Modern Fans Quilt Sew-Along: Week 1

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes!

Welcome to the Modern Fans Quilt Sew-Along! Click here to get your Modern Fans quilt pattern and scroll to the bottom of this post for this week's prize details. If you are just hearing about this sew-along for the first time, I encourage you to read this introductory blog post on all of the details, prizes and schedule. If you would prefer a shorter, bulleted list, I got you covered:

  • What is a sew-along? A sew-along is when a group of people get together virtually (a.k.a. online) and sew the same pattern over a set amount of time. The really exciting thing about a sew-along is that with a potentially tricky sewing pattern (this one uses curves), nobody has to muddle through alone. There will be lots of support via Instagram, Facebook and through this very blog (click the sew-along drop down tab to always see the latest post).
  • How do I join the sew-along? There's no official sign-up and technically the only thing you have to do to participate is make a Modern Fans quilt. Your level of involvement is completely up to you.
  • Sew-along perks!
  1. Prizes! Every week, by posting your progress to Instagram and using #ModernFansSA, you will be entered into that week's giveaway. Each week is sponsored by an amazing company, hand picked by me, to award one lucky person a free prize. See below for this week's rules and photo prompt.
  2. Support. This includes a weekly blog post explaining what we plan to accomplish, helpful tips, and what I’m working on. A new post will go live every Wednesday morning around 8:00am CT (I'm in Chicago...so that time zone). A weekly newsletter will go out the following Thursday morning reminding you about that week's prompt. If you're not already signed up for the SQ newsletter, sign up here! And finally, the Suzy Quilts Patterns Facebook group is available for questions that we can answer as a team or I can answer myself. I will also be posting videos and Live Q&A sessions in both the FB group and on Instagram.
  • When is the sew-along?
  • Week 1, Sept. 12: Pick fabric, gather supplies, choose your pattern layout
  • Week 2, Sept. 19: Cut and chain piece strips, cut out all templates
  • Week 3, Sept. 26: Sew 14 blocks
  • Week 4, Oct. 3: Sew 14 blocks
  • Week 5, Oct. 10: Sew 12 blocks
  • Week 6, Oct. 17: Sew 12 blocks
  • Week 7, Oct. 24: Sew 12 blocks
  • Week 8, Oct. 31: Chain piece rows together
  • Week 9, Nov. 7: Sew rows together for a finished quilt top!
  • Can I miss some weeks and still participate? Yes! Every week we start fresh with prizes, so even if you miss a couple weeks, you're still very much in the game. To win the grand prize of a BERNINA 350 PE sewing machine, you must show a photo of a finished throw or larger Modern Fans quilt top. See this blog post for more grand prize rules.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes! | Suzy Quilts https://suzyquilts.com/modern-fans-quilt-sew-along-week-1

Welcome Week 1 of the Modern Fans Sew-Along!

In this first week we are starting off slowly by simply getting organized. I love to get all of my ducks, or in this case, notions, in a row before launching into a new, exciting quilt-venture. Week 1 includes gathering supplies, choosing a pattern layout and picking fabric.

Modern Fans is such a versatile quilt pattern, there are many different ways to make it unique. Check out this blog post to see more finished Modern Fans quilts and this blog post to see multiple layouts and color options.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes! Week 1 includes gathering supplies. Learn about useful notions to help you sew curves.
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Week1: Gather Supplies

Supplies for making the Modern Fans quilt pattern are pretty basic. I do, however, recommend a few extra notions that are optional. I just filmed a live video on supplies and cutting in the Suzy Quilts Patterns Facebook group. That video will always be available for viewing.

Modern Fans Supplies

Fabric requirements for the Modern Fans quilt pattern

Extended Supplies

The following supplies aren't neccessary, but they come in handy and you'll probably use them in future projects.

Trending patterns!

Below you can see the plastic template sheets I use. These come as gridded or clear.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes! Week 1 includes gathering supplies. Learn about useful notions to help you sew curves.

Week1: Choose Your Modern Fans Pattern Layout

As mentioned before, check out this blog post for more great layout ideas. Below is the layout I've created just for this sew-along. It's inspired by my good friend Corenna and her skills as a master gardener. I've been wanting to make her a special quilt for some time, but it wasn't until I saw this Nani Iro double gauze that I finally saw the pieces fall into place. This floral will be the backing fabric.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes!

