Meandering Wisconsin ~ A Picnic Quilt Pattern

All my life I’ve enjoyed meandering Wisconsin! It’s no surprise I’ve designed a picnic sized quilt pattern and named it just that!!

Lakegirlquilts is located in the beautiful Wisconsin Northwoods!  The inspiration for the Meandering Wisconsin quilt is the pride I have for the place I call home, the many years I taught 4th grade Wisconsin history, and the enjoyment I get from exploring the nooks and crannies of the backroads and downtowns of this amazing state!! 

From the Apostle Islands to Door County to “Up North” to the Driftless area and Madison…If you haven’t had a chance yet to go meandering Wisconsin, you need to!!!

Meandering Wisconsin a picnic quilt!  What a perfect little quilt to keep handy when meandering to parks and outdoor music venues around Wisconsin!!!  But it’s also the perfect size quilt to adorn a wall in your home or office, or cuddle under on a chilly evening!  The options for enjoying this quilt are endless. 

Maggie loves modeling all the quilts! Such a good girl!!

Enjoy the journey of making this pretty creation!

If you’d like an ad-free pdf of Meandering Wisconsin, click here to go to the lakegirlquilts Etsy shop to purchase it.

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General Sewing Directions for Meandering Wisconsin

The directions for this Meandering Wisconsin quilt are for rotary cutting, machine piecing, machine quilting, and the binding is hand-stitched to the quilt back.

Accurate cutting and sewing enhances your final product.  Pin your pieces together before sewing them to ensure proper seam alignment.

Use a ¼” seam allowance.  I recommend using a special presser foot with a ¼” guide if you have one for your machine.  This will help you get uniform seams, and matching corners!

Follow the directions described below as you press open the seams.  Each individual row is pressed in the opposite direction of the previous row to eliminate bulk and help seams to lay flat.  Rows sewn together are then all pressed open for a uniform look.

Finished size of Meandering Wisconsin is 54” x 60”. 

Fabric Requirements for Meandering Wisconsin

Meandering Wisconsin Quilt Top ~ The Flimsy!!

The state of Wisconsin is created using a variety of blue, coral, orange, green, teal, yellow, and taupe prints.  For the background I used a variety of buttery cream-colored fabric. 

I bordered the Wisconsin center with a deep blue to represent the waters surrounding this beautiful state.  To finish off the quilt I added another border of gray flying geese with multi-colored corners. 

The geese flying all around the quilt remind me of the coming and going of the four seasons in Wisconsin, with flying geese indicating the passage from fall to winter and from spring to summer.

For corners in my Wisconsin center and for the center of my quilt back I used fabric panels. I chose the colors for my quilt from colors found in The State Parks, Wisconsin Fabric Panel which is a part of the Lakeside Story Collection designed by Mara Penny for Moda Fabrics. The panel is a 15″ X 44″ panel with the larger squares measuring 12″ x 12″ and the smaller squares measuring 5″ x 5″. The fabric panel is made with 100% cotton.

These panels are totally optional, and are not considered in any of the yardage or cutting directions below.

Multi-colors of Fabric for Wisconsin, Corners, and Flying Geese:

The total fabric needed is about 2 yards.  However, to achieve the scrappy look of this quilt I suggest using at least 8-10 different prints.  Either raid your stash, or purchase a few new fat quarters.  You’ll need at least 2 ½” wide strip of any one fabric.  Another fun option is to use jelly rolls or mini-charm packs for some of the 2 ½” squares!

Cream Fabric for Background: 

The total amount of fabric needed is about 1 ½ yards.  However, to achieve the scrappy look of this quilt I again suggest using at least 8-10 different prints.  Either raid your stash, or purchase a few new fat quarters.  You’ll need at least 2 ½” wide strip of any one fabric for the 2 ½” squares.

Blue Border Fabric: 

The total amount needed is about ½ yard.

Flying Geese: 

The total amount of gray fabric needed is about ¾ yard. The colored parts of the flying geese are included in the fabric amounts above. 

