Pattern Test - Breakwater Quilt
I had the opportunity to test the Breakwater quilt pattern last year for Erin over at Squirrel Co. Quilts. Erin was inspired by the Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse while creating this pattern. A breakwater is a barrier in water that protects the coast from the force of waves. I love how she translated something in nature so effortlessly into a quilt pattern. How darling are these thin stripes and delicate curves?!
Links to the pattern and Erin’s Instagram are at the end of this post.
As much as I love buying new fabric for projects, this time I only used fabric and batting that I already had on hand. The gray fabric is a gray woven cotton sheet found at a discount store that I’d been saving for a few months. The white is some leftover Kona Snow from another project.
Just a small plug for using sheets in quilting—it’s the best! They’re well-priced (especially when found on discount or at a thrift store) and they’re always very soft. Using old sheets is a great way to reduce waste and reuse/upcycle while quilting.
I was a little nervous about the curves in this quilt at first, but they turned out to be so much fun. It was the first time EVER that I’ve sewn curves, and Erin’s pattern is so well-written and has so many tips that I felt quite confident! My curves aren’t the most perfect, but I’m so proud of how they turned out and will definitely incorporate more curves into future quilt projects.
If you haven’t had the chance yet to test a pattern for a pattern designer, I recommend it! Testing a quilt pattern entails:
making a quilt
carefully reading pattern for grammatical/spelling errors and other typos
double-checking quilt math
scrutinizing the overall readability—if instructions are clear and diagrams are easy to follow
providing detailed feedback about all points mentioned above
I backed the quilt with the same gray sheet as the top and decided to round out the corners. This was the first time trying rounded corners and it turned out much better than I expected. I made sure to cut my binding on the bias so it was stretch and I used Elmer’s glue to tack the edges down before sewing it in place. I tried using pins first, but the fabric moved too much. After a quick trip to the laundry, all the glue washed away and no one could ever know I used kid’s glue to aid in binding. I definitely recommend giving it a try if you haven’t yet already!
The baby Breakwater quilt in its new home with my sister’s cat, Jimmy.
Head on over to Etsy to buy the Breakwater quilt pattern and check out Erin on Instagram.
Happy sewing!
