A quilted wall hanging is an easy DIY project for any room in your home. This one was created for my granddaughter’s bedroom. I was looking for fabric with butterflies or flowers in soft colours, but fell in love with the vibrant pink, blue, purple and green hues of this seahorse and mermaid panel.

I love what I call these “cheater quilt” panels for the ease in which the wall hanging (or blanket if you prefer) can be assembled and sewn. The panels are purchased in whatever length and width their motif (theme) is repeated in.  Some are sold in individual panels, this one came in a roll of fabric, so I purchased just enough of the fabric for one complete repeat of the pattern.  Then choose coordinating fabric for as many borders as you want to add to finish the project. You also require fabric for the backing and batting for the middle layer.

My dining room makes for a great sewing room, with the table a perfect size to lay out, measure, pin and cut the fabric panel and borders I chose. My granddaughter’s big girl room (her parents are expecting another baby soon) was recently painted in a soft grey colour with one wall in bright bubble gum pink. For that reason, I chose a bright pink thread and outer border to enhance the pink in the mermaid’s hair and multicolored border, as well as her accent wall.  I also chose to use pink thread and a zig-zag stitch on the borders to increase the pink content. 

Once the layers are assembled, begin stitching around the features in the pattern. Be sure to pin the layers together every few inches before sewing to prevent the layers from shifting or bunching as you sew.  Start sewing from the middle and work your way out to the edges.  Also be sure to add stitching to bare areas, leaving no more than two inches between stitching. These tricks also prevent bunching of the fabrics.  In this pattern I simply stitched along the colourful weeds, fish, and other sea life depicted on the panel.  

Since there were so many colours in this quilt top, I used different colours of thread. Check out the colours on the black backing I used; I think this adds a unique feature to the project, especially if it is to be used as a blanket.

 

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I think she likes it!

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