Flora and Fauna of Route 66 Design of the Month

Hi there, all you cool Pins and Needles!  It’s Melisa from Stitchology: I am a designer of raw-edge applique art quilts, and today I’d like to introduce you to my Design of the Month program. From June 2026 to February 2027 we will release a new 9″ raw edge applique block kit on the 2nd Friday of each month. This year’s theme is Flora and Fauna of Route 66 so you can expect to see designs that reflect the nature and beauty of each of the 8 states Route 66 runs through.  This will be a fun way to celebrate the Centennial anniversary of the historic highway.  After we release all 8 blocks there will be a kit to sew them into a quilt made exclusively with Riley Blake fabrics.

The blocks are available as kits or PDF downloadable patterns and once the month is over that kit will no longer be available, so you will need to be sure to check back monthly to see the new design and to grab your kit while you can!

Kits can be purchased here:

This year is exciting because you can sign up for a subscription and automatically get the blocks delivered to you each month.  You can choose to get just the blocks delivered over 8 months, or you can sign up for 9 months and the finishing kit will be shipped in February of 2027. As the finishing kit has more fabric than the blocks, the monthly fee will increase slightly to accommodate for this.

You can subscribe here:

Below is last year’s completed quilt.  The theme was Desert Daydreams and we had so much fun making the 12 blocks.

Let’s get started on our first block of the 2026/2027 series-Rustle the Cardinal!  The Cardinal is the state bird of Illinois and the Violet is the state flower.  As Route 66 starts in Chicago, this felt like the perfect starting point.

I love raw edge applique because you can achieve impressive results with minimal skill!  As long as you can use scissors and an iron you can create stunning pieces and my goal with these blocks is to make this art form more accessible.  But before we dive into the nitty gritty of how to do raw edge applique, we need to accumulate the necessary tools. 

At the very minimum you will need:  fusible webbing, pencil, fabric scissors and an iron with a steam setting. You might also find it useful to have a wool pressing mat, small iron and parchment paper (this will be covered in more depth in a future post).

My favorite tools to use are:

1. Olfa micro-serrated 5” scissors-These scissors are the perfect size to cut the smaller shapes that are common in raw edge applique, but the micro-serrated edge gives them a good grip.  Plus they are nice and sharp allowing for accurate and precise cutting. 

2. HeatNBond Light fusible webbing-Raw edge applique requires a fusible webbing to bond the fabrics together and for these smaller blocks this is my preferred brand, and the light is a great weight. HeatNBond is included if you purchase a kit.

3. Gypsy Quilter Wool Pressing Mat -While this is not a necessity, I find it helps circulate the steam allowing the fusible webbing to melt better, and it serves as a good work surface because it can carry your smaller pieces to the ironing board, or you can iron directly onto it at your worktable. You can find wool pressing mats in several sizes, but I find the 14 1/3” x 17 3/8” one to be ideal for my applique work.

Now that you have your tools ready, check back next month and I will show you the basic steps of raw edge applique and reveal the second block in the series!  If you are eager to get started, you can find a video tutorial on raw-edge applique here:

I hope you will enjoy following along on this adventure across Route 66! 

Melisa