MSQ’s Kris Kross Quilt

Who’s ready to jump into this month’s pattern, Kris Kross by Suzy Williams (aka Suzy Quilts)? This deceptively simple quilt is just begging for a million different fabric combinations to bring it to life. In this post, we wanted to share more about the sample we made!

Suzy’s pattern comes in five different sizes, so no matter which veteran or occasion you’re making it for, you’ve got choices. We started with the Throw size and then added two rows and a column to make it just a bit bigger. Because it is block based, it’s a really easy pattern to adapt.

Our sample was pieced by Christine Boyd using fabrics that the whole MSQ team worked to pull together. After last month’s red, white, and blue quilt, we really wanted to showcase how service quilts don’t have to stick to that standard patriotic theme. Why not an all-blue or all-red quilt?

This quilt also showcases several non-traditional fabrics, including a linen blend and an embroidered fabric. The fabrics add so texture and movement to the design. Don’t be afraid to stray beyond quilting cottons for your service quilts!

If you’re looking to create a similar look, we used the following fabrics in our version:
- Manchester Embroidered Cotton in Indigo from Diamond Textiles
- Essex Yarn-Dyed Classic Woven Stripes in Chambray (linen blend) from Robert Kaufman
- Speckled in Metallic Polar from Ruby Star Society
- Off-white solid quilting cotton

The quilting, which adds a strong vertical contrast to the diagonal design of the blocks, was done by Lilo Whitener-Fey of Trace Creek Quilting. The E2E pattern, called Chunky Knit, was designed by Tawny Oland.

Lilo’s mom, Linda Whitener, added the final finishing touch to the quilt with some big-stitch binding, mimicking the hand-sewn texture of the embroidered cotton (which also makes an appearance on the backing).

Thinking you might want to stick with red, white, and blue for your version? Then take some inspiration from this baby-quilt version made by Suzy herself a few years back. When we saw this version, we knew Kris Kross was the perfect pattern for our collaboration with Suzy; it’s like she made it just for this project!

Red, White, and Blue Kris Kross photos by Suzy Williams

If you’re inspired to jump in to create your own version, then head on over to Suzy’s store to grab your pattern. And don’t forget Suzy is donating 100% of the proceeds from the pattern for the month of July to Minority Veterans of America, so grab your pattern this month to stretch your impact for some very worthy veterans. You can check out this post for lots more about the Suzy Quilts team, the Kris Kross pattern, and Suzy’s collaboration with MSQ. Happy quilting!

Photos of the finished quilt were taken by Angela Armstrong of Todd Studios Photography. Progress photos by Jessica Schunke and Sarah Holst.