Sometimes a quilt starts with a pair of mittens.
Knitty leaves grew out of a Selbu-inspired mitten I designed and knitted a couple of years ago. Those leaf shapes just begged to become patchwork. I pulled out the mittens and built a fabric palette from my stash that echoes their cozy, woolly vibe.
The inspiration + the palette
First, the spark: a photo of the mittens. Norwegian Selbu knits are traditionally in two colors, most often white and black. My mittens are knitted in white and brown, but i wanted the quilt to be a tribute to the turning leaves of fall. So I pulled Ruby Star Society fabrics in a soft ombré/gradient that walks from red with pink accents → deep red → dark orange/cognac → mustard → pale lilac. It’s warm and a little nostalgic, and I think the lilac and pink accents add a little interest.
I’m a huge Ruby Star fan – especially how easily prints from different collections play together. You can mix scales, textures, and colorways and it just… sings.
The Ruby Star lineup (designers included)
Here are the collections in my cover quilt pull, with SKUs and designer credits, from dark to light:
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Sugar Maple (RS4093-13) – Alexia Marcelle Abegg
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Sugar Maple (RS4092-16) – Alexia Marcelle Abegg
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Starry (basic) (RS4109-51) – Alexia Marcelle Abegg
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Sugar Maple (4091-13) – Alexia Marcelle Abegg
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Warp & Weft (wovens) (RS4010-13) – Alexia Marcelle Abegg
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Curio (RS-0066-13M) – Melody Miller
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Heirloom (RS4027-14) – Alexia Marcelle Abegg
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Bird is the Word (RS3079-13) – Kimberly Kight
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Verbena (RS6037-13) – Jen Hewett
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Carousel (RS0100-11) – Melody Miller
A tiny detail I’m obsessed with
I’m loving the polka-dot effect made by those tiny red mushrooms in the background—Carousel by Melody Miller. They sprinkle the top with a playful dotted texture without fighting the leaves.
Why this mix works
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Scale play: dainty dots and mushrooms act as blenders; larger florals and geometrics become little feature moments.
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Texture shift: Warp & Weft wovens add a soft, tactile break among printed cottons.
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Cohesive color story: staying inside one warm-to-cool corridor (red → mustard → lilac) keeps the scrappy look intentional.
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Repetition: Also, it’s great how the base colors in some of the prints are repeated as details in other prints! It just keeps it all cohesive and makes the gradient even smoother.
Make your own gradient
If you’re stash-shopping, try pulling 9 fabrics that step through your chosen color path. Lay them in order and swap until the transitions feel smooth. Choose a background fabric that makes your gradient stand out.
About the pattern
Knitty leaves comes in three sizes, is fat-quarter friendly, web-pieced, and comes with instructions for both a two-color version and an ombré version like my cover quilt. It’s beginner-friendly, but satisfying for seasoned quilters who love a crisp, graphic finish.
Knitty leaves is available in my shop now!
