Millefiori Quilt

Hand Quilted With Love

Posted by Ryland Peters & Small

About

Millefiori means “a thousand flowers” in Italian—and even though there aren’t a thousand flowers here, I think you get the picture! This quilt reminds me of those beautiful little pieces of glassware that people collect. I have a beautiful Millefiori paperweight that a friend gave me, and every time I look into it I am inspired by the colors and shapes. I know all this appliqué looks daunting, but please don’t be put off! The shapes are large and easy to manipulate, the curves are gentle, and the spacing need not be precise. Look carefully at my quilt and you will see nothing is perfectly placed—and yet in the scheme of the quilt no one can see it. Just have fun with the colors and forget the rest.

Finished size
Throw or wall hanging, 63 in.
(158 cm) square

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You Will Need (35 things)

  • 1 ¾ yd lime green Linen 60 in. (150 cm) wide
  • 8 in square of Fabric with a large flower for center circle
  • 20 in solid (plain) hot pink Fabric for center wedges and petals
  • 8 in pink-and-green Fabric for center wedges
  • 12 in of green-and-white spotted Bias Tape , or 20 in. (50 cm) of green-and-white spotted fabric to make bias tape
  • 30 in dark purple Lace Trim for center
  • 4 in light blue spotted Fabric for center petals
  • 8 in candy pink Fabric for Row 1 petals
  • 4 in light blue Fabric for small circles at base of Row 2 fans
  • 8 in each of 5–8 different pink Fabric for Row 2 fans
  • 8 in dark purple Fabric for Row 2 large circles
  • 8 in orange Fabric for Row 2 small circles
  • 12 in dark blue Fabric for Row 3 hearts
  • 12 in hot pink Fabric for Row 3 hearts
  • 8 in light blue Fabric for Row 3 small circles
  • 8 in soft pink Fabric for Row 3 large circles
  • 30 in floral Fabric for border
  • 2 Backing Fabric
  • 2 yd square piece Cotton Batting (wadding)
  • 28 in pink striped Fabric for binding
  • Protractor
  • Chalk Pencil
  • Silver Gel Pen
  • Straw Needle s
  • Appliqué Glue
  • 12 Hera Marker for making bias strips
  • Cotton Thread to match appliqué fabrics and for piecing
  • Rotary Cutter , mat, and ruler
  • Fabric Scissors
  • Plastic Scissors and template plastic or self-laminating paper if making templates, or Sarah Fielke Millefiori template set
  • Cardstock or Mylar
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Perle Cotton 8 in pink, purple, blue, green, and yellow for quilting
  • Sewing Machine
  • General Sewing Supplies

Steps (3 steps, 800 minutes)

  1. 1

    Cutting
    From template plastic or self-laminating
    paper, cut:
    • One center circle shape—Template A
    • One wedge shape—Template B
    • One petal shape—Template C
    • One small circle—Template D
    • One heart shape—Template E
    • One large circle—Template F
    Take care to mark them with the appropriate letter, right side up.
    From cardstock or Mylar, cut:
    • One center circle—Template A
    • One small circle—Template D
    • One large circle—Template F
    From the lime green linen fabric, cut:
    • One 54-in. (137-cm) square
    (Extra-wide linen in lime green, red, hot pink, gray, and natural is available from my website, www.sarahfielke.com)
    From the floral border fabric cut:
    • Seven strips, 51⁄2 in. (14 cm) wide
    From the pink striped binding fabric, cut:
    • Nine strips, 3 in. (7.5 cm) wide

  2. 2

    Cutting the appliqué fabrics
    Using a silver gel pen, trace around the templates. Cut the fabric out 1⁄4 in. (6 mm) from the gel pen line using fabric scissors (see page 129). To cut the circles with Templates A, D, and F, trace onto the BACK of the fabric and then cut out 1⁄4 in. (6 mm) from the gel pen line. This is for making the circles using the foil method (see page 133).
    Using Template A, cut:
    • One center circle in large floral fabric. (If you want to fussy cut the fabric, hold it up to the light to see where the design is behind the template.)
    Using Template B, cut:
    • 10 in solid (plain) hot pink
    • 10 in pink and green center wedge fabric
    • 50 in the assorted pink fabrics
    Using Template C, cut:
    • 10 in solid (plain) hot pink
    • 10 in candy pink for Row 1
    Using Template D, cut:
    • 10 in blue-and-white spotted fabric for
    center petals
    • 10 in light blue for Row 2
    • 10 in orange for Row 2
    • 20 in light blue for Row 3
    Using Template E, cut:
    • 10 in purple for Row 1
    • 10 in hot pink for Row 3
    • 10 in dark blue for Row 3
    Using Template F, cut:
    • 10 in dark purple for Row 2
    • 10 in soft pink for Row 3

  3. 3

    Round and around...
    I would love to make this quilt again some day,and keep going with the pattern to make it more and more intricate.