Orange Peel Quilt Tutorial: Jenny Doan's Easy Appliqué Method with Charm Packs

🧵 4 packs of 5-inch squares (charm packs) — prints — Jenny used Bluebell by Nancy Gere for Windham. These become your orange peel shapes. Shop charm packs.

🧵 4 packs of 5-inch squares — solids (background) — These are the background squares your peels will be fused onto. Choose a contrasting solid. Shop charm packs.

📐 Circle Magic Plus template — This special football-shaped template is the key to cutting perfect peel shapes. Shop rulers & templates.

🪡 Fusible interfacing (lightweight, one-sided) — about 8 yards. This creates the perfectly shaped appliqué pieces.

✂️ Rotary cutter, ruler & cutting mat — Shop rotary cutters.

🪡 Sewing machine with a ¼-inch presser foot

📌 Pins — Shop pins & clips.

🔥 Iron and pressing board — for fusing the interfacing

Step 1: Cut Your Orange Peel Shapes

Take your printed 5-inch charm squares (you can stack and cut 2–3 at a time) and place your Circle Magic Plus template diagonally across each square. The template is shaped like a football — wider in the middle, pointed at the ends. Cut around the template with your rotary cutter to create your peel shapes.

You'll need one peel shape from each printed charm square. Set aside any leftover scraps for another project.

Step 2: Pair Peels with Interfacing

Cut your fusible interfacing into pieces roughly the same size as your peel shapes (you can use the template for this too). Place a peel shape and an interfacing piece right sides together — that means the fusible (bumpy/shiny) side of the interfacing should face the right side of your fabric.

You'll be sewing these together next, then turning them right side out to get a perfectly finished edge on your peel shape.

Jenny pairs each peel shape with lightweight fusible interfacing

Step 3: Sew Around the Edge and Turn

With your peel and interfacing right sides together, sew a ¼-inch seam all the way around the outside edge of the football shape. You're completely enclosing the shape in stitching.

Now here's the clever part: cut a small slit in the interfacing only (not the fabric!) and turn the whole thing right side out through the slit. Use a point turner or your finger to smooth out the curves. The interfacing is now on the inside, and you have a perfectly shaped peel with beautifully finished edges — no raw curves anywhere.

Step 4: Fuse Peels onto Background Squares

Take your solid background charm squares and center a peel shape on each one, placing it diagonally. The fusible side of the interfacing (now inside the peel) faces down toward the background fabric. Press with a hot iron to fuse the peel in place.

The interfacing bonds the peel to the background square — no pins needed, no shifting during stitching. Make sure each peel is centered so the points reach toward the corners of the background square.

Press to fuse — the interfacing bonds the peel perfectly in place

Step 5: Stitch Around the Peels

With your peels fused in place, run a decorative or straight stitch around the edge of each peel to secure it permanently. You can use a blanket stitch, zigzag stitch, or simple straight stitch about ⅛ inch from the edge. Choose a thread color that complements your fabrics — or go bold with a contrasting color for extra visual interest.

This stitching not only secures the appliqué but also adds a beautiful finished detail to each block.

Step 6: Arrange and Sew Blocks Together

Lay out your completed blocks on a design wall or flat surface. Each block has a peel running diagonally — when you place blocks side by side, the peels from adjacent blocks create the interlocking orange peel pattern. Play with the arrangement until you love the flow of colors.

Sew blocks into rows with a ¼-inch seam, then sew the rows together. Press seams in alternating directions for nice flat seams.

Step 7: Add Borders, Quilt, and Bind

Add a border to frame your quilt — a simple solid border works beautifully and lets the orange peel pattern take center stage. Layer with batting and backing, quilt as desired (stippling or straight-line quilting both look gorgeous), and finish with binding.

Step back and admire your work — you just made a curved appliqué quilt without sewing a single curved seam!

🎯 Choose high-contrast fabrics: The orange peel pattern shines when there's strong contrast between the peel shapes and the background. Bold prints on a light solid (or vice versa) create the most impact.

📏 Center your peels carefully: Take a moment to position each peel so it's truly centered diagonally on the background square. This ensures the interlocking pattern lines up across the quilt.

🔥 Press firmly when fusing: Hold your iron in place for 8–10 seconds on each section. The fusible interfacing needs good heat and pressure to bond properly. Test on a scrap first.

✂️ Cut the interfacing slit carefully: When cutting the slit to turn your peel right side out, only cut through the interfacing — if you nick the fabric, you'll have a hole in your peel.

🧵 Try different stitch styles: A blanket stitch gives a folk-art feel, while a tiny zigzag creates a more finished look. Experiment on a test block to find what you like best.

The finished Orange Peel Quilt Block — curves without curved piecing!