“The log cabin quilt design is one of the classic, most-widely known designs in quilting, both with beginners and experts. There are so many variations you can do, even with something as small as throwing in a colorful triangle. Nearly every quilter has done a log cabin quilt at some point.
YouTube is a wealth of knowledge for tutorials, and one excellent channel for quilters is Sew Very Easy, hosted by Laura Coia. She has posted dozens of great quilting tutorials. In this specific video, she introduces a variation of the standard log cabin pattern that is known as the half of a log cabin pattern. “”Half a log”” basically means that it will only take half the time to make it, but it won’t look like it.
Supplies:
● 1 yard of your primary color (usually the boldest color)
● 3 yards of your other primary coordinating color
● 1/3 yard each of 9 other secondary colors
Laura gives some tips for coordinating your colors since some people are a little nervous about mixing and matching prints. There’s a fine line between a colorful quilt and a horrible blob of random scraps of fabric. With all the time involved in making a quilt, you want to make sure it actually looks good, too.
The most basic of the log cabin quilt patterns is basically formed by sewing together strips of fabric around a center square successively. It basically looks like the capital letter “L.” This pattern is repeated until you’ve reached the size you need.
Start by cutting all your fabrics to the various sizes Laura specifies in her tutorial. Then, create your “half logs” in the pattern described above and in the video. Once you have your half logs sewn, you’re going to finish the other half of the design with a solid fabric. This is the tip that will save you save you so much time and make the process go a lot faster.
Sew a triangle onto each half log using just a ¼” seam, if not a little less. Trim off any edges on the backside at this point, and iron the seam to press it open. The complete squares you made will now have to be trimmed back to 10 ½”. It’s very important that all of your squares are the same size, or it will not fit together properly.
Now, sew each square together, ensuring that the half log cabins and the large triangles are facing the same direction in the whole quilt. Laura gives you some very good tips and tricks to make sure it all comes together properly.
You can finish with your quilt here, but a nice, bold border would really take your quilt to the next level and add a nice pop of color. Either way, people are going to be impressed with your finished work. Follow along with this great tutorial, and you’ll be a pro in no time.”
