nani IRO Wholecloth Quilt

As a Brand Ambassador for KOKKA fabrics, I am asked to select a fabric and choose how to use that fabric. I was very excited to get my hands on some nani IRO fabric as I have been a fan for several years now. With the release of a new bag pattern (I'll talk more about that in a later post), I thought the nani IRO Linen Cotton Brushed Lightweight Canvas in the print, New Morning 1, would be perfect. I was gifted the fabric in two colorways; B and E.

The Fabric After receiving the fabric, I decided that it was just too soft for the bag project which required a stiff fabric that would hold the shape of the bag. Can you believe that? A canvas that is too soft? Seriously, what an amazing discovery! So, on to Plan B (which I believe ended up as the better option)!

The fabric is a linen-cotton brushed, lightweight canvas. Super dreamy and delightfully soft. Like, cover my body in it dreamy. The word brushed should actually be highlighted in the description because being brushed makes it really soft and not stiff like a traditional canvas. The watercolor floral print is beautiful. The flowers appear to be gently floating in air across the soft fabric. I envisioned this fabric remaining whole, rather than pieced, as a summertime quilt that I can use for our cool Virginia evenings on the porch.

The Project Rather than cutting and piecing the quilt top, I decided to leave it whole, making a Whole Cloth Quilt. A what? If you really want a definition and history, feel free to Google it. Otherwise, simply put, it is a quilt made with a whole piece of fabric for the top, rather than stitching together small pieces to make a quilt top.

Because I had two yards of fabric in two colorways, I chose to frame the lighter colorway with the darker colorway. This made the perfect throw size. I used bamboo batting to create a lighter quilt that wouldn't be too heavy or hot for summertime and backed it with a Brussels Washer Linen, which is a linen/rayon blend.

After spray-basting the three layers together, I used a Daruma Sashiko thread and a #24 Chenille needle to quilt. I purchased the thread with the intent to play with it making samples for a mending class. Let me just say, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of this thread. It is so soft and smooth that I haven't used thread conditioner and I've had no issues with it knotting or pulling through the layers!

To maintain the beauty of the fabric and its design, I chose to stitch around the flowers and add some kisses (X's) in between. After I give it a wash, those flowers will really pop with the stitching around them.

While binding may not be wildly interesting, I feel that I have to mention it for this project. When I cut off the selvages I cut a wider strip than I normally would. Because I cut my binding strips at 2", the selvage was the perfect size. I love how it includes the designer and fabric info in beautiful gold metallic writing! To finish the binding, I hand stitched it down using big stitches and the Daruma Sashiko thread.

The Scraps If you've been paying close attention, I'm sure you're wondering what I did with the rest of the dark fabric that I used to frame the quilt. Since I had my heart set on making a bag with this fabric, I decided to make a bag that didn't need to stand up. I wanted a bag that I could easily pack in my suitcase and use to carry my phone and a few other things while going out in the evenings during a trip to Greece. Who wants to carry a backpack to dinner? Not me. But that's another post.