Did you know that otters do hold hands while floating in their sleep so they don’t drift away from each other.  Otters are also one of the few animals that mate for life. Once I found those two facts out I knew I had to make my otter quilt themed on never letting go. Which eventually turned into it’s name Don’t Let Go.

I have been working on this quilt and pattern for about 9 months now and I am so excited to say it’s released into the world for you all to make.  It is a straight forward pattern with diagrams for each step, simple construction techniques, and sews up satisfyingly fast.

It started with a sketch on graph paper of a Manatee of all creatures.

I mocked Mr. Manatee up on graph paper after sketching up an inital sketch as shown above. He was relatively easy to piece and figure out until I got to the dreaded bow tie. I’m not a big applique fan, I will do it if a pattern calls for it but I won’t do large amounts of it, and it better be needle turned applique. ;) personal preference you know. So that made me want to piece the bow tie which added a lot of hassle.

While Mr. Manatee turned out super great I stalled in producing a pattern for him because of that darn bow tie. Also this sample measures roughly 36″ tall so not an easy quilt size, so multiple sizes would have to be made and it all seemed daunting. So Mr. Manatee hangs on my wall like this still today waiting for his debut. Which will come.

So I turned back to my sketches, and I had sketched this guy up at the same time. I decided to flesh him out a bit more and I started looking up otters online for a visual and started graphing him out and mocking up the pattern.

Once I had the graph paper version I mocked it up in EQ7 (Electric Quilt 7) and the pattern really came to life and started to look and feel like something.  I am still very much a novice when it comes to EQ7, but it is a great tool. The quilts I have mocked up that are a single block repeated have been so much fun to do and play with. I’m sure once I get better at the program quilts like my otters will also become more enjoyable.  ;)

I made a few otters prior to the finished quilt as I tweaked the paw and feet construction from my initial design to simplify it.  I think my final product turn out so cute and I am thrilled to have it out in the world for others to make. You can purchase the Don’t Let Go Pattern in both my Etsy and Craftsy Shops and download immediately for instant gratification.

I backed my quilt in this most amazing sea otter fabric by Laurie Wisbrun. She designed the cutest Otterific fabric in two colorways and it is just the perfect addition to my quilt.

These two quilts are some gorgeous examples of my quilt made by some great friends who agreed to pattern test for me.

Kayla, StitchKaylaStitch, made this adorable version on a white background that she did a giveaway with on her Instagram.  I love the quilting and seeing it with a non blue background.

This beautiful version was made by Jennifer Johnston, jenjohnston80, and was gifted to her 3 yr old niece who dubbed it her favorite otter quilt. I love seeing a version with matching otters.

Purchase your own Downloadable PDF copy of the pattern on Craftsy or Etsy and get started right away. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #dontletgoquilt so I can see your wonderful versions of the quilt.

Thanks for stopping by!