I used the colors from that fabric to create a unique layout that focuses on using Blocks 2 and 3 from the pattern. You will notice that this design does not use Template-A.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes!

Week 1: Pick Fabric

Since the layout I created is different than the original Modern Fans layout in the pattern, my fabric requirements will need to change. To figure that out, I separated each of the blocks and decided how many of each template I would need to cut. I then used the cutting chart on page 3 of the pattern to figure out how many templates I could get from a width of fabric (42") strip.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes!

I know that sounds complicated, but once you figure it out for one template, I have no doubt you'll zip through the next.

Join the Modern Fans quilt pattern sew-along for a chance to win a BERNINA 350 sewing machine along with other amazing prizes!

Week 1: The Prize!

Our kickoff week is sponsored by one of my favorite fabric shops, Cottoneer. Cottoneer is generously donating a $100 gift certificate to the winner of Week 1.

How to Win the Week 1 Prize:

  • Photo prompt for Instagram: Post a picture of either 1. your fabric, layout and/or supplies OR 2. an introduction photo telling us about yourself. Use #ModernFansSA.
  • You must have a public Instagram profile to participate.
  • Each photo posted is an entry and you can enter as many times as you want in a single week. Once the week is over, those posts do not count in the next week's giveaway. Every week we start fresh.
  • Your photo must be posted between 12:00 a.m. CT on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018 and 1:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018.
  • This prize is open to international contestants.
  • The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018.

Just a reminder that the grand prize for finishing your quilt top by the final week is a BERNINA 350 PE sewing machine! See this post for more details.

In addition to awarding one prize winner, Cottoneer is providing a coupon for all sew-along participants! Use coupon code ILOVESCRAPPY to get 10% off orders of $50 or more. This offer is good through 9/30/2018.

Get 10% off from Cottoneer fabric shop

Are you excited about the Modern Fans sew-along? Let me know! This is my first time hosting a sew-along and I love hearing from you.

37 thoughts on “Modern Fans Quilt Sew-Along: Week 1

  1. Dale Martin says:

    I am super excited!! Unique pattern and you are so helpful throughout..I am going with the zen fabrics as i really like the calm the fabrics give….and the chance to win prizes is the icing on the cake

  2. Catherine says:

    I can’t wait! Staying on schedule will force me to finish the quilt on time! I’ve chosen fabrics that are way out of my colour palette!! Thanks for your help so far!

    • Suzy Quilts says:

      That’s great! And since there’s no official sign up, I really couldn’t say how many are participating. We may need to wait until the end to see how many entries there are in the final week.

  3. Katie says:

    Hi! First Sew Alonger here! Question–how are the winners being selected for the prizes? Is it random or based on how pretty our instagram post is?? 🙂

    • Suzy Quilts says:

      Welcome, welcome! And don’t worry about taking hours to style and edit a photo, the selection process is totally random. I have actually hired an outside party collect all qualifying posts based on each week’s prompts and select a winner through a random number generator.

  4. Joanne says:

    I’m so excited about this sew along, I am a late night and early, early morning quilter 😊 I can’t have any interruptions so the house is nice and quiet except for me talking to myself 🤪 thank you for putting all this together 😁

  5. Lauren says:

    First time doing a sew along, second time sewing curves (first time being your Propeller quilt). So excited to get started! Just finalized my fabrics

  6. drummondlongarm says:

    I’m already having fun! Is it okay if we move the blocks around a little bit from your design? They’re the same blocks just in a little different layout than your last layout. I LOVE your pattern-it’s so versatile – I had so much fun with EQ8, changing the colors and moving the blocks!

  7. Thunder says:

    I am excited to join in on this. I’ve recently done a few curves, and I have decided I really like them 😜
    Due to hurricane Florence I have 4 of my grandchildren staying at my house, sew… My start might be slow.
    I have a few fat quarter bundles I plan to use, and some solids to throw in the mix.
    I’m very happy I saw something on Instagram about your quilts💚💚💚

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