I’d love to share with you the Bloomax Quilt. I wanted to design a quilt with texture and spent some months refining how the final bloom would look and how to sew it together. I’m super happy with this end result AND it has yo-yo’s, they’re so fun to add to patchwork quilts and make any quilt a delight.

The first Bloomax quilt I have sewn was for the Tilda Jubilee range and events here in Australia.The Tilda Jubilee quilt is the 48" × 48" size. Bloomax comes in three sizes with different layouts for each size:

• Lap: 48" × 48”
• Nap*: 64" × 64"
• Twin: 72" × 96"

*A new size for quilts… the NAP

I declare a new size for quilts. The NAP. Perfect for napping under. Anywhere around 60" square is where I like my nap quilts to finish. Make a Bloomax nap quilt for yourself, dive into your stash of collected favourites and go to town. Bloomax is a celebration of all things scrappy and textural. Use florals, spots, plaids, checks, stripes, animal prints. Don’t be shy. Experiment with combinations. For the backgrounds try using wovens, or a low-volume background, checks (like the bonus table runner shown here) or florals. Don’t be shy.

Making the Bloomax Quilt

The Bloomax pattern has detailed instructions on how to prepare and sew the quilt to set you up for success and a fun sewing experience. There are acrylic templates available as an option, however the pdf and printed pattern all come with a template sheet that can be used to create templates using template plastic or similar. I recommend printing out and tracing onto template plastic for durability, specially the petals and these will be used a lot to make the quilt and to keep the integrity of the petal shape.

When sewing the Tilda Jubilee Bloomax I decided to use a wool batting, it added extra loft and squishiness to the quilt and it is delightfully light. It is a little more challenging to hand quilt due to the loft, but absolutely worth it. The next Bloomax I'm sewing I'll use a cotton batting.

But wait... there's more!

BONUS there are a couple of bonus makes for Bloomax which I’m so excited to share. The first of which is a table runner. You’ll need the Bloomax pattern and then enter your details below to receive the pdf instructions for the table runner and you'll also receive updates about more Bloomax bonus projects.

Folded hexagons are an alternative to yo-yo's however you will need something to secure the centre, like a yo-yo or button. They're fast and fun to make! They can be used to sew a coverlet, no quilting required!

Trace a circle onto the wrong side of your chosen fabric and cut it out.

With the fabric wrong side up A, fold the circle in half and make a gentle crease on the fold B, don’t unfold the circle, holding the creased edge fold that across to make a quarter circle and press the folded creases C, now open up and place fabric wrong side up D.

Take the bottom of the circle up and line up the vertical crease and finger press along the fold to crease the fabric E. Then take up the folded outer edge of the circle of the crease just made and fold that in to the centre crease F. Continue to do the same process until you have folded in all the edges, on the last fold, dab a little glue in the centre and then fold the last edge. To hold the hexagon in place, or use a pin, but I find a little glue is better, G through to J. Congratulations you’ve folded your first hexagon!

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Gather supplies to sew yo-yo's

Yo-yo's are super fun and fast to sew. They can be used to decorate patchwork or used by themselves to make a coverlet. I have used them in several patterns.

You will need:

• Fabric
• Cardboard or template plastic to make yo-yo circle or Clover yo-yo maker
• Fabric marker
• Needle: Milliner 10 or 11
• Thread: 50wt minimum

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PDF YO-YO TEMPLATES AND BLOG POST

Sewing a yo-yo from a template

• Trace a plate, saucer, anything that is the size you need.
• Select the fabric you want to use for your yo-yo and cut a circle from the fabric using a circular template.
• Thread the needle with a matching or contrasting thread, leave a 2-3" tail, don’t knot the end.
• Hold the fabric circle with the wrong side facing you.
• Fold the edge of the fabric circle about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) to the wrong side and start sewing with small, even stitches along the folded edge.
• Keep stitching around the circle's entire circumference, ensuring to maintain even stitches.

• Once you've stitched all the way around, gently pull the thread to gather the fabric. This will create a pouch or "puff" shape.
• Pull the thread tight to gather the fabric into the centre, closing up the hole.
• Then taking the 2-3" tail left when you started, make a knot with the thread and needle still attached to the yo-yo to secure the thread.
• Take the needle and thread that’s still attached through the inside and out the back of the yo-yo and knot it off and re-thread the other tails, doing the same.

Sewing a yo-yo using a Clover Yo-yo maker

I have a video with annotations on how to use a Clover Yo-yo maker over on Instagram. LINK.

Attaching a yo-yo to a project or patchwork

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