Backing Fabric: 

The total amount needed is about 4 yards of 44” wide fabric.                    

Binding Fabric: 

The total amount needed is about ½ yard.

Batting: 

You’ll need twin size (72” x 90”) thin cotton batting (like Warm & Natural) to make this quilt.

Cutting Directions

Use a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and plastic ruler to make all the necessary cuts for these quilt pieces.  If you’re new to using a rotary cutter check out this post!

Wisconsin and Border Corners: 

Cut 300 – 2 ½” colored squares. I suggest using at least 15-25 different prints.  Either raid your stash, or purchase a few new fat quarters or even mini-charm packs or jelly rolls.  You will use some of these squares to make half square triangle blocks and unique blocks.  You’ll actually use only 280 colored blocks, but you’ll want to have a few extra so you have a variety to choose from.

Background:  

Cut 265 – 2 ½” cream squares. Use a variety of at least 8-10 different prints from your stash or fun new fat quarters.  You will use some of these squares to make half square triangle blocks and unique blocks.  You’ll only use 258 cream blocks, but you’ll want to have a few extra so you again have a variety to choose from.

Blue Border: 

Cut 5 – 2 ½” x 44”width of fabric (WOF) strips.  Trim off the salvage edges.

Flying Geese: 

Cut 25 – 5 ¼” gray squares and cut 100 – 2 7/8” colored squares in batches of 4 for each color.

Binding: 

Cut 7 – 2 ½” x 44” strips, trim the ends of each strip at opposing 45-degree angles.

Backing: 

Cut 4 yards into 2 – 2 yard rectangles, or use a total of about 4 yards to create a uniquely pieced quilt back.

I used fabrics from the Lakeside Story Collection designed by Mara Penny for Moda Fabrics for a uniquely pieced quilt back. The directions for this quilt back are not included. Be creative and design your own if you’d like!!

Batting: 

Cut a 68” x 76” rectangle.

Making the Unique Squares

Along with colorful 2 ½” squares, there are 7 unique squares that you’ll make to create the center shape of Meandering Wisconsin.  Follow these directions to create each of the unique squares.  A handy 6 ½” square ruler to use when making the unique squares is the Easy Square, Jr.

Unique Square 1

Make 1.  To make this square you’ll need 1 – 2 ½” cream square and 1 – 2 ½” colored square. 

On the back of the cream square measure and mark a small line 7/8” from the lower left corner.  Draw a diagonal line from this mark up to the upper right corner. 

Place on top of the colored square, right sides together, and sew along the diagonal line. 

Press open toward the colored side.  Line up a small ruler so the long sides of the cream section are on the 2 ½” lines, and the colored section overhangs on the top and right sides of the ruler. 

Trim the overhanging fabric so that you have a 2 ½” squared block.  Trim ¼” from seam.

Unique Square 2

Make 1.  To make this square you’ll need 1 – 2 ½” cream square and 1 – 2 ½” colored square. 

On the back of the cream square measure and mark a small line 1 1/8” from the lower left corner.  Draw a diagonal line from this mark up to the upper left corner. 

Place on top of the colored square, right sides together, and sew along the diagonal line. 

Press open toward the colored side. 

Line up a small ruler so the long sides of the colored section are on the 2 ½” lines, and the cream section overhangs on the top and right sides of the ruler.  Trim the overhanging colored fabric so that you have a 2 ½” squared block. 

Trim ¼” from seam.

Unique Square 3

Make 17.  This unique square is a half square triangle. 

To make this square choose a cream square and a colored square.  Using a fine pencil, lightly draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the cream one. 

Now, place the right side of a colored square and the right side of a cream square (the one you just drew the line on!) together.  With the diagonal line facing you (wrong side up!), sew along the line. 

Trim ¼” from seam.  Press open toward the colored side.  This half square triangle square should again measure to be a 2 ½” square, trim if needed. 

