The Orange Peel block goes back to at least 1880. Legend has it that Lafayette peeled an orange into four equal segments, in the fashion of the aristocratic French. A lady was so charmed that she designed a quilt block representing the segments. The Virginia Quilt Museum says that only yellow or orange quilts are called “orange peel”. Other colors are designated as “Rob Peter to Pay Paul”. Do you think I should rename the quilt? 🤣🤣

I thought I’d show you the steps to create a single block. I bought yardage for this quilt and so I cut a bunch of 5” squares. Next I use a plastic template to cut out the fusible interfacing in the shape of the peel. I take the blue patterned fabric and sew one fusible peel to the 5” block. I trim the block around the peel and turn it inside out. Now iron the gummed side of the peel onto the pale blue 5” block. Now machine appliqué the peel around the edges (using the blanket stitch) so it it permanently attached.

Repeat many times. I estimate I’ll need around 100 blocks to create a 40” x 40” quilt.