Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

I love quiltmaking because of its sheer limitlessness. Even in its simplest form, with no tricky Y seams or curved angles, the possibilities are endless! My Crossroads Quilt operates within the confines of a grid, but by playing with prints and colors, basic squares and rectangles become so much more!

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

I carefully chose a variety of fabrics for this project that, together, create the illusion of overlapping lines. The soft blue Essex linen-cotton blend sets the stage for the cool White Hatches, which run vertically, and the warm Apricot Shot Cotton, which runs horizontally. These two fabrics meet at sweet Coral Checked intersections, or crossroads, giving my quilt its name! I bound the whole thing in a beautiful yarn dyed gray fabric, which puts the whole piece solidly in a frame, like the piece of art it is!

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

The only real skill you need to complete this project is rotary cutting. Rotary cutting is a very important basic quiltmaking skill, but it can be a little intimidating to the uninitiated. If you’re new to it or just want some helpful tips, I’ve put together a comprehensive Rotary Cutting Tutorial as a companion to this quilt. Click here to check it out. Once you get the hang of rotary cutting the Crossroads Quilt (or any other quilt for that matter) will be a breeze! — Molly

Materials

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

For the Top:

  • 2 yards of Robert Kaufman’s Essex,in Light Blue. This is the Background Fabric.
  • 3/4 yard of Robert Kaufman’s Architextures, White Hatches. This is the Vertical Strip Fabric.
  • 1/2 yard of Rowan’s Shot Cotton in Apricot. This is the Horizontal Strip Fabric.
  • 1/4 yard of Windham’s Citrus in Coral Triple Line. This is the Crossroad Fabric.

For the Binding:

  • 1/2 yard of Kiyohara’s Fine Solids in Black

For the Backing:

  • 2 yards of Moda’s 90-inch wide 200 Count Muslin

Quilter’s Dream’s Natural Request Dream Batting, 100% pure cotton, Twin Size.

Gutermann’s Cotton Thread, 274-yard spool in color 1006

Size

51 inches X 60 inches

Note

Prewash and dry all of the fabrics (but not the batting).

Pattern

Cut

If you’re new to rotary cutting, please refer to our Rotary Cutting Tutorial before you start.

Note: To keep all of the pieces in order you might want to label each one with its corresponding letter using an erasable fabric marker.

From the Background Fabric:

Cut eight 3 ½-inch wide strips from selvage to selvage. They will be roughly 41 inches long. Then, from these strips cut the following pieces:

A: Seven 3 ½-inch squares

B: Five 6½  X 3 ½-inch rectangles

C: Six 9 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

D: Six 12 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

E: Two 18 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

F: Three 24 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

Cut two 6 ½-inch wide strips from selvage to selvage. Then, from these strips cut the following pieces:

G: One 6 ½-inch square

H: One 9 ½ X 6 ½-inch rectangle

I: Four 12 ½ X 6 ½-inches rectangles

Cut one 9 ½-inch wide strip from selvage to selvage. Then, from that strip cut the following pieces:

J: Two 15 ½ X 9 ½-inches rectangles

Cut one 12 ½-inch wide strip from selvage to selvage. Then, from that strip cut the following piece:

K: One 12 ½-inch square

From the Vertical Strip Fabric:

Cut seven 3 ½-inch wide strips from selvage to selvage. Then, from these strips cut the following pieces:

L: Six 3 ½-inch squares

M: Eight 6 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

N: Five 9 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

O: Four 12 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

P: One 18 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangle

Q: Three 24 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

From the Horizontal Strip Fabric:

Cut four 3 ½-inch wide strips from selvage to selvage. Then, from these strips cut the following pieces:

R: Seventeen 3 ½-inch squares

S: Five 6 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

T: Three 12 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

U: Two 18 ½ X 3 ½-inch rectangles

From the Crossroad Fabric:

Cut two 3 ½-inch wide strips from selvage to selvage. Then, from these strips cut the following pieces:

V: Twenty-three 3 ½-inch squares

Piece the Quilt Top

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Notes

All of the seam allowances are ¼ inch and all piecing is done right sides together.

You will first assemble four quadrants and then sew them all together.  Above is a diagram of the finished quilt with all the quadrants and all the pieces labeled.

You will construct each quadrant by first assembling two or three sections and then sewing these sections together.

Quadrant 1

Quadrant 1, Section 1:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strips 1 and 3: Sew a short side of a B piece to one side of an R piece. Then sew the short side of an F to the opposite side of the R. Make a second identical strip. Orient Strips 1 and 3 vertically so B is at the top.

Strips 2 and 4: Sew a short side of an M to one side of a V. Then sew the short side of a Q to the opposite side of the V. Make a second identical strip. Orient Strips 2 and 4 vertically so M is at the top.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Sew the right side of Strip 2 to the left side of Strip 3.

Sew the right side of Strip 3 to the left side of Strip 4.

Orient this section so B/M/B/M is at the top and F/Q/F/Q is at the bottom.

Quadrant 1, Section 2:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Piece 1: Sew a long side of an I to a long side of a T. Orient the piece horizontally so I is on top.

Piece 2: Sew one side of an A to one side of an R. Then sew the short side of a C to the opposite side of the R. Orient this piece vertically so A is on top and then sew the left edge to a long side of a J.

Piece 3: Sew one long side of an S to one long side of a G. Orient this piece so S is on top. Sew a V to a short side of an M. Orient this piece so V is on top. Sew the right side of the V/M piece to the left side of the S/G piece. Then sew a long side of a C to the left side of the V/M piece.

Sew the bottom side (the T side) of Piece 1 to the top side of Piece 2 (the J/A side).

Sew the bottom side of Piece 2 (the J/C side) to the top side of Piece 3 (the C/V/S  side).

