Watch how to quilt the orange peel quilt pattern (video & written instructions)

The orange peel pattern is a simple way to spruce up any quilt. All you need is some fabric and a shape to trace, and you can have all the beautiful orange peels you want. (Hint: They don’t even have to be orange!)
You can use these orange peel shapes to make any kind of design you want, from flowers and leaves to boxes and borders. The possibilities are endless, and the process is easy, so you could actually make an entire orange peel quilt in one day.
Advertisement
Watch the orange peel pattern video tutorial by the Missouri Star Quilt Company:
Materials
Lots of different colored fabrics for your orange peels
Fabric for the background of your quilt or quilt squares
Thin piece of cardboard or card stock for tracing
Freezer paper or other thin paper for drawing the shapes on
Pencil
Scissors/rotary cutter
Thread
Sewing machine/sewing needle
Written instructions
1. The first step is to prepare your template. You can find dozens of free, downloadable orange peel templates online, like this one at SewCanShe.com. You can also simply draw the shape yourself (if you feel that you can measure it properly).
You can make orange peels in any size, but the average size is 6 inches. The bigger the orange peel is, the faster your quilt will be finished, because it will take fewer blocks to fill it!
To make the template, print or draw your orange peel shape onto a thin piece of cardboard or sturdy card stock (Julie of the Button Button Blog recommends using an empty cereal box) and cut it out.
2. Trace the template you just made onto your thin paper, making several individual orange peels. Cut them out as well. You need one paper piece per orange peel shape, so cut as many as you will need.
3. Press, pin or glue your paper peel to your orange peel fabric. Then cut it out, adding a 1/4-inch seam allowance around the edges.
4. Baste the seams by folding over the extra fabric of your your seam allowance so that it covers the edges of your paper piece. Then sew or glue it down, as shown.
5. To turn your orange peels into individual quilt blocks, simply press them onto a square of fabric and stitch them into place. The amount of squares you need depends on how big your orange peels are, what design you are using and the size of your finished quilt.
Once you have made all of your quilt blocks, simply sew them together to finish your quilt. It is really that easy — and that fun!
Advertisement