Directions for American Flag Quilt for Wounded Soldiers, finished size approx. 41" x 57"

(Thanks Chanel for putting together these directions!!)

Fabric requirements:

Red 1/2 yard Cut 7 - 2 inch strips

White 1/2 yard Cut 6 - 2 inch strips

Dark Blue Stars 1/3 yard Cut one rectangle 11" x 15 3/4"

Inner Border (Brown) 1/2 yard Cut 3 - 3 1/2" strips

Corner Posts (Gold) 1/4 yard Cut 4 - 3 1/2" squares

Outer Border (Blue) 1 yard Cut 4 - 8" strips
(a yard is 36" long and quilting fabric is usually 45" wide. Make sure you cut your fabric so that the stripes are approx. 45"long)

Binding (Gold) 1/3 yard Cut 6 - 2" strips

Backing One piece of muslin washed and cut to 44" x 60"

Batting Warm and natural cotton cut to approx. 44" x 60" or at least 2" larger on each

side of the finished quilt top.

Piecing

Sew 3 red 2" strips and 3 white 2"strips to each other, alternating colors and press. Cut this strip set to be 36 3/4" wide. Sew remaining 7 white and red strips together, beginning with red and alternating white and ending with red. Press. Sew dark blue star rectangle to this strip set and press. Cut the extra red and white strips so the blue stars and red and white stripes measures 36 3/4" wide. Sew this strip set to the top of the striped set and press. Flag should measure 19 1/2" high x 36 3/4" wide.

Measure your flag quilt and then trim 2 of your inner border strips to be 1/2" longer than the width of your flag and then cut 2 pieces each measuring 1/2" longer than the height of your flag. Sew 2 or your corner posts to each end of your shorter inner border strips and press. Sew longer inner border strips to top and bottom of flag and press. Then sew 2 shorter border strips with posts to the sides of the quilt and press.

Measure your flag with the inner border and strips and use the same process to cut and attach the wider outer border strips to the quilt.

Layer the backing, batting and top together and machine or hand quilt. Sew binding strips together and sew binding to quilt.

PLEASE NOTE: We welcome anyone who is interested in participating in this project. For those of you who have quilted before this is a relatively simple pattern. If you haven't quilted before, but want to try it out this would be a good beginner quilt. If you just want to make a quilt top and can't quilt the layers together that's fine. We're thrilled to receive any completed flag quilts, flag quilt tops or signed quilt backs and we can complete the rest. Just click the e-mail me link on the blog with any questions. Quilt top or finished quilts can be mailed to Linda Shawen, 17 Lloydminster Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. If you include your return address or e-mail information, we'll send you information once the quilt is presented to a soldier.