needyl
knitting, among other things
Fulfilling Your Pattern Needs
Shawl or scarf with lace edge,$5
Monster Baby Booties
Dine & Dashing Hat & Scarf
All sales go to Harvester's Food Bank, $4
Fat Quarter Baby Quilt Pattern
Published by Shana | Filed under Free, Patterns, Quilting
I’ve been working on this quilt off and on for months. I fought the urge to completely scrap it and start over a couple times, and I’m glad I did. Below is how I made it. It’s more of guidelines rather than a pattern, so feel free to ask if you have questions.
Lots of color
Finished size
44.5″ x 52″ – I tend to make baby quilts larger than crib size, since the babies are only crib size for less than two years. I like to give them things they’ll be staining for years.
Supplies
Piecing
- Six fat quarters – I used batiks in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet
- 1 yard sashing fabric (white). You might want to get a little extra, to be safe.
- 1/3rd yard border fabric (red)
- Thread and other common quilting notions
Finishing
- 1/2 yard – Binding – I used the same fabric as the backing.
- 1.5 yards 56″ fabric – Backing – I used a solid red.
- 48″ x 56″ Batting
Cutting
Cut each of the fat quarts into strips that vary between 1″ and 2.5″ at their thickest and thinnest.
Vary how dramatically the strips taper to add variety.
Divide each color into thirds. Sew the strips back together, alternating one third with the color prior in the spectrum, one third with the color after, and one third with itself. Continue to sew them together, pressing the seams open, until you have one long strip of fabric.
Final length varies based upon how thick you cut the strips, but should be approximately 64″ x 20″
- Cut this reconstructed piece of fabric into 5″ strips, cutting the same directions as the seams.
- Cut each of those strips into pieces that are 2.5″x5″
- From those, select 22 and cut them in half to make 44 2.5″ squares – C1
- You will need 60 5″ x 2.5″ blocks. You should have extras. – C2
From the sashing fabric, cut
- 40 – 1.5″ x 2.5″ – S1
- 55 – 1.5″ x 5″ – S2
- 8 – 1.75″ x 2.5″ – S3
- 10 – 2″ x 35.5″ – S4
- 2 – 2″ x 46″ (if you use standard 42″ width fabric, you’ll need to piece these) – S5
From border fabric, cut
- 2 – 3.5″ x 38.5″
- 2 – 3.5″ x 40.5″
- 2 – 3.5″ x 12.5″
Piecing
Finishing
Create 4 short rows and 5 tall rows, pressing the seams.
Short row (SR):
S3 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S1 – C1 – S3
Long row (LR):
C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2 – S2 – C2
Alternate color rows and sashing as follows. Press seams.
- S4
- LR
- S4
- SR
- S4
- LR
- S4
- SR
- S4
- LR
- S4
- SR
- S4
- LR
- S4
- SR
- S4
- LR
- S4
Sew the S5 pieces to the side.
Back and front of the quilt.
Sew short border to the top and bottom. Press seams. Sew remaining border pieces to the left and right. Press seams.
Quilt and bind.
Finished.
Print 
PDFHaving troubles? Check out the FAQs.
January 25th, 2010 at 5:36 am
It’s a wonky coin quilt! I love the bright colors for babies! Give ‘em the brights and the contrast, something to focus on! Thanks for the great quilt! I’m glad you didn’t scrap it! Great size idea too, keep in that quilt you sewed love into for as long as you can! Thanks so much for taking the time to share.
January 25th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I’d never heard the term ‘wonky coin’! Google pulled up some really great looking quilts, so thanks for that. Thanks for all the blush-inducing compliments!
May 24th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
OMG I love it and must try it soon!
PS found this site thru ravelry and love it so far! Great job!
August 22nd, 2010 at 1:16 am
I am not sure how I found your site, but, I am really glad I did. I love your quilts and your designs, they are amazing. You have such a great eye for color and placement. Thanks so much for sharing your talent of quilting and designing. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.
December 26th, 2011 at 9:42 am
I love this. I have never done quilting before but love a challenge and plan to attempt this. It is so beautiful and I have a grandson on the way. Thank you so very much.
December 26th, 2011 at 8:48 am
Hi – I love yoru FQ Rainbow Baby Quilt – it´s so bright and beautiful and easy, thank you so much for sharing.
March 15th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
A lovely quilt. Does not look ez but I may give it a try. The instructions seem a bit complicated to a new quilter which I am. Thank you for sharing the o
June 24th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Wow!! I think this quilt is truly beautiful. So vibrant and eye-catching. Great job and so glad you didn’t “start over!”
August 13th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
I absolutely love the colors! This quilt looked so cute that I am making an attempt to create it. I’m a primary teacher and my classroom is freezing. This quilt is the perfect size to lay over my lap while I work. Thanks for sharing!
August 30th, 2012 at 10:10 am
Someone sent in a form submit, but their email address didn’t come through, so I’m attempting to answer their question here -
Jan,
You cut 5″ strips going the same direction as the seams (the shorter way across the fabric). Each of those is then cut perpendicular to the seams down in 2.5″ increments. So you end up with pieces that are 5″ tall and 2.5″ wide with the seams going horizontal across them.
Hope that helps!
April 23rd, 2013 at 5:50 am
Your quilt is gorgeous I really want to try it. Just one question: you say press seams open, I understood -in quilting – that the seams should be pressed in one direction rather than open.?? Could you please clarify for me.
April 23rd, 2013 at 10:58 am
I find it easier to align seams when they are pressed open, but do whatever you prefer. Pressing to the side makes for stronger seams.
April 24th, 2013 at 12:22 am
Thanks for replying Shana. Now, another question. Do you have any patterns for baby blocks? I have quite a lot of blocks that I have stitched by hand and now I am not sure what to do with them.
April 28th, 2013 at 7:30 pm
I don’t have a pattern. I’d just put sashing between them to make the top
May 6th, 2013 at 7:43 am
Your blocks look like a pretty uniform size, but you say to cut the strips wide at one end to narrow at the other. I can’t seem to see where the odd shapes happen when you cut it. Am I missing a step?
May 6th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
You cut the fat quarters into irregular strips and then re-sew them into one large piece of fabric – http://needyl.com/sites/default/files/img_thumbnails/143_373.jpeg
You then cut that newly constructed piece of fabric into uniform pieces. Does that make sense?