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The entries are starting to come in for our Ugly Sweater Quilt block contest! Have you made a project yet? There is still plenty of time and it just won't be the same without you! I thought maybe a little project inspiration would help entice you!
Of course when someone says quilt block the first thing you would think to make from it would be a quilt! As you may know, Clem Buzick helped us design the Ugly Sweater Quilt Block and then made this amazing quilt to show you just how to incorporate those unique fabrics into your blocks.
We love it! So, Idea #1 – add simple sashing and borders and make a quilt!
Idea #2 – Personalized Ugly Sweater Placemats. No place to put a full Ugly Sweater quilt? No problem. I think placemats might be just the idea for you. Add a border to make it a little wider, and use old clothes or unique fabric to personalize the placemats for each person at the table so they double as place cards for your family. I personally would go so far as to embroider their name or initial ( a la Laverne). What a fun way to add some quirky personality to the dinner table or holiday meals!
You can see how a slightly wider border would make this mini into the perfect placemat size!
Are there 42 people in your family that would insist on needing a personalized placemat? Maybe best not to open that can of worms. Let’s keep it more simple and focus on just one block, one epic Ugly Sweater. We’ve got ideas for that too.
Idea #3 – Ugly Sweater Pillow. A pillow can make a fun statement without turning your whole house into an Ugly Sweater museum. We’ve had some amazing pillow entries, including this beauty from Deb Mund made with fabric from her and her mom’s stash!
We also are a little gaga for this creation made by Kerry from Blow’s Sew-n-Vac.
She blew up the Ugly Sweater blocks on a copy machine so that they would be in scale with the Bunny from the Fancy Forest Quilt pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. He’s been greeting people at the door to the shop for a couple weeks now and we just can’t get enough of him!
Would you rather avoid that whole quilting part of the whole project? Just frame the block and you’ve got instant art. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, right? Idea #4 – Frame it.
Connie framed her tribute Ugly Sweater mini. Skip the glass so the texture really shows through.
Idea #5 – Ugly Sweater Favorite Tote. We used our free Favorite Tote pattern and used an Ugly Sweater quilt block as the pocket!
The body of the bag is made from Essex in Steel which I quilted with an easy diamond pattern. The Ugly Sweater block is made from a gorgeous lawn from the Sleeping Porch line (which is of course not ugly at all). I added a tiny border to the block which sort of doubled as binding and quilted the pocket as well. Then just top stitch the quilt block in place as a pocket and finish up the tote as instructed. The handles are made from leather that I cut at 3/4” wide and top stitched onto the bag. Are you always on the hunt for the most unique bag? You found it!
Idea #6 – Ugly Sweater Zipper Pouch. Not ready to embrace your wild side enough to carry that bag? I get it. Let’s make a big quilted zipper pouch instead! The Ugly Sweater block finishes at 14-1/2” x 12-1/2”, perfect for iPad or other tablet storage. Or scale down the Ugly Sweater block on your copy machine and make a zipper pouch for your sewing supplies. I think the zipper pouch is a fun way to experiment with the block with no pressure. A small project but with great return.
So there you have it – my top 6 ideas on how to use the Ugly Sweater block. But don’t stop there – I can’t wait to see what projects you dream up for our Ugly Sweater Contest. There are still 4 weeks to enter, and the prizes are so worth it!
Get your Ugly Sweater Quilt Block pattern today and get sewing!
The Ugly Sweater Quilt Block pattern is a paper piecing pattern. If you haven’t paper pieced before we highly suggest watching this video to get the low down before you dive in. Remember to photo copy your sweater block pages before you get started so you can make oodles more.
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Happy Sewing!
Roxanne
