Fat Quarter Bouquet Tutorial

Welcome to a new tutorial! This one will be simple - no sewing involved. That's right, I said no sewing at all.

My inspiration came from visiting Rosebud's Cottage at the Minnesota State Fair and seeing her quilter's candy. She had wrapped fat quarters around lollipop sticks and placed them all in a big apothecary jar. Too cute! I didn't do anything with the thought at the time, just tucked it away for future reference.

Fast forward to last month when Jacquie Gering came for a trunk show and workshop. We wanted to do some kind of gift for her. Karen of Badlands Quilts whipped up an absolutely lovely Minnesota-themed needle book for her, but that didn't seem quite enough, since we were following the act of a previous guild that held a multi-course dinner in Jacquie's honor. All I could think of was a bouquet of flowers. Those wouldn't travel back to Chicago very well. Then I remembered the aforementioned quilter's candy and the idea bloomed. (I know, everyone but my mom is groaning. She loves a good, or even a bad, pun.) I sent a message to all the attendees, asking them to bring one fat quarter in Jacquie's favorite color, orange.

pic taken by Jacquie Gering, herself

This is perfect for a thank you , holiday, or hostess gift or simply to prettify your own sewing space.

You'll need:

1 stack of fat quarters (as many or as few as you like)
1 pack of disposable chopsticks (one pair for each FQ)
1 pack of small, clear rubber bands (I got mine at Walgreens - 150 for about $250)
1 vase or cup to hold the pretties
decorative marbles or rocks (not pictured)

Take one fat quarter and open up the lovely folding job your independent quilt shop owner so lovingly folded for you, so you have one long, narrow bit of fabric. (If you're starting with completely fat, pressed pieces of fabric, fold one in have length-wise, and in half length-wise again.)

Then fold it one more time length-wise.

Take a pair of disposable chopsticks and lightly pull the ends apart, taking care not to break the connection at the top - we want to leave that.

Slide the chopsticks over the edge of your fabric.

Now, just roll! I like to use one hand to guide the fabric, so that it doesn't bunch or wrinkle while I'm twirling. (No, I'm not left-handed, I just can't take a picture if I use my right hand for the action shot.) I also angle it a little bit, so the final roll looks like a flower opening - either lower or higher in the middle than the outer edge, whichever you prefer.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

...until you reach the end!

Now place a small, clear rubber band over the low end of the roll to hold it in place.

Repeat until all your lovely FQs are beautiful flowers. Place the chopstick stems in your vase filled with decorative marbles or rocks. This keeps them from falling out inadvertently.

Enjoy!