Log Cabin Heart Quilt as a lavender sachet, pin cushion, or doll's bed pillow.

The Log Cabin block is a very old traditional pattern. Originally it was sewn as a square. Then it has four sides that wrap around a square in the center.

Red fabric is traditionally used for the small square in the center. This red and the central position is meant to symbolize the home fire.

For our Log Cabin Heart Quilt we also use a square. Since the log cabin becomes the heart, we sew the stripes on only two sides of the square.

From the photos you can see right away that the Log Cabin pattern is very easy to sew.

Don't be a perfectionist

Please don't be a perfectionist, because that would surely take the fun out of this wonderful hobby! It may be that your stripes are not sewn 100% exactly the first time, or that the square is not sooo completely square afterwards. That's not what matters! It's more important that you enjoy sewing it

Sew your mini quilt with lots of love!

I love the following saying attributed to the Amish:

Finished is better than perfect!

Let's go and have fun!

Chris

You will need the following materials

• fabric scraps in different colors (see below for exact measurements)
• Filling material
• Sewing thread

These utensils will be useful for cutting and sewing the fabric

Scissors or rotary cutter

Of course you can also cut out the fabric pieces for the Log Cabin Heart with scissors. I only use my rotary cutter for cutting out the patchwork, because it is very practical and time-saving for me.

But everyone is allowed to do it the way she likes 😉.

If you work with a rotary cutter, then you also need a cutting mat and a special patchwork ruler.

Patchwork ruler

A patchwork ruler with 0.25 centimeter units.

It is a ruler that is extra suitable for the rotary cutter because it is extra thick. My favorite ruler has the size 15 x 60cm.

The practical thing is the 0.25cm divisions. "Normal" rulers have the graduation in 10 millimeter steps. A patchwork ruler works with 0.25 cm increments.

This is very practical because the seam allowance in Germany (and other countries) is 0.75cm. With a normal ruler you always have to estimate the 0.75cm, with this ruler you have the clear indication.

Needle, thread, sewing machine

I don't need to emphasize that you need a needle and thread (for hand sewing) as well as a sewing machine, do I?

Pins, wonder clips, glue stick

You have many possibilities to fix the fabric pieces before sewing or during sewing. Of course you can use pins or these extra small Wonder Clips. I like to use the water-soluble glue stick, which was developed especially for fabrics. Please test beforehand if your fabric tolerates the glue and can be washed out easily.

These fabric parts you need for the top

The measurements already include a seam allowance of 0.75cm.

For the "heart", i.e. the stripes in your Log Cabin heart, you will need the following fabric pieces:

1a: 2,5 x3,5cm

1b: 2,5 x 2,5cm

2a: 2,5 x 4,5 cm

2b: 2,5 x 3,5cm

3a: 2,5 x 5,5cm

3b: 2,5 x 4,5cm

4a: 2,5 x 6,5cm

4b: 2,5 x 5,5cm

You can sew the strips all in the same color. Or you can use a different color for each row, i.e. for strips number 1, 2, 3 and 4.

I chose the latter option, also for the reason that you can better see how the Log Cabin heart builds up.

For the background, you'll need the following fabric:

5a: 2.5 x 2.5cm

5b: 5 x 5 cm

5c: 7 x 7cm

You can decide if you want to sew the border in the same fabric as the background or in a different color.

These are the pieces of fabric you will need for the border:

Border, top and bottom: 3,5 x 7,5cm

Border, left and right: 3,5 x 12,5cm

The back of the heart quilt

Back side: 10 x 10cm

The size of your back depends on how much you need to straighten the front piece afterwards.

Since I prefer to calculate the back a bit more generously, I first planned the back with 10 x 10cm and later reduced it.

The filling of the lavender bag

You need dried lavender. Since this bag is really quite small (my bag is 8 x 8 cm), you only need a little bit of lavender flowers.

You can't stuff the bag too much, because you have to grab the fabric afterwards. The opening for turning the bag and for filling is sewn by hand.

Filling the Log Cabin Heart Quilt

To fill the pincushion or pillow, I use scraps of my volume batting.

When I sew quilts, the volume batting is always cut slightly larger than the top of the quilt. After quilting, I then cut the volume batting back to the size of the top. These little centimeter sized scraps are wonderful for stuffing.

So again, a brilliant way to use your material resources sparingly!

There are different types of volume fleece: polyester, cotton, bamboo, wool or a mixture of the materials. Which one you use is up to your own preferences.

Preparation

Please cut the required strips or rectangles and squares.

If you're unsure about how to cut your scraps or yardage, check out my two blog articles:

How to cut perfect stripes, rectangles and squares from fabric (fabric scraps or yardage). Patchwork Basics for Beginners

Resource-saving use of our fabrics through optimal cutting of the required fabric elements (Scraps)

This is how even an advanced patchworker can do it... ;-)

Please don't be irritated by the size of the background squares on the photo. I had cut them too small at the beginning when I took the photos. I didn't realize that until I tried to sew them on later, though. Okay, so I re-cut the background squares. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a new photo because the rectangles were already sewn on. That's what happens to me sometimes, when I want to make everything especially beautiful for my readers... :-)  Maybe I had to go through this experience again to remind myself that "only God is perfect"?

