Copihue Quilt Pattern
I am SO excited to introduce my newest quilt pattern - Copihue! This one is near and dear my heart due to its inspiration.
About The Pattern
The Copihue is the national flower of Chile, my home country and its part of the Lapageria genus of flowering plants with only one known species. This flower grows only in the Valvidian forests in the southern part of Chile.
The name is pronounced co-pee-way, and it comes from the Mapudungun word kopiwe. Mapudungun is an Araucanian language spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people.
The pattern draws inspiration from the Copihue's distinct bell shape and uses block rotation and reflection for a fun, whimsy, and modern look.
I originally designed this pattern back in 2019 and made one red-and-white version... and then didn't do anything more with it. Over the years, I got messages and questions about it - would I release a pattern? But as we all know life got a little crazy in 2020, so it wasn't until the end of 2021 when I was able to make time in my schedule to sit down and write this pattern.
In its final form, the pattern is simpler and easier to sew than that original 2019 version, but I made those changes to make the pattern more accessible to quilters of all skill levels.
The Solids
Once I settled on a design, I knew I had to do one all-solids version. I went through at least a dozen different color combos and mockups but once I did this pinks and yellows mockup, I knew I had a winner.
The colors are all Confetti Cottons by Riley Blake Designs and work so well together. I separated the flowers into two groups - pinks and yellows - and then picked 4 fabrics in each color family. So it's 4 pinks from dark to light, and 4 yellows from dark to light. Then I matched them up and got to cutting.
Sewing Curves
I'll admit - it's been a minute since I had to sew curves. Probably since my Memi's Lemons quilt along about a year ago? So it took a little bit to shake off the nerves, but once I got one down, it was a breeze.
Curves can be a little intimidating, but trust me when I say - they are easier than we believe them to be. Especially when they are gentle curves like the ones in this pattern. But if you're nervous about sewing curves for the first time (or second or third), I have two video tutorials for you! Just click the link below - or follow the links within the pattern ;)
Walking Foot Quilting
I finished this quilt top sometime around early January... and then sat on it. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how I wanted it quilted. Did I want a nice edge-to-edge panto/long arm quilting? Or did I want to do some geometric walking foot quilting? Or did I want a classic straight-line quilting look?
In the end, I took so long to decide what to do that long-arming was out of the question. After some more back and forth, I decided to do some straight-line quilting. I wanted something that would allow the design to stand out and not be buried under a complex quilting design.
In the end, I couldn't be happier with how this quilt turned out! I love it so and I'm so happy to bring this little piece of my culture into the quilty-verse.
Purchase the Pattern
Quilt Information
Quilt Pattern: Copihue by Cotton and Joy
Fabrics: Confetti Cotton Solids in White, Cranberry, Rose, Petal Pink, Ballerina, Butterscotch, Daisy, Lemon Zest, Vanilla, Silver (Leaves).
Binding: Confetti Cotton Solids in Rose.
Pieced and Quilted on a Janome 9450
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PS:
So funny story. I rented some studio space to take all the photos for this pattern release. And then promptly proceeded to hang the quilt upside down. It's a subtle thing but there should be two leaves on the top and three on the bottom. In order to avoid confusion, I photoshopped the cover photo so the quilt looks right, but all other photos I left as they were because my photoshop skills - and time! - only go so far. So if you noticed that and were confused - that's why haha :)