Christmas Joy Quilt Pattern - The Lucky Loom Version
It may be February, but I have a new Christmas Joy quilt to share! Despite the name, in the right fabrics, the Christmas Joy pattern isn’t actually very Christmasy at all…and this latest version is a year-round stunner for sure!
The Christmas Joy quilt pattern so far
The Christmas Joy quilt pattern is one of my oldest patterns! I released it back in December 2017, and it was only my second quilt pattern. It’s been around long enough that most of my Christmas Joy sample quilts aren’t even on this blog, because they came long before our new website (which is not actually that new anymore!).
I have shared a couple Christmas Joy quilts over the last few years though, like the Fat Quarter version and Gayle Lorraine version.
It’s funny…I feel like I try something new with each Christmas Joy quilt I make. It’s just a great pattern for playing with color and negative space, even though I first designed it as a two-color quilt. I love experimenting with this pattern!
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Fun fact
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It had been a while since I’d made a new version, though, and I was itching to make another one…
My new Lucky Loom Christmas Joy quilt
Last year I got my hands on a Lucky Loom fat quarter bundle from Fableism. Like their other fabrics, the Lucky Loom collection is full of beautiful yarn-dyed wovens. I love how soft and cozy yarn-dyed wovens are, and the texture is just amazing!
But working with yarn-dyed wovens has some challenges (like fraying and warping), so I wanted to pick the right pattern: something that would show off the gorgeous fabrics and have some interest, but without too many seams…and Christmas Joy was just the right fit!
Like I said, I love playing around with the Christmas Joy pattern…and when I started planning this sample, I quickly realized I wanted to skip the sashing, just like I did with the Gayle Lorraine version.
I wanted to use all 20 of my fat quarters, so I followed the instructions for the Twin size. Normally that would finish at 71” x 88”, but without the sashing I ended up with a 56” x 70” quilt…which makes it a lovely throw!
FABRICS
All the fabrics for this quilt top come from the Lucky Loom collection. The collection includes a mix of weaves, including thick stripes, thin, stripes, reversible stitch stripes, mosaics, and more. They all have such a beautiful texture!
It has a stunning mix of colors too…pretty much the whole rainbow!
I cut out one set of background pieces and one set of foreground pieces from each fat quarter, and then I mixed and matched.
This time, I decided to go for a subtle rainbow look…reds on top down to blues and purples on the bottom. It’s definitely not a super bright, in-your-face rainbow, but it sure looks pretty. I’m glad I didn’t break up the blocks with any sashing…the colors and weaves of the fabric add so much movement, and I’m just thrilled with how it turned out!
QUILTING, BACKING, AND BINDING
I had this version quilted by Megan over at Blue Ridge Quilt Co.
With all the colors and texture of the yarn-dyed woven fabric, it would be easy for quilting to get lost. So I picked a nice curvy panto (Blitz, by Melissa Kelley) to contrast with the straight lines of the Christmas Joy pattern and woven fabric…and we decided to quilt it with medium pink thread!
I think it was the right call, because now the quilting adds a delightful extra texture instead of just getting overwhelmed by everything else. It all comes together to make for such a touchable quilt!
For the backing, I used another Fableism woven…Plaid in Midsommar. It’s a beautiful soft rainbow plaid, which goes perfectly with the gentle rainbow layout of my quilt top.
In fact, I loved the backing fabric so much that I decided to use it for the quilt binding too! That’s right…this quilt is 100% yarn-dyed wovens, and I just love it!
The finished quilt is SO drapey and snuggly. So even though yarn-dyed wovens can be a little fiddly to work with, it was definitely worth it for this beauty!
Make your own Christmas Joy quilt
Christmas Joy is an oldie but a goodie, and I’d love to see your version!
While the Christmas Joy quilt pattern is great for all skill levels, you may want to brush up on a few techniques before you dive in:
QUILT KITS
We don’t have quilt kits for my Lucky Loom Christmas Joy, but we do have two beautiful kits in stock:
- Cover quilt kit (for that classic two-color look)
- Gayle Lorraine quilt kit (for the print lover)
DESIGN YOUR OWN
Since Christmas Joy is fat quarter friendly, you can easily come up with your own take using one of our fabric bundles!
Or you can dream up something new by coloring Christmas Joy on PreQuilt or using our free quilt coloring pages.
I hope you’ll show me your finished Christmas Joy (tag me @loandbeholdstitchery and #loandbeholdpatterns) so I can see it. I just love seeing people making this pattern after all these years, and I’d love to see your unique version!
Happy quilting!
In case you missed it…
