One distinctive characteristic of Hawaiian quilts is that they are radially symmetrical to the eighth. What does that mean?? It means that if you draw lines on a Hawaiian quilt design through the center from top to bottom, side to side, and corner to corner what you see in each of the eight triangular segments will be nearly identical mirror images. The Angel's Trumpet quilt makes this very easy to visualize with its strong stems radiating from the center in all eight directions. While not all Hawaiian quilts have these strong diagonal design lines (take for example our Sea Turtles & Dolphins quilt) it is still true that nearly all Hawaiian designs have eight, radially symmetrical segments.

It is this radial symmetry that makes Hawaiian quilt designs look very complicated, while at the same time it is what makes them very easy to cut out. Just like those paper snowflakes you made as a kid. Fold the applique fabric in half three times. (The right way of course! Clear diagrams are in every pattern.) Then you cut just 1/8th of the design and methodically lay out the applique following the pattern's instructions. If you think it is too hard to cut through 8 layers of fabric, take a large scrap of fabric, fold it in half 3 times, so you have 8 layers and then take your best shears and make some cuts. True, it is a little more effort than cutting 2 or 3 layers, but you will see it is not as difficult as you might have imagined. Great Shears make this an easy process (check out the shears we sell on our notions page).

84" x 84" is the minimum size for the Angel's Trumpet quilt. You can make your quilt larger than that by simply preparing your applique fabric to be as large as you want your quilt.