I recently joined a local quilt guild and signed up to do community service quilts, or quilts to be made and donated to various local organizations. So far I’ve only signed up for two, one children’s quilt for a women and children’s homeless shelter, and a lap quilt for a dementia care unit. I’ve been searching for quilts that are three things: simple, quick, and use up my scraps and stash without buying anything new. While there are there are tons of cool scrappy quilts out there (I’m going to do a log cabin barn raising for the dementia unit quilt), I wanted something a little more graphic and fun for the kid’s quilt.
While I have a couple ideas, this was one quick and simple block I threw together that I thought could be used in a bunch of ways. I looked at some other mushroom blocks and while they were all amazing, a lot of them were more complex or required paper piecing. This is fast and beginner friendly!
The block finishes in a quilt at 9″ square (9.5″ with seam allowance) and would also be great on it’s own for mug rugs, lined up in a row for a table runner, or making a wall hanging.
Cut list
For background, cut:
- (1) – 1.5″ x 9.5″
- (2) – 1.5″ x 4″
- (2) – 1.5″ squares
- (2) – 3.5″ x 5″
For mushroom, cut:
- (1) 4″ x 7.5″ for cap
- (1) 3.5″ x 5″ for stem
Construction
Unless otherwise noted, sew everything with 1/4″ seam. Sew fabrics so that they are right side together.
- Start by taking your cap piece and the two 1.5″ squares of background (BG) fabric. Lay the cap fabric widthwise, right side up, and place one 1.5″ square BG in the top corner, right side down so that the right sides of the fabric are together. Using a ruler, draw a line from the bottom outer corner of the BG square up diagonally to the inner top corner as shown with a water soluble fabric marker or other appropriate removable marking tool.
- Sew across this line and repeat with the other side. Trim the corners to the outside of your piece, 1/4″ from your seam. Open the corners and ta-dah! You have a mushroom cap; this technique is often referred to as “stitch-and-flip” and is used in making various basic blocks. Don’t forget to press your seams before proceeding to the next step. I personally press my seams open, but you can also press towards the darker fabric. If you plan to stitch-in-the-ditch quilt it, you must press to the side, NOT open.
- Next, take your two 1.5″ x 4″ BG strips and sew them to either short side of your cap piece. Press seams – this should measure 4″ x 9.5″.
- Sew the 1.5″ x 9.5″ BG strip to the top of the cap. Press seam.
- Take your two remaining 3.5″ x 5″ BG strips and sew them to either side of the stem fabric. Press seams.
- Finally, sew the stem piece to the bottom of the cap piece. Press your seams and your done!
I haven’t decided if I’m going to use this for my community service quilt or set it aside in my orphan block box – I guess it depends on how distracted I get with other projects. Hopefully it won’t be stranded as a UFO, because in all it’s simpleness, it’s pretty cute!
If you use this block, please share it below! Would love to see what people come up with!
Jessica A. Halpin Stitch & Knot Co. 