“BABY SNAKES” QUILT ADAPTATION, WITH

TRIANGLES ON A ROLL™

There have been many requests for a pattern for the small quilt of comic juvenile snakes which we have shown for several years.  The real, original pattern is “Snoozin With Snakes” designed by Judy Walker Mead of Lansing, Michigan, which I found published by Leisure Arts in Quick Quilts From the Heart, Liz Porter and Marianne Fons. Copyright 1994.

The darling design tickled the fancy of this grandmother, but since my mind operates from the perspective of Triangles on a Roll, I immediately translated the design from right angle triangles to half-square triangles!  I was soon sewing and cutting “snake parts” in my product demonstrations.  I used 3” Finished Square Half Square Triangles on a Roll™ paper, and I put together a few small snakes just to give the idea to my audiences.  They were so cute!

I next decided that, while the bed size quilt was very attractive, I really wanted a “play” quilt that my small grandson could drag around and curl up with….so, I connected eight small snakes (each made of twenty half square triangles and two blocks of background fabric).  Then I added a contrasting border for their little heads to rest on.  And, oh yeah, as a desert dweller who has seen a few, I decided that the snake head should be more elongated in appearance.  I trimmed away two sides of the 6” hexagon head shape. Then, always in a hurry, I constructed eyeballs by using my machine to appliqué larger black felt irises onto white fleece, then used a diminishing zigzag stitch in a variety of colors to make elongated pupils for the eyes.  I trimmed those out and machine zigged them onto the snake faces.  Some variety in the placement and size of that pupil gives the snakes individual personalities!

The pattern tells you how to cut two hexagons for each snake head, sew with right sides together and a layer of batting or fleece, turn and whip-stitch to attach the head to a half-square triangle side at one end of the snake so that it is 3-D.  I chose to arrange my little snakes heading in opposite directions.    

 Finished Size =  42” by 57”

Materials:

• Triangles on a Roll_™ paper -- 3” Finished Size Half Square Triangle paper. 
• Fabrics in a variety of bright prints to make 8 snakes.  Each snake needs a piece 8” wide by 19 1/2” long to make the half square triangles and a piece 6” by 12” (min) to cut out the head pieces. A quarter yard cut or a fat quarter works for one snake.
• Background fabric for little snakes: 1 yard
• For eyes:  Squares of white and black (or dark) felt, or white fleece and dark felt or ultra suede.  A collection of colored machine embroidery threads for the pupils.
• Border fabric: five cuts, 4 1/2” wide= 5/8 yard (could be same as background fabric, also)
• Backing: 2 1/2 yards

The snake head pattern is available.  It requires Adobe Acrobat which is installed on all recent versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.   A free, downloadable version of Adobe Acrobat is also avaialbe at www.adobe.com.

To request the snake head pattern, please click this link to send an e-mail.   We will send the pattern to you as soon as possible.