How to Fussy Cut Your Ice Cream Soda Quilt

Ice Cream Soda Quilt is one of those special quilts whose pattern surprises and intrigues, and whose design lends itself to a milieu of styles. (If you need a bit of inspiration be sure to check out this post.) And, one of those styles that Ice Cream Soda Quilt suits beautifully is fussy cutting! While we’ve shared a fussy cutting tutorial for a different quilt design here, we thought it could be useful to share a few Ice Cream Soda quilt specific tips and tricks for you in this post. Read on for helpful information about choosing fabrics and a tutorial for how to use a fussy cutting mirror for Ice Cream Soda!

By Lisa Sliva

This fussy cutting tutorial features the large block version of Ice Cream Soda quilt, however, the small block suits fussy cutting every bit as well! In fact, you can see the difference in scale in the photo below by Jodi. She used the same prints in each of the corresponding rounds of each block, only in different color ways, to show how the size of the shapes can affect the final block. But, as you can see, each block is lovely in its own way. 

Whatever fabric you decide to use, you’ll have to make sure that there are enough “repeats” on the piece of fabric to cut out enough shapes for the round you want to fussy cut. Each round of the Ice Cream Soda quilt block contains 6 shapes, so you’ll need 6 repeats on the fabric. A repeat is simply the number of times you can find the exact same part of the fabric pattern on the piece of fabric.

The fabric on the left below has numerous repeats of the same pattern within a small amount of fabric, but the fabric on the right only has a few repeats for the amount of fabric. This is called scale.

Scale is how big or small the pattern is, and also how spread out or tightly arranged the pattern is. The pattern on the left is a small to medium scale (compared to something like polka-dots), and tightly arranged. This makes it really easy to get 6 of the same flower in a piece smaller than a fat quarter - just keep an eye out for those sneaky flowers facing the opposite way!

The pattern on the right has lots of lovely, small elements, but the repeat is spread out. It does, however, have some mirrored elements at each end of the repeated pattern. If you worked on each side of the circles, you might get 6 similar pattern parts. Playing with mirrored repeats in the pattern is a great way to use a smaller piece of fabric. 

Using variations in scale throughout your quilt increases interest and contrast. Contrast is essential if you want to avoid your quilt looking messy or flat. It's like a piece of music. You have to have loud and quiet bits for it to be beautiful and interesting. Otherwise, it's just noise! Draw different scale prints from your stash, and different patterns - from floral to stripes to geometric - to give your quilt beautiful variation.

Scale also affects the 'kaleidoscope' effect created in the finished block. If you cut flowers and other design elements though the middle, the design focus becomes the new lines created. If you fit the whole motif inside the shape, the effect can sometimes be less striking, but still beautiful. 

The very popular Echinacea print, by Anna Maria Horner, creates an incredible kaleidoscope effect when featured in the kites in the block on the left, but you have to cut into the flowers do to so. By contrast, if you chose to feature these flowers in the crowns, you could showcase the flower in its entirety as shown by the acrylic template. Play with your fabrics in different shapes to see what they teach you about creating different kinds of secondary patterns.

Even if you’re not a huge fussy cutting aficionado, you may find that cutting your larger scale prints with intentionality will create more harmonious blocks.

Stripes can be an overlooked and underutilized fabric in the English Paper Piecing world, but when used with intentionality, they can really steal the show! Just to give you a taste of the different ways you can enjoy stripes in the center star of an Ice Cream Soda quilt block, make a fussy cut window (read on to learn how!) and grab a fussy cutting mirror.

Simply move the fussy cut window over the stripes in various ways to see the different concentric rings, arrows, or lines that emerge! Check out the photos below to see a few different ways you could cut the same striped fabric differently to get different effects. So fun, right?

When you start to see all of the possibilities that fussy cutting opens up, it can become a little addictive! That being said, don't underestimate the power of basic fabrics (solids, or small prints that read as solids) to really make your fussy cutting shine. While you can certainly fussy cut every round of your blocks like these beauties by Jackie and Emily, if you're not ready for that kind of commitment or you simply prefer to allow your blocks a bit of space to rest, that's ok, too. 

Fussy cutting is simply another tool in your EPP tool belt, not a prerequisite for making beautiful blocks. Tune into the way YOU like to make and play around to learn what you like!

A fussy cut window allows you to choose a section of the fabric that you would like to feature in a particular paper piece shape in your block. Simply move the window around the fabric until you like what you see! Watch Jackie use hers here and watch her make one here.

A fussy cutting mirror can help you "find" the fussy cut you'd like to feature before you actually cut anything out! Simply use the fussy cut window from the previous section and follow the steps below. Or, if you prefer to watch a video, check out Jackie's here.

This method is for those of you who want to get EXACT placement of your fussy cut every time. It's very useful for creating those intricate kaleidoscopic designs in the center star of your Ice Cream Soda quilt blocks. 

I have to say that when I first saw Jackie's video on this, it kind of blew my mind! It's much easier than you might think once you get the hang of it. Read on for the step by step tutorial or check out Jackie's video here.

6. Line up the fabric that is stuck to your acrylic template with the fabric underneath it and cut out. Repeat for the number of shapes you need for the block. Baste with your preferred method.

Pro Tip:

To make sure that your papers line up in the same place on every piece of fabric for basting, flip the fabric over to the wrong side, place the acrylic template over the fabric so that it aligns with the edges, and use a fine tip pen to place a mark in each of the corner holes. Then, use the marks to position the paper on the back of the fabric for basting. 

This method is slightly less exact than Jackie's method but works very well for either the kite or crown rounds of your Ice Cream Soda quilt blocks. You can read a more in depth tutorial featuring this method here or watch Jodi's video here. 

Of note, if you use a whiteboard marker, you'll be able to easily remove the markings on the acrylic template with a tissue. If you use a permanent marker, however, you'll need to use nail polish remover to remove the markings.

3. At this stage you could cut out the fabric with a rotary cutter, or you can trace around the acrylic template with a pencil to cut out with scissors later.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 until you have cut the number of shapes you need for the block. Baste with your preferred method.

Note! This method is the best choice for novelty prints, when you just want to make sure you center your sweet little animal or fruit in the centre of your shape. In cases like this, if your strawberry is sitting in open space, the first method of lining up the pattern won't work. If you're not fussy about perfect placement, you can skip the marker, and just place the acrylic template over the shape to draw or cut around.