Fabric Choices for Kisses from Norway
One of the questions I get asked most often is which fabrics I've used in my quilts. So here's a closer look at the fabrics I chose for my Kisses from Norway cover quilt!
A little bit of color, a little bit of Norway
For this quilt, I used fabrics from 1-800-Calico by Ruby Star Society, released in October 2026.
I went with a palette of black, turquoise, and cream, with lots of tiny floral prints. The fabrics have little pops of pink and orange throughout, so I decided to pick up one of those colors for the binding. I found a matching fabric in my stash, and it adds a fun little pop of color!
One thing I particularly love about these prints is how some of the flowers remind me of the embroidery on traditional Norwegian folk costumes, called bunads. My own bunad, from the Sunnmøre region in Northwestern Norway, has a black background with floral embroidery in shades of red and burgundy, among other colors.
Since Kisses from Norway was inspired by traditional Norwegian knitting patterns, I thought that was another rather lovely connection to Norwegian crafts!
The fabrics I used
All six fabrics for the quilt top are from Ruby Star Society's 1-800-Calico collection:
- Mini Dot in Black on Natural (RS4102 20)
- Sprout in Black (RS4103 29)
- Tulips in Natural (RS4169 11)
- Tulips in Storytime (RS4169 15)
- Bandana in Saltwater (RS4170 15)
- Bouquet in Black (RS4171 16)
For the backing, I didn't have enough fabric from the 1-800-Calico collection, so I found a lovely match from an earlier Ruby Star Society collection, Mystic Fable. The backing fabric is Sweetflower in Soft Black (RS4151 18), and I think it works beautifully with the little floral prints on the front!
For the binding, I wanted to pick up some of the brighter tones from the flowers. I didn't have any of the many nice ones from 1-800-calico, so I went with the pink print Persimmons in Hibiscus from the Persimmon line, also by Ruby Star.
A little adventure in quilting!
This time, I decided to quilt the quilt myself, with straight lines on my Bernina 750 QE. I've often used white thread for quilting, because I often use low volumes for the background. But this time I felt like being a little more adventurous!
Instead of using the same thread color throughout the quilt, I decided to match the top thread to the background color of each horizontal strip. That way, the quilting blends in with the fabrics and follows the striped design of the quilt. The bobbin thread on the back is black, like the backing fabric.
A little tip if you want to try something similar: When using different colors for your top and bobbin threads, make sure to check your thread tension first! If the tension isn't quite right, you might end up with tiny dots of the contrasting thread showing through on the other side. A quick test on a quilt sandwich made from scraps is always a good idea.
This time, my quilting turned out FAR from perfect, with quite a bit of puckering. It was a nice reminder that both my brain, my calendar and my shoulders are happiest when I give my money to a longarmer instead. This time, however, I was in a bit of a hurry, the longarmer was going on a well deserved vacation, and decided to do it myself. Although I do wish it would have looked smoother for the pattern cover photo, it does also remind me of my philosophy that finished is a lot better than perfect. And I'm pretty sure that once it's washed, the crinkle will magically take over the puckering and make it cozy and nice. Because I do love a good crinkle!
Made with love – and a little label!
One more thing I have to show you from the 1-800-Calico collection is the adorable Thanks I Made This quilt label panel in Turquoise (RS4165 15)!
I'm a big fan of adding labels to quilts (although I must admit I'm not very good at it). A quilt can last for generations, and I think it's lovely to leave a little note about who made it, when it was made, and who it was made for.
This panel makes it super easy, with lots of different designs to choose from. Just pick your favorite, fill in the details, and sew it onto your quilt!
And with a pattern called Kisses from Norway, a little label like this couldn't be more fitting. Now to the hardest part: Figuring out which label to use!
Make your own Kisses from Norway!
Of course, you can use any fabrics you like for this pattern! Each fabric takes its turn as both the background and the X and O motifs, so there are endless possibilities for playing with colors and contrast. Here's a mockup I made with the upcoming Lofi Loom wovens line from Ruby Star, which I'm also itching to try:
The pattern comes in three sizes – Baby, Small Throw, and Bed – and is beginner-friendly, with strip piecing to make construction quick and easy. And like all my patterns, it's a PDF download, so you can start picking fabrics and sewing today.
