The cats in our quilt have button eyes. If your quilt is intended for a young child, we suggest substituting fabric patches for the buttons as a safer alternative.

Choosing Your Fabrics

For high contrast, use a variety of black and orange prints for this scary Halloween quilt--or trade in the bats for mice and make the mellow version shown in the "Let's Play Cat and Mouse!" option at the end of this article.

Notice that both borders in Cats and Bats and Cat and Mouse use directional fabrics. If you want the print to read the same, cut the top and bottom strips lengthwise or crosswise, depending on the direction of your print. Cut the side border strips in the opposite direction. As you cut and sew the background patches for the bats (or mice), check that the prints also face in the same direction.

Cutting the Pieces

Use the following diagrams as a guide for rotary cutting your pattern pieces. Align arrows with the lengthwise or crosswise grain of the fabric. Check the yardage box for fabric color guidelines.

Rotary cut a 2 1/2" square, then trim a 1 1/8" triangle from the upper right corner.
		Rotary cut a 1 7/8" square, then cut squares in half diagonally to form two triangles.

Making the Blocks

Make 4 bat blocks. Bat Block V Piecing Make 4
		Make 1 each of cat block W, X, Y and Z. Cat Block W Piecing Make 1 Cat Block X Piecing Make 1 Cat Block Y Piecing Make 1 Cat Block Z Piecing Make 1
		Cats in our wall quilt have button eyes. If the quilt is for a young child, we suggest substituting fabric patches in place of button eyes for safety's sake. If you wish to do this, see the tip Sensational Circles for preparing small circular patches for appliqué. You'll need 8 I patches for the bats' eyes and 8 I's and 8 J's for the cats' eyes. Appliqué the patches in place and satin stitch the centers of the J patches. Satin Stitch Add 3/16" turn-under allowances to patches I & J.

Assembling the Quilt

Join G patches and the cat blocks to make 2 rows as shown. Alternating types, join the sashes and the rows of cats.

Sew an inner border strip to each side of the quilt. Sew a bat block to each end of the remaining inner border strips. Sew these to the top and bottom of the quilt.

For squared outer borders, first sew the shorter strips to the sides and trim excess border fabric. Join the longer strips to the top and bottom and trim again.

Quilt Assembly

Quilting

Layer the lining, batting and quilt top. Baste the layers together.

Quilt the cat block patches and around the bats in the ditch. Outline quilt the G patches and the sashes. Quilt the inner border 1" in from the long seam line.

Finishing the Quilt

Join the binding strips end to end and sew to the quilt to enclose the edges.

If you're using buttons for eyes, sew the 1/2" buttons in place for the bats' eyes. Stack and sew the 1/2" and 7/8" buttons in place for the cats' eyes. For each cat's whiskers, cut a piece of yarn 4" long. Separate the strands. Tack the strands in place, knotting the thread at the back of the quilt. Repeat for all the cats. Sew a sleeve to the lining for hanging.

Let's Play Cat and Mouse!

For a whimsical year-round quilt, change the Halloween blacks and oranges to soft pastels and change the bats to mice.

Mouse Block Piecing
Make 4