Make a Triangle Jitters Quilt with 8 Fat Quarters
The Triangle Jitters quilt pattern is one of the most popular patterns in the SQ library. Using just the simple half square triangle, it creates a dynamic, modern design while still remaining beginner-friendly. The fabric requirements in the pattern are designed for using yardage, however you can make it with scraps, or in this case, make a Triangle Jitters quilt with 8 fat quarters* and a background fabric!
I have a soft spot for fat quarters. I wouldn't be a quilter if I didn't! However, if you've made a handful of SQ patterns, one thing you might notice is that they usually require yardage. But did you know that unless the pattern requires strips longer than 21" (the length of a FQ) you can substitute that yardage for FQs?
A couple examples of patterns that can easily use FQs include: Mod Mountains, Indian Summer, Modern Fans and, another HST quilt, Nordic Triangles! A pretty simple conversion is to assume 1 yd. = 4 FQs. I know, duh, right? That doesn't always work out, but it's a good place to start.
*A Fat Quarter is a pre-cut of fabric measuring approximately 18" x 21". You can find an ombré FQ bundle at The Fat Quarter Shop.
How to Convert Yardage to Fat Quarters
Each pattern is a little different in what it needs, so a teeny tiny bit of math might be required when converting a pattern that uses yardage into a pattern that uses FQs. Half Square Triangle patterns are very easy to convert because you simply figure out how large you need to cut your squares and then how many of those squares can fit inside a Fat Quarter.
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To make a baby Triangle Jitters quilt you need yardage of 3 main colors and then a background color. Here's the breakdown:
- Color 1: ½ yd.
- Color 2: ¾ yd.
- Color 3: ½ yd.
- Background: 1 ½ yd.
Here's a classic example for reference...
To change this quilt to be slightly scrappier and FQ-friendly, I'm going to throw Colors 1-3 into a pot and rename them Foreground. Now I have Foreground fabric and Background fabric. According to my yardage requirements I need (½ yd. + ¾ yd. + ½ yd.) 1 ¾ yd. of Foreground fabric.
If you're math savvy, you're realizing that this tutorial is titled How to Make a Triangle Jitters Quilt with 8 Fat Quarters, not 7. Well, even though I said you can usually figure out the FQ math with a simple ¼ yd. = 1 FQ conversion, that doesn't always work, in this case, it got us very close.
The pattern uses the fun 4-at-a-time HST method. For this pattern, cut 4 squares from each FQ, yielding 16 HSTs from each square pair. (I say square pair because this HST method has you stacking 1 Foreground square right sides together with 1 Background square. See the pattern for details.)
Your new fabric requirements for a FQ baby Triangle Jitters quilt look like this:
- Foreground: 8 Fat Quarters
- Background: 1 ½ yd.
Below is a very squirmy 6-week old Desi disrupting my initial Triangle Jitters layout. You can tell he didn't approve. I wasn't sold on it either, so kicking my blocks everywhere didn't phase me much.
After playing around with the blocks, I decided on grouping like fabrics together and leaning into the overall ombré look. Since my squirmy baby count has gone from one to two (Scrappy and Desi), it's imperative that I chain-piece my rows together. I used to whip out a quilt top in a weekend, but now I'm lucky if I can do it in a month. Keeping my blocks organized and in order saves me a lot of time when I actually do sit down to get some sewing done.
For a full tutorial on how to chain-piece quilt rows, check out this blog post with video!
Make an Ombré Triangle Jitters Baby Quilt: The Fabric
The ombré fabrics used in this quilt are from V and Co., made by Moda Fabrics. A couple of these are brand new colors, so you may have to wait until stores have them in stock. I'm not completely sure when they will be available, but I think around July 2019. I'll link to the ones I can find. Contact your fav fabric store if you are curious when they will begin carrying the new colors.
These fabrics can also be easily substituted for any 8 fat quarters. If you want the ombré look, just get 8 fat quarters that are stair-stepping shades between a primary and secondary color. (Basically, pick two colors next to each other on the color wheel, i.e. green and blue, then find multiple shades of those two colors mixed together.)
The quilts below are Mod Mountains and Mosaic patterns.
And here's Desi again at 10 weeks along with his buddy, Mac. Mac was born just 4 days after Desi! Aren't they adorable together?
In the pic below I'm lying in bed trying to finish the binding on Mac's quilt before he and his mom come over. It's really hard to finish things when all you want to do is snuggle your sleeping baby. 🙂
Do you have an ever growing stash of Fat Quarter bundles? The exciting thing about that is you don't have to be limited by "Fat Quarter-friendly" quilt patterns. Learn a few conversion tricks and a whole world of quilt patterns will open up! Tell me about your favorite FQ tips and quilts in the comments!
I love your quilt! What is your background fabric?
Isn’t that a pretty fabric? It’s from the Paper Cuts line by Alexia Abegg for Cotton + Steel.
I just finished the top and used the chain piecing method your shared in a tutorial it worked perfect! I went one step further and didn’t snip the threads on the rows I kept it all together. It made the nesting and pinning really easy and all my points came out great! Which is always a stress for me. Thanks for the great tips!
Fantastic!! I’m so happy to hear it 🙂
Thanks for this info!!! Best line was explaining how to do ombre – (Basically, pick two colors next to each other on the color wheel, i.e. green and blue, then find multiple shades of those two colors mixed together.) You always inspire me to do something new!
