Midnight Glow Lap Quilt tutorial

Once again I am showing you a quilt made with the Midnight Glow quilt block. Sometimes it is fun to oversize a quilt block which means you can really make a quilt fast!

I just happened to have a batik layer cake with colors very similar to my original Midnight Glow quilt and thought it would be fun to see what a larger quilt block would look like.

I have to say that it takes no time at all to make a quilt when you use a block this size! Keep reading and I’ll share the tutorial.

I got Mr. Mickey to sit on the quilt and was able to snap a few photos. I have him up on a table out on the porch…he wasn’t too happy but once I was done he got to go for a walk so that made up for it.

I made the lap quilt with six quilt blocks which is the same amount I used in the baby quilt. See the difference in size?

Midnight Glow Lap Quilt
37½” x 56″

19″ unfinished blocks

Fabrics:

• 1-yard black fabric for blocks and binding
• Rainbow color layer cake or scraps of fabrics that are at least 5″ x 10″
• 1½-yard backing
• batting

Cutting:

• Cut 6 – 10″ squares – from the black fabric
• Cut 36 – 5″ x 10″ rectangles of assorted colors

Layout your pieces as shown below.

Sewing:

Use a ¼-inch seam allowance throughout.

Sew two 5″ x 10″ rectangles to opposite sides of the black 10″ square. Press to the black fabric.

Read carefully

• Sew two 5″ x 10″ rectangles together lengthwise
• Make two for each block
• Trim ¼” off of each rectangle, I laid them out with the seam on one side and then trimmed the opposite side.
• The rectangles will end up being 5″ x 9¾” and the section will be 5″ x 19″
• Add one set to each side of your block

Here are four blocks finished. Each block is 19″ unfinished. When I made the blocks I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them. When I saw how big the four blocks were I decided it would be perfect for a lap quilt so I decided to make two more blocks.

Sew all six blocks together

We had plans to build my new studio this spring but for now, that is at a standstill. Once I decided that I had to figure out what I didn’t like about my sewing space upstairs.

Cutting table

Do you know what I missed more than anything? A cutting table I could stand at! Once I figured that out I got creative. I have a 4-foot x 6-foot cutting table that is in storage and too heavy and big to move upstairs. Here is what I’m using right now.

I have two 4-foot fold-in-half tables that I use when quilting a large quilt and decided to put them at their highest level and use them for a cutting table.

I used cable ties to hold the tables together. I also taped two of my 24″ x 36″ cutting mats to the top of the tables. The back mat hangs over a little bit but it works.

I can also use the tables to lay out my quilt and pin the batting and backing while standing. Crawling on the floor to do this isn’t fun at my age.

I have two rooms upstairs that I am using. I am always moving things around and recently butted my sewing machine cabinet up to my makeshift desk. The height is perfect for free-motion quilting a quilt.

I just moved my keyboard and mouse out of the way. It is very important to keep your entire quilt supported while free-motion quilting. If it hangs over the side the weight will cause drag and you will have trouble with your stitching.

See how I have the quilt rolled up on the bottom and the right side? I always start in the center of my quilt and work out.

For the backing, I used a wild animal print flannel and cotton batting.

I used an Aurifil 40wt thread called Sand that I had in my stash. It is a little heavier weight which makes the quilting show up a little more. I just did a simple meandering with loops.

Finish the quilt – binding.

Cut four 2½” strips the width of the fabric for your binding. Use my easy to follow machine binding tutorial to bind your lap quilt.

Your Midnight Glow lap quilt will finish at approximately 37½” x 56″.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial and please send me a photo if you make it. This would make a wonderful gift for someone in a nursing home or hospital.

Get the Midnight Glow quilt pattern that includes placemats, a baby quilt and several other quilt projects made with the Midnight Glow block.

Would you like to make a table runner? Take a look at my Midnight Glow table runner tutorial.

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