Unique Square 4 

Make 1.  To make this block sew a half square triangle with a colored square and a cream square (see directions for Unique Square 3). 

Then, on the wrong side of another cream square draw a line horizontally down the middle.  

Place this square over the half square triangle (right sides together), with the half square facing in the direction so that the lower right corner is the colored corner of the square.

Sew on the drawn line to connect them.  Open the block to the side that allows it to replicate the image shown below. 

Press open.  Trim the seam to ¼”.  The block should again measure to be a 2 ½” square, trim if needed.

Unique Square 5

Make 3.  To make this square use a cream square and a colored square. 

On the back side of the cream square draw a horizontal line up the center of the square (on the 1 ¼” line).  Right sides together, join the squares by sewing on the drawn line.  Trim the seam to ¼”. 

Press open toward the colored side.  The block should again measure to be a 2 ½” square, trim if needed.    

Unique Square 6

Make 1.  To make this square sew a half square triangle with a colored square and a cream square. 

Then, on the wrong side of another cream square draw a line horizontally across the middle. 

Place this square over the half square triangle (right sides together), with the half square facing in the direction so that the lower left corner is the colored corner of the square.

Sew on the drawn line to connect them. 

Open the block to the side that allows it to replicate the image shown here.  Press open.  Trim the seam to ¼”. 

The block should again measure to be a 2 ½” square, trim if needed. 

Unique Square 7

Make 1.  To make this block sew a half square triangle with a colored square and a cream square. 

Then, on the wrong side of another colored square draw a line vertically down the middle. 

Place this square over the half square triangle (right sides together), with the half square facing in the direction so that the upper left corner is the colored corner of the square.

Sew on the drawn line to connect them.  Open the block to the side that allows it to replicate the image shown here. 

Press open.  Trim the seam to ¼”.  The block should again measure to be a 2 ½” square, trim if needed.

Assemble the Wisconsin Center

The center of this quilt is made up of 56 nine-patch blocks, arranged into 8 rows.  Now that you have your squares all cut, and your unique squares all created it’s time to sew the squares into the nine-patch arrangements! 

The quilt top has 8 rows.  Each row is comprised of 7 nine-patch blocks.  Some of the nine-patch blocks have unique squares in them! The unique squares are circled in the diagram above. Follow this layout to make up each of the 56 nine-patch blocks.

Adding in printed panels is completely optional!  If you are using panels, place them in the location you’d like to replace any of the nine-patch blocks.  Cut panel to 6 ½” square. 

Begin stitching squares together (right sides facing) to complete each 9-patch.  When you sew the nine-patch blocks together, press every other row in opposite directions so the seams nest together as you sew the rows of the nine-patch blocks together.  Press the seams of the odd rows (1, 3, 5, 7) to the left and press the seams of the even rows (2, 4, 6, 8) to the right.

As you complete a nine-patch, label it and/or place it in the right location on your design floor/wall to make sure you don’t mess up your arrangement of blocks.  Sew together each of the 8 nine-patch rows.   

When you have all the nine-patch rows sewn together and pressed, then sew them to each other.  Carefully pin the seams of each row to line up the nine-patch blocks from each row.  When you have all 8 rows sewn to each other, press the seams open.

Sew the Border to the Wisconsin Center

With the 5 – 2 ½” x 44” blue strips you cut for the border, you’ll make 4 strips to sew around the Wisconsin center. 

Cut 1 of the strips into fourths measuring about 11” each.  Sew the 11” piece onto each of the other 4 – 2 ½” x 44” strips to lengthen each of them to measure about 2 ½” x 55”. 

Trim two of the 2 ½” x 55” strips to measure 2 ½” x 46 ½” and trim the other two 2 ½” x 55” strips to measure 2 ½” x 48 ½”. 

Sew the 2 ½” x 48 ½” strips to each side of the Wisconsin center.  Then sew the 2 ½” x 46 ½” strips to the top and bottom of the Wisconsin center.

