Brad’s Bee
by Janet Stone
Brad’s Bee, 20½" x 20½", by Janet Stone
I
I wanted to make a quilt for my husband, a great sup-
tailed information on making quilts, including mi-
porter of my quilting obsession. His first initial is B,
tered borders, see the AQS Quiltmaking Essentials at
so I wanted to include a bee in the quilt. I decided to
www.AmericanQuilter.com.
appliqué the bee over a background of letters, and the
Making the background
bee block is featured in B. S. I Love You, number nine
in my ongoing alphabet quilt series.
The instructions that follow are for a small quilt
featuring the Bee block and a border. For more de28
American Quilter
May 2013
Arrange the A squares in 5 rows of 5 squares each.
Join the squares into rows. Press seam allowances for
adjacent rows in opposite directions. Sew the rows together. Press seam allowances all in one direction.
Brad’s Bee
Join in order along the long
edges one each of border #1, #2,
FABRIC & CUTTING REQUIREMENTS
and #3 strips. Make 4. Center a
Quilt size: 20¹⁄₂" x 20¹⁄₂"
combined border strip on a side of
• Requirements are based on 40" fabric width.
• Strips are cut selvage to selvage unless
otherwise noted.
• An extra 2" has been added to the length of
the border strips to allow for adjustments.
the quilt. Sew it to the quilt, starting and stopping ¼" from each
corner. Press seam allowances
away from the center. Repeat for
all sides. Miter the corners. Trim
seam allowances to ¼" and press
them open.
Preparing the appliqué
Enlarge the bee and alphabet
patterns 200%. Verify the accuracy of your enlargement with the
size-check box.
Trace bee appliqué shapes, except the wings, onto the paper side
of the fusible web, allowing at least
½" between the pieces. Be sure to
trace the lower bee body piece N
as a whole and trace each yellow
stripe (O-R) on the lower bee body
separately. Trace the alphabet pat-
Assorted light print
scraps – ¹⁄₂ yard
Dark red tone-on-tone –
¹⁄₃ yard
Skill level: Intermediate
• 25 A
• border #1, 4 strips ⁷⁄₈" x 23³⁄₄"
• appliqué
Yellow batik – scrap
Black batik scraps –
¹⁄₈ yard
• appliqué
• appliqué
White crinoline – ¹⁄₈ yard
Black & white stripe –
¹⁄₄ yard
• appliqué
• border #2, 4 strips 1¹⁄₈" x 23³⁄₄"*
Oﬀ-white print – ¹⁄₃ yard
Binding – ¹⁄₃ yard
Backing – ⁷⁄₈ yard
• border #3, 4 strips 2¹⁄₄" x 23³⁄₄"
• 3 strips 2¹⁄₄" x 40" for 92" of continuous binding
• 1 panel 25" x 25"
• sleeve, 1 piece 9" x 20"
Batting
• 25" x 25"
* Center a white stripe in the middle of each strip
SUPPLIES: fusible web – 12" x 30"; Teflon pressing sheet; assorted 40-wt. threads for bee machine
appliqué; 100-wt. dark red silk thread for alphabet appliqué; tear-away stabilizer – 20" x 20"; hot fix
nailheads – 3mm gold (51) and 4mm black (25)
ROTARY CUTTING
A
terns onto fusible web. Editor’s
Rotary dimensions include seam allowances.
A – 3¹⁄₂" x 3¹⁄₂"
note: Although a complete alphabet
is given, you don’t need all the letters. The bee body covers M and R,
Appliqué
wings, in alphabetical order on the
Referring to figure 1 and fol-
sheet over the placement diagram
lowing manufacturer’s directions,
(fig. 2). Dashed lines indicate a por-
fuse the letters to the quilt. Place
tion of the appliqué piece that un-
Following manufacturer’s di-
the quilt right-side up over a piece
derlies an adjacent piece. Tip: Since
rections, fuse to the wrong side of
of tear-away stabilizer. Machine
the bee pattern is symmetrical side to
the appropriate fabric: black batik
blanket stitch using dark red 100-
side, you do not need to reverse the pat-
for legs, body, and head; yellow ba-
wt. silk thread. Set aside.
tern for fusible appliqué. When laying
and S is not included in the quilt.
Cut out each shape leaving a
¼" margin all around.
tik for bee stripes O thru R; dark
Place the enlarged bee pattern
out pieces over the pattern, place the
red tone-on-tone for letters. Cut
under the Teflon pressing sheet.
non-reversed pieces over the r shapes
out on the drawn lines.
Lay out the bee pieces, except the
on the pattern, and vice versa.
May 2013
American Quilter
29
Brad’s Bee
When all pieces are placed,
fuse together on the Teflon sheet.
Allow to cool and gently peel the
fused bee from the sheet.
Place the bee on the background with the top of the head 1"
below the seam between letters C
and H, and centered side to side.
Do not fuse yet.
Use pattern pieces T, Tr, U, and
Ur to cut wings from crinoline. Do
not apply fusible web. Position the
wings under the bee body. Pin. Remove the bee body. Blanket stitch
around the wings. Replace the bee
body on the quilt. Fuse.
Using yellow thread, blanket
stitch along the long edges of the
yellow stripes. Using black thread,
Border and alphabet layout
Fig. 1
blanket stitch around the legs,
head, upper body, and the bee entire lower body, including the edges of the yellow stripes.
Quilting and finishing
Remove the excess stabilizer.
Layer the backing, batting, and
quilt top. Baste the layers together. Stitch in the ditch around the
letters and bee body pieces, and
along the borders. Stitch swirls in
the background and outer border.
Referring to figure 3, use a triple
straight stitch (forward, back, forward) to stitch veins on the wings
with tan thread.
Using black thread, free-mo-
Appliqué pieces B through Hr on Teflon sheet
tennas.
Fig. 2
30
American Quilter
tion machine embroider the an-
May 2013
Brad’s Bee
Following manufacturer’s directions and referring
to the quilt photo for placement, apply 3mm gold hotfix nailheads to the letters and 4mm black hot-fix nailheads on the black stripes of the bee body.
Sew the binding strips together to make 92" of
continuous binding. Finish the edges of your quilt
with double-fold binding. To display your quilt, make
a sleeve and sew it to the back of the quilt.
Top wing overlaps bottom wing here
B. S. I Love You, 58" x 68"
Fig. 3
B
Please respect copyright laws.
This pattern is provided for
individual use only and may not
be reproduced or distributed
without written permission from the
American Quilter’s Society.
Br
Ir
I
D
J
U
Jr
K
C
Cr
Ur
S
O
T
E
Brad’s Bee
by Janet Stone
©2013
Enlarge 200%
P
L
Lr
Q
G
F
M
R
N (lower body)
Bee appliqué placement
Tr
Er
H
Gr
Fr
Mr
This box
measures
1" x 1"
enlarged
size check
Hr
May 2013
American Quilter
31
Brad’s Bee
This box
measures
1" x 1"
enlarged
size check
Brad’s Bee
by Janet Stone
©2013
Enlarge 200%
32
American Quilter
May 2013