Olympic Flag Quilt + Tutorial!

Well, I did it.

This quilt has been something I have been dreaming of making for years, 

and I finally had the guts to attempt it. 

 I kind of LOVE IT!

First you should know, that our family LOVES the Olympics!

We actually consider Bob Costas part of the family. 

I think the Olympics are absolutely beautiful. They always give me hope of World Peace. 

And let's be honest, they are just ridiculously exciting to watch!

This year as we watch the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, we will snuggle up with our Olympic Flag Quilt and cheer on Team USA!  I am excited for my kids to learn the flags of the different countries while we watch. 

They are all so beautiful!

 I'll be the first to admit that this quilt is not "perfect".

I believe I made 4 different South Africa blocks and finally settled with this one. It's not perfect, but I love it just the same. 

For a few of the flags, Like Mexico, I used fabric iron transfers for the images. Worked like a charm.

There was a bit of applique,

And a WHOLE LOT OF MATH!
(Good thing I majored in math like 100 years ago)

 So, have I convinced you to make one for yourself? 

Good! Let's get started!

<----------------------------------Hit Read More for the tutorial             

Disclaimer: My instructions are not perfect. These are just some basic measurements to get you started. There will still be a little figuring and measuring on your part. I mean let's face it, it might take me 7 years to complete a step by step tutorial for each flag. (maybe I should get a start on that, *wink *wink)

These measurements will produce 14.5"x10" blocks. 

Measurements are what you should cut, they already have the 1/4" seam allowance figured in. 

South Africa

1. Sew a 3"x44" black strip to the Yellow 1.25"x44" strip.

2. Sew that to the green 2.5"x44" strip.

3. Sew all those strips to the white 1.25"x44"

4. Take those 5 sewn together strips and cut the 44" length in 1/2. 

5. Sew a red 3.5"x22" strip to one of the white strips, and a 3.5" blue to the other white end.

6. Turn those 2 sets of strips diagonal and cut a rectangle7"x5" . Follow my flag below for the placement of the strips on the diagonal. The green strip should be pretty much in the center of the corner. Mine were a little off.  You will also want to make sure before you cut those rectangles that they are cut on the exact same angle so the two rectangles will match up and the black strips will form a perfect triangle. This the hardest part of this flag.

The other half of the flag is a 2.5" green strip, with 1.25" white strips sewn on each side, and a red and blue 3.5" strips on the sides of the white.  Each of those strips should be about 7.75" long. 

I used THIS tutorial over at Quilt Story to help me make the flag for Great Britain. 

I trimmed her measurements down just a tad, and it worked great. 

You can find my applique tutorial HERE.

And iron transfer paper can be found in the paper section of any large retailer, and they have instructions right on the box. 

I will be adding a few more flags and their measurements soon, hopefully this is a good start for you all. 

 So, no matter what country you are cheering for, Happy Olympics Everyone!