"Only God is perfect!"

A saying of the Amish, who build an extra mistake into their wonderful quilts to show appropriate humility. I don't need to build in the mistake, it visits me automatically ... ;-)

Good preparation will save you the seam ripper....

On the photo you can see how I lay out the individual pieces of fabric. I put the pieces of fabric near my sewing machine. If I sew the parts together right away, I grab the right part, put it on and then sew it together. Then it doesn't happen to me that I sew the wrong parts together. All a matter of experience... 😉

How to sort the fabric pieces without mixing them up.

To make sure I don't mix up or confuse these fabric pieces when sewing, I put a label on each fabric piece with the corresponding fabric piece name.

This label is simply a small, self-adhesive label. I used to cut these up myself from a larger address label. After finding that I can buy these small labels very inexpensively, I prefer to save myself the effort.

These mini labels have approximately the size 1.6cm x 0.8 cm. To write a number and a letter on it, this size is quite enough. Since some of my fabric pieces are very small, larger labels would only bother me 😉 .

I label them with either a pencil or a ballpoint pen before gluing them to the fabric. With the pen, it's important that it doesn't spill or shed particles of leftover paint (Or am I the only one with such strange pens?).

How to sew the Log Cabin pattern

The measurements of the fabric pieces already include the seam allowance of 0.75cm. This means that you sew all the fabric pieces together with a seam allowance of 0.75cm. This is so important because otherwise the fabric pieces won't fit together....

If you are unsure whether the seam allowance on your sewing machine is really 0.75 cm, just sew any two pieces of fabric together and measure with a ruler. If necessary, you can move the needle a little to the left or right on most sewing machines until it fits. Of course, you have to make sure that you work with a presser foot that has enough room for such lateral changes of the needle...

PART 1

You take the small squares 5a and 1b and place them with the right side on top of each other. This means that the "nice" side is on the inside. The left, non-beautiful side of one fabric is on top.

Now sew the two pieces together with a seam allowance of 0.75cm.

Then open the piece of fabric and smooth it out a little with your fingers.

Please don't tug on the piece of fabric and don't iron it, because you can warp the fabric. With larger pieces of fabric, a few millimeters doesn't matter, but with small pieces, a few millimeters can make a big difference between "fits" or "almost fits" or "doesn't fit at all" 😉 .

PART 2

Now turn the piece of fabric so that the seam runs horizontally in the in the middle between the two pieces of fabric.

You take the rectangle 1a and put it with the right side on the piece of fabric you just sewed. Please look at the photo to see how the bottom piece of fabric lies.

Now sew the fabric part 1a to it. Please remember that you always sew on the right side of your fabric piece.

Then unfold the piece of fabric and smooth it out a little with your fingers. Great, that must have worked out well!

So that you always know which side you're sewing on for the following strips, I've stuck the labels back onto the fabric pieces for you. Maybe you want to use them as a guide?

PART 3

Now it's the turn of rectangle 2b.

You can see that I chose a different fabric color again. Now you can already see that in my Log Cabin the color is repeated in each row and the color changes in each row. There are many ways to change the effect of a Log Cabin with the help of colors. That's what makes this pattern so interesting and varied.

Now sew the rectangle 2b to the right side of your fabric piece. By now you know the process, don't you?

Place the fabric piece 2b

- place it with the right side inside on the already sewn piece of fabric,

- sew to the right side,

- unfold,

- smooth it out a little with your fingers, and you're done.

Here you can see the photo series:

For the next series, I'll just briefly mention the process. If you prefer the detailed description, feel free to read the above descriptions again. I think that by now you're getting the hang of the process, aren't you?

Part 4

Place the fabric piece 2a underneath the already sewn piece, sew it in place, fold it open and smooth it out.

Here you can see the photos:

Part 5

Place fabric piece 3b right sides together with the piece you have already sewn, sew it in place, fold it open and smooth it out.

Here you can see the photo series:

Part 6

Place fabric piece 3a underneath your already sewn fabric piece, sew it in place, fold it open and smooth it out.

Here are the photos:

Part 7

We're slowly coming to the conclusion of the Log Cabin pattern. The last row is here and you once again place fabric piece 4b right sides together with your already sewn fabric piece, sew it in place, fold it open and smooth it out.

Part 8

Place the last part of pattern 4a underneath your piece of fabric, sew in place, unfold, smooth out. The Log Cabin pattern is finished!

How to turn the Log Cabin pattern into a lavender bag or a pincushion

You've already cut your square 5b for the background. If not, the square 5b has a size of 5 x 5cm.

