Each year Pantone Announces the Color of the Year. For the second time in 22 years, Pantone has selected 2 colors to represent this year. Those colors signal optimism and strength.
We have selected 8 Confetti Cotton colors that we feel capture the essence of the year’s color (or should we say colors). We’re re-releasing 12 projects, one each month (on Instagram) as well as a quarterly FREE Quilt Tutorial (on the blog) that feature our dazzling range of colors.
We are excited to release our fourth and final 2021 Color of the Year FREE Tutorial today! We’re calling this the Gingham Friendship Star quilt. The quilt features simple gingham patchwork in sunny shades of yellow with the fun addition of alternating Friendship Star blocks, and a narrow Gray border.
The quilt is made up of finished 9″ blocks, with the finished quilt measuring approximately 65 1/2″ square. Because this is a simple block quilt, you can easily add or subtract blocks and rows to create any size quilt you want.
This quilt calls for a LOT of half square triangles, but because they are all the same color, we can make them in bulk. When you make this quilt, you will quickly master the Eight-at-a-Time Half Square Triangle technique.
To make this quilt, you will need:
- 1 3/4 yard Honey Confetti Cotton
- 1 1/4 yard Dandelions Confetti Cotton
- 1 yard Lemon Zest Confetti Cotton
- 1/2 yard Riley White Confetti Cotton
- 1/2 yard Riley Gray Confetti Cotton
Cutting Instructions:
- Cut eight 3 1/2″ x WOF strips Honey Confetti Cotton. Sub cut each strip into twelve – 3 1/2″ squares. You will have 96 total squares.
- Cut three 9 1/4″ x WOF strips Honey Confetti Cotton. Sub cut each strip into four 9 1/4″ squares. You will have 12 total squares.
- Cut two 3 1/2″ x WOF strips Dandelions Confetti Cotton. Sub cut each strip into twelve 3 1/2″ squares. You will have twenty-four total squares.
- Cut three 9 1/4″ x WOF strips Dandelions Confetti Cotton. Sub cut each strip into four 9 1/4″ squares. You will have 12 total squares.
- Cut four 9 1/2″ x WOF strips from Lemon Zest Confetti Cotton. Sub cut each strip into four 9 1/2″ squares. You will have 16 total squares.
- Cut four 9 1/2″ x WOF strips Riley White Confetti Cotton. Sub cut each strip into four 9 1/2″ squares. You will need 9 square total (use extra fabric for another project)
- Cut eight 1 1/2″ x WOF strips Riley Gray.
Start by making your Eight at a Time Half Square Triangles. There are quite a lot of half square triangles in this quilt, and I have found that making them in bulk where possible saves time and energy. To make these half square triangles, we will be using our 9 1/4″ Dandelions and Honey squares.
Begin by drawing diagonal lines from corner to corner on all of the 9 1/4″ Dandelions squares.
Place a 9 1/4″ Dandelions square and Honey square (the Honey square is not marked) right sides together. Sew 1/4″ from either side of the drawn diagonal lines.
Cut along the drawn lines, and again at the vertical and horizontal mid points (horizontal and vertical cuts are illustrated in BLUE lines above).
Now you have eight half square triangles. Press the seam toward the darker fabric. Square off each HST to measure 3 1/2″ square.
Repeat steps 1-6 twelve times until you have ninety-six 3 1/2″ half square triangles. Whew!
Now it’s time to assemble the Friendship Star blocks. Arrange the rows as shown above.
Row 1: Honey 3 1/2″ square + Half square triangle + Honey square
Row 2: Half square triangle + Dandelions 3 1/2″ square + Half square triangle
Row 3: Honey 3 1/2″ square + Half square triangle + Honey square
Sew the square together to form three rows. Press the top and bottom row seams to the right. Press the middle row seams to the left.
Nesting the seams, sew the three rows together. Press. Trim block to 9 1/2″ square. Repeat to make 24 Friendship Star blocks.
Now we can assemble the quilt top. You will make two distinct alternating rows. The first row (shown as the top version above) alternates the 9 1/2″ Lemon Zest square with the Friendship Star block. Make 4 of these rows.
For the second row, alternate the Friendship Star block with the 9 1/2″ Riley White squares. You will make 3 of these rows.
Sew the rows together, alternating as shown above.
For the border, sew two Riley Gray strips along the short end. Press. Repeat to make four long strips. Sew the Gray strips to the sides of the quilt. Press toward the Gray fabric. Trim ends flush with the edge of the quilt top.
Sew the two remaining Gray strips to the top and bottom of the quilt. Press toward the Gray fabric. Trim ends flush with quilt edge.
And that’s all there is to it! A fun and simple twist on the classic gingham style patchwork quilt. We love how the various shades of yellow gives a subtle depth to the quilt. This would be the perfect choice for taking out on summer picnics (don’t mind the snowy background!), decorating a coastal bedroom, or for cuddling with as you watch fireworks.
Confetti Cotton Color of the Year yardage and fabric bundles are available for purchase at your favorite local and online quilt shops. Pick up yours today and share your makes with us on Instagram using #rbdcoty, #rbdcreatecolorfully, #rileyblakedesigns, #iloverileyblake, and tag us @rileyblakedesigns.