BLOG

I’ve been working on this for quite a while now and it’s finally here.

Instructions to make a Polaroid frame for any of my square applique patterns!

Not only that – I’m including instructions (and yardage requirements) for making a whole Polaroid quilt!

Let’s jump in!

Note – the instructions that follow are for my Quilt As You Go method and applique with fusible adhesive. There are free tutorials teaching both methods here.

Step 1

Choose any of my square applique patterns. They’re all designed to finish at 10 inches, so they’ll all fit in the Polaroid frame dimensions we’ll be working with here.

If you don’t have any of my quilt patterns, you can buy one here, or choose one of the free patterns available here.

Step 2

Prep your materials. For a single block (good for a pillow cover) you’ll need. . .

• 1 piece of cotton batting cut 18 inches square (or a little larger)
• 1 piece of fabric for the background of the “photo” cut 10 1/2″ square
• scraps of white fabric (I like using white on white prints for a tiny bit of texture) cut into the following strips
  • two strips 1 1/4″ x 10 1/2″
  • 1 strip 1 1/4″ x 12″
  • 1 strip 3 3/4″ x 12″
• 1/3 yard background fabric (the part around the Polaroid frame) – for best results, use a fabric that is a random scattered pattern that works in all directions. I love the speckly polkadots I used and I’ve got them on order in a bunch of great colors for the shop.
  • two 5″ strips cut the full width of the fabric
• scraps of fabric for the applique
• fusible adhesive (I use Heat & Bond Lite for all my quilts)

Step 3

Press your batting square (with steam) and let it cool before you move it.

Layer your “photo” background at a slight angle (you’ll want to vary the angle a bit in each block of your quilt) and quilt it to the batting.

There’s a post here showing some of my favorite no-marking straight line quilting patterns here, and wavy quilting patterns here.

Press the block again and let it cool.

Step 4

Layer, fuse, and outline your applique.

Making sure that the raw edges at the bottom of the shoulders are lined up with the raw edge at the bottom of your background block.

Note – I’m zoomed in now to the “photo” that will be inside your Polaroid, just to get you the closest view possible. Your “photo” will be surrounded by bare batting – for now.

Let’s start building the frame!

Step 5

Using your 1 1/4″ x 10 1/2″ white strips and 1/4″ seam allowance, sew a strip to each side of your block.

Flip both strips out and press.

If you want to see this “stitch and flip” method of adding strips to a QAYG block in action, you can watch this video.

Step 6

Sew the 1 1/4″ x 12″ strip to the top of your block, opening and pressing the strip like the side strips.

Step 7

Complete the Polaroid frame by adding the 3 3/4″ x 12″ strip to the bottom of the photo.

See how the raw edges at the bottom of your applique are all hidden now? It looks just like a photo!

Now it’s time to cover up the rest of the batting.

Step 8

Pick any side of your Polaroid and sew on a strip of the background fabric, using the same “stitch & flip” method.

The rest of the photos will be zoomed out like this one so that you can see the whole block. The background fabric should completely cover the batting and there will be some overhang.

Step 9

Continue adding strips to cover the batting. I moved on to the right side next.

And then the top.

And finally the last side.

You can go in any order you like – just continue until the batting is covered.

Oops! I still have a little sliver exposed!

I’m not going to worry about it. I know I cut my batting square on the big side, and my next step is going to be to trim the block down to size. I’ll keep an eye on that sliver. If it doesn’t get trimmed away, I’ll use a scrap of the same fabric to add one more strip to cover it.

Step 10

Trim the block to 17 1/2″ square. That way when you sew it together with other blocks to make a quilt, it will finish at 17″ square.

My first step in trimming is always to flip the block over and trim away the excess background fabric from the batting edges. That way I know exactly where the batting ends.

I just use my rotary cutting tools to cut away those red triangles showing around the batting square.

Then flip your block back over and trim to size. make sure you leave at least 1/4″ of background fabric around each corner of your Polaroid frame. You don’t want those corners to get buried when you sew your blocks together!

Done!

I was careful to trim away that uncovered sliver of batting.

There’s a video here showing how I trim and square my blocks. I invested in a special 20 1/2″ square ruler especially for these big blocks – the biggest square ruler I could find – but you can use regular rotary cutting tools.

Make a Quilt

Here’s a little mockup showing just four blocks together. If you use the same fabric for all the backgrounds, it looks like a page in an album with a bunch of Polaroids scattered on it!

Here are some dimensions and yardage requirements for all three of my standard quilt sizes.

Crib Quilt

My crib quilts are usually 50″ x 50″ but for the Polaroid version it will be 51″ square. Make 9 blocks total, arranged 3 x 3.

• 1 1/4 yard total of fabrics for the “photo” backgrounds
• 3/4 yard white fabric
• 2 3/4 yards background fabric
• at least 3 fat quarters for applique, though you’ll probably want more for variety

Napping Quilt

My napping quilts are usually 50″ x 60″ but for the Polaroid version it will be 51″ x 68″. Make 12 blocks total, arranged 3 x 4.

• 1 1/2 yards total of fabrics for the “photo” backgrounds
• 1 yard white fabric
• 3 1/2 yards background fabric
• at least 3 fat quarters for applique, though you’ll probably want more for variety

Twin Quilt

My twin quilts are usually 70″ x 90″ but for the Polaroid version it will be 68″ x 85″. Make 20 blocks total, arranged 4 x 5.

• 2 1/4 yards total of fabrics for the “photo” backgrounds
• 1 1/2 yards white fabric
• 5 3/4 yards background fabric
• at least 5 fat quarters for applique, though you’ll probably want more for variety

You can get a lot of the fabrics you need in my shop.

For the white fabric, I really like using white-on-white prints. That gives them just a little bit of texture, which I like, but you can use solid white if you prefer.

For the background I recommend a small-scale print that looks great turned in any direction.

I can’t wait to see your Polaroid blocks!

Find links to all the posts about pattern size and layouts here.

Quilt Sizes and Supplies Needed

Play with Your Layouts – Multiple Possibilities for One Quilt Pattern

Sashing

• How to Add Sashing to a Quilt
• How to Add Sashing to a Quilt Pattern
• How to Add Sashing to a Quilt As You Go Quilt
• How to Pin Long Seams
• How to Make Wonky Faux Sashing with Quilt As You Go Blocks

How to Make Applique Bust Out of Its Frame

Alternate or Broken Grid layouts (adding half and double blocks)

• How to Make a Quilt with an Alternate Grid
• Quilt Block Sizes for Alternate Grid Layouts
• How to Assemble a Quilt that Uses an Alternate Grid
• How to Quilt a Broken Grid

How to Make an Applique Rag Quilt

How to Make a Polaroid Quilt

How to Make a Wonky Churn Dash Frame for Any Block

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about choosing your fabric.