The American Flag Quilt

 

For years… since I started quilting… I have wanted to make a quilt for each month. I display one on my living room wall for the month and it’s a wonderful way to decorate for the different holidays and keep the house new and fresh.

 

 

For years I have had this goal, and yet it still hasn’t happened. I’m getting closer though. Covid lockdown really helped me focus on a lot of those projects I’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t. It was finally the right time to get some patriotic quilts going.

 

 

I went through my stash to find some reds, whites, and blues to create a scrappy look. I was surprised how few reds, whites, and blues I have. Apparently, I really like pinks (seriously, too much pink, not enough diversity). 

 

 

Even still, I was able to pull enough fabrics to create a good scrappy look and started researching piece sizes and finished quilt sizes for this. I have learned SO MUCH about the American flag dimensions and the design; it was awesome. First, I discovered the blue is always on the left, even if it’s hanging length-wise. I really wanted the flag to hang length-wise so I Made sure to put the blue on the left, which felt backwards at first the when it was all done it worked.

 

 

I also learned the length and width of the flag is very specific. To accomplish that, I figured out how big each piece needed to be to accomplish those dimensions. It’s not perfect, but it’s close. Also, the number of stripes and their order is very specific. This one I knew and was prepared for it.

 

 

Once everything was laid out, I got to work sewing. I put the pieces together in groups and made 4 sections. Then I sewed those sections together to get the final look. At this point my hubby was getting very interested in the project and asked me to leave as is, without borders. To keep it simple I did a basic meander in an off-white to match the white stripes.

 

 

I found a great classic americana fabric for the backing at a LQS and was able to use whole cloth without piecing anything for the backing. I wasn’t sure what to do about the binding. I didn’t want to do the whole thing in red and have that on the blue. But I also didn’t want to do it all in blue just for one section. So, I pieced the binding together so that the blue would match with the blue and the red would match with the red. It worked perfectly!

 

 

I am so happy with how this project came together. This is a very traditional quilt. I am hoping to make some more modern mini-flag quilts in the future, as well some stars and stripes themed quilts. For now, I finally have some patriotic colors to adorn my wall and enjoy the holiday.