Vintage-Inspired Camping Quilt Pattern
Happy Camper is one of the new patterns from Modern Moon Quilt Studio! Happy Camper would make a perfect camper trailer quilt. It could also be very cute if turned into a sleeping bag. When it comes to a camping quilt pattern, this one is very modern but undeniably vintage-inspired.
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Inspiration
Reminiscent of an old-school thermos, Happy Camper is perfect for summer camping trips and family picnics. I wanted this design to reflect nostalgic images of summer camp and vintage outdoor gear.
Skill Level
Happy Camper is recommended for an intermediate-skilled quilter. It is an on-point quilt that uses several large setting triangles that can become stretched if not careful. It also requires blocks to be cut in half which requires precision. This pattern is written for two colorways: a bold five-color version and a limited, but more modern, three-color version. It also includes 4 sizes: a baby quilt size, a small throw (or lap quilt), a large throw, and a bed size.
This quilt is essentially made up of three unique blocks — 2 quarter log cabin blocks and 1 checkered block. The blocks are also set “on-point” meaning they’re turned 45 degrees so they look like they are sitting on their points and then the rows are assembled diagonally. To finish the edges of the quilt top, on-point quilts require either setting triangles or for blocks to be cut in half diagonally — the Happy Camper pattern requires both
An important skill in any quilt is maintaining consistent seam allowances. I found that my blocks were most accurate when I used a scant 1/4″ seam allowance and pressed my seams open.
This pattern requires lots and lots of strips. I found that using my rotary cutter with the Stripology XL Ruler from Creative Grids was an absolute game changer. It saved me lots of time with cutting. If you haven’t invested in one of these yet, I would highly recommend it for the next time you have to cut lots of fabric strips.
Planning
When designing a quilt, I prefer to use solid fabrics for my quilt tops and large-scale prints for the backing. A lot of times, I start by finding a backing that I love and then I pick the solids for the quilt top, to coordinate. Often I will order my backing first and then use my color card swatches to find the perfect colors! When I saw this “Gone Camping” collection from Faye Guanipa, I knew I had to use it for this quilt. It is one of her 5 fabric collections with Dear Stella.
I picked the Thermos print for the backing fabric and chose some coordinating solids for the quilt top. The solid fabrics were pulled exclusively from the Art Gallery Fabrics® Pure Solids collection. For the quilt top, I chose the colors Rosemary, Hunter Fields, Lemon Tart, and Autumnal. I used Creme de la Creme for the background. For the binding, I wanted a coffee brown fabric, so I went with Vintage Walnut from Art Gallery Fabrics.
I also like to do lots of digital mock-ups to make sure I love the color combinations before I start ordering fabric yardage. Check out a few of the variations I came up with!
The National Parks fabric collection from Riley Blake Designs is also made for this campers quilt pattern.
Quilt Top Construction
I learned a while ago that chain-piecing blocks is the way to go. It’s an easy way to speed up the construction of a quilt top that has a lot of the same elements. This pattern requires three different style blocks, 8 each. Two of the blocks are quarter log cabin blocks and the third block is a checkered-style block. Some of the blocks also need to be cut in half diagonally to finish the left and right sides of the quilt.
Finished Quilt Top
Modern Quilting
Lilo of Trace Creek Quilting quilted the cover quilt! Lilo suggested “Bean Drop” to mimic, but soften the quilt design. She was right! It is the perfect pattern for this retro camping-inspired quilt. Bean Drop is designed by Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting.
Hand Embroidered Label
For all of my cover quilts, I have been hand embroidering custom quilt labels and this one was no exception. I used some scrap fabric from the quilt top and embroidered “Happy Camper No. 006” in a vintage-style font.
Want to learn how to make custom hand-embroidered quilt labels? Check out my digital course Hand Embroidered Quilt Labels.
Big Stitch Binding
One of my favorite ways to finish a quilt is with big stitch binding. This is a relatively new way to bind quilts and is a great option if you are looking to add an extra special touch to your finished quilt. I always start by attaching the binding to the front of the quilt with sewing machines and then, depending on the size of the quilt, I typically finish by hand sewing onto the back. DMC Perle Cotton in size 8 is my favorite thread to use for big stitch binding. For this quilt, I chose the color Ecru.
Let’s go camping!
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Find all of my full size patterns here as well as my free patterns here.
