Patchwork Picnic Quilt Tutorial

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

When I think of summer quilts, the first thing I think of is patchwork. Something about simple patchwork screams summer to me! So when a delicious stack of fabrics arrived from Art Gallery Fabrics on Friday, I instantly knew they needed to become a sweet, summery, patchwork quilt.  From there, everything fell into place for this quilt.  I ran up to my favorite shop to grab background fabric, Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen in Natural. On my way home, I stopped at a thrift shop and found the vintage sheet I used for backing (for more info on sewing with vintage sheets, see this post).  Between Friday and Sunday, that stack became this sweet modern quilt.  Sometimes you just get that sewing energy burst, I sure did this weekend!

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

This quilt has been in my head for a long time. The quilt in my head used linen and soft, romantic colors, so the quilt that resulted is pretty darn close! She finishes off at 68"x72", a great size for a summer nap or picnic.  I quilted it with simple diagonal lines using Aurifil thread in beige, and bound it in a print from Little Folks by Anna Maria Horner.

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I had a lot of fun playing with these fabrics! It's a bit of Summerlove, new Oval Elements and new Pure Elements, out in March. Thanks to Art Gallery for sending me these fabrics.

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I wanted to write up a quick how-to for this quilt, so that you can make your own! It comes together really fast, and it doesn't take a lot of thinking, so it's perfect for the weekend when we all should be relaxing! It utilizes a checkerboard pattern, alternating between background and print squares. This makes it great for chain-piecing, where you continue to stitch blocks together without clipping your threads in between. So, let's get to it!

Patchwork Picnic Quilt

Summerlove by Art Gallery Fabrics, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly

Materials
- 10 fat quarters (or 3 charm packs, or 1 layer cake)*
- 2 1/4 yards of solid or semi-solid fabric for background
- 1/2 yd of binding fabric
- 4 1/4 yds of backing fabric (or a full/double size bedsheet)
- 2 1/4 yds of batting (76"x80" piece)
- Coordinating thread

Note: 1/4" seam allowances
Finished Size: 68"x72"

*For this quilt you'll need a total of 120 print 5" squares and 120 background 5" squares. You could use more or less fabrics for desired variety!

Cutting

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

From fat quarters:
- cut (3) 5"x22" strips
- from these strips cut (4) 5" squares
12 squares per fat quarter for a total of 120 squares.

From background fabric:
- cut (15) 5" x WOF (width of fabric) strips
- from these strips cut (8) 5" squares
Total of 120 squares.

From binding fabric:
- cut (7) 2.5" x WOF strips

1. Sew a 5" print square to a 5" background square. Continue until all the squares are paired up.

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

2. Sew together pairs of squares, making sure to match up background and print squares. Continue until all the pairs are sewn into strips of four squares.

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

*I like to use a plastic tub or paper bag to hold my squares as I'm piecing so that I can mix them up and get maximum variety! 

3. Sew together sets of four squares, making sure to match up background and print squares. Continue until all the four square sets are sewn into strips of eight squares.

4. Sew together sets of 8 squares, making sure to match up background and print squares. Continue until you have 15 strips of 16 squares each. These are your finished rows!

5. Press your seams to one side, pressing all your rows the same direction.

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

6. Lay out your quilt, flipping your rows every other row to create the checkerboard pattern above. Label your rows if you'd like! I use scraps of paper and safety pins!

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

7. Sew together your quilt top, pressing your rows either open or in one direction. Your top is done!

8. To piece your backing, first cut your backing yardage in half. Press. Carefully trim off the selvedges and sew your pieces together lengthwise.

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

9. Baste (tutorial), quilt, and bind (tutorial)!

Patchwork Picnic Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Voila! You're done! Enjoy! :)

Happy Quilting!