Valley Song Quilt Pattern- All the Details!
It's time my friends! the Valley Song Quilt Pattern is officially here!
If you've been around a while...well, since 2017, you may recognize this design. If you're new around here, I'm excited to give you a glimpse of what started Lo & Behold Stitchery. Valley Song is a re-design of the very FIRST pattern I ever created...can you believe it? In 2017, life looked very different for us. I was a full time NICU nurse, Peter worked endless hours in hospitality, we lived in Raleigh, and Lo & Behold Stitchery was just something fun to do on my days off of work. I wanted to create meaningful quilts that not only stood the test of time, but also would be loved by others. I made a goal to design just a few quilts that I wanted to see in my home... I would have never dreamed that this little pattern would be the start of where we are today!
It's actually kind of hard to believe that this was the first pattern I wrote! While Valley Song looks simple in construction, there is a lot of math and complexity that went into the different size blocks. Knowing what I now know about pattern design, I'm not really sure how I did it! The Valley Song pattern you see today looks completely different than it did 7 years ago, while still keeping the original design intact.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
I wanted to make the construction of this quilt a little more simple than the original version, so as an advanced beginner pattern, it's all strips and HSTs. In the early stages of re-writing the pattern, it occurred to me that because of the HSTs, you can create different patterns and designs throughout the quilt. Fun, right?? While Valley Song just touches on a few of these, the possibilities with HSTs are nearly endless! To make this pattern beginner friendly, we went ahead and drafted three different variations of the HST rows and made this pattern what I like to call, a "choose your adventure" pattern. Let's take a look into the different designs!
I love each of these layouts for a few different reasons. The Melodic design is nostalgic for me, since it is what the original pattern looked like. Harmonic is my new favorite, as it's a slight twist on the shapes of the first iteration. Then Rhythmic is a fun spin that puts a smile on my face. There's something about it that feels fresh and unique, which is a lot of fun. Can you imagine a Christmas version of that one??
Another fun fact: with the redesign, I wanted to double the number of fabrics in the quilt and eliminate the use of a background fabric. This made the design it a little more interesting to the eye and I loved being able to choose more colors that could play off each other. You know I love color!
QUILT SIZES
The cover quilt is made in a generous throw size measuring 60" x 73". Over the years, we received a lot of feedback about sizing, so we made the throw much larger than the original throw size. The original pattern also only had 2 sizes, so in the redesign, I decided to include 5 sizes... 3 of them being bed size (YAY for a Twin, Queen, and King Size)!
FABRIC REQUIREMENTS
COVER QUILT
Let's talk about the colors in this cover quilt. The original quilt that I made back in 2017 used soft neutrals and shades of gray, which I loved to use early on in my quilt making journey. That said, my style has evolved over the years and while I still have a love for more calming palettes through rich tones and darker shades... I enjoy using color more now than I did back then. After sharing little sneak peeks of this palette in our newsletter and on social media, there was an instant love with how soothing these colors are while not shying away from using deeply saturated colors. Swoon!
The throw size uses:
- Robert Kaufman KONA Leather (A)
- AGF Pure Solids Sweet Macadamia (B)
- AGF Pure Solids Snapdragon (C)
- AGF Pure Solids Slate (D)
- AGF Pure Solids Spruce (E)
- AGF Pure Solids Lava Rock (F)
- AGF Pure Solids Ocean Fog (G)
- AGF Pure Solids Glacier (H)
- AGF Pure Solids Northern Waters (I)
- AGF Pure Solids Snow (J) (Which can also be substituted for Kona White)
We have kits to make this exact quilt in our shop!
Deciding on the difficulty of this pattern was a bit challenging, but we finally landed on making it suitable for advanced beginners. We recommend having made 3-5 quilts & to be familiar with the construction of HSTs, perfecting your 1/4" seam allowance, and sewing long strips with confidence. Long strips with confidence is KEY to making this quilt come together, so I took some time to write a blog post all about this. Click here to read 12 Tips for Sewing Long Seams blog post to help your own Valley Song come together perfectly!
I sent this quilt top off to Lilo at Trace Creek Quilting and she also took the cover quilt photo for us! My first thought was to use Arris (one of my favorites), but I was a little nervous how it would look with all of the lines of this quilt. The lines of the pantograph aren't 45 degrees like the HST seams, so I figured they wouldn't compete too much. I asked Lilo what she though and she said: "go big or go home!" So I went with it! I love what it adds to the entire quilt, but especially to the longer strips of color! (fun fact: I also used Arris on my Warp & Weft Vintage Lace Quilt, read more about that here!)
We used a light blue thread for the front and back which blended perfectly, but also provided a fun pop of color in some of the lighter fabrics. If you're wondering why this quilt looks so drapey, Lilo use a 50/50 cotton & bamboo batting. Pairing AGF & that batting made it the perfect quilt!
I ended up choosing AGF Laurel Sienna for the backing, a 108" wideback fabric. I LOVE when a good wide-back fabric can be used! (hello to not piecing a back seam)
For the binding, I went with AGF Background Umber Three by Bonnie Christine, a classic stripe in a surprising dark dark green! The dark green reads more like charcoal & I love the little bit of character it adds to the cover quilt. You can never go wrong with a stripe!
PreQuilt
We know you love a good mock-up & we're excited to share that Valley Song is on PreQuilt so that you can plan your quilt with confidence and bring your fabric ideas to life. Through PreQuilt, you can use their FREE pre-loaded solid fabric swatches (hello Kona & AGF), randomize colors, and try new ideas so that you have a quilt plan before you get started. (There's also a paid version if you'd like to save your ideas, upload prints and more! If you decide to upgrade use code LOANDBEHOLD for 20% off an annual subscription.)
KITS
The pattern includes lots of color inspiration, but if you're looking for a curated kit, we have 3 to choose from!
The Cover:
Summer Night (this is my favorite!)
Watermelon Sugar (fun, right??)
Valley Song comes with a project planner (seen below) which helps with labeling fabrics and keeping them organized throughout the quilt making process. I've started adding these to all recent patterns and I've become obsessed. They're super helpful!
Whether you choose a kit, or decide to plan your own quilt using the free printable coloring pages or PreQuilt, Valley Song is such a great opportunity to use a wide variety of colors and layer them within a quilt in a calming, symmetrical way. Personally, I love the stripes and visual movement that happens with this quilt...it's unlike any other quilt that I've designed!
Be sure to grab the Valley Song quilt pattern in our shop (printed or PDF) and checkout our quilt kits as well! I cannot wait to see what you create with the pattern!
LINKS:
