FREE Chevron Throw Pattern and Tutorial

Here is a quilt I've had on my mind for months and I finally just started cutting one night and it turned out so cute and easy.

Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at a tutorial so if you have questions make sure to comment. Also, I may be giving too much information but I like to tell you what I was doing and sometimes thinking so that you can see my train of thought.

Here's what I did:

Fabric:
2 yards moda red
2 yards moda white

Cutting:
8" X WOF for all yardage, red and white, you will end up with exactly 9 strips of each, although you will only need 8 for this project (it's always safe to have a little too much though)

Next, separate your white into two piles of 4 and your red into 2 piles of four with all fabric right side up.

Tip: If you can't decide which should be up look at the selvage and you should be able to tell which side is smoother, and that is the right side. This is an important point to make because you are going to cut one end of each strip in the pile at a 45*angle and each pile needs to go the opposite way so you end up with angles that go together with all fabric right side up.

Cut one pile of white two strips at a time, cut a 45* angle on the same side of each strip and stack up that pile of four angled strips. Then do the red going the same way with the 45* angle and stack those all together, they will be one side of your chevron quilt.

Take the other 2 piles and lay them out opposite the cut ones with the right side of the fabric up so you can be very sure that you are going to cut the angle going the opposite direction They will meet in that V in the center of the quilt. Cut those 45* angles!

Sew all strips with the same angle together, alternating red and white (I think I started with red but it may not matter). Remember to offset the tip of one strip so that your 1/4 in. seam will start with both fabrics in place.
(I hadn't lined up the fabric for the whole strip yet in the picture but hopefully you can see how I offset the seam)
You will end up with two, 8 strip long pieces like the one on the right.

I then used a tape measure (as in construction tape measure, hehehe) to measure 75 in. down and drew a line across it, as straight as possible (I used a ball point pen and my ruler) and cut off the bottom 20 inches or so. I then transferred that section to the top and sewed it up there to finish the angle.

It worked out remarkably well, with a straight edge and everything but you do have an extra strip if you have to get another small piece in there. I of course checked and double checked that I had the correct angle before I sewed anything. When you cut the second side just make sure you use the same points as the first side.

Then I laid them together and checked that my seams were at approximately the same place on both sides. I think I skimped on one seam on one side a measurable amount so I took it and resewed with a better seam allowance and it met up much better.
Well, duh, then you pin the heck out of it. The bias wasn't too bad to deal with but I did pin a lot and that was probably why I didn't run into the problems. I checked every seam to make sure they matched up and voila!
Yay! I think it's so dramatic and simple. Very modern AND classic, right?

Now I only have to decide if I try my hand at machine quilting this with minky on the back, which is my dream, or just using regular cotton which may end up looking better. Like the quilt, my quilting will be minimalist, with only the V's getting quilted and maybe the middle seam to secure it. Wow, I'm really torn about it because initially I thought it would be a perfect hand quilting project but I don't think I want take that long to do it. If you have an opinion feel free to weigh in on the subject, as you can see I'm in a muddle.