All American Quilt- Americana Edition

As you have probably seen on our social media, I’ve been working on a new version of the All American Quilt by It’s Sew Emma in Lori Holt’s most recent fabric collection, Americana. As promised, I’m back with all the details you need to make one just like mine!

You’re Invited

This year, Lori Holt has an all-new patriotic collection called Americana that I just couldn’t wait to start sewing with! The first project on my list was a re-color of the All American Quilt in Americana, which adds a bit more color and a vintage flair to this patriotic pattern.

If you’re one of our patriotic quilters who prefers the classic red, white, and blue color palette for your patriotic patterns, you can pick up the Quilt Kit and Backing Set featuring Star Spangled by April Rosenthal for Moda Fabrics now!

Americana Fabric Requirements

To make your cutting process a bit faster, we’ve included an updated Fabric Requirements chart for you to reference in today’s blog! You can find the links to everything you need in the list below, and the full Fabric Requirements are just below that:

• Americana Fat Quarter Bundle by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs
• 3 1/8 yards Americana Multi Victory Yardage C16100-MULTI
• 1/2 yard Americana Latte Sparkle Yardage C16086-LATTE
• 1/2 yard Americana School Loyal Yardage C16098-SCHOOL
• 3/4 yard Americana Denim Sparkle Yardage C16086-DENIM
• 4 Yards Americana Dark Denim July Yardage C16094-DKDENIM

All American Quilt – Americana Fabric Requirements

Fabric	Description	Yardage	SKU
A,B,C, L,M,N	Roof Top Background & Sashing & Border	3 1/8 yards	C16100-MULTI
D	Roof Tops	7 Fat Quarters	Aquas from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle (you will use 5 of them twice)
E	Chimneys	8 Fat Quarters	Yellows from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle (you will use 4 of them twice)
F,G	Star Background	10 Fat Quarters	Navys from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle (you will use 2 of them twice)
H	Red Stripes	12 Fat Quarters	Pinks/Reds from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle
I,J	Stars	1/2 yard	C16086-LATTE
K	Stripes	1/2 yard	C16098-SCHOOL
O	Binding	3/4 yard	C16086 -DENIM
	Cornerstone Stars	1 Fat Quarter	Americana Cider Liberty Yardage (C16080-CIDER) from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle
	Cornerstone Star Backgrounds	1 Fat Quarter	Americana Cider Sparkle Yardage (C16086-CIDER) from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle
	Backing	4 yards	C16094-DKDENIM

Pattern Changes and Additions

I made a few fun tweaks and additions to the quilt while I was sewing, adding pops of yellow and making it a bit bigger so it finishes at  63 1/2″ x 73 1/2″. You can see all of the changes and additions I made to the All American Quilt below.

1. Block Background Fabrics

In the original pattern, each block uses just one background fabric for the star and the white stripes. I decided to shake things up a bit with mine by using one background print for each of these elements across the whole quilt. For all the white stripes, I used the Americana School Loyal Yardage, which has a pop of red to tie into the scrappy red stripes. Similarly, I chose the Americana Latte Sparkle Yardage with its navy stars to pair with the star blocks!

2. Chimney Color Change

The yellow SKUs in the Americana collection really make it stand out from other patriotic collections. The first place I worked this color into the quilt was in the chimneys! They are the Fabric E squares in the pattern, and I am really happy with how they turned out.

3. Cornerstones

The star blocks in this quilt were sew cute that I decided to add 6 cornerstone blocks using the Cider Sparkle and Cider Liberty Fat Quarters from the Americana Fat Quarter Bundle. The pops of yellow break up the background of the quilt nicely and help to tie in the yellow that I used for the chimneys. Follow the assembly instructions on page 4 of the pattern and follow the cutting instructions below. You will need to trim the Hourglass Units to measure 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ before assembling the Star Units. The Star Unit Cornerstones should measure 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″.

Cornerstone Cutting Instructions

Fabric	Quantity	Size
Cider Sparkle Yardage (C16086-CIDER)	12	F- 2 3/4″ squares
Cider Sparkle Yardage (C16086-CIDER)	24	G- 1 1/2″ squares
Cider Liberty Yardage (C16080-CIDER)	12	I- 2 3/4″ squares
Cider Liberty Yardage (C16080-CIDER)	6	J- 1 1/2″ squares

4. Add Cornerstones to Sashing

Now that I have these dazzling cornerstones, I need a place to put them! To do this, I tweaked the cutting instructions for Fabric M to make it a pieced sashing. When you’re attaching the newly cornerstoned sashing, make sure that you line up the cornerstones with the Fabric L pieces. I also recommend pressing open to avoid bulky seams!

Sashing Cutting Instructions

Fabric	Quantity	Size
M	9	3 1/2″ x 15 1/2″ rectangles

5. Widened the Borders

I wanted my finished quilt to be a bit bigger, so the final edit to the quilt top is to widen the borders. I like to cut my borders length of fabric, so I made sure to cut those first. If you don’t mind piecing, you can follow the assembly instructions on page 7 of the pattern, but you will want to follow these cutting instructions below:

Border Cutting Instructions

Fabric	Quantity	Size
N	8	6 1/2″ x width of fabric strips Piece together and subcut into: 2 – 6 1/2″ x 61 1/2″ strips 2 – 6 1/2″ x 63 1/2″ strips

6. Pieced Backing

When I was done making my house blocks for the quilt top, I saw that I had more than enough fabric to make another house block, and I also had a stack of corners I trimmed off when making the Roof Units! I sewed the corners into 24 half square triangles and trimmed them to measure 2 1/2″. So, naturally, I needed to make a pieced backing.

To do this, I made one more house block and pieced two side blocks. To make each side block, I pieced a row of 12 half square triangles and sandwiched it between 2 – 6″ x 30.5″ rectangles of Hometown Holiday Latte Dot Yardage (C14921-LATTE) that I had in my stash.

Share with Us!

I hope you enjoy seeing behind the scenes of how I make changes to a pattern when I sew it up in a different collection, using the fabric I have on hand. I can’t wait to see what this inspires you all to make!

Don’t forget that I always love to see what you’re sewing, and how you like to add your own spin to your favorite It’s Sew Emma quilt patterns! If you make an All American Quilt using Americana like mine, be sure to tag @FatQuarterShop in your photos so I can see it.

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