Jingle Bells – Ring’A’Ling Bed Runner

Can you believe that the midway point of the year is quickly approaching in a few days? And, that means Christmas in July will be upon us soon. Which makes it the perfect time to start planning and making your holiday projects. What better time than now to share a great project idea using the Jingle Bells collection by Lindsey Wilkes.

Hey there! It’s Kelly here from @bykellyrenay and I’m thrilled to be sharing my latest project. It features the fun, cheery and a little nostalgic fabric collection, Jingle Bells. The Jingle Bells collection includes some adorably precious nostalgic prints, along with some classic prints, a plaid and tossed stars.  

When I first saw the Jingle Bell collection, I couldn’t help but think about Christmas time growing up and the traditions my family held. One of those traditions was to watch the movie Claymation Christmas by Will Vinton on Christmas Eve. My favorite segment from the movie was the “Carol of the Bells”. 

Being inspired by the movie and the Jingle Bell collection I designed a bell themed quilt block, Ring-a-Ling.

While planning out the placement of the fabrics for the Ring-a-Ling blocks, I decided to keep the body of the bells all in white background fabrics. Then, selected like hued fabrics for the other elements with a contrasting background fabric to surround the bells. Also, to keep some cohesion across the three blocks, I used the same print per the different color SKU’s from the Jingle Bells collection. For example: all the bows used the Plaid (C14836) in Multi, Green and Red to represent a realistic bow. To enhance the bows even further, I used the Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cotton solids (C120) in Scuba, Holly and Tomato.

Initially I had planned on making three separate wall hangings or large throw pillows with the Ring-a-Ling blocks. When they were pieced I realized it would be nice to piece them all together to make a bed runner. Which would help keep your feet warm at night during the holidays. Alternatively it could be used as a table runner or runner to hang on a stair case. If you have a table or house large enough to accommodate the 26×78” runner.

After making the decision to make a bed runner, I made an appointment with my local long-arm. Like I typically do, I had preselected some different edge-to-edge pantographs for us to pick through and discuss. But during my research I wasn’t finding a pantograph simple enough that let the Jingle Bells fabric and the Ring-a-Ling blocks speak. Soon all my preselected pantos were tossed out and we had to pivot. That’s when I remembered a plaid pantograph that my mom had used a while back. I thought it would play nicely with the fabrics. So, I decided to use the pantograph, Scottish Plaid – Diamond Cut by Patricia E. Ritter, along with a honey gold thread color. This thread color blends so nicely across all the different fabrics from Jingle Bells.

Finally to finish off the Ring-a-Ling bed runner I selected the Plaid in Multi for the binding. This plaid fabric represented the whole color story of the Jingle Bells collection beautifully.

Now it might be a little too warm outside to be enjoying a bed runner. But time flies and before you know it winter will be upon us. So, what will you be making with the Jingle Bells collection? We love seeing what you make! Please share with #JingleBellsFabric #iLoveRileyBlake #RileyBlakeDesigns