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Writer's pictureSew, Jahit

Hibiscus FPP Quilt

A foundation paper piecing quilt block made into a circle quilt!


Note! The pattern for this foundation paper piecing quilt block can be purchased here or in my Etsy shop. The pattern also includes basic piecing sequence.


Hibiscus FPP paper piecing circle quilt by SewJahit

Every year for Malaysia's national day, I try to design quilts with inspirations from patriotic or national symbolisms. I had not been successful every year, but this year 2024, I have one.


Introducing the Hibiscus Quilt.


Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

Hibiscus FPP paper piecing circle quilt by SewJahit

The Hibiscus rosa-sinesis or simply "bunga raya" in Malay, is Malaysia's national flower, but growing up I never really appreciated this flower, probably because my primary school was once surrounded by hibiscus shrubs and it was simply not seen as glamorous or exotic as the roses and the orchids. Researching for this quilt made me realise that the bunga raya is just as exquisite, especially the vibrant red ones!


Fun fact: The five petals of the bunga raya represent the five principles of Malaysia's Rukun Negara (National Tenets).


 

MATERIAL


I used a combination of cotton batik fabrics I purchased from a past trip to Kuching, Sarawak, and the The Wiltshire Shadow Collection by Liberty of London.


Bundles of Fabrics used in Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

The batting is a poly-cotton blend and the backing is a cotton quilt backing fabric. Both of these were purchased from my local Spotlight.


 

DESIGN AND MAKING PROCESS


The quilt is made up of ten of the following pentagonal block, made using thefoundation paper piecing (FPP) method:

Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

back view of the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit


The hibiscus FPP quilt block pattern can be purchased here or in my Etsy shop. The pattern also includes basic piecing sequence.


I made full use of the pentagonal shape to turn this into a circle quilt by arranging the blocks in the following circular arrangement:

Circular arrangement of the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

You can also easily turn this pentagonal block into a square or rectangular block by adding strips to each side of the pentagon block ala log cabin style and then trim down to the design shape and size. Just make sure the width of the added strips are wide enough.


How to turn a pentagon quilt block to square or rectangle Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit


The making of this quilt block involves Y-seams at the center of the block as shown below.

Close up of the Y-seam on the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

Back view close up of the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

 

BINDING, QUILTING AND FINAL TOUCHES


The batik fabrics came in multiple hues including two shades of green. The hibiscus blocks did not use much of the greens so I had more of them left after making all ten hibiscus blocks. Therefore, I used the green hues of the batik fabrics for the binding.


Binding used on the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing circle quilt by SewJahit

Binding on the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing circle quilt by SewJahit

As for the quilting, I figured this was a good opportunity to learn a hibiscus quilting pattern, the variation of which I have seen in many other quilts. Here is what I ended up doing:


Hibiscus quilting pattern by SewJahit

After quilting, I hand-sewn five yellow pom-poms at the center of each hibiscus block to represent the flowers' stigma.

Pom-poms sewn on the Hibiscus FPP paper piecing quilt block by SewJahit

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