Making a Quilt with Ruby Star's Sparkle Mart Fabrics

The Project & My Rules For It

I got my hands on a FQ bundle of Ruby Star Society's Sparkle Mart a bit early before the full collection was released.  My mind went right to wanting to make a quilt to cuddle under this coming Winter season!  When searching for a pattern that would complement the designs of the fabric, I wanted something that had decent sized square blocks throughout the pattern.  My first rule for making this quilt was being able to fussy cut the fabrics!  I wanted to be able to include the full design of each print - no one wants to cut one of the "I Love You Now Go Away" shopping bags in half - we need the full effect! 

My second rule for making this quilt was having a rainbow color gradient to it.  I went to my scrap bins and pulled out any and all Ruby Star fabrics I had. Once I had all of my Ruby Star scraps laid out, I could see what colors I had and started organizing them in a rainbow effect.  

Behold!  The Perfect Pattern!

With those two rules set for the project, enter FreeSpirit's "Daisy Chain Quilt" pattern!  I knew it was PERFECT as soon as I saw it! It's a free download from FreeSpirit - they show it two ways, using light colored fabric as well as using dark colored fabric.  If you google "FreeSpirit Daisy Chain Light Quilt Pattern" or "FreeSpirit Daisy Chain Dark Quilt Pattern" - links to the PDF patterns will come up.  I chose to use Ruby Star's Speckled in Sweet Cream so I followed the light color scheme.  

Now that I had the pattern selected, I culled the Ruby Star scraps down to 1) what fabrics did I have enough of to make this pattern and 2) which of the colors available to me made the best transitions between each color.  I did not have quite the right blue color to make a smooth transition so I took a skirt I had sewn several years ago but no longer wore and cut it apart, repurposing that fabric  (it is the aqua Speckled fabric you'll see in the quilt). 

Customizing the Pattern

So now I'm at the point where I have my fabric choices set, I have my design choices set,  I have the perfect pattern selected!  One problem, the quilt pattern used a 5 5/8" finished square size.  I did not want that large of squares - I wanted my squares to fit the designs of the Sparkle Mart fabrics more appropriately, a 4.5" finished square was what I landed on.  I worked out the math of the pattern to accommodate the smaller squares and then it was time to start cutting fabrics!  

Keeping All of that Color Chaos Organized

I used my design board to keep the project organized.  You can see I organized the Sparkle Mart fabrics, by color, on the right side.  Then organized the pieced blocks, again by color.  I even went into my fabric stash and pulled out a few OOP Ruby Star fabrics that felt very on-vibe with the rest of Sparkle Mart and tacked those up on the left, so I wouldn't forget to include them!

Time to Sew

I sewed the entire quilt top using my 1936 Singer Featherweight that I restored & had painted in cherry pink!  

I absolutely love how vibrant this quilt is!  It is currently draped over an antique mannequin in my office - awaiting Moda's release of the Sparkle Mart 108" widebacks.  When those arrive, I will get all of the preorders for them mailed out, then cut myself a yard or so and finish up this quilt!  Only question, the ice cream cone wideback fabrics come in Golden Hour, Natural or Turquoise colorways; which one do I choose?!

I hope, like me, you're inspired by the vibrant colors and nostalgic prints of Sparkle Mart!  I would love to see what you make with it - tag me on Instagram or Facebook!

Happy Sewing! 

-Erika