Love with a Twist: Magic Monkey

Two Cheeky Monkeys, Jumping on the Bed….

One fell off, and popped his head…. Ooops. Hmmmm, that rhyme doesn’t work so well with balloons…. hahaha. Disturbing antics aside, I am making cheeky monkeys today. And having too much fun. One day they will even be on several someone’s beds, although hopefully minus the jumping. Our Love with a Twist quilt along is up to the balloon monkey! Yay!

Two monkeys today – one balloon monkey for my Twin size Love with a Twist quilt and the other for the Throw size. Don’t worry though, we are back to our usual “one pattern fits both quilts” scenario. This appliqué is one of my favourites from this series. The monkey just looks so happy, it’s hard not to smile back!

About the Love with a Twist Balloon Monkey Appliqué Block

Today’s Magic Monkey balloon appliqué is the first option for Block 7 of the throw size versions of Love with a Twist. Of course, you will also need to collect Magic Monkey if you are making the full twin-size quilt. Block 7A sits to the bottom right corner of the LOVE centre block on the throw quilt, and directly above the giraffe on the left side of the twin quilt.

Things to remember as you sew along with Love with a Twist

• There are two throw versions of this quilt, which can be re-mixed into a twin size quilt. The instructions to cut and construct the throw quilts can be found here and for the twin quilt, here.
• Today’s Magic Monkey is Block 7A of Love with a Twist, and our seventeenth download to date. It can be interchanged with Block 7B when it arrives, which will be an owl.
• We have also already had the Dippy Dog and Pretty Poodle blocks in January. The Lasting Love and Pretty Pig in February. The Kuddly Koala and Graceful Glider swan in March. The Toddling Turtle and Bonny Butterfly in April. The Responsible Rabbit bonus, the Rascally Rabbit and the Fabulous Fish blocks in May. The Qwazy Quacker duck and Jolly Jumper frog in June. And the Wonder Wader flamingo and two Nifty Neck giraffes in July.
• The appliqué templates provided are drawn in red lines and black lines. If you are doing raw-edge appliqué, ignore the line colours and simply work with the shapes supplied. If you want to do turned-edge appliqué, you will need to add a seam allowance to the black edges only. The red edges are where the shapes overlap and extra fabric allowance has already been added.

Download your Magic Monkey balloon pdf pattern here

The cheeky balloon monkey appliqué pattern can be downloaded here. Clicking on the balloon monkey appliqué picture directly below will download in a new tab. Using the red button will open the pdf right here under your nose.

**** It is really important that you print this pdf at 100%, otherwise your pattern pieces will be the wrong size for the quilt blocks. Turn off any “fit to page” options in your printer dialog and ensure that the printout size is set to 100%. There are check boxes supplied in the document. If your printout is successful, these will measure 1″ square. The document is designed to fit on US Letter and A4 paper. ****

What you will need to make the (raw-edge appliqué) Magic Monkey block:

If you have not pre-constructed your quilt top, you will need background fabric for your appliqué:

• If you are making Block 7A for the throw size quit you will need a background fabric piece of 13″ x 20″. This measurement does not include any trimming allowance.
• To make Block 7A for the twin size quilt you will need a background fabric piece of 13″ x 18.5″. Again, this measurement does not include any trimming allowance.
• So, if you use a piece of fabric 14″ x 21″ or larger, you will keep your options open and have a small trimming allowance 🙂

You will also need:

• one main fabric for the monkey’s body, approx. 10.5″ x 10.5″, and a second fabric for the stick to which he clings (9″ x 4″). My first monkey was made from Island Batik fabrics from the Ditty collection, given to me by Island Batik.
• scraps of white, pink and black fabrics for the mouth, nose and eyes
• fusible paper-backed fabric adhesive , approx. 11″ x 15″
• thin batting for trapunto or your favourite stabiliser for stitching (optional)
• general tools and notions: sewing machine, iron etc, teflon ironing sheet or non-stick paper, small sharp scissors, pencil, quilting pins, grease-proof/tracing paper, machine embroidery or sewing threads for appliqué and embroidery

How to put together the Monkey Balloon Appliqué

Trace your appliqué shapes directly onto the backing paper of your fusible adhesive. Fuse the shapes to the back of your fabric, according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Then cut out each shape and remove the backing papers. They go together as follows:

Step 1

Assemble the 3-page layout diagram supplied and cover with an ironing sheet/non-stick paper. This is slightly more involved than normal… the easiest way to do this is to cut the second sheet along the dotted lines and tape the pieces together as shown.

Step 2

Position appliqué pieces M1, M2, M5, M7 and M8 in place and secure them temporarily by touching them briefly with the tip of a hot iron (or tack down with a small appliqué iron).

Step 3

Add pieces M3, M4, M6 and M9.

Step 4

Add one M11 piece to complete the top arm and also put into place the tail piece M10.

Step 5

Add the lower arm M11, and the chin M12. Overlay the mouth M13 over M12.

Step 6

Finish off the main part of the balloon monkey with M14.

Step 7

Add the cheeky with some facial features: a nose and two innocent eyes….

You’d trust this face, right?!

Right…..

Use tracing paper to mark the positions of the crease lines in the ears as described in the tutorial for the balloon poodle (step 6) if you need help getting them into place.

Step 8

Give your appliqué a thorough pressing and transfer to your background fabric. If you are fusing to the Twin quilt, you will need to shorten the branch balloon to the edge of the block (left hand photo below). If you are making the Throw quilt, use your appliqué with the whole branch (right hand photo below).

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Stitch your appliqué monkey down using your favourite method. The samples I have shown use free-motion straight stitching over a low-loft polyester batting. I layer my appliqué over the polyester batting and secure with quilting pins. Then I stitch around my shapes 5-6 times to secure them thoroughly. And finish by removing the excess batting with curved blade scissors/snips.

Have you started your Love with a Twist quilt yet?

The Block A Throw quilt has only two appliqués left to go. We are still on track to have all the appliqués done by November – so a quilt gift for Christmas is still a very realistic proposition. I am so pleased with how much fun this pattern is turning out to be. 😀

Share your Love with a Twist blocks with me! You can fill the Chameleon and me with joy by sharing your Love with a Twist blocks via email, or on Instagram (mention @cleverchameleon or tag #lovewithatwistquilt). Or by posting on my Clever Chameleon Facebook page. Or by adding your beautiful work to the Chameleon’s Colour & Inspiration party right here on any Tuesday.

Hope to hear from you soon!

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The Chameleon turns rainbow with pleasure when he hears from you. I am more reserved, so I will respond in gratitude by email instead. Now that it’s your turn…. Scroll right to the end, leave me a comment and tell me, what do you think? Thanks for connecting!

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