How to Make a Quilt with Directional Fabrics

I have been wanting to do this for a very long time! I am going to teach you how to quilt with directional fabrics, and I finally found the perfect Christmas fabric!

This is the Snow Much Fun fabric line by Dear Stella Fabrics. I added in some Dear Stella basics from their Jax, Moonscape and Dashflow fabric lines too.

This tutorial for how to quilt with directional fabrics is specific to my On Point Quilt Pattern.  When I made my own Christmas version of On Point, I didn’t worry about fabric direction. I still love this quilt with its snowy landscapes pointing all different directions.

But it’s been on my mind for nearly the full four years since I first released this pattern to find a way to cut these equilateral triangles while maintaining the direction of the fabric prints.

And today is finally the day!

Directional Fabrics

First of all, what is a directional fabric? 

Some fabrics have no discernible direction.  You could cut a square and turn it to the right or left, or even upside down, and there would be nothing sideways or upside down about it.

But some fabrics, like this snowy winter landscape very much have a left, a right, an up and a down.

And this is what we’re going to work with today as I teach you how to quilt with directional fabric.

On Point Quilt Pattern Tutorial

This is a tutorial for the On Point Quilt Pattern.  There will be no dimensions given today, that information is all contained within the pattern.

This tutorial will help you with the pattern, but it is not a replacement for the pattern.

To successfully make an On Point Quilt, you need the pattern and you can find it in my Etsy Shop.

For more information about On Point, and a whole ton of pictures of the quilt in other fabrics and colors, here is a blog post about the pattern release.

How to Cut Directional Fabrics

Follow the directions in the pattern to cut the Width of Fabric (WOF) to the correct height.

If any of the fabrics in your quilt are not directional, you can cut those ones according to the original pattern directions.  These directions are just for the directional fabrics.  In this entire Christmas On Point Quilt, these two fabrics seen here are the only two that are directional.  The candy canes, lights, poinsettias, holly, etc, were all cut according to the pattern directions.

These directions will work best if working with two fabrics at a time.

Both fabrics are folded in half lengthwise, the fold is on the left and the selvage edge is on the right.  For lefty quilters, flip this around so that the fold is on your right.

One fabric should have the directional print up, and the other have the directional print down. Yes, you read that right. One of the two fabrics needs to be upside down for these steps.

Righty vs. Lefty

All directions are for right handed quilters.  If you are a lefty, you will want to do the opposite of each direction.

Place the 60* line along the bottom of the fabric strip.

Here is a zoomed in look at this step, to help you see the 60* line.  This is my 8½” quilting ruler from Omni Grip, but my 6” ruler has the same 60* line.  I imagine most acrylic rulers do, but I don’t know that for sure.

The ruler should be approximately ½”-¾” from the selvage edge.

Make the first cut.  Hang on to these pieces, they will be the setting edge half-triangles and we will come back to them near the end of the tutorial.

Move the ruler, still with the 60* line on the bottom edge of the fabric strip, so that the ruler makes a point at the top edge of the fabric strip.

Make the second cut.

Again, move the ruler, this time the point will be on the bottom edge of the fabric strip. Of course, the 60* line on the ruler is still flush against the bottom edge of the fabric strip.

Make the third cut.

Now there is a little bit of the fabric strip left before the fold, but it’s not enough for another cut as is.

Open the fold, and now the trapezoid is large enough for one more cut!

Using the previous directions regarding the 60* line and the point of fabric, make one more cut from each strip of fabric.

The remaining rhombus (highlighted red) is usable fabric for the smaller triangles if desired.  However, make sure that you are cutting your small triangles at the same ratio of three small triangles with the tip up (like a mountain) to one small triangle with the tip down (like a vase).

Large Triangles

At this point, sort all large triangles by directional print.  For each pair of fabric strips cut, you will have 5 triangles with the tip up (like a mountain) and 5 triangles with the tip down (like a vase).

Set aside the triangles with the tip down.  Those are going to be large triangles, and you can return to the pattern directions for those triangles.

Small Triangles

The remainder of these directions are for the triangles with the tips pointing up.  These are the triangles that will be cut down into the small triangles.

The pattern includes directions for cutting the fabric strips down to the smaller triangle size.  Use that same measurement, and measure from the bottom edge (the flat side) of the triangle to make the cut.

Use the pattern directions, and your knowledge of the 60* line and cut the lower trapezoid into 3 additional small triangles.  This is what I meant above by making the small triangles in a ratio of 3 that have the tip up and one with the tip down.

Setting Edge Triangles

Cutting these triangles two fabrics at a time, and having one of those fabrics upside down, gives four separate setting edge triangles.

The two shown at the top of the photo will be used as is, according to pattern directions and will be the edge pieces of even rows.

The two shown at the bottom of the photo will be used, according to pattern directions, to make setting edge triangles with three fabrics, and will be used in odd rows in the quilt.

Making the On Point Quilt Using Directional Fabrics

The sewing directions used within the pattern are the same, even when quilting with directional fabrics.

When sewing the smaller triangles into the groups of four, keep the fabrics in the same placement as when they were cut, that way all directional fabrics will continue to point the correct direction.

And that is how to quilt with directional fabrics, at least as far as using the On Point Quilt Pattern!

It’s rare that I take the photos and write the tutorial before the quilt is fully finished.  This quilt has been quilted along the horizontal lines, but still needs the diagonal lines quilted and the binding added. 

Winter in a northern town means not much daylight, and living near Seattle means that even the daylight is often obscured by clouds and rain.

I needed to snap these photos before I lost the light, so the quilt has only been 1/3 quilted.  Now that the photos are done, I can get back to the quilting without worrying about the light.

Do you have enough time to pick out directional fabrics and make an On Point quilt before Christmas?

Sure!

If you quilt much faster than I do…

Will Christmas fabrics be on sale at your local Quilt Shop the week after Christmas?

There is an excellent chance that this is the case!

Snap up the pattern now, do the fabric shopping when it’s on sale, and you will have approximately 363 days to make your Christmas quilt before next Christmas.

Once more, here is the link to the On Point Quilt Pattern.  It will be on sale through the end of the month, but you will need to use coupon code ONPOINT2022 for the discount.

Of course, you can also make the On Point quilt in non-Christmassy fabrics, and even with non-directional fabrics, but now you know how to quilt with directional prints.

Happy quilting!

Also, this finished quilt is listed in my Etsy shop too; if you’re quick you can have a Christmas quilt in time for this Christmas!