Please cut the square diagonally.

Then fold it as shown in the photo, make a little crease with your fingers on the longest side of your triangle. I also marked the crease with a little pencil line so you can easily see it in the photo. Please place your small Log Cabin heart on edge, that is, the tip with the small square is at the top center. Now place the triangle on the right side of the heart. The bend should now be at the height between strips 1b and 2b. Please take a close look at the photo.

Don't be surprised that the triangle is bigger than the heart, we will cut it all to size later. Now just take the two pieces of fabric and sew them together, as always with 0.75cm seam allowance. Then unfold the triangle and smooth it out with your fingers.

Do the same with the second triangle of your fabric part 5b. This time you place it on the wrong side, the crease is between strips 1a and 2a. Sew in place, fold over, smooth out.

I'm sure you know how to do it in your sleep by now 😉 .

Now your heart should look like this:

Now cut off the excess fabric at the top.

For this it is very(!) important that you take into account the seam allowance of 0.75cm for the top edge. You measure this 0.75cm from the center of the top square.

Maybe you draw the line where you want to cut with a pencil beforehand. Then you can check again if it is really the right place.

Or as my hairdresser always says:

"Cut is fast. If it is too short after all, it's hard to fix it again..."

You can see here in detail how I laid out the ruler.

Here's what it looks like after you cut off the top excess fabric.

Now sew on the top edge. I used the same color for the border as for the background. Of course you can choose another color.

Sew the top edge with a 0.75 cm seam allowance. If you sew carefully, you will see that the upper background square has now become a background triangle. This is exactly how it should be. If you didn't sew that exactly, then that's your personal, artistic, individual expression! 😉

The rest is easy now because you already know the steps.

The left and right edges of your Log Cabin heart will now be straightened as well.

You calculate the seam allowance from the upper edge of strip 4a or 4b. Or, in other words, where strips 3a and 4a meet. On the right side, of course, it is the strips 3b and 4b that meet.

Your square 5c for the lower background has a size of 7 x 7cm. Again, cut the square diagonally.

You don't need to fold or crease these triangles now. I have chosen the triangles so large that you have some room to maneuver. Please make sure that they are centered to the left and right edge. Then sew them on the left and right side. It doesn't matter if you sew the left or the right side first.

It is important to sew one side first, then unfold the triangle, smooth it with your fingers and sew the other side.

In the next photo you can see the glue dots at the bottom left. For small sewing jobs like this, I like to use a water-soluble glue stick for fabrics. Since I had forgotten to take this photo, I had to take the parts apart again for the photo... ;-)

That's probably how it looks for you now, too:

You straighten the left and right edge again. Then you sew the bottom edge.

I chose the border strips a bit bigger on purpose.

This has the advantage that you do not have to sew so precisely, but simply cut off the excess edge after sewing.

Now sew the left and right edges and then cut off the excess fabric.

Please make sure that the sides are at right angles, i.e. 90 degrees, and that your heart is straight in the middle. You can cut off as much of the edge as you like. As you can see, minor sewing inaccuracies can be corrected in this way.

Congratulations! The front part, in patchwork we also call it top, is finished!

The rest is now very easy, virtually a sewing walk for you 😉

Now please measure your front piece. Mine has the size 9.5 x 9.5cm.

Take the same size for the back of your lavender bag, pin cushion or doll cushion.

Now please put the right, beautiful, sides inside and sew the two parts together. On one side, please leave a piece open, because through this opening you will turn the pillow.

My opening was about 5cm big. If you make it a bit bigger, turning is easier...

In order for the seam to withstand the strong pull when turning, I bar-tack the seam extra well at the beginning and end points of the opening.

At the corners of the piece of fabric where there is no seam, please cut off a piece of fabric. You can see it well on the photo. This will make it easier to work out the corners after turning.

Now that you've successfully turned it over, make your decision about what you want to make out of your Log Cabin heart.

For the pincushion or the small pillow for a dress-up doll, you can fill it with scraps of the volume fleece. You can of course use other filling materials if you have other preferences.

Maybe you want to make several Log Cabin hearts? They are wonderful as small gifts. I always enjoy the fact that my fabric scraps find a new use and that I can give other people a little joy with them.

For the lavender pillow you take of course the well dried lavender flowers.

Please fill only so much that you can still close the opening comfortably and hold it. Because this opening you sew after filling by hand. I admit. this work I do not like at all... 😉

I decided to make a pincushion. To give the pillow a little individuality, I sewed a decorative edge with the sewing machine after filling.

For this, it was important that I fill the pillow only a little, so that I could still easily move the fleece back and forth in the pillow for sewing. I pull the beginning and end seams inward with a needle at the end.

Maybe you want to decorate it a little too?

My pincushion is finished, I hope yours is too? I'd love for you to take a picture of your Log Cabin heart and show it to me here at crazypatterns.

Happy stitching!

Chris