The nights are getting cooler, which means Halloween is getting closer. A soft and cuddly Halloween throw is the perfect things for chilly outdoor sporting events and cozy nights by the fire. Carta Bella’s Haunted House fabric collection is a playful spin on the spooky holiday.
I love our FREE downloadable pattern which features the 24” panel, so I decided to whip it up with just a few small changes.
The pattern uses the 24” panel as its centerpiece. The center is bordered by two fabric strips, and finally a gorgeous strip of sawtooth stars. I opted to repeat the basic stars in each corner, rather than the star-within-a-star block that the pattern calls for.
The prints in this collection are so fun! I LOVE the little potions, and the flying witches are hilarious!
I used the black strip for the binding – I’m a huge fan of using stripes for binding. I love how they finish off a quilt!
One of the changes I made to this pattern was that I used Riley Blake Gray Minky for the quilt back. I didn’t use any quilt batting at all – just minky + quilt top. To baste the quilt, I used a basting spray, which worked beautifully.
For the center panel, I initially wanted to free motion quilt, but with the minky on the quilt back, my machine wouldn’t allow the fabric to move through easily. So instead, I used a walking foot and semi-carefully outlined various trees and parts of the house.
The result is subtle, but if you look closely, you’ll see the stitches. For the border fabrics, I simply stitched around the perimeter. Easy.
I forgot to change by black bobbin thread, and worried that it would look bad on the quilt back, but I quite like the little tree outlines. Minky is a bit plush, so the stitches are subtle, but fun.
Another change I made to the original pattern was to use the entire length of the 24” panel. The pattern asks you to cut off a portion in order to square it up a bit, but I decided to use the entire piece. This meant my borders needed to be a little longer and I needed to add a few extra star blocks.
You may wonder about using Minky in place of quilt batting and a cotton back, but don’t be intimidated! The basting spray holds everything in place and makes quilting it a breeze. Using the minky as a quilt back adds a nice, cozy weight to the quilt and will no doubt be toasty warm – exactly what we need for Friday night high school football games.
The purple hues in this fabric collection are fabulous! Paired with the black tree outlines and the dark mansion, they really do give the feeling of a shadowy, eerie Halloween night.
My little helper gives her approval.
Love this quilt!
Fold this one up and throw it in the car because I guarantee this will be your new go to take-everywhere quilt!
Download the FREE PATTERN to make your very own Haunted House quilt! Share your work with us on Instagram using #rileyblakedesigns #iloverileyblake
Happy Quilting!