The Alder pattern is a PDF only, not a printed pattern.
It's free, and you download it from the Alder pattern page. This kit is the fabric for that quilt.
What a precut-friendly kit is
A precut-friendly kit is built around precuts, fabric already cut to standard sizes, counted for one specific quilt. You don't choose fabrics or work out yardage, and most of the cutting is done. It isn't a fully precut kit, though: the pattern still has its own cuts. In Alder there's one, and you make it after the sewing.
What's included
- 5 packs of Blossom Breeze 2.5" x 10" mini strips, 40 to a pack (200 strips). The top takes 152 and the binding 38 more, which leaves 10 spare.
- 2 packs of White Supreme 5" squares, 42 to a pack (84 squares). The top takes 75, which leaves 9 spare.
- The Alder pattern as a free PDF, on the pattern page above.
What's not included
- Backing. The pattern uses 2 1/8 yards of 108" wide fabric, 70 1/2" x 75 1/2", with no seam.
- Batting, cut to the same size as the backing.
- Thread.
The quilt
Alder finishes at 62 1/2" x 67 1/2". It is one unit laid on its side and repeated seventy-five times: four mini strips sewn together, cut once down the middle, with a white square on the end of each half. It is the easiest quilt in the family, and the one we suggest for a first quilt. Beginner level.
At a glance:
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Manufacturer: Blossom Breeze strips by The Fabric Hut, our own printed cotton
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Fabric: 100% cotton
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Weight: Blossom Breeze strips and White Supreme squares, both lightweight, 120 GSM
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Construction: Woven
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Quantity: 284 precut pieces
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Bundle contains: 7 packs
5 packs of 40 Blossom Breeze 2.5" x 10" mini strips (200 strips)
2 packs of 42 White Supreme 5" squares (84 squares)
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Variety: 40 Blossom Breeze prints, 5 strips of each print, plus 84 squares in one solid white
Seven packs. 284 pieces. Forty prints and one white to let them breathe.
What forty prints do to a scrappy quilt
A scrappy quilt lives on variety. With forty prints in the box, you can sew a whole top before a print comes around a second time in the same row, and nobody looking at the finished quilt will find the repeat. Blossom Breeze runs from pale pinks and gingham checks through aqua and teal to deep navy and a true red, so the box already holds its own light and dark range. Sort the strips into two piles by value before you start and you have the contrast most patterns ask for, without buying anything else.
The white is doing the opposite job. Forty patterns side by side with nothing between them leave the eye nowhere to rest, and the blocks start to blur into each other. A plain white gives every print a clean edge and a little space around it, which is why so many scrappy quilts lean on a light background to hold the whole thing together.
Both cuts also sit on the same 2.5" grid. Cut a 5" white square in half and you get two pieces measuring 2.5" x 5". Cut a 2.5" x 10" strip in half and you get exactly the same size. So a print piece and a white piece swap in and out of a block without any extra math: prints where you want color, white where you want space, and whole 5" squares when you want a quiet setting square between busier blocks.
One note before you plan around them. The strips are short 10" cuts, not full width-of-fabric jelly roll strips. That shorter cut is what keeps the price where it is, and it suits blocks, strip patchwork and small makes rather than full-length borders or long strip sets.
Features & Benefits
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100% Cotton so that every piece is easy to press and simple to sew.
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Lightweight Weave so that the strips and the squares are easy to handle and forgiving for everyday makes (they are on the thinner, slightly sheer side, so worth keeping in mind for projects where coverage matters).
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Counted for One Quilt so that you buy once and finish, instead of running short halfway or paying for packs you do not need.
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Prints and a Solid in One Box so that you have your background ready the day you start, instead of hunting for a matching white.
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40 Coordinated Blossom Breeze Prints so that the strips work together across the whole project, with 5 strips of every print.
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84 White 5" Squares so that you can use them whole as setting squares or cut them down to 2.5" pieces for your blocks.
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One Shared 2.5" Grid so that print pieces and white pieces line up without recalculating anything.
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Precut and Ready to Sew so that you can skip the measuring and the cutting and go straight to the machine.
Great For
Scrappy blocks with a light background, strip and charm patchwork, rail fence and strip piecing, checkerboard and nine patch designs, table runners, placemats, mug rugs, cushions, mini quilts, and a first quilt that you want to finish rather than plan forever.