Sew the Flying Geese Borders

These flying geese might look a bit intimidating, but they’re super duper easy and fast to sew together!  Here’s how you’ll make 4 flying geese at one time!! 

Use 1 – 5 ¼” gray square and 4 – 2 7/8” like-colored squares (remember you cut them into batches of 4 for each color).

Draw a diagonal line on the back of each of the 2 7/8” colored squares. 

Lay 2 of the 2 7/8” squares in opposite corners of the 5 ¼” gray square.  These two little squares will overlap just a bit where they meet in the middle, that’s ok!  Pin in place.  Sew a continuous seam ¼” on both sides of the 2 7/8” squares. 

Cut apart on the drawn line to get 2 units, and press open toward the colored squares.

On each of the 2 pressed units place the remaining 2 7/8” colored squares into the remaining open corner of the gray square lining up the diagonal line to the gray corner. 

Sew a seam ¼” on each side of the diagonal line for each.

Cut apart on the diagonal lines of each to get 4 flying geese units!  Press open toward the colored corners.  These should each measure 2 ½” x 4 ½”, trim if needed.

Repeat this process to make 100 flying geese units.  You’ll only use 98 flying geese, so you’ll have 2 orphan flying geese left over to use up in another project someday!!

Arrange the Flying geese into Four Rows 

Two of the rows will use 23 flying geese units and the other two rows will use 26 flying geese units.

Sew the shorter flying geese rows with 23 units to the top and bottom of the quilt top.  Make sure the flying geese are pointed in the correct direction as indicated on the quilt diagram.

Use 16 – 2 ½” squares to sew together 4 four-patch blocks.  Sew a four-patch block on both ends of the longer flying geese rows with 26 units.  Sew these long rows with the four-patch ends onto both sides of the quilt top.  Again, make sure the geese are flying in the correct direction as indicated on the quilt diagram.

Voila!  The flimsy is complete!!!  I like to call the quilt top a “flimsy” as it doesn’t have any of the layers included yet!

Layering the Meandering Wisconsin Top, Batting, and Back

If you’re machine quilting your Meandering Wisconsin you’ll need to layer it together.  I refer to layering the quilt as “sandwiching”.  You need to sandwich the top and back with the batting in the middle.  I prefer to pin baste my layers together.  Some quilters use basting spray or hand baste the layers, you can choose whichever method you prefer.  Here’s my process: 

Step 1

On a smooth floor use masking or painter’s tape to tape down the backing fabric.  As you tape the back, you’ll want to make sure the fabric is smooth, without wrinkles.  Make sure the fabric is taped taut, but not pulled out of shape.  Also, make sure the right side of the fabric is facing down! 

Step 2

Lay the batting on top of the taped-down quilt back, and move your hands across it to smooth it all over.  This will get rid of any wrinkles in the batting, and help to adhere it to the backing fabric. 

Step 3

Once you have the batting placed on top of the quilt back, center the top of the quilt (the flimsy!) over the two bottom layers.  Right side facing up, of course!  The two bottom layers of the quilt (the back and the batting) should extend about 4” all around the outside edges of the quilt top. 

Step 4

Move your hands across the quilt top to smooth it all over, and help remove any wrinkles.  This will also help adhere the quilt top to the batting a little bit.  Once you have the top of the quilt all smoothed out, use large safety pins to baste all three layers together. 

I like to use 1 ½” stainless pins, and I keep them all in a cute old canning jar that was my grandma’s.  Place a safety pin every 6 inches or so all across the top.  Be careful not to scratch the floor under your quilt layers!!

If quilting on a mid- or long-arm frame you can skip the steps of basting the quilt together.

“Quilting” the Quilt

I used a free motion meandering quilting design to machine quilt my layers together (hence the title – Meandering Wisconsin!).  Use whatever free-motion stitch you’d like, or use a straight stitch to quilt in the ditches or along the seams. 

