Posted by Cathy Cooper

8 Free Quilt Patterns That Only “Look” Difficult.jpg

What kind of quilter are you?

Are you an absolute beginner who wants the satisfaction of completing one of your first quilting projects? Or are you an experienced quilter who has a busy life—and perhaps needs a shower or holiday gift by the weekend?

Either way, you might find the perfect project with this selection of free quilt patterns. We’ve chosen them here for you not just because they’re free, but because they’re fast and easy… and fantastic.  

 

Volcano quilt

Sarah Watts created a clever design that should just explode out of your sewing machine. The contemporary pattern is perfect for both the young and the young at heart.

Because much of the design has a solid background, the quilt doesn't require as many different patches as most others do. Even though this might be considered a minimalist quilt, it's still very exciting.

This is one of several free quilt patterns offered by fabric manufacturers that you can find on the web.

 

Easy X's and O's quilt

Janet Wickell's X's and O's quilt pattern can save you both time and money. That's because, although you could choose to carefully coordinate your quilt by buying new fabric, this design comes out great with a variety of quilting scraps too.

One advantage of this particular design is that it's easy to customize the length and width. That means that you could use this pattern for a baby blanket or a throw for a king-sized bed. Since it's possible to vary the size and design so much, this is a really useful quilt pattern to master.

 

Christmas quilt

Kathy Mathews likes to collect fabric that has already been printed in Christmas designs and colours. She simply arranged strips of different fabrics until she created a Christmas quilt design that she liked. Fabric with a very faint striping offered the perfect border because it brought the whole thing together.

If you wanted to get creative, you could also use this quilt pattern with strips of fabric that represented different holidays, or even other occasions such as weddings or baby showers.

 

“One-Day” contemporary baby quilt

This is another idea for a special-occasion quilt from Kathy Mathews’ collection of free quilt patterns. But where the Christmas quilt pattern above produces a very traditional appearance, this one-day quilt idea works because it uses irregular blocks that have already been printed with more modern and abstract designs.

The end result is a quilt that looks like it belongs in a contemporary art museum's quilting section.

The other great thing about this quilt pattern is it's very easy to vary the fabric to produce a quilt for a boy or a girl.

 

Tulip garden

This tulip garden quilt is one of Hallie O'Kelly's free quilt patterns. The big blocks of fabric that create rows of tulips make this a quick gift for Easter or another event in the spring. The boxy tulips give the finished product a look that appears traditional but is anything but boring. Quilters can select colours and even prints to harmonize this quilt with any colour scheme.

 

Brick path

This free quilt pattern by Alexia Marcelle Abegg is a brick path quilt that benefits from the large blocks of "white space" in the design. The basic pattern might almost be compared to a tic-tac-toe board—or, in these days of automatic phone systems and social media, to a pound (#) sign or hashtag.

Large blocks of white alternate here with large blocks of simple and colourful patterns. The patterned blocks could be composed of scraps or designed to complete a theme.

 

Heart quilt blocks

Celebrate St. Valentine's Day, a wedding or baby shower, or even a friendship with this heart block pattern by Terri. The bold pattern offers a very classic look, but you can easily adjust the colour and size of your finished product. It's very simple to cut out the straight or diagonal lines on a grid too.

This is sure to be a go-to design for many busy quilters.

 

Four-patch

Finally, if you'd like to begin with some neat, square shapes, consider this four-patch pattern from Amy Smart. You can choose to create your patches out of scraps or produce a theme with any colour or print of fabric that you choose. She considers this one of the most basic patterns for a quick baby quilt, but really, it could be transformed into a style that suits any occasion.

 

Which of these free quilt patterns will you make first?

You can find more quilt patterns—either paid or free—both on this site and on the web. It’s never been easier to get you started with a new quilting hobby, or exercise your skills with a quick project during a busy week.

As these patterns demonstrate, even simple designs can appear elegant, artistic, and bold. Nobody will guess how easy these lovely quilts were to complete… And you certainly don't have to tell.

 

Ready to get started? Runaway Quilting has everything you need

Now that you’ve got your free quilt patterns, do you need quilting supplies or notions? You’re in the right place.