Bunny Twitches

Shortly after designing the Puppy Kisses quilt, I had dreams of making a version with rabbits. I'm finally sharing the Bunny Twitches quilt and pattern here on the blog!

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This post will take you a bit behind the seams of the design process. What worked in my mind didn't actually work in fabric!

I first made the bunny face blocks. They're made with raw-edge applique using Lite Steam-A-Seam 2. 

Then I made nine-patch blocks to go in-between the bunny blocks just like the Puppy Kisses quilt. These are made from fabrics from the Easter Parade and Perfect Party collections by Lindsay Wilkes for Riley Blake Designs. I've been hoarding collecting these fabrics for awhile as they are high up on my list of favorites!

But this is when I ran into an issue that I didn't expect. The inside of the bunny ears are also made with the same super cute fabrics. But when the ears are up like rabbits (instead of down like dogs), the ears completely blend in with the nine-patch blocks making it very hard to tell they're rabbits. 

See? Almost looks like no ears!

So I started brainstorming. I pulled solid fabrics from my stash to see how they would look behind the ears, and instantly the ears popped.

This was going to be the solution. 

I chose four different pastel solid fabrics and cut large squares instead of making nine-patch blocks. (Now I have those nine-patch blocks already made to make a different quilt!) 

I pinned one ear up so I could see how they would look, but could easily rearrange them to my liking. You know, "randomly." 

Then I decided it needed a border. I auditioned a few different solid colors to see what I liked best. One of the four pastels in the blocks? Orange? Purple? 

I went with the light purple color, then sewed it all together!

Once on the longarm, it made my smile so much!! I used an 80/20 batting and my SewTite Magnums. Then I chose white thread and a small meander design for the quilting. 

When doing the quilting, I just lifted the ears up and quilted across each row. I didn't sew down the ears at this stage, as I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to do that yet. (Though the ears could easily be sewn down during the quilting!) 

Don't they just make you smile when you look at them?!

After the quilting, I added a solid pink binding, then used the free-motion foot on my regular machine to sew the ears down. 

For most of the ears, I quilted a large loop so they would stand straight up. 

But for some of them, I folded the ear over then quilted around the edge to hold it in that position. 

Some of the loops are pretty high up into the ear, and some are about halfway. This makes a few of the ears flop down on their own. 

Gosh, I love it so much! I think this is my favorite holiday quilt I've made! It's just perfect for Easter! 

While I had the fabrics out, I went ahead and made a pillow version too!

Those ears give the bunnies such personality!

Both the pillow and quilt sizes are included in the Bunny Twitches pattern. This is the third pattern in the series with 3-D ears: Puppy Kisses, Kitten Cuddles, and Bunny Twitches. You can get all the patterns in my Etsy shop!

If you have some extra minky laying around, this would be a fun way to use it!