Snowman Window Quilt (Wall Hanging) Pattern Guide

This guide breaks down the creation of the decorative four-block snowman quilt, which features appliqué and a decorative border.

I. Materials & Tools

• Fabrics:
  • Background (Blocks): Light blue fabric for the sky/window background.
  • Appliqué: White fabric for the snowman bodies, orange/black for facial features, and various patterned fabrics (plaid, green/blue solids) for hats, scarves, and mittens.
  • Inner Frame: Black fabric strips (to separate the four blocks).
  • Outer Border: Dark blue/navy fabric for the final outer border.
  • Backing & Batting: Fabric for the back and a piece of batting (wadding).
• Notions: Fusible web (like Heat n’ Bond or Wonder Under) for appliqué, embroidery thread (white/silver for snowflakes), sewing machine, rotary cutter, ruler, and an iron.

II. The Four Blocks (The Snowmen)

Each block (e.g., $10″ \times 10″$ finished) features a snowman design on the light blue background.

1. Cut Backgrounds: Cut four squares of the light blue background fabric to your desired finished block size plus seam allowance (e.g., $10.5″ \times 10.5″$ unfinished).
2. Prepare Appliqué Pieces:
   • Trace the snowman shapes (body, head, nose, accessories) onto the paper side of the fusible web.
   • Roughly cut out the traced shapes. Iron the fusible web shapes onto the wrong side of your chosen accessory fabrics (white, red plaid, green, etc.).
   • Cut the shapes precisely along the traced lines.
   • Peel off the paper backing.
3. Position and Fuse: Arrange the snowman pieces onto each of the four light blue background squares to form the four distinct scenes. Iron the pieces into place to adhere them.
4. Secure Appliqué: Stitch around the edges of all the appliquéd pieces using a small zigzag stitch or a straight stitch to permanently secure them.
5. Add Lettering: For the top left block (“Let it Snow”), use a machine embroidery setting or hand-stitch the letters onto the block.

III. Assembling the Quilt Top (The Window Effect)

1. Cut Inner Frames: Cut narrow strips of black fabric (e.g., $1.5″$ wide) to serve as the window frames.
2. Sew Blocks Together:
   • Sew a black strip between the top two blocks and between the bottom two blocks.
   • Sew a long black strip between the top row and the bottom row.
3. Add Outer Border: Attach the dark blue border strips around the entire assembled four-block unit.

IV. Decorative Embroidery (The Snowflakes)

1. Embroider the Border: The outer blue border has embroidered white/silver snowflakes and swirls. This is often done using a machine embroidery function or a free-motion quilting foot on a sewing machine, using decorative thread.
2. Quilt: Add quilting stitches (simple stipple or outline quilting) to the blue blocks and the white snowman bodies to add depth and secure the layers.

V. Finishing

1. Layer and Quilt: Create the quilt sandwich: Backing fabric (right side down), batting, and the finished quilt top (right side up). Baste the layers securely.
2. Final Quilting: Quilt the layers together (e.g., stippling the background areas or outlining the appliqués).
3. Bind: Trim the edges square and apply a coordinating blue or white binding strip around the entire quilt to finish the edges.