Making a Quilt Pattern

Making a quilt pattern can be a simple or complicated process but as long as you have plenty of pencils, paper, an eraser, and a basic understanding of math, you will do great!

I like to start with the finished size of the quilt I am making and work backwards from there. On a piece of graph paper, I will sketch out a scale drawing of the quilt where one square might equal 2 inches. For my example, the finished size of the quilt is 36" x 36". So I would have 18 squares for the height and the width.

Next, if you want a border, subtract your border sizes. Typically for a baby quilt I will use a 4" border. Draw that in. Sometimes you will want another inner border. I like using 1" for baby quilts. Your larger quilts will use larger borders like 5"-6" for a twin, 6"-8" for queen/king. Use whatever border size compliments your design the best. There is only one rule with quilting - there is no rule!

Now you will draw out the interior of the quilt. Your interior is:

quilt length - 2(border width) = interior length
quilt width - 2(border width) = interior width

Example:
36" length - 2(0 (none) border width) = 36" interior length
36" width - 2(0 (none) border width) = 36" interior width


Now that you have the interior (example 36" x 36"), calculate your block size. A good, basic block size is 6", but any number that you can divide out you interior space evenly with is fine. Try to avoid fractions, adjusting the quilt length and width as needed so you get nice whole numbers.

interior length / block length = # of vertical blocks
interior width / block width = # of horizontal blocks

Example:
36" interior length / 6" block = 6 vertical blocks
36" interior width / 6" block = 6 horizontal blocks


So in my Tumbling Squares Baby Quilt example, the finished quilt will have 6 horizontal rows and 6 vertical rows - easy! Sometimes it helps to draw a full size version of the block on a page since some of the detail can be difficult to draw if too small. For this project, I have decided on a very graphic, modern look with lots of squares and rectangles. It should compliment the bold print I want to use very nicely.

After you have the quilt sketched out and you have decided its size, borders, and block size, you will want to work on your cutting chart. This is where it can get a little complex, but with time it will get easier.

Block Cutting Chart

Here are the finished sizes of each of my block components:

A = 1" x 1"
B = 1" x 2"
C = 2" x 3"
D = 3" x 3"
E = 3" x 6"


Now I need to add the seam allowance to the finished size to get the cutting sizes. Since the standard seam allowance is 0.25", I need to add 0.5" to the length and width of the finished sizes:

A = 1.5" x 1.5"
B = 1.5" x 2.5"
C = 2.5" x 3.5"
D = 3.5" x 3.5"
E = 3.5" x 6.5"


This quilt has 6 horizontal and 6 vertical blocks for a total of 36 blocks. Therefore I will need 36 of each of the block components for the whole quilt.

A = (36) 1.5" x 1.5"
B = (36) 1.5" x 2.5"
C = (36) 2.5" x 3.5"
D = (36) 3.5" x 3.5"
E = (36) 3.5" x 6.5"


The standard with of fabric from selvedge (factory finished edge) to selvedge is 40" - 42". So I need to determine how many of each square I can get out of one width of fabric.

40" / 1.5" = 26.67 round down = 26
40" / 3.5" = 11.43 round down = 11


Divide the total number of pieces by the amount you can get out of each strip (width) to determine how many strips you will need to cut:

36 total pieces / 26 = 1.38 round up = (2) 1.5" strips
36 total pieces / 11 = 3.27 round up = (4) 3.5" strips


This will give you a cutting chart that looks like this:
A = (2) 1.5" strips = (36) 1.5" x 1.5"
B = (2) 1.5" strips = (36) 1.5" x 2.5"
C = (4) 3.5" strips = (36) 2.5" x 3.5"
D = (4) 3.5" strips = (36) 3.5" x 3.5"
E = (4) 3.5" strips = (36) 3.5" x 6.5"


So, translated, this means that I will need (2) 1.5" strips of Fabric A to get (36) 1.5" x 1.5" squares.

Borders Cutting Chart

My example does not have any borders, but if I wanted a 4" border, I would need to first add the seam allowance:

Cutting border width = border width + 0.5"

Example
Cutting border width = 4" + 0.5" = 4.5"


To determine how many lengths I need, divide the total interior length of one side by the 40" fabric width:

36" interior quilt length / 40" = 0.9 round up = (1) 4.5" strip


And since there are two lengths to any quilt, you will need to double this to get the total number of strips needed for the lengths.

(1) 4.5" strip x 2 lengths = (2) 4.5" strips


To determine how many border widths I need, I will need to add the total interior quilt width to the width of both of the quilt borders.

36" interior quilt width + 4.5" + 4.5" = 45" border width


To determine how many strips I need, divide the border width by 40" fabric width:

45" border width / 40" = 1.125 round up = (2) 4.5" strips


And since there are 2 widths to any quilt, double the number of strips for the border width:

(2) 4.5" border width strips x 2 = 4 border width strips


For all of the borders, add the total # of border length strips to the total # of border width strips:

2 border length strips + 4 border width strips = (6) 4.5" strips

Binding Cutting Chart

The standard width for most quilt bindings is 3". To determine the total binding length needed, you calculate the quilt perimiter:

2(quilt width) + 2(quilt length) = quilt perimiter

Example
2(36" quilt width) + 2(36" quilt length) = 144" quilt perimiter


Divide the quilt perimiter by the 40" fabric width to get the total number of 3" strips you will need to cut for the binding:

144" quilt perimiter / 40" fabric width = 3.6 round up = (4) 3" binding strips

Backing Cutting Chart

To back your quilt, you need one large piece of fabric greater than the total area of your quilt by at least several inches on each side. If the fabric width is too small, you will need to piece together a backing.

In our example, the quilt is 36" x 36" and my backing fabric is 42" wide. This will give me 3" extra on each side. Because I use a quilting frame, I need to add about 10" to the length of the backing to fit on the frame. About 1.5 yards of backing material should be plenty.

Quilt Cutting Chart