up Hoodie PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99
Quilt Labels We Love
We all know that we should be putting a label on the back of every quilt that we make, right? Do we? Well, I will be the first to admit that I’m not very good about putting labels on my quilts. I could probably count the quilts that I have made with labels on one hand – and have fingers left over, but I’m trying to change and luckily, I’ve found some wonderful new products to help me with that!
A quick search on the internet will find a variety of businesses that will make personalized quilt labels for you, how genius is that? It’s a quick and easy process, and you can be all set, but there are other options out there as well!
AccuQuilt Cutting Expert Pam Heller is known as “Lola” to her grandchildren, and she had a custom die made to spell it out. This way, she can apply fusible to the back of her fabric, cut it on the die and it will actually provide the positive images – each separate letter – to put on one project and the negative image left behind – like a stencil – that can be fused onto another project. In short, it’s genius! Our sister company, Custom Shape Pros, made this die for her and it makes it “sew” easy to label her projects!
On our website and in quilt shops around the country, you can purchase Iron-On Quilt Label Fabric Sheets. The kit includes 24 label designs that you can download and personalize – or create your own design. Then, all you need to do is use your inkjet printer to bring your iron-on label to life.
Also on our website, you can find a variety of pre-made labels made by Sarah Hearts that are simply adorable. These sweet labels and quickly be added to the back of any project by hand or sewn into the binding. They are quick, easy and fun!
Bags, Bags and More Bags
The AccuQuilt team is crazy for all the different handmade bags we are seeing, and we’re jumping right in on that trend, too! From small to large, with and without zippers we are having “sew” much fun with bags these days. Here are a few of the ways AccuQuilt and June Tailor are making it easier than ever to make bags.
Last year, we introduced the GO! Boxed Bag Die by Carolina Moore, 2 die set, and we can barely keep up with the demand for this innovative set! These dies make it easier than ever to create all kinds of bags, but cutting boxed or curved corners and darts for you. Carolina has even designed an array of free patterns using her die that are all available on our website. If you’re feeling a little uncomfortable about how to get started, check out all the videos we have using this innovation on our website.
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GO! Boxed Bag 2-Die Set by Carolina MooreSpecial Price $99.99 Regular Price$119.99You Save $20.00 -
GO! Simple Zip Bags by Carolina Moore PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99
I use totes every single day for groceries, taking things to and from the office, delivering things to my family and more, and I love a good, roomie, open top tote for this.
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GO! Fat Quarter Grocery Tote by Carolina Moore PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99 -
GO! Mushroom Medley Shopper Totes PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99
Quilt-As-You-Go totes are a great way to get started making bags. For starters, everything you need (except fabric) is included in the kit for you. What’s even better is cutting the pieces you need using GO! dies, like the GO! Strip Cutter 2½” (2” finished) for the Alexandra or Charlotte totes.
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GO! Strip Cutter 2 1/2" (2" Finished) 3 Strips DieSpecial Price $109.99 Regular Price$129.99You Save $20.00 -
Alexandra Tote Bag Quilt-As-You-Go KitSpecial Price $17.99 Regular Price$19.99You Save $2.00 -
Charlotte Shopper Tote Quilt-As-You-Go KitSpecial Price $22.99 Regular Price$24.99You Save $2.00Out of stock -
Insulated Shopper Tote Quilt-As-You-Go KitSpecial Price $30.99 Regular Price$32.99You Save $2.00
Small zipper bags are great for keeping things organized while you are on the run – cords, cosmetics, writing supplies, sewing supplies and more. Bags like this are great for using your favorite fabrics, so you can enjoy them all the time. There are endless possibilities for these bags. You can piece together the outside from scraps, or use orphan blocks. You can use fun transparent vinyl, cork and other materials and unique hardware to really personalize your creations.
If the thought of sewing zippers into bags makes you nervous, you can take a deep breath and relax because Zippity-Do-Done Zippers are already set into casings for you. You don’t even need a zipper foot for your sewing machine to add these to your projects, and you can embellish them with decorative stitches, ribbons of fabric and more. They make adding zippers to any kind of project “sew” simple.
Upcycled Clothing
Have you seen all the fun and creative projects being made from clothing these days? Our team is fascinated by all the unique ways quilters are coming up with to keep every bit of clothing possible out of landfills these days.
Denim from used and worn-out jeans is great for making strong, sturdy projects from bags to quilts. We offer dies like the GO! Rag Square-8 ½” and GO! Rag Circle by Heather Banks, but if that’s not your style think of cutting them into strips, or even using the June Tailor Charming Circles Ruler.
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GO! Rag Square-8 1/2" DieSpecial Price $74.99 Regular Price$84.99You Save $10.00 -
GO! Rag Circle-6 1/2" by Heather Banks DieSpecial Price $74.99 Regular Price$84.99You Save $10.00 -
GO! Strip PizzazzSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$4.99You Save $4.99 -
GO! Denim Upcycle Bags PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99
We already talked about using the GO! Paper Doll and GO! Paper Doll Clothes by TipStitched to jazz up old (or even new) shirts and jackets, but what about other types of clothing?
Men’s shirts can be a great source of fabric for all kinds of projects. From cutting them into geometric shapes to add to quilts, to using them as the base for things like bags and aprons, quilters and sewists are getting so creative! Snag a Reversible T-Shirt Quilt Kit (or 2) and make a memory quilt with dress and casual shirts instead of t-shirts. Be sure to sew the front button placket shut if using that part of the shirt but including that section and/or a pocket can add some really fun interest to your project.
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Reversible T-Shirt Quilt Kit with Sash-In-A-DashAs low as $122.99 Regular Price $124.99 -
GO! Garden Apron PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99 -
GO! Country Chic Farm Aprons PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99 -
GO! Oh Deer! BBQ Set PatternSpecial Price $0.00 Regular Price$2.99You Save $2.99
So there you have it, our top 4 quilting and sewing trends that we’re loving these days. What trends are you loving? Be sure to add comments below or better yet, post pictures of things you’re creating with these trends on social media using #AccuQuiltBuilt.
