I can’t help but feel excited when I design African-inspired ankara quilt patterns, and a big part of that joy comes from the fabric itself. Many Ankara prints have a number of patterns and colors in one fabric, making them like a little treasure chest that ignites my creativity!
A Quiltcon Personal Challenge
For my Quiltcon 2025 entry, I decided to challenge myself by using just one stunning Ankara fabric to create a quilt that features lovely interwoven color effect – I call it “Racing Leopards.” Even though my quilt wasn’t selected, I see it as a stepping stone rather than a setback. It has inspired me to explore new ideas and push my creativity even further!
My Racing Leopards Quilt
Choosing the Ideal Ankara Fabric for Your Quilt
So, how do you select the perfect single Ankara fabric for your quilting project? I usually opt for Ankara prints available in 6-yard sections when working with a single fabric. I search for designs that incorporate a variety of patterns within the fabric, which allows me to create the illusion of using multiple fabrics through fussy cutting. If the print has a consistent motif, I pay close attention to the color scheme for any variations. This way, I can differentiate sections by color rather than by print design. For the quilt featured in this post, I selected a striking leopard print fabric from Vlisco, overlaid with a three-tone ombre in teal, pink, and yellow.
This fabric is magical! It has sections where yellow transitions beautifully into teal and areas where pink blends just right with teal. As I fussy cut each segment, I made sure to highlight these vibrant colors. The main body of the quilt showcases the teal, pink, and yellow sections, while the blended areas were perfect for the binding.
Racing Leopards Quilt Construction
I paired these colorful segments with a lovely oatmeal-colored background fabric from Charisma Horton’s Live Boldly collection, featuring small tone-on-tone triangles. To bring my vision to life, I created chevron quilt blocks using over 1,200 two-inch finished half-square triangles (HSTs). The “Triangles on a Roll” template from “It’s Sew Emma” made crafting these HSTs a breeze—allowing me to sew eight or more perfect triangles at once!
To save fabric, I cut the initial squares for the HSTs half an inch smaller than the template suggested. This little adjustment paid off, giving me perfect HSTs without the chore of trimming them down later after cutting on the template lines. Just imagine squaring up over 1,200 HSTs to 2-inch squares! Of course, I still had to tackle the famous “dog ears,” trimming over 2,400 of them in total!
Now, was trimming those dog ears tedious or therapeutic? For me, it was definitely therapeutic! I dedicated a whole day to this task, allowing my mind to wander and gather new quilting inspirations as I snipped away.
To make the quilting process smoother and more enjoyable, I used chain stitching and a method I like to call “chain pressing.” Chain piecing lets quilters sew multiple fabric pieces together in one go without cutting the thread, which is super efficient. Chain pressing which is pressing the sewn pieces while they’re still connected by the thread—made the task of pressing over 1,200 HSTs much more manageable!
Next, I stitched the HSTs together to form chevron patterns and arranged them into blocks. After that, I positioned the chevron and background blocks on point to create an interlocking design. I named this quilt “Racing Leopards,” inspired by the fabric’s name (Leopard Skin) and the dynamic quality of the chevrons. My local quilt shop beautifully quilted Racing Leopards on a Handiquilter, pouring love and attention into every stitch.
I hope my journey inspires others interested in modern African-inspired quilting to explore the wonderful techniques possible with Ankara fabrics! I’d love to hear about your experiences with Ankara fabrics in your quilting and sewing projects. What challenges have you faced, and what creativity has blossomed in your work? Let me know in the comments.
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