Cherish Quilt - Comparing the 6" Block vs 8" Block Versions
The beautiful Cherish quilt comes in a choice of 2 sizes - a quilt made of 6" finished blocks, and one made from 8" blocks. Wondering which size is the best fit for you? I've made this handy comparison guide to help you decide!
Choosing Which Cherish Quilt to Make
Having options can be fun! We get to choose which quilt we'd prefer to make, and which block will look better with our fabric. I'm also the first to admit though, that sometimes having choices stops me from choosing at all! So today I want to lay out the two Cherish Quilt options, side by side, to make choosing between them super easy.
And after this if you're still not sure? Don't forget that both Cherish quilts are beautiful, both are fun, both make lovely use of your treasured fabric!
Choose the Size Based on Your Fabric
If you're coming to your Cherish Quilt with fabrics already chosen, you can easily test the centre hexagon against the prints you want to use by cutting a hexagon window. We've created a couple of printable templates that you can cut out and test! Simply hit the button below, enter your email, and I'll send them to you. Then print them out and cut out the inside of the shapes. Place it over the fabric you want to use, and if relevant, decide if you want to keep the motif completely inside the hexagon, like my navy 4" hexagon above, or if you like the look of the print going off the edge, like the mustard print above in the 3" hexagon.
The remaining shapes in the block create borders around the centre hexagon, so you'll want to pick out basics and solids to create contrast between the centre and the borders. As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the shape, the less busy the fabric should be, so the slightly bigger 2" border shapes in the larger block will give you some extra room for fabric choices.
For additional help with choosing fabric for EPP, I've written a blog post all about it here.
In the whispy floral blocks below, Lucy used Sharon Holland's big florals as her starting point, and chose the large block size to go with them. In the scrappy version, I decided first that I wanted to make a 6" block version, and chose favourites from my stash that would suit the 3" hexagon centre.
An extra note on the size of your fabric cut: the shapes of the 6" version will fit in a fat 16th or layer cake (10" square). You can't fit 12 half hexagons from the 8" version into these fabric cuts.
How long will each Cherish Quilt take?
When I'm stitching in a focussed manner and time myself, I stitch around 1" per minute. So for me, the 6" block takes around 90 minutes to sew (after basting) and the 8" block takes me almost 3 hours to sew (also after basting).
While the larger blocks take almost double the time, there are twice as many 6" blocks to make than 8" blocks.
- In the 6" block version, there are 46 blocks, 22 half and edge blocks, and 7 rows.
- In the 8" block version, there are 23 blocks, 16 half and edge blocks, and 5 rows.
My guess is that it takes a similar amount of time to sew all the components of both quilts, but sewing up the rows, and sewing the rows together will be much quicker for the 8" version. It may seem counter intuitive, but I love the little 'check!' buzz I get once finishing each block, and so find the 6" blocks more satisfying for this reason - I can finish a whole prepared 6" block in an evening, whereas an 8" block spills over into the next day.
Don't forget that the way you approach your fabric choices will have a much bigger impact on how long your quilt takes. And also, it's not a race! You're allowed to take your time making a quilt you'll treasure forever.
Small vs Large - How It Feels to Sew Cherish Quilt
How a quilt feels in my hands is usually a big deciding factor for me. After all, that's going to be a large part of my experience! I have small hands and I always find working with small pieces and blocks easier than larger pieces.
In the photo below, I'm holding a small Cherish Quilt block and stitching the border rounds to the centre. I've had to fold the border unit up a little so that it fits in the crevice of my hand. The large Cherish blocks are BIG! And I find I need to wrangle and squash them a bit more. So for me, while the large block quilt might come together quicker, I enjoy stitching the small blocks more.
The Overall Effect - Which Cherish repeat do you like best?
The final thing to weigh up is the overall effect of the pattern in big and small. The 6" block Cherish Quilt fits more of the pattern repeat in a similar space. In many cases, I prefer the look of the finished quilt when there are more, smaller blocks in it because I like the movement created by the greater variation in print and value. But, if you find yourself drawn to quilts with big, dramatic blocks, choose the larger.
Make your Cherish Quilt decision with confidence!
I hope that helps you make a confident decision about which Cherish Quilt to make. After all of this info, if you're still uncertain, use the coin toss trick! Toss a coin and let it choose. If you're happy with the outcome, go with that. If you're not, you'll know that you were actually leaning more towards the other in the first place. ;D
And remember that no matter which size you choose, Cherish Quilt is for slowing down, tuning into the colours and prints you're using, and carving out space for more joy and creative time.
Hit the button below to buy everything you need for your Cherish quilt now!
What an informative post! I’ve never seen one so thoughtfully and painstakingly researched. I would definitely choose the smaller version, based on all the facts. I especially love that the pieces could be made from a layer cake.
Love my EPP and as I often choose 3/4” hexies my instinct is to go small. I’ve made your Ice Cream Soda quilt and am so tempted to do this one. 😂 no Lucy Boston has to be finished first!
Love your newsletters and patterns.
I started the Cherish quilt earlier this spring. I am so happy that it is now a club and I can share in the process of making this quilt with others. I chose flowers for my centers and shades of blue, green and turquoise for my outer bands. My influence is Monet’s Water Lillies.
Absolutely lovely …fabulous addition to Cultural Art … with many generations of enjoyment !
Excellent post! So very informative. Long-time EPP’r here, so very much appreciate all your effort and advice. And I have to agree with you, I also have small hands so I often choose scale based on what comfortably fits in my hand and is the most joyful to sew. I tried squares (pillow top) based on your previous post (where I said I would never!) and they are joyful to sew! They line up without any fidgety effort. Thanks for the encouragement!
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