Mardi-Gras Magic Quilt Tutorial
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This was the New Years Day mystery in 2024. You can see pictures of the finished quilts here.
Mardi Gras is a spectacular celebration that lasts from the 12th day after Christmas to the day before Ash Wednesday. Though Mardi Gras technically refers only to Fat Tuesday (February 13,2024 this year), the season actually begins on Epiphany, (the twelfth day of Christmas) and ends on Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent.)
Mardi Gras is a purple, green and gold carnival filled with parties, interesting parades and best of all, King Cake! A king cake is a brioche with a “baby” baked inside. Whoever finds the baby has to make the next king cake. I sent the picture below to my then-pregnant daughter, who did not get the joke.
Even though the day itself is a Louisiana State Holiday, the celebration of Mardi Gras may have actually originated in Mobile, Alabama. French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville celebrated his arrival in what is now Mobile on Fat Tuesday, 1699 and named the location Point du Mardi Gras. It’s mostly celebrated in the Southern US. We’ve participated in several Mardi Gras events – you can see our adventures in New Orleans here and Galveston TX here.
The Mardi Gras Magic Quilt
This quilt will use 3″ x 6″ finished Flying Geese. There are lots of different methods to make them, but I am using the traditional one, which is sewing corners on a rectangle. If you prefer another method, wait until you get to the step to cut.
Flying Geese Methods
- Traditional Method
- Accuquilt
- No Math/ Wing Clipper
- Quilt in a Day (Large Ruler)
- Dimensional
- Square-in-a-Square
- Corners on a triangle using the Ultimate Flying Geese Tool
Supplies you might need
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Before starting this or any other project, wash and press your fabric. If you like the behavior of crisp fabric as you cut, sew and press your project, try a little spray sizing when you press it. Take the time to clean your machine, put in a new needle and fill a few bobbins. Unless the pattern tells you otherwise, you should always assume that the seam in any quilting pattern is 1/4″ wide.
The Traditional Method for making Flying Geese Blocks is used in this pattern. All strips are cut by Width of Fabric. Pressing means just holding the iron over a spot for a moment or two. Don’t drag the iron back and forth as you normally do when ironing. That might distort your seams.
Cutting Instructions – Use your own fabrics!
- 1/4 yard Mardi Gras Jester : Cut (1) strip 8″ wide by the WOF. From that strip, cut (5) 8″ squares
- 1/4 yard Mardi Gras Fleur-de-lis: Cut (1) strip 8″ wide by the WOF. From that strip, cut (5) 8″ squares
- 2-3/4 yard Background: Cut (2) strips 8″ wide by the WOF. From those strips, cut (10) 8″ squares. Cut (22) strips 3-1/2″ wide by the WOF. From those strips, cut (240) 3-1/2″ squares.
- 3/4 yard Mardi Gras Masks: Cut (7) strips 3-1/2″ wide by the WOF. From those strips, cut (40) 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ rectangles.
- 3/4 yard Mardi Gras Feathers: Cut (7) strips 3-1/2″ wide by the WOF. From those strips, cut (40) 3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″ rectangles
- 1 yard Toscana Deep Purple: Cut (13) strips 2-1/2″ wide by the WOF.
- 1 yard Mardi Gras Music: Cut (7) strips 4-1/2″ wide by the WOF.
The Magic Eight Method of Making HSTS
Mardi Gras Magic Quilt HSTs: In this section, you are sewing ahead a little bit. You will need (80)
3-1/2″ square HSTs by the end of this project, so you might as well make them now. Here is a detailed tutorial on how to make HSTs using the Magic Eight method.
This method works well when you need to make a lot of identically colored HST blocks. Make a test block first. (My personal preference is to cut the squares slightly too large so that I can square up the HST blocks later on. If you are sure of your 1/4″ seam, you can use 7-3/4″ blocks. )
If you don’t like the Magic Eight method, cut your 8″ squares into (4) 4″ squares (or (4) 3-7/8″ squares) so you can use the Traditional method. Here is a detailed tutorial on how to make HSTs using the Traditional method.
Assemble:
- (10) 8″ × 8″ Background Squares
- (5) 8″ × 8″ Jester Squares
- (5) 8″ × 8″ Fleur-de-lis Squares
Using your preferred method of making 40 HST blocks from each set of colors, create, press and square up to 3-1/2″:
(40) Background and Fleur-de-lis HSTs
and
(40) Background and Jester HSTs
Making Flying Geese
This is the traditional method of making Flying Geese Blocks. If you prefer another method, cut for that one, not the one shown below. Here is a detailed tutorial on using the Traditional Method to Make Flying Geese Blocks.
Read over the tutorial below before you start cutting. I do suggest some alternative ideas.
Other Methods of Making Flying Geese Quilt Blocks:
The Traditional Method of Making 40 Flying Goose Blocks
Assemble:
- (40) 3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″ Feather rectangles
- (80) 3-1/2″ Background squares
Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a 3-1/2″ Background square and place it on one corner of a
3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″ flying goose rectangle, right sides together. I’m using the Quilt-in-a-Day Flying Geese ruler in the picture below because I like the way the 1/4″ seam shows and I will eventually be using this ruler to square up the block. I will NOT be using this method of making flying geese in this tutorial because not everyone has this ruler.
Sew on the line and finger press the square up to the corner of the rectangle. It should line up perfectly. Cut off the excess underneath before pressing the square to the corner.
Create all the left side corners before adding the right side. This is called chain piecing and saves a lot of time.
FYI: that’s my bottle of Best Press in the picture, as well as the Creative Grid stripology ruler. Neither is required for this quilt, they just make things a bit easier.
Repeat this process with the other side, overlapping the first square. Press and square up your block to
3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″.