Hi Suzy! What is that yummy backing fabric? And you are amazing! I’ve done the small business owner/new mommy thing 4 times and it is so so hard. Mom balance is a moving target so give yourself lots of grace. You are killing it! ❤️
You’re so right! A moving target is the perfect analogy. And I believe this backing fabric is Chroma Plaid in Turquoise by Alison Glass.
Love these quilts!!! Suzy, do you have any tips for starting and/or stopping machine quilting in the middle of your quilt without getting nesting. I have a Bernina 770 and seem to always get ugly nesting on the back of my quilt. Thank you for any tips you might have.
Nesting? Is that happening when you press the lock-stitch and snip threads button? If so, then yeah, unfortunately you’ll need to bury your threads manually. I do a quickie version of this. I backstitch and forward stitch just once in each direction and then pull up my bobbin thread so both the top and bottom threads are on the front of the quilt, similar to the video. I then double knot it and snip the threads. I don’t take the time to bury the knot with a needle. The backstitching already made the stitches secure.
I love the plants in these pictures. Beautiful quilts! You do a great job!
Hi Suzy…second request please resend me the Triangle Jitters pattern I purchased. It says on my receipt that it never expires but I cannot download. I had an issue with my printer and so I couldn’t download that is why I tried so many times. I am hoping you make this good as I sent a response on your website and still have not heard from you. Please respond as I really was excited to make this quilt.
Hi Heather, I will reach out to you now via this email address. Sorry about the inconvenience!
Hi Suzy… I purchase two patterns; Maypole and Triangle Jitters, and I’m having the exact same issue with Triangle Jitters as is/was Heather. I sent a request on your website but I have not heard back. Would it be possible for you to send it to me again? BTW – I’m a newbie quilter and I stumbled onto your blog a few months ago. I’ve learned so many tips and tricks from you and they have already improved my skills like slowing down! Thanks again for your great blog and knowledge!!
Of course! I will email the patterns to the email address you listed here. Sorry about the delayed response!
Hi Suzy, I would like to make your Wild Birds quilt pattern. Could you please list the amounts of fabrics needed? Thanks!
I’m not familiar with that pattern. Could you mean the Bird Watching pattern? https://suzyquilts.com/free-bird-watching-quilt-pattern/
This is such a fun pattern! Can you tell me about the quilting on the quilt featured on the pattern? Is it freehand or a panto or electronic pattern? If it’s a published pattern, can you share the name and how it can be purchased? Thank you!
Thank you! It is a panto quilted by a longarm quilter. I couldn’t say for certain, but I think it’s called Modern Waves. It looks like Anita Shackelford designed one very similar.
Hi Suzy. I’m trying this to communicate with you as I haven’t heard from you from your contact on your website. I purchased the Rocksteady pattern a while ago and cannot find it on my computer. I only printed off pages 2-4 but am now ready for the layout directions for a twin size. Would you email me those pages please. I need them by Wednesday 9/11. Thanks so much. Love your quilts!!
Hi Mary, so sorry about the miscommunication! I will email the email address you have provided now.
Hey Suzy! I’m 100% in love with that binding color! Do you know what fabric it is?
THank you! It’s a chartreuse print by Me + You Fabrics.
Can you tell me what the fabrics are on the example on the pattern cover. The aqua, navy, and mustard? I want to recreate!! Gorgeous!
Sure! They are all Kona solids – Harvest Gold, Green, Lead and Snow as the background.
Hello! I love this idea and am hoping to use this approach for my first quilt (perhaps ambitious). For a throw size, the conversions take you to 2.5 yards = 10 HQ. Since you need 8 HQ for the baby size, do you think that would be sufficient, or is an 11th necessary? Thank you!
For a baby quilt you don’t need as many FQs. I made a similar ombre baby quilt using the Triangle Jitters pattern and only needed 8 FQs. Here’s a link to that post – https://suzyquilts.com/make-a-triangle-jitters-quilt-with-8-fat-quarters/
Hello! I am trying to plan a sort-of-scrappy, throw-sized TJ with fat quarters. I can get 4 unfinished 6 1/2 inch HSTs from one 10 1/4 inch square from a fat quarter easily BUT if I want to use the rest of the fat quarter, I need to make 2 unfinished 6 1/2 in HSTs from a smaller square. To end up with two 6 1/2 inch unfinished HSTs, what sized square do I need to cut? 7 inches? Any guidance would be very welcome!
Hi Amanda! The tables in this easy half square triangle tutorial can help! https://suzyquilts.com/half-square-triangles-tutorial/
I am just becoming familiar with Suzy Quilts. I LOVE how she straight line quilts many of her quilts. How does she do this, on a long arm or with her regular sewing machine?
I have a blog post on this very thing! 🙂 https://suzyquilts.com/6-tips-for-straight-line-machine-quilting-a-k-a-matchstick-quilting/
Hi Susy, can you tell me the colors used in the red, blue, and green version you made of the Triangle Jitters quilt? And also what the background and backing fabrics are too please? Thanks!
Hi Jenny! We don’t track the colors used in each sample made of a quilt both because of the seasonal nature of fabric manufacturing and because sometimes fabric that is used is pulled from a stash and so we may not have information on the selvage. Our best recommendation is to use a color card you may have for your favorite fabric manufacturer and find similar colors, or bring a picture to your local quilt shop to see if you can find similar colors! Best of luck!