Cutting the Pieces
Choose a white, blue, or pale green for your background fabric. The tulip and butterfly backgrounds need not be the same. You will also need background fabric for the message blocks, as well as batting and backing.
Cutting Pieces for the Tulip
Label your pieces as you cut them out with paper pinned to each piece, or lay them out like a puzzle. Taking the time now to keep things straight will save some confusion later. The numbers on the pattern will help you keep them in order. Choose two shades of red or yellow for the tulip and measure carefully. Cut the following pieces:
Two background pieces 2½″
One darker tulip piece 4½″
Two lighter tulip pieces 2½″
One lighter tulip piece 4½″
Two background pieces 1½″
Two background pieces 2½″
One background piece 8½″
One background piece 8½″
You will also need about 2′ of green ribbon between ½″ and 1″ wide for the stem and leaves.
Cutting all these small pieces will be much easier with an acrylic ruler and a rotary cutter. Your pieces will be cut more accurately and therefore sew together more neatly. Consider investing in these tools, along with the necessary cutting mat, if you plan to do much quilting.
Cutting Pieces for the Butterfly
The butterfly pieces are also cut by measure. Choose a colorful fabric, perhaps a paisley or a Bali or batik print. Cut your pieces in the following sizes:
Two background pieces 3½″
Two butterfly pieces 3½″
Two butterfly pieces 3½″
Four background pieces 2½″
Two background pieces 1½″
One background piece 8½″
One background piece 8½″
You will also need 7½″ of ribbon for the butterfly's body. You can go with a traditional brown or black or choose a color from your fabric you want to emphasize.
Cutting the Rest
You will need two neutral or pale-colored pieces for the message blocks on your hanging. These will need to be 10½″ high and whatever width you have determined. The sample wall hanging illustrated at the beginning of this chapter uses message blocks that measure approximately twice as wide as the pieced blocks, or about 16″ finished.
You will need strips of cloth to use as the border of your hanging; 2½″ wide is a suggestion. If your message blocks are 16″ wide, you will need a strip about 8′ long. Don't cut it the exact length for the sides, simply cut 2½″ strips and piece them together until it is 8′ long.
You will also need a piece of quilt batting and fabric for a backing somewhat larger than the finished hanging will be. Choose regular or low-loft batting. The extra-high loft will be too thick to quilt easily.