Orient this section so I is at the top and C/M/G is at the bottom.

Quadrant 1, Section 3:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): M, V, L, V, N, V, M.

Sew Quadrant 1 Together:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the right side of Section 1 to the left side of Section 2. Then sew the right side of Section 2 to the left side of Section 3.

Quadrant 1 is complete; put it aside for now.

Quadrant 2

Quadrant 2, Section 1:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): B, R, A, R, C, R, B.

Strip 2: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): M, V, L, V, N, V, M.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Quadrant 2, Section 2:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): I, S, H, S.

Strip 2: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): O, V, N, V.

Strip 3: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): D, R, C, R.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Sew the right side of Strip 2 to the left side of Strip 3.

Sew the bottom S/V/R side to a long side of an I piece.

Orient this section so I/O/D is at the top and I is at the bottom.

Quadrant 2, Section 3:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): O, V, N, V, M.

Strip 2: Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): D, R, C, R, B.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Orient this section so O/D is at the top and M/B is at the bottom.

Sew Quadrant 2 Together:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the right side of Section 1 to the left side of Section 2. Then sew the right side of Section 2 to the left side of Section 3.

Quadrant 2 is complete; put it aside for now.

Quadrant 3

Quadrant 3, Section 1:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew an R to a short side of an F. Orient this piece vertically so R is at the top.

Strip 2: Sew a V to a short side of a Q. Orient this piece vertically so V is at the top.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Orient this section so R/V is at the top.

Quadrant 3, Section 2:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew an R to an A. Orient so R is at the top.

Strip 2: Sew a V to an L. Orient so V is at the top.

Strip 3: Sew an R to an A. Orient so R is at the top.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2. Then sew the right side of Strip 2 to the left side of Strip 3.

Sew the bottom side (the A/L/A side) to a short side of a J piece. This is Piece 1.

Strip 4: Sew one side of an A to a short side of an S. Orient this piece horizontally so that A is on the left.

Sew a long side of a C piece to the bottom of Strip 4. This is Piece 2.

Sew the top side of Piece 2 (the A/ S side) to the bottom side Piece 1 (the J side).

Orient this section so R/V/R is at the top and C is at the bottom.

Quadrant 3, Section 3:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the following pieces, short side to short side, in the following order (from top to bottom): V, P, V, L.

Sew Quadrant 3 Together:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the right side of Section 1 to the left side of Section 2. Then sew the right side of Section 2 to the left side of Section 3.

Quadrant 3 is complete: put it aside for now.

Quadrant 4

Quadrant 4, Section 1:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew a long side of an S to a short side of an I. Orient vertically so S is at the top.

Strip 2: Sew one side of a V to a short side of an O. Orient vertically so V is at the top.

Strip 3: Sew one side of an R to a short side of a D. Orient vertically so R is at the top.

Strip 4: Sew one side of a V to a short side of an O. Orient vertically so V is at the top.

Sew the right side of  Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Sew the right side of Strip 2 to the left side of Strip 3.

Sew the right side of Strip 3 to the left side of Strip 4.

Orient this piece so S/C/R/V is at the top and I/O/D/O is at the bottom. This is Piece 1.

Strip 5: Sew the following squares together in order from left to right: A, R, V, R, V. Orient this strip horizontally with A on the left and V on the right.

Strip 6: Sew one side of an L to a short side of a D. Orient horizontally so L is on the right.

Strip 7: Sew one side of a V to a short side of T. Orient horizontally so V is on the right.

Strip 8: Sew one side of an L to a short side of a D. Orient horizontally so L is on the right.

Sew the bottom side of Strip 5 to the top side of Strip 6.

Sew the bottom side of Strip 6 to the top side of Strip 7.

Sew the bottom side of Strip 7 to the top side of Strip 8.

Orient this piece so A/R/V/R/V is at the top and D/L is at the bottom. This is Piece 2.

Sew the bottom side of Piece 1 to the top side of Piece 2.

Orient this section so S/V/R/V is at the top and D/L is at the bottom.

Quadrant 4, Section 2:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Strip 1: Sew a long side of a T piece to one side of a K. Orient so T is at the top.

Strip 2: Sew one side of a V to one short side of an N. Sew an A to the opposite short side of the N. Orient vertically so V is at the top.

Strip 3: Sew one side of an R to a short side of D. Orient vertically so R is at the top.

Sew the right side of Strip 1 to the left side of Strip 2.

Sew the right side of Strip 2 to the left side of Strip 3.

Orient so that J/V/R is at the top and K/A/D is at the bottom. This is Piece 1.

Strip 4: Sew the following pieces, long side to long side, in the following order (from top to bottom): U, E, U, E.

Sew the top side of Strip 4 (the U side) to the bottom side of Piece 1 (the K/A/D side).

Orient this section so J/V/R is at the top and E is at the bottom.

Sew Quadrant 4 Together:

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the right side of Section 1 to the left side of Section 2.

Quadrant 4 is complete.

Sew the Quadrants Together

Crossroads Quilt | Purl Soho

Sew the right side of Quadrant 1 (the side where M is at the top and bottom) to the left side of Quadrant 2 (where B is at the top and bottom)

Sew the right side of Quadrant 3 (the side where V is at the top and M is at the bottom) to the left side of Quadrant 4 (where S is at the top and D is at the bottom).

Sew the long bottom side of Quadrants 1 and 2 (the side where F is on the left and B is on the right) to the top side of Quadrants 3 and 4 (where R is on the left and right).

You’re all done with the top!

For instructions on how to quilt and bind the top please refer to Corinne’s Denim Pinwheel Quilt and scroll down to the “Finishing the Pieced Top” section. I quilted my top with a 3-inch grid, stitching in the ditch when the quilting ran along any seams, but you can quilt it in any style you like!