Chrysanthemum Mini Quilt PDF Pattern

Mini quilts may be small in size, but they're super fun to sew! They're a fast finish with less commitment, and every month I add a new design to my pattern family to tempt you!

Tada! The gorgeous Chrysanthemum is my new monthly mini quilt pattern, and it's just in time for Mother's Day. I wanted to add a special quilty gift to my mum's present this year, and this design was perfect - she loves her mums! Who doesn't really? The clusters of soft, spidery petals make these blooms a beautiful feature in the garden.

In Australia, Chrysanthemum's flower during May, and they're traditionally gifted to mum's on Mother's Day. When I was little, everyone would wear a white chrysanthemum on their lapels to honour their mum's, and Sunday service would be a sea of colour, as every corner of the church was decorated with vases of freshly cut chrysanthemum's.

They have that distinctive smell, kinda earthy and herb like, so as a child I didn't find them particularly appealing. Every year we would cut a bouquet of chrysanthemums and take them to our elderly neighbour next door (her family never visited) and her face would beam with excitement when we saw them. I found this odd because the roses in mum's garden smelt so much nicer than the mums - or maybe it was seeing us that made her smile! :)

Later in the day, we would pay our respects at the cemetery and place bunches on the graves of our family members. The contrast of the bright white flowers against the concrete headstones was so striking - and they were everywhere, every family left mum's at the graves on Mother's Day.

My first job was in a garden centre (part of a hardware store chain) and Mother's Day was my favorite time of year because we would line the aisles with potted Chrysanthemums, and arrange a big colourful display at the entrance of the shop. I learned to love these flowers more and appreciate their distinctive scent - they helped overpower that fertilizer smell garden centres have!

It was such a joy when children came up to the registers to purchase a potted mum for their mum. They would debate (aka argue) over which colour flower to buy, and then we'd tie a contrasting ribbon around it, to add a personal touch.

Just thinking about Chrysanthemums brings back that smell, and it makes me remember past Mother's Days, where the car boot was full of freshly cut bouquets ready to gift to family and friends. I'd wear my chrysanthemum on my coat with pride, and there was always a little sadness as it started to lose its petals during the course of the day.

Mum still grows Chrysanthemums in her garden, but now she wont have to wait until May to enjoy them - she'll be able to see and remember them with her new mini quilt.

Chrysanthemum is a paper pieced mini pattern and it finishes at around 14" square. It's a quick and easy quilt to piece, so you have plenty of time to sew one for your mum this Mother's Day (or one for yourself).

I choose a scrappy palette of blues, purples and burgundies for this quilt, and I chose this combination because it represents the favorite colours of all the wonderful mothers/nans in my life. I've included a colouring sheet in the PDF pattern, so you can play around with different combinations and find one that you love too!

The PDF pattern also includes full step by step instructions and templates, plus optional instructions for adding a hanging sleeve and corner hangers, so you can display your quilt on your mini wall.

If you would like to sew your own version of my Chrysanthemum mini quilt, then PDF patterns are now available in my Etsy shop, and from today until the end of May 2020, they are at the introductory price of $4.95 (AU) + taxes where applicable.

Simply click the link below to purchase your copy:

I hope you enjoy sewing Chrysanthemum, and I hope it adds something special to your Mother's Day too - maybe it will bring back a flood of memories like it does for me. :)

Don't forgot to tag me or use the hashtag #chrysanthemummini when you share it on social media, or send me a photo - your project may be featured in my monthly newsletter, and you could win a copy of next month's mini quilt pattern :)

Happy quilting :)