A while back I saw a beautiful vintage balloon quilt on Pinterest that I couldn’t get out of my mind. So much detail and hand quilting, I just had to make a version of my own.
Clover sent me some tools to try and they just happened to be perfect for this project, a Wedge Iron and Wonder Fuse.
With most of my projects I like to start with a rough sketch, fabric pull and quilt math then work from there. I traced out two inch fabric “balloons” using my favorite water soluble pen from Clover with a cup and used the Wedge Iron (Art. No 9200) to set the Wonder Fuse (Art. No 4090) to the back of each fabric.
I used some of my favorite Japanese prints that I have been saving for just the right project, such a good feeling when I finally use a special scrap. After the fusing was set I cut out each circle using the pen line as a guide. I found the 7 inch scissors with a fine serrated edge worked like a charm (also from Clover!). The trick I learned for getting the paper back off of the fusible web is to slide a pin in between the web and paper and run it around till it opens far enough to peel it off.
Next I did some serious eyeballing on the balloon placement and used a glue stick to keep them in place while I worked. The wedge Iron might be little but it heats up quick and stays hot. Its small size was perfect for these little balloons and is just right for keeping on hand to grab for any project.
After Ironing the circles onto my background fabric, I added a machine sewn blanket stitch around each balloon and hand stitched the black strings using a 12 weight thread from Aurifil.
I added a border of 1 inch wide by four inch long fabric scraps that seemed to frame the balloon scene nicely.
I had been wanting to try those gorgeous black stitches that my friend Mary from Sunny Day Supply is known for and they just seemed to work on the rows in my boarder.
Two of my local sewing friends suggested the cloud quilting and I absolutely love how it turned out, the perfect hand stitched finish in a pale gray floss!
Once all my hand stitching was done, I simply sprayed the quilt with a water bottle and watched the ink disappear.
Lastly I bound this 43×53″ quilt in black and white gingham and added red floss onto each set of balloons.
This quilt might not be in a museum like the one I had seen on Pinterest but I couldn’t be any happier with it! I know from past experience that Wonder Fuse will hold those little balloons on securely for years to come and through many washes and much use.
I hope this little balloon quilt inspires you to try a version of your own.
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