Upscale Plaid Quilt - all the details!

Written by Brittany Lloyd

I'm so excited to share that the NEW Upscale Plaid quilt pattern is now available!

Believe it or not, this design was born out of the quest to create the perfect holiday coaster. Yep, you read that right, haha. Last year, Elizabeth (our fearless Creative Project Manager) and I were brainstorming ideas for a plaid coaster and we landed on an idea that we just HAD to turn into a full size quilt. Over the last few months, we've been tweaking, fine tuning and perfecting the scale and pattern until we created what you see today. Friends, I present to you the newest Lo & Behold pattern, Upscale Plaid!

There are so many things to talk about with this quilt. It's difficult to know where to start! How about the sizes, shall we?

QUILT SIZES

There are seven (you read that right) SEVEN sizes in the Upscale Plaid quilt pattern.

Coaster, which is really more of a mug-rug sizes (6.5" square)
Placemat (13.5" x 18.5")
Pillow (20" square)
Lap (53" square)
Throw (67" square)
Queen (93" square)
King (106" square)

The Coaster, Placemat and Pillow sizes have a special place in my heart, as those were the original layouts. I really love the negative space in those designs and they really do offer the perfect compliment to the larger sizes! One cool thing about the larger sizes is that you have options for various plaid layouts.

QUILT LAYOUTS

Since we designed the coaster first, (what can I say, I love my coasters!) the first iteration of the pattern was identical to the coaster but sized up. This meant that pieces were quite large and slightly difficult to cut and manage. I actually made two sample throw size quilts that haven't seen the light of day because they weren't *quite* right. We went back to the drawing board and landed on duplicating the repeat of the pattern four times. This means that you can rotate your pieces to create more than one plaid layout. It's truly like magic!

Which size is your favorite? I love the modern, slightly off-set look of the cover quilt (#1) but the other ones really are great options, especially if you are making a bed size. I also think #3 would make a really great picnic quilt! That's actually the layout that I used for my Winter Blush sample, which I'll be sharing about soon!

QUILT DRAPE

If you're making the Queen or King size, these diagrams can really help you visualize how the different layouts look on the top of the bed. My personal favorite is number 2 or 4 for a bed!

CHOOSING FABRICS

This pattern plays with color in a way that I've never done before. While the stripes appear to be woven together, there's a transparent effect where the stripes overlap. This creates a really fun opportunity to play with mixing colors and shades and thinking about them in terms of actual colors rather than a finite piece of fabric. It's almost like mixing paint in art class.

Because it's so unique, we have a “Choosing Color” blog post that explains the how to choose fabrics from Upscale Plaid. We're also excited to share that Upscale Plaid 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.)

We also have printable coloring pages found here, if that's more your speed. :)

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

Here's a look at the fabric requirements for Upscale Plaid. Remember to check out the Choosing Fabrics blog post before you dive in!

COVER QUILT

Let's talk about the cover quilt! Originally, I wanted the cover quilt to be neutral and muted, but with this release landing right around the holidays, we couldn't resist going a more jolly and festive route. These fabrics are all Art Gallery Fabrics PURE Solids:

Quartz Pink (A1)
Cactus Flower (A2)
Crystal Pink (A3)
Spruce (B1)
Tender Green (B2)
Cinnamon (B3)
Weathered Brick (C1)
Rock Candy (C2)
Cherry Lipgloss (C3)
Evergreen (Background)

We have quilt kits for this exact quilt in our shop!

This quilt is all about proportions. Really, the Background is the fabric that you see the most, followed by the A1, B1 and C1 stripes. Then you can throw in a few accents where they "overlap" and it creates such a cohesive look. You almost forget that it's a pieced quilt!

Creating this quilt top is pretty straight-forward. You're sewing squares and rectangles, and most sections of the quilt are strip pieced, which I think you'll love!

I made this quilt top in 2 days! Really, I could've squeezed it into one day, but I wanted to wait for good lighting so that I could snap a photo. :) I'd say this is definitely one of our quicker patterns, so if you want to make one (or five) between now and Christmas, you certainly could!

I did a poll over on Instagram to help me choose a quilt backing. I thought one would be the clear winner but it was pretty evenly split! I ended up going with "Gifted" on the left, as it felt a little more soft and subdued. That said, Fa La La's colors are a perfect match to the front of the quilt, so I really don't think you can go wrong with either!

I sent this quilt to Sara of Stitch Lab Quilting. I wanted a quilting design that felt festive but not overly "Christmas-y". I was on the hunt for a star design for days, then I landed on Mexican Tile #8 by Karlee Porter and it just felt right!

I used AGF Tender Green to bind the quilt, which is one of the accent colors from within the quilt top. Since it's lighter and higher contrast to the backing, I really love how it frames in the quilt and balances out the reds and pinks.

At this point, I had the realization that my new Heirloom thread collection with Aurifil is SUCH a good match for this quilt! The collection has a mix of 12 weight and 50 weight, so you could either stitch by hand or machine with these threads. Since my quilt was longarmed, I thought it'd be fun to incorporate some hand stitches on the binding fabric. I really went back and forth about which one to use, and I even thought about using all of them. I polled Instagram and the darker purple seemed to be the clear winner. However, I really loved the look of the black against the light green.

I tried a "new to me" kind of stitch for this binding and I can't say that I was great at it, haha. I saw Jennifer of Penelope Handmade doing this stitch a few weeks ago in a reel and she made it look so much better than I did! I think I just need to practice; but I will say, I love how it adds an added handmade touch. Something about it feels fresh and different, yet also something that my grandmother would've made. I'll be sure to try it again in the future!

Overall, this is definitely one of my favorite quilt patterns to date. It feels so classic and timeless and the fact that its quick and versatile is the icing on the cake!

Be sure to grab the Upscale Plaid 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!

I'll be back in a few days to share about another Upscale Plaid quilt. :)

LINKS:

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Upscale Plaid Quilt - all the details!

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Choosing Colors for Upscale Plaid

Knitted Blooms - the Hydrangea version

Upscale Plaid Quilt - The Mediterraneo version

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