Studio manager Kalli enjoying her new quilt.

Wholecloth quilt featuring the cutest panel.

I couldn’t resist buying this panel of yarn-loving black cats (including a few one-eyed cats) from Bolt last fall. I decided to make a wholecloth quilt for my cat Kalli (pronounced like “cauli,” nicknamed nugget). Kalli is my studio manager and loves all aspects of the sewing process including burrowing into tissue paper patterns, serving as the ultimate pattern/fabric weight while cutting, absconding with Wonder Clips, and carefully supervising pressing. I started making this quilt back in October, but she immediately claimed it and kept pulling it down on the floor so she could lay on it. It has remained on my studio floor ever since and I didn’t get around to finishing the quilting and binding until a couple weeks ago when I was sorely in need of a joyful make. I initially intended to use the quilt as a decoy shape she could lay on while I worked on projects (wishful thinking), but I ended up putting it on the dresser she sleeps on every night for a little bit of padding.

Fabric & Supplies

A Tall Yarn collection designed by Leezaworks for Dear Stella (144 gsm / 4.2 oz)

Quilter’s Dream Request Lightweight Cotton Batting from Modern Domestic
Four colors of coordinating thread: white, black, yellow, and green
Bias tape maker (18 mm)
Wash-Away Wonder Tape

Center panel quilting detail.

Look at the lil one-eyed cat!

Quilting

After basting together the quilt sandwich, I started sewing simple straight lines around the boxes and edges of the panel with a walking foot. I could have stopped there, but I decided to approach the quilt as if I was doodling with thread. I experimented with different ways to make the cats and shapes pop, such as outlining them and quilting more densely in surrounding areas (areas with more stitches become more depressed and shadowed, while areas with fewer stitches will be more elevated and puffy). I used a clear presser foot for stitching details. I used the same bobbin thread color for the entire quilt but changed the color of the top thread depending on what I was sewing. I ended up with some puckers and bunching because I didn’t exclusively work from the center outwards; instead I improvised and skipped around adding more details. I don’t mind the imperfections—the quilt is for a cat, after all.

Cat in a basket quilting detail.

Cat tangled in yarn quilting detail.

Finishing

I cut out 1 ⅜” fabric strips on the cross-grain and joined the strips. Then I used a bias tape maker to create ¾” single fold bias tape and pressed the whole thing in half to make ⅜” double fold bias tape.

I used my home sewing machine with a regular presser foot to sew the binding on to the front of the quilt. I used a few pieces of Wash-Away Wonder Tape to secure the binding to the back and ensure the binding covered the previous stitch line, then I stitched in the ditch from the front.

I made a label with stamps and a fabric-safe ink pad, heat set it with an iron, and then sewed it on to the backing. Before closing it up, I slipped in patches of each of the fabrics I used. If I ever need to patch the quilt in the future, I'll have the exact match (and it will have been washed the same number of times as the quilt fabric).

Finished quilt size: ~22.75” wide x 28.75” long

Quilt label with fabric patches inside.

Kalli loafing on her new quilt on her bedtime dresser.

Keep In Touch

Thanks very much for reading! If you’d like in-person support and instruction, please sign up for my classes at Modern Domestic or reach out to schedule a private lesson. If you have any questions, feedback, or corrections regarding this post, please don’t hesitate to contact me!