Michael Miller Fabrics Arashiyama - Downloadable PDF

Arashiyama Quilt Pattern by Natalie Crabtree for Michael Miller Fabrics

The Arashiyama is a stunning 76" x 74" quilt top designed by Natalie Crabtree and published as a free downloadable PDF pattern by Michael Miller Fabrics. Rated intermediate in difficulty, this quilt draws its name and inspiration from the iconic bamboo groves of Arashiyama, Japan, and is specifically designed to showcase the Golden Bamboo Batiks fabric collection by Michael Miller Fabrics. The finished piece is a generously sized throw or bed quilt that makes a bold, nature-inspired statement.

Fabrics and Materials

This pattern is built around a carefully curated palette of seven distinct fabrics, combining solid-style and batik prints from the Michael Miller Fabrics range. The full fabric requirements are as follows:

• Fabric A – Krystal K1257: 3 5/8 yards — the primary background or dominant fabric in the design
• Fabric B – Krystal K4296: 1 yard
• Fabric C – BTM8515 Cobalt: 1 yard — from the Golden Bamboo Batiks collection
• Fabric D – BTM8515 Slate: 1 1/4 yards — from the Golden Bamboo Batiks collection
• Fabric E – BTM8515 Sangria: 1/2 yard — from the Golden Bamboo Batiks collection
• Fabric F – BTM8515 Midnite: 3/8 yard — from the Golden Bamboo Batiks collection
• Fabric G – BTM8515 Emerald: 3/4 yard — from the Golden Bamboo Batiks collection

In addition to the quilt top fabrics, the pattern calls for 4 5/8 yards of backing fabric and an 82" x 80" piece of batting, providing several inches of ease on all sides for quilting and finishing. The rich, jewel-toned batik colorway — featuring cobalt, slate, sangria, midnight, and emerald — evokes the lush, layered greens and deep shadows of a bamboo forest.

Additional Supplies

• Basic sewing supplies including scissors, a rotary cutter, and a cutting mat
• Pins for precise fabric alignment
Basting glue for securing layers before quilting
• Fusible web for appliqué elements within the design

Techniques and Construction Methods

As an intermediate-level pattern, Arashiyama incorporates a combination of traditional quilting piecing techniques alongside appliqué work, making it an excellent project for quilters who are comfortable with the basics and ready to expand their skills.

Piecing Techniques

• Half Square Triangles (HST): Referenced directly in the pattern's key abbreviations, HSTs are a foundational quilting unit created by sewing two contrasting fabric squares together diagonally and trimming to yield two mirror-image triangle units. They are commonly used to create dynamic, angled designs and geometric movement within a quilt top.
• Precise cutting: The pattern uses both Width of Fabric (WOF) and Length of Fabric (LOF) measurements, indicating that cutting direction matters for maintaining print alignment and fabric efficiency — particularly important when working with directional batik prints.
• Block construction and assembly: Intermediate-level quilts typically involve multiple block types that are assembled in a specific sequence to achieve the overall design, requiring careful attention to orientation and pressing.

Appliqué

The inclusion of fusible web in the supply list indicates that the Arashiyama pattern incorporates fusible appliqué — a technique where fabric shapes are backed with a heat-activated adhesive web, then pressed onto the quilt top