Tutorial: Love One Another (free heart quilt pattern)

This quilt pattern is inspired by John 13:34, which tells us “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”. This creatively designed quilt is comprised of a colorful set of crosses, each arranged to make a heart! The versatility of this pattern means that you can make the crosses as light or as dark as you like, resulting in them either standing out or blending into the background of this heart quilt pattern.

The gorgeous fabrics in this quilt are from the Woodcut Blossoms line by Island Batik. As this is a newly launched fabric line (at the time of writing this!), I’m thrilled to join in a blog hop where you can see the work of other designers who, like me, created some lovely projects to share with you using these lush batik fabrics as shown at the bottom of this tutorial.

…so, onto the tutorial! The pattern itself can be downloaded free by entering your email address below; once entered, the pattern will arrive in your inbox. I *highly* recommend watching the video tutorial, as it will walk you through some key steps in making this quilt that are a bit trickier than you’d expect! Plus, we’ll take a momentary stop in Italy about half way through the video at the Leaning Tower of Pisa as we talk through ways to make sure *your* quilt doesn’t end up leaning 🙂  Another way to make sure your quilt is as precise as it can be? Use the 2.5″ Accuquilt die, as it will work perfectly with the Love One Another quilt block!

Let’s talk about the video tutorial. It’s broken up into chapters, and each chapter focuses on a different portion of this tutorial. Be sure to open up the description of the video, as that’s where you’ll find chapters!

This pattern actually served as a spin-off of one of my other patterns, called Crosses: Three Ways, which uses this same fabric line. You’ll see how well these two patterns play together! The Crosses: 3 Ways pattern includes three patterns in one, as shown below. The variety of this pattern is what makes it so popular, as there’s something for everyone. The negative white space in Modern Crosses leaves plenty of space to play for those who like to add quilting detail, the Fading Crosses creates an almost 3-D effect as some crosses shine forward while others fade to the background, and Puzzle/Camo Crosses is my absolute go-to for baby blankets and friends in the military.

Here’s a bit more info on what’s included in the Crosses: 3 Ways Pattern:

1. Modern Crosses: this cross quilt pattern was designed around the modern quilt element of extensive white / background space. A bold cross stands out against the background in the upper left, while complimentarily-colored crosses fill the lower right. By alternating the colors of the crosses in the bottom right, and leaving a wide negative space in the middle, the single cross stands out like a beacon – and leaves so much open space for us to quilt in!
2. Fading Crosses: in this cross quilt pattern, nine crosses stand prominent in the foreground while eight crosses fade into the background. I love how your eye *almost* misses the background crosses, as it’s the bolder, brighter ones in the foreground that catch your attention.
3. Camo Crosses: there’s so much play in this pattern; you can make it like true camo using just shades of one single color, you can make it seasonal with your color choices (red/green for Christmas, pink/purple for Lent/Advent, green for Ordinary Time, pastels for Easter), or any other way you like!
4. BONUS Pattern A: we are each called to the greatest commandment, as we are called to Love One Another. Like the three previous quilts, this bonus quilt pattern finishes at 24″x24″ and includes a video tutorial.
5. BONUS Pattern B: want to make a smaller version of the Love One Another quilt? The second bonus pattern walks you through making a 10″x10″ block *and* shows you how to attach it to the back of a denim jacket!

Want to make this Love One Another quilt but not excited about all the cutting? Here are TWO easy ways you can save time in cutting your strips!

• Use the jelly roll from Annie’s (here’s a link for half off!) and half your cuts are already made for you 🙂
• Have an Accuquilt? This strip cutter will make your cuts a cinch in creating this Love One Another quilt top!

Be sure to set aside some time to check out all these gorgeous products made by the talented sewists below. Each of the projects uses this same Woodcut Blossoms fabric line from Island Batik. One thing I love is the absolute variety here; so many ways to create so many projects, and – even though they all use the same fabrics – each looks so different from one another!

Heidi Pridemore https://heidipridemore.blogspot.com/2022/09/blog-post.html

Leanne Parsons https://www.devotedquilter.com/2022/09/storm-free-12-block-pattern.html

Tiffany Hayes https://needleinahayesstack.blogspot.com/2022/09/woodcut-blossoms_01776719211.html

Tammy Silvers https://tamarinis.typepad.com/tamarinis/2022/05/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop-the-prickly-star-block.html

Laura Piland https://www.sliceofpiquilts.com/2022/07/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop-free-woodcut.html

Kris Driessen https://scrapdash.com/nightshade-quilt-pattern/

Jen Frost <—you’re already here 🙂

Laureen McMurry Smith https://tourmalinethymequilts.com/woodcut-blossoms/

Raija Salomaa https://www.quilterstreasurechest.com/blog—raijas-bits-and-pieces

Rebecca Lidstrom https://www.studiorquilts.com/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop

Laura Lindsay Strickland https://orangeblossomquilt.com/blog/f/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop

Lissa LaGreca https://lovinglylissa.com/2022/09/09/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop/

Katie Mae Quilts https://katiemaequilts.com/blog/woodcut-blossoms

Sandra Starley https://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/2022/09/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop-free-patterns.html