If you are free-motion quilting on your regular sewing machine you’ll need a darning foot, and you’ll need to either be able to lower the feed dogs on the machine or place a special cover over them.  If you’re using a straight stitch to machine quilt you’ll need a walking foot.

As an alternative, you can hand-quilt these layers together too or quilt them (or have them quilted) on a mid- or long-arm quilting machine.

Binding the Quilt

When you’ve finished quilting the layers together, it’s time to bind the edges of your quilt!  I’ll do my best to describe the binding process below, but if you’re confused by my directions there are lots of videos on the Internet that will demonstrate the process for you.

Prepare Binding Strip

Take your 2 ½” binding strips that you previously cut and prepare to sew them together.  To do this, fold the strip in half.  Using your ruler, find the 45-degree line and lay it along the bottom of the folded strip.  Now, you can cut a 45-degree angle through both layers.  When you open up the strip each end will have the angle facing in the opposite direction.

Align two strips together perpendicularly along the 45-degree ends.  Who ever thought you’d use those 4th grade geometry skills again, lol!  Pin the ends and sew them together.  Repeat until you have all 7 binding strips sewn together.  Press the seams open. 

Then, fold the binding strip in half (wrong sides together, right sides out), and press. 

Sew the Binding Strip to the Quilt

Begin to sew the raw edge of the binding to the quilt by pinning it along one side.  Be careful to sew the raw edge of the binding strip to the quilt, not the folded edge!

I usually start sewing the binding strip in the middle of the quilt side that I’m starting with.  Start sewing about 6” in from the end of the binding strip, leaving a hanging “tail” on the binding.  You’ll sew this to the end of the binding strip when you finish sewing all along the sides of the quilt.

Stop sewing on the first side ¼” from the corner, use a pin to mark this location and sew right up to it.  Backstitch a bit, and cut your thread but DON’T cut the binding strip.

Check out this post from the Lumberjack Quilt that includes pictures of sewing on a binding strip and making mitered corners! 

Making the Mitered Corner

Now, remove the quilt and binding strip from your machine and fold the binding strip straight up so it’s perpendicular from the side you were just sewing on. 

Fold the binding strip back down on itself and match it to the edge of the quilt you just sewed it to, and the next edge of the quilt you’re about to sew it to.  Pin this fold in place, and pin the binding strip to this edge of the quilt and continue to sew it, again stopping ¼” from the next corner and repeating the folding process described above. 

Continue in this manner until you are on the last side of the quilt, the side you started on. 

Connecting the Ends of the Binding

Stop stitching about 6” from where you started.  Backstitch and cut the thread (but not the binding strip, not yet!), remove the quilt and binding strip from the machine.

You now have two “tails” of the binding strip, one from where you started stitching it to the quilt and one from where you just stopped.  You’ll need to join these tails together so that you have a continuous binding strip to finish sewing down to the quilt.  This can be tricky! 

Here I don’t worry about cutting 45-degree angles on each end of the binding strip to sew it together to make a continuous strip.  If you can master this technique, my hat is off to you!!  What I do is measure how much more binding strip I’ll need to finish sewing it to the edge of the quilt. 

I then cut a straight line along each end of the binding strip, adding ¼” to each end so I can sew the ends together with a ¼” seam (right sides together).  Continue to sew the now continuous binding strip to the quilt.

Trim the Batting and Back

Trim the batting and quilt back to ¼” from the edge of the quilt top.  I use a ruler and a rotary cutter to accomplish this task.  Work carefully, so you don’t cut into your quilted project.

Hand-Stitch the Folded Binding Edge to the Meandering Wisconsin Quilt Back

Here is my FAVORITE part of the process, hand-sew the folded edge of the binding strip to the back of the quilt.  When you get to the corner, carefully turn the corner right-side out to make a nice, mitered corner.  I tack a few stitches up the corner to hold it in place, and then continue stitching along all sides and corners until your binding is complete!

If you’d like, you can add a label and/or a sleeve to the back of your Meandering Wisconsin Quilt.

Happy Quilting!!

~Bonnie

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