The Prettiest Watercolor Heart Quilt To Put On Display

A Watercolor Heart Wall Hanging Is Timeless.

It’s Valentines and the nicest time to celebrate with quilting projects that honor the season of love. However you may still be looking for something a little extra special. This stunning watercolor heart wall hanging is the perfect way to put Valentines on display to win everyones hearts!

 

This watercolor is truly a scrapbuster. To get started, begin sorting through scraps to find florals, and more florals, all sizes of prints. Some closely spaced with no background showing, and others with background. Choose some less dense florals, and add paisleys and swirl prints. It’s a colorful variety of floral fabrics of varying intensity and scale. The designer Stephanie Sims provides a great guideline in the list of required fabrics in her pattern ‘Smitten’.

 

Norma Braden 24 BlocksNorma Braden’s watercolor heart quilt featured on 24 Blocks. Her selection and placement of fabric blocks, with the red and calm green of the flowers and the soft aqua blue of tumbling hearts frames the heart with a soft contrast. Norma used ‘Smitten’ and resized it from 71″ x 85″ to wall-hanging size, 32″x 39″. Follow her guide on fabric cuts and placements to get the right effect. The design is constructed with a combination of four patch blocks and rectangles. Rectangles are sewn in fours and the blocks are then stitched together in rows. Refer to the diagram and color photo to figure out color and print placement, and watch the design come together. It’s so much easier than you might think!

When placing fabric its much easier to see the quilt develop using a grid on a design wall. Or you could use a a piece of white fleece taped to the wall of about least 36″ x 45. Mark a 4″ grid with a permanent marker (test a small corner first). The grid provides a framework on which to build your design. Choose your prints and placements to achieve the right effect.

For more easy-to-follow exercises for planning your quilt and how to use color to create a watercolor effect, Pat Maixner and Donna Ingram’s book ‘Watercolor Quilts’ was released way back in 1993, and is still available for purchase. Or check for a copy at your local library. The book is a gem of knowledge, and a good addition to any quilters library, even if to simply view the stunning projects!