Here is an idea: When you are drawing your sewing line for the corners, draw another one 1/2″ away. Sew on that line as well.
Then cut between the lines. Can you guess what will happen? Yes, indeed, you will get a bonus HST. It’s probably going to be 2-3/4″ square, but I square mine up to 2-1/2″. Don’t do that now – they aren’t used in this quilt. That ruler is from the Quilt-in-a-Day Square-Up set.
Making 40 More Flying Goose Blocks
Assemble:
- (40) 3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″ Mask rectangles
- (80) 3-1/2″ Background squares
Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a 3-1/2″ Background square and place it on one corner of a
3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″ flying goose rectangle, right sides together.
Sew on the line and finger press the square up to the corner of the rectangle. It should line up perfectly. Cut off the excess underneath before pressing the square to the corner. Create all the left side
corners before adding the right side.
Repeat this process with the other side, overlapping the first square. Press and square up your block to
3-1/2″ × 6-1/2″.
Cutting Strips for Borders and Binding
Assemble:
- (13) 2-1/2″ wide Solid Purple strips
- (7) 4-1/2″ wide Music strips
You will need some long strips to create the border and binding. To save time, sew all these strips end to end ahead of time.
Working with each group individually, create 2 groups of LOONG strips. Trim seams to 1/4″ and press open. Miter the joins if you like by sewing the two strips right sides together at an angle as shown to left. Cut off the excess 1/4″ from the seam. Press the seam open.
Making Pinwheels
To make the pinwheels, assemble:
- (40) Fleur-de-lis HSTs
- (40) Jester HSTs
Here is a graphic from the pattern. Take note of the pressing directions, they WILL make a difference.
Here is my unsewn block:
Here are my block steps.
Make 40 of each colorway and press.
Mardi Gras Magic Block- Partial Seam Piecing
Here comes the hard block! Honestly, it’s not that bad. Just take your time. Use a basting stitch if you have never made a block using partial seam piecing before. Here are the blocks you are making.
Assemble:
- (20) Pinwheel Blocks that you just made
- (40) Mask Flying Geese blocks
- (40) Feather Flying Geese Blocks
- (80) 3-1/2″ Background squares.
Making the Rows
Alternating the pinwheel colors of the blocks, create (5) rows like the one below. Press the seams to the right.
Piecing the Quilt Top
Rotating every other row by 180 degrees, sew the rows together as shown below. Notice how the Flying Goose blocks make a secondary design. Because of the way you have pressed your seams, they should just touch each other at the intersection. Use pins to encourage this behavior.
Press and measure. Your quilt top should measure 48-1/2″ × 60-1/2″.
Completing the Quilt Top
Assemble:
- The long 2-1/2″ wide Solid Purple strip. Cut this strip into (2) strips that are 52-1/2 long and (2) that are 60-1/2″ long.
- The long 4-1/2″ wide Music strip. Cut this strip into (2) strips that are 60-1/2″ long and (2) that are 64-1/2″ long.
It’s always a temptation to simply sew on a strip border and then cut off the excess but don’t do that here. Forcing your quilt to match identically cut borders will force it to remain flat. If one side of the quilt is just the tiniest bit larger than the border, place the quilt top down on the bed of your sewing machine when sewing the border on. The feed dogs will help take up the slack. Reverse the process if it is your border that is bigger.
Using a walking foot, sew the (2) 60-1/2″ long Solid Purple strips to either side of the quilt top, taking care to match the center of the strip with the center of the quilt top. Press to the quilt top. Again using a walking foot and matching centers, sew the (2) 52-1/2″ long inner border strips to the top and bottom of the quilt top. Press to the quilt top.
For the outer border, sew (2) 64-1/2″ long Music strips to either side of the quilt top, taking care to match the center of the strip with the center of the quilt top. Press to the quilt top. Again matching centers, sew the (2) 60-1/2″ long outer border strips to the top and bottom of the quilt top. Press to the quilt top. It should measure 60-1/2″ × 72-1/2″.
You are done! Pin your top to the wall for a couple of days in an obvious place so you can enjoy it and your family can praise you. Use this time to decide on a quilting design. Don’t forget to add a label.
Preserve your place in history! Sign and date your quilts!
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Looking forward to this mystery – am traveling on the 31st so will go through my stash when I get home to see what I can find and get ready for this adventure!
as a lifelong Utah (nee NOLA) Jazz fan.. count me in.
Sounds great how much of each material?
They were under the pictures! I have no idea where they went. Weird. I am fixing it now. If the disappear again, the answer is:
1/4 yard Jester
1/4 yard Fleur-de-lis
3/4 yard Masks
3/4 yard Feathers
1 yard Music (Outer Border)
1 yard Purple (First Border & Binding)
2-3/4 yards Background
Thank you for the updated yardage. I was checking back all day, in case it was my browser! 😀
How big is the finished quilt?
With only 4 1/2 yard backing about wall size.
Hello from Ontario, CANADA.
I love the idea of a Mardi-Gras Mystery Quilt. I am wondering if I can use 2 or 3 “toned down” pieces of fabric as I am not a fan of “Busy Looking Quilts.” I know I will not get quite the same effect. Looking through my stash.
Thank you.
Just now getting my act together on this. I’ve always wanted to do a Mardi Gras quilt. This is right up my alley! Waiting for some fabrics to come, but I’m excited. So–is the deadline Mardi Gras? or is it before then?
Finally my fabric has arrived so I’ll be busy trying to play catch up. I decided I wanted to make it with the Mardi Gras fabric and had to get bits and pieces from several different people here in Australia. I was unable to source the feathers but purchased streamers instead. Two different masks fabric to get the required amount required so it will have a bit of variation from the original. Now to get on with it.