elephants on parade quilt with easy fusible applique

Have you ever heard that stand-up comic routine about the Pop Tart? You know, the one where the guy makes fun of the wrapper instructions that give both the toaster and microwave cooking directions. He rants about those individuals that feel the need to skip the toaster and opt for the faster microwave option. He figures if you are in such a hurry that you need to microwave your Pop Tart because toasting it will take too long, you need some serious help. Well, let’s just say that I have microwaved a pop tart or two in my past. I would like to say it is because I am a busy mother of three. But, yeah right. Truth is I am impatient. Yikes!

Unfortunately, this sometimes shows up in my crafting life, too. This is why I am a huge fan of fusible appliqué. I love having a quilt that can be done in a weekend. I found this adorable elephant flannel fabric at JoAnn and it inspired me to make an “Elephants on Parade” quilt for a friend who is decorating her nursery in a circus theme.

I free-handed the elephant and then traced it on to the fusible appliqué and followed the instructions on the package. Then I appliquéd each piece onto my quilt top. (Need some appliqué help? Check out our post on simple machine appliqué.)

I then decided that this quilt needed a little something more. Now, remember the Pop Tart story? Well, me and my impatient self thought, “There has to be a faster way! I need to get this quilt off the craft room floor before baby eats it or wipes her nose on it.” So, I enlisted the help of my trusty Sizzix. You know fusible appliqué has all those steps--1. Trace, 2. Iron, 3. Cut, 4. Iron, 5. Sew down edges. Well, using my Sizzix cut out steps 1 and 3! I fused the Wonder Under to my fabric and ran it under the Sizzix to get both circle and star shapes. It was so easy and it helped get the quilt top done in a short span of and afternoon.

This quilt was done in a weekend and lucky baby with a circus-themed nursery will not receive a quilt with my baby’s drool or boogies. Hurray!

Wanna make your own "elephants on parade" quilt? Here's our fun template! Simply click on the picture and print it using your browser's print function. (You'll probably need to first go to File, Page Setup, and tell your browser to print this in Landscape rather than Portrait.)

If fusible appliqué is not your style, try charm packs or turnover packs. I absolutely love using them. The cutting is already done for you. One Christmas I was able to whip out four, yes FOUR, quilts for family members in a very short amount of time because I used charm packs. Unfortunately, I gave them all away and didn’t take pictures--doh! But here are pictures of two quilts I made the week before my little one was born. (Why I felt the need to make two baby quilts when 38 weeks pregnant I don't know, but I did.) Thank goodness for charm packs.

Want more easy quilt ideas? Check out our past post on the same subject! And if you're thinking about getting into quilting but don't even know the basics, fear not. We're working on a quilting basics post for all you novices out there. Stay tuned!