A Simple Moda Quilt for the Fabric You Couldn't Resist
I’m the first to admit it: I’m a sucker for a fabric line that makes me feel nostalgic. Long before we opened Pisgah Needleworks, I’d see a collection that brought back memories of my mother and grandmother and end up buying several yards of each print. I’d bring it home, put it in a tub, and wait for the right project to come along.
A lot of the time, that project never came.
Did I have too much fabric? Yes. But was it worth it? Absolutely!
Since opening Pisgah Needleworks, we’ve put much of that fabric to good use. But my fabric stash also taught me something that I think a lot of quilters understand: bolts can be intimidating. The prints are gorgeous, but standing in front of a wall of fabric and trying to envision what all those individual prints will look like in a finished quilt isn’t always easy.
That’s one reason I’ve come to love Moda’s precuts. A Layer Cake or Charm Pack gives me a coordinated starting point, and then I can choose fabric off the bolt for backing and binding. There are still plenty of choices, but the decision-making becomes a lot less complicated. More importantly, I can start to see the finished project before I ever make the first cut.
A Simple Quilt That Lets the Fabric Do the Work
While looking through Moda’s free patterns and inspiration recently, I came across the Simple Stack Quilt, designed by Melanie Call of A Bit of Scrap Stuff. Moda originally shared the pattern in 2019, but there’s nothing dated about it. In fact, I think it’s especially well suited to some of the Moda collections available today.
FREE MODA SIMPLE STACK QUILT PATTERN
The quilt finishes at approximately 54½" x 67½", and the fabric requirements are refreshingly straightforward. You’ll need one Layer Cake, one Charm Pack, 3½ yards of fabric for the backing and ⅝ yard for the binding.
That’s it.
What caught my attention is how well the pattern showcases the fabric. You aren’t buying a beautiful Layer Cake only to chop every print into tiny pieces. The larger sections give the colors and designs room to show, which is especially nice with collections that include larger florals, seasonal motifs or prints with a lot of detail.
The construction is also approachable. There are no complicated blocks to master. Moda rates the project for beginners, but I don’t think that means it looks like a “beginner quilt.” With the right collection, it can be pretty striking.
And that got me thinking about all the Moda fabric sitting right here in our shop in Downtown Elkin.
Two Collections, Two Very Different Quilts
One of the things I enjoy about a pattern like Simple Stack is imagining how different it would look simply by changing the fabric. Right now, we have three Moda collections at Pisgah Needleworks for which we have both the Layer Cake and Charm Pack, along with coordinating fabric on the bolt.
They couldn’t be much more different from one another.
Coven by Robin Pickens
Coven is the obvious choice if you love fall.
Robin Pickens filled this collection with pumpkins, florals, leaves and rich seasonal colors. It has the oranges and warm autumn tones you’d expect, but there are also purples, greens, blacks and softer shades that give the collection much more depth.
I think Simple Stack would work particularly well with Coven because the pattern leaves enough of each print visible to appreciate it. Some of my favorite fabrics are the ones I hate to cut into tiny pieces, and this is exactly the sort of pattern I want for them.
Choose a coordinating Coven print from the bolt for the backing, pick another for the binding, and most of the fabric decisions are made.
Merrily on High by Sweetfire Road
Then there’s Christmas.
Merrily on High by Sweetfire Road completely changes the personality of the Simple Stack pattern. Instead of an autumn quilt, the same easy pattern becomes something you can pull out every Christmas or give as a handmade holiday gift.
[LINK: MERRILY ON HIGH LAYER CAKE]
[LINK: MERRILY ON HIGH CHARM PACK]
[LINK: MERRILY ON HIGH YARDAGE]
That’s one of the reasons I wanted to share this particular pattern. Sometimes we get so focused on the quilt pictured with a pattern that it’s difficult to imagine it made from anything else.
The Simple Stack Quilt is a good reminder that the pattern is really just the framework. The fabric gets to give the finished quilt its personality.
Choosing Your Backing and Binding
This is where I think shopping from a collection makes life much easier.
All three of these collections have coordinating Moda fabrics available by the yard at Pisgah Needleworks. For the Simple Stack Quilt, Moda calls for 3½ yards of backing fabric and ⅝ yard for binding.
[LINK: SHOP MODA FABRIC BY THE YARD]
There isn’t one “right” choice.
Maybe you want a quieter print on the back so the quilt top gets all the attention. Maybe there’s one print in the collection you particularly love and you want to see a lot more of it. You can choose a contrasting binding that frames the quilt or something more subtle that blends into the overall design.
That part is entirely up to you.
Shopping with us online and not sure which backing or binding to choose? Send us a message. We’re happy to look at what you’ve selected and help you find coordinating options.
If you’re close to Elkin, North Carolina, stop by the shop and we can pull some bolts together so you can see the possibilities in person. That’s one of my favorite parts of having a brick-and-mortar shop. You don’t have to stand in front of a wall of fabric by yourself wondering if two prints actually work together.
Already Have a Layer Cake or Charm Pack?
You certainly don’t have to start with one of the three collections I’ve shown here.
If you already have a Layer Cake sitting in your stash waiting for the right project, this might be it. Take a look at the Simple Stack pattern and see what you think. You can pair it with a coordinating Charm Pack and then choose your backing and binding.
The same goes for a Charm Pack you bought because you loved the collection but never quite figured out what to do with it.
I know a little something about buying fabric first and figuring out the project later.
And When the Quilt Top Is Finished...
There’s one more part of quilting that can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have the equipment or space to quilt a larger project at home.
We do offer long-arm quilting here at Pisgah Needleworks, so we know how satisfying it is to see a stack of fabric finally become a finished quilt. But however you choose to finish yours, the important part is getting that fabric you fell in love with out of the stash and into something you’ll actually use.
From the Fabric Stash to a Finished Quilt
I still have fabric at home that I bought because it reminded me of my mother or grandmother. I probably always will. There’s something special about fabric that can take you back to another time or place simply through a color, flower or familiar print.
But I’ve also learned that I enjoy it a whole lot more when it makes its way out of the tub and into a finished project.
If you’ve got a Layer Cake, Charm Pack or a few yards of fabric waiting for the right idea, maybe Simple Stack is the excuse you’ve been waiting for.
GET THE FREE SIMPLE STACK QUILT PATTERN FROM MODA
And if you need the fabric, you can shop our selection of Moda precuts and quilting cottons online, or come see us at Pisgah Needleworks in Downtown Elkin, North Carolina. We’ll be happy to help you put it all together.
LINK: VISIT PISGAH NEEDLEWORKS IN DOWNTOWN ELKIN
We’ll change our fabric picks from time to time as new Moda collections arrive at Pisgah Needleworks.
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