Greetings, campers!  I hope you’re ready for another fun-filled free sewing pattern, courtesy of Lizzy House’s 1001 Peeps Summer Camp.  We here at FQHQ were extremely excited to be asked to serve as counselors this year, and I knew immediately what I wanted to make with Lizzy’s amazing new 1001 Peeps fabric.

I designed a patchwork peeps flag on a grand scale to help bring Lizzy’s designs to life.  The fabric helped me to imagine these large flags blowing in the wind as merchants peddled their wares in the ancient markets frequented by the peeps.  This flag would be a great addition to your sewing space and is also perfect for little boys’ rooms.  Pssst … want to be let in on a little secret?  I’ve even added a secret pouch on the back of the flag, perfect for keeping the genie’s treasure hidden from would-be thieves.

Special thanks go out to Melanie of Above All Fabric, who collaborated with me in helping bring this project to life.  Melanie’s a great source for all of your 1001 Peeps needs — she has all of the prints in stock (and even sells fat quarter bundles of the line), ships super fast, believes in superior customer service, and offers great prices.  Plus, she’s a fantastic supporter of Fat Quarterly.  We encourage you to visit our sponsor shops, who make it possible for us to bring all of our fresh content to you.

Today’s also a very special day because it marks the release of Lizzy’s brand new book, 1001 Peeps: Five Magical Projects.  We saw a sneak preview of this book at Quilt Market, and trust us when we tell you that it’s fabulous.  Guess what?  One of you will win a copy of this book hot off the presses, straight from Lizzy herself!  She’s even willing to throw in some 1001 Peeps fabric to sweeten the pot.  Want to win?  Simply follow the directions at the end of this post.

So let’s get on with the arts & crafts portion of our day.  Ready, campers?  Let your peeps flag fly!

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Materials needed:

As assortment of your favorite 1001 Peeps fabric prints.  Here’s what I used for this project:

• 1/4 yard of Illuminate in Basra Blue
• 1/4 yard of Jewels in Basra Blue
• 1/4 yard of Scheherazade in Basra Blue
• 1/2 yard of Royal City in Basra Blue
• 1/2 yard of Pearl Bracelet in Green
• 2/3 yard of Towers in Basra Blue
• 2/3 yard of Peeps in Basra Blue
• 1.5 yards of Illusion in Basra Blue

Other materials needed:

• 1.5 yards of a backing fabric (I used a coordinating Moda Cross-weave in blue)
• An approximately 60″ x 40″ piece of batting
• A 36″ wooden dowel
• 5 yards of a pom-pom fringe
• 1 yard of a rope or twine for hanging.
• Jewel-inspired embellishments (like beads, buttons, ribbon, etc.)
• Optional: you may choose to use some interfacing to add some stability to your flag.  I didn’t, but it might help it to hang straighter.

Peeps flag construction:

1. We’re going to start by making the flag front, row by row.  For the first row, cut a 2.5″ x 32.5″ strip of the Illuminate print.  While you’re at it, cut 3 – 2.5″ x 44″ strips of Royal City and 3 – 2.5″ x 44″ strips of Jewels.  You will use these to create rows 2, 3 and 4.

2. Pair each Royal City print with a Jewels print and sew the pairs together.  Press your seams (I pressed mine open).

3. Cut 9 – 4.5″ squares from each pieced strip for a total of 27 squares (you will only use 24).

4. Piece together 3 rows of 8 squares each.  The first row should be laid out as shown above.  The next row will be the same, except that the placement of the blocks will be reversed to create a stair-step effect.  Continue with that pattern for the final row of this section of the flag.  Press your seams in alternating directions.

You now have rows 1-4 of your flag.  Go ahead and sew them together.

5.  Cut a 2.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Pearl Bracelet in green.  This is row 5, and you can add it to your flag-in-process.

6. Next, we’re going to add a nice wide strip of the Towers print as row 6.  Center the print and fussy cut 2 – 6.5″ x 24″ strips.  (Note: because this print runs perpendicular to the width of the fabric, you will need to cut 2 strips running lengthwise from your cut of fabric and piece them together.)

Sew these two strips together along the 6.5″ edge.  If you’re careful, you can piece your two strips together in a way that the seam is not too noticeable.  I think I did an OK job!  Trim your pieced strip down to 6.5″ x 32.5″.  Add it to the bottom of the flag.

7.  Row 7 of your flag will simply be a 2.5″ x 32.5″ strip of the Illusion print.  Go ahead and cut that strip and sew it below your Towers strip as the next strip of your flag.

8. Now we’re going to add 2 rows of large flying geese units (rows 8 & 9 of the flag front).  The flying geese units will measure 4.5″ x 8.5″ each, and we’ll be using the Peeps and Illusion prints.  From each of these two prints, cut 4 – 4.5″ x 8.5″ rectangles and 8 – 4.5″ squares.  Lay a 4.5″ square of the Peeps atop a 4.5″ x 8.5″ Illusion rectangle, and be sure your print is facing the right way (see above).  Sew a seam from the top left corner of your Peeps square to the bottom left corner.  Trim away the excess corner fabric 1/4″ away from the seam, and press open.  Repeat on the other side.

Make a total of 4 flying geese units that pair the Illusion rectangles with the Peeps squares, and 4 units that pair the Peeps rectangles with the Illusion squares.

