Sun and Moon Tabletopper - Advanced Embroidery Designs

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Sun and Moon Tabletopper

This is a beautiful project that combines machine embroidery and quilting to create a stunning display of the sun and the moon. This tabletopper is perfect for decorating your home or giving as a gift to someone who loves astronomy.

We used the design Sun and Moon for a commercial hoop. The design is also available in a smaller size that will also work for this table topper.

The finished size of the tabletopper is about 24 1/2" square.

You can purchase this table topper from our Etsy store!

Royal blue quilted tabletopper with blocks of yellow stars and embroidery of the sun and moons in the center.

You will need :

embroidery threads, either polyester or rayon,
scraps of cotton fabrics in blue and yellow hues - either solid colored or with marble patterns;
about of 1 yard of solid blue fabric;
light-weight cut-away embroidery stabilizer;
binding to match one of the colors of the embroidery or stars;
fabric for the backing;
batting;
quilter's ruler;
rotary cutter;
iron;
#12 universal needle;
quilting threads (the colors of the fabrics you use);
#12-#14 quilting needle.

Embroidery:

Prepare a square of blue fabric measuring about 16" x 16". Mark the center of the piece.

Upload the files of the Sun and Moon into the embroidery machine.

Select threads. Stabilize the piece.

Hoop the fabric tightly. The center of the design should coincide with the mark on the fabric. Embroider the design.

Trim the piece to 14 1/2" square.

Cutting:

Out of blue fabric, cut

3 strips measuring 3 1/2" x 11 1/2";
3 strips measuring 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" ;
3 strips measuring 3 1/2" x 14 1/2",
2 strips measuring 5 1/2",
1 strip measuring 17 1/2",
1 square measuring 3 1/2" x 3 1/2".

For the blocks, out of blue fabric, cut

36 squares measuring 1 1/2"x 1 1/2" and
18 squares measuring 1 7/8" x 1 7/8.

Out of scraps of light blue fabric, cut

2 squares measuring 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" and
4 squares measuring 1 7/8" x 1 7/8".

Out of scraps of yellow fabric, cut

7 squares measuring 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" and
14 squares measuring 1 7/8" x 1 7/8".

For the borders, out of yellow fabric, cut 4 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 3 1/2".

Making the Star Blocks:

There are 9 star blocks, 2 of them are light blue stars and 7 are yellow stars.

For the blocks you will need half triangle squares. To make them, take the 1 7/8" x 1 7/8" squares. Pair up the 18 dark blue squares with 4 light blue squares, and the 14 yellow squares. Place each pair face to face.

With a pencil, draw a diagonal on the lighter square. Stitch a scant 1/4" from the pencil line on both sides.

Cut along the line. Open the new squares. Press the seam towards the darker fabric. Trim the ears.

Repeat for all the pairs. You should get 8 dark blue & light blue squares, and 28 dark blue & yellow squares.

Using half triangle and 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" squares, arrange them into 9 blocks with stars:

Assembly:

Note: seam allowance is 1/4", press the seam immediately after you make it.

The First Border:

Sew a 3 1/2" x 11 1/2" blue strip to a star block.
Sew this border to the upper edge of the central part.

Sew 2 star blocks to the short edges of a 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" strip.
Sew this border to the bottom edge of the central part.

Sew 2 star blocks to one of the short edges of another 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" strip.
Sew a star block and a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" blue square to the other short edge of the same strip.
Sew this border to the right edge of the central part with the blue square pointed up.

Sew 2 star blocks to one of the short edges of another 3 1/2" x 11 1/2" strip.
Sew a star block to the other short edge of the same strip.
Sew this border to the left edge of the central part with the 2 star blocks pointing up.

The Second Border:

Sew the 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" blue strip to the 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" yellow strip, then sew the 3 1/2" x 14 1/2" to the yellow strip.
Repeat, to get 2 such borders.

Sew these borders to the left and right edges of the working piece. For the left border the yellow strip should be towards the bottom, while for the right border towards the top.

Sew a yellow 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" strip between the 3 1/2" x 14 1/2" and 3 1/2" x 11 1/2" blue strips.
Sew this border to the upper edge of the working piece.

Sew the last yellow 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" strip between the 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" and 3 1/2" x 17 1/2" blue strips.
Sew this border to the bottom edge of the working piece.

Quilting and Finishing

Now place the backing on a flat surface (table) face down. Cover with batting. Spread your working piece over it.

Pin all layers together.

We quilted in a free-motion style all over the tablertopper. Start from the central part and echo quilt the embroidery, then proceed to other parts.