Piece together your two rows with the geese flying downward.  The row where you used the large Illusion rectangles will be row 8, and the row with the large Peeps rectangles will be row 9.  Sew these two rows together — you’ll see that when you do, they creates a zig-zag effect.  Now add this section to your flag.

9. You’re done with the top unit of your flag front. Trim it down to be 32.5″ square.  If you need to square it up to a smaller size, like 32″ or 31.5″, that’s OK too.  The actual size isn’t important, as long as you square it up.

10. Now let’s make the bottom (pointy) section of the flag front.  Cut and piece together the following strips in this order:

• 2.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Illusion (Note: for all strips in the section, adjust the length of the strip to whatever measurement you squared your top section to in the step above.)
• 4.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Pearl Bracelet
• 8.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Peeps
• 3.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Scheherazade
• 6.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Illuminate
• 6.5″ x 32.5″ strip of Royal City

11. Fold your pieced bottom section in half along the 32.5″ side and press gently to give a nice crease running vertically down the middle of your section.  This will mark the center point of this section.  With your rotary cutter and ruler, make a cut from the top right corner to the center point on the bottom.  Repeat by making another cut from the top left corner to the center point on the bottom.  Sew the top (long) edge of this section to the bottom of your first section, and you now have your completed flag front!

Put it aside while we take care of a few other items …

12. It’s time to make some hanging tabs. Start by cutting three 8″ squares from your Pearl Bracelet fabric.

Fold each square in half and finger press the crease, giving you a nice center guideline on your square.  Fold one side of the square so that the unfinished edge aligns with that center crease.  Press well.  Repeat on the opposite side of the square.

Topstitch a seam along each side of the tab.  This will ensure that raw edges are not exposed.  Repeat for all 3 Pearl Bracelet squares.

Fold your three tabs in half and press well.  Put these aside.

13. Want to add a secret pocket to store all of your treasures?  Using the bottom (pointy) part of your flag as a guide, cut 2 pieces from the Illusion fabric the same size and shape as the flag’s bottom portion.  With one piece, fold the top (long) edge down 1/4″ to the wrong side and press, and then fold down another 1/4″ and press again.  Repeat with the other piece.  With wrong sides together, sew the two pieces together along the (now folded) top edge.  I actually ran two seams along this piece, both for stability and because I liked the look of it.  All other edges can stay raw, since they’ll be sewn into the seam allowance of your final flag.

14.  Using your entire flag front as a template, cut a back for your flag from the backing fabric.  Mine came up just a bit short on the pointy end, so I just took a scrap from the side and added it to the bottom.  It doesn’t matter if it’s pieced — first off, because it’s the back, but secondly because the seam will also be hidden by your secret pocket.

15. Now it’s time to put it all together!  Layer your pieces in this order (note: order is important!):

• Quilt batting goes on the bottom.
• Next, position your backing fabric on top of the batting.  Trim away excess batting.  (Note: if not using a solid, be sure it’s laid down with right side up.)
• Lay your pocket on top of the backing, aligning the bottom point and ensure the finished (sewn) edge runs across the top.
• Position your three hanging tabs along the time, aligning the raw (unfinished) edge of your tabs with the top of the flag.  Note positioning in the photo above.  The folded edge should be facing the interior of the flag.
• Align your pom-pom fringe along the edges, with the pom-poms facing the interior of the flag.

16. Carefully lay your flag top as the uppermost layer, right side down.  Basically, we’ve just made a quilt sandwich, but this sandwich has a lot of ingredients!  Pin around all of the edges, being careful to catch ALL layers at each section of the flag (backing, batting, pocket, hanging tabs, and pom-pom fringe).  Pin, pin, and pin some more.

Sew around the entire flag, leaving about a 6″ opening for turning.  I left the space between the center hanging tab and one of the side tabs open.  Backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam for stability.

Turn this mutha’ out!  Pull the entire flag through the opening at the top, ensuring that all of your layers are where they’re supposed to me.  Push out all of the corners.  Close your top opening  I ran a short topstitched seam along the opening with my machine, though you could also close it by hand for a more seamless look.

(Note: you can choose to quilt your flag at this point, though I didn’t.)

17. Finally, add your accessories, peeps! Embellish your flag with beads, buttons, ribbons, or any other wares.  Slip the dowel through the hanging tabs and tie your hanging twine to both sides.

Hey, how did those peeps get in there?!

We hope you enjoy making some Peeps Flags!  Just think of the many different variations you can make to this pattern — the possibilities are endless!  If you make a Peeps Flag, we’d LOVE to see it.  Please add it to our Flickr group, and let your peeps flag fly!

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Thanks for checking out our 1001 Peeps Summer Camp project.  Lizzy House has generously offered up a giveaway prize — including her brand new book, 1001 Peeps: Five Magical Projects, as well as a 1001 Peeps fabric bundle — to a lucky Fat Quarterly reader.  Simply leave a comment on this post and we’ll announce our winner before camp wraps up for the summer.

Edited to add: Comments are now closed.  Thanks for playing along!

Be sure not to miss a single 1001 Peeps Summer Camp project.  Visit all of the counselors via the links below:

June 17: Sew Mama Sew <— Now live!

June 24: Alexia Abegg <— Now live!

July 1: Lemon Cadet <— Now live!

July 8: Fat Quarterly <— (you are here!)

July 15: Quilt Asylum

July 22:  Ms McPorkchop Quilts

July 29: Flax and Twine

August 5: Heather from House of a la Mode

August 12:  Make Something

August 19: Whipstitch

August 26: Happy Zombie