The Maypole Quilt Pattern: A Simple Design with Bold Impact

Maypole-Quilt-Pattern

The Maypole Quilt pattern is available for instant download! Get the pattern here.

Even though it's currently July rather than May, I could not bring myself to name this design anything other than Maypole. The interweaving ribbons of color remind me of a painting that has hung in my parent's house for the majority of my life. 

I spent lots of time staring at that painting because it hung in my childhood bathroom. Whether it be timeouts as a kid (surprise, I was pretty naughty) or curling my hair as a teenager (very similar to the Suzy Quilts & Hair tutorials you've seen on IG), that painting has been hanging quietly in the background.

I wish I had a picture of it, but this video below gives you the idea.​ Also it's a bit mesmerizing...

If you research the origins of Maypoles, you will find lots of different things — many of them are very old and a bit weird. To me, though, a Maypole is a bunch of ribbons woven together by people having a good time. It's a celebration of color and beauty, and that's exactly how I feel about this Maypole quilt pattern!

Picking Fabric for the Maypole Quilt...

Maypole-Quilt-Color

Finding the perfect fabric combination is one of my favorite things about quilting. Quilt patterns can look vastly different based on fabric selection and this Maypole quilt design is no exception.

One sure way to have success when picking fabrics for this quilt is to make it monochromatic. That is just a fancy word for make it with one color. Solids, prints, whatever you prefer, chose various shades of one color and you can't go wrong.

Maypole-Quilt-Fabric

These fabric are 100% organic cotton poplin

Mint Julep Color Combo:

Creamsicle Color Combo:

Pink-Mayple-Quilt
Maypole-Quilt-Girl-Pink
Maypole_Quilt_Pink
Pink-Modern-Baby-Quilt

Prints & Patterns

Interested in mixing a few prints, patterns or substrates* into your Maypole Quilt? Check out this neutral color palette. A blend of linen, woven cotton and chambray give this simple design tons of texture. Some of the fabrics include:

*If quilting with different substrates is new to you, check out my fun blog series called Quilty Adventure - Sewing with Various Substrates.

Simple-Linen-Quilt
Linen-Modern-Quilt
Maypole_Chambray_Quilt

Above family photos by Lais Livon.

Neutral-Modern-Quilt

Arizona-Fabrics-Maypole-Quilt

I mean...she's so cute. It's a real struggle for me not to turn every photoshoot into a Scrappy-shoot.

Scrappy-Quilt-Dog
Arizona-Fabric-Quilt

Machine & Hand Quilting

I used my absolute favorite quilting technique on this Maypole baby quilt – simple machine quilting followed by small finishing touches of hand quilting. This DMC Pearl Cotton Thread No.8 and Gingher scissors are my go-to supplies every time.

Other tools I love include:

Hand-Quilting-Supplies

Cell Phone Wallpapers Just for Fun 🙂

Save any of these images to your phone and upload them as your phone wallpaper!​

  1. Scrappy Stretch'n
  2. Arizona Maypole Quilted
  3. Creamsicle Maypole Progress
  4. Creamsicle Maypole Quilted​
Scrappy_Stretches_Wallpaper
Maypole_Arizona_Wallpaper
Maypole_Creamsicle_Progress_Wallpaper
Maypole_Creamsicle_Quilted_Wallpaper

Maypole Quilts in the Wild

Some of my very lovely pattern testers have done it again and designed some stunning Maypoles of their own. Each one is so different!

Maypole-Mountain-quilt

Then Came June

Since seeing this quilt last week I've been trying to convince Meghan of Then Came June to give it to me. Meg, don't you love me at all??

I finally realized it wasn't going happen when she emailed me the fabric names to make it myself. I guess I'll have to go with second best and follow in her footsteps.

Meghan's Maypole Quilt Recipe:

Maypole Quilt SFDesigns

Shannon Fraser Designs

If you look closely you can see the subtle pattern on the white fabric. I love that small touch which brings such great texture to the otherwise solid color design.​

Traditional-Maypole-Quilt

Elizabeth Ray

Can you believe how different this pattern looks with all prints? It's so cozy I think it needs to be cuddled immediately. :)​

Summer_Maypole_Quilt

Garden Variety Cookie

Brooke is one of my longtime pattern testers and I know I can always count on her to make something beautiful. Her latest email with this photo cracked me up so much I just have to copy and paste. Forgive me, Brooke. hahahaha

Ugh, my deck is so janky. I had to touch up the bruises on their shins soooo muchhhhhhhh...not sure if little girl feet/monster tomato plant is the vibe you're going for here 🙂

Brooke, it most definitely is the vibe I am going for.

Grean-Maypole-Quilt

Dixie Stitches

As I am posting this, Leah is helping me finalize the queen quilt math. No matter how much I plan (well...let's be real. I'm not a huge planner) there's always a lot of last minute stuff to do the night before a pattern release.

To give you a visual, I have eaten every single meal in front of my computer today – including the frozen DiGiorno I am eating right now.​ 

55 thoughts on “The Maypole Quilt Pattern: A Simple Design with Bold Impact

  1. Andrea says:

    Beautiful quilts! The hand sewing is incredible and looks like it took forever to finish. Great job, Suzy!

  2. Emma says:

    Fantastic. I’m astounded at how different the quilt looks with each fabric choice. So much scope for individual flair. Well done!

  3. Melanie C says:

    Love this quilt pattern! Plus I’m glad you choose quality frozen pizza for your fine dining experience 😂

  4. Barbara says:

    Love this pattern. Thank you so much for including so many color/print options to look at. I have great plans for this one!

  5. Laura says:

    I love this one! Any thoughts/plans on making this into a king-size quilt? I think it might be perfect for our bed but it’s a king! 🙂 I guess I could make the queen and then add a wide border to make it big enough. But I”m curious to hear your thoughts on making the entire design bigger…

  6. Laurie says:

    Hello you lovely!!! I just finished my Maypole Quilt top – I made it for my nephew who is going to the University of Washington in the Fall. I made it in UW colors and it turned out so pretty! From beginning cutting the fabric to sewing the last seem took me less than 6 hours!!!! LOVE this quilt! Thank you! I know he’s going to love it!

  7. Darren says:

    Hi Suzy, I am new to your blog and quilting. I have fallin in LOVE with some of your patterns and how they really can translate well for gifts for men as well! Is there any chance I could get the names of the fabrics used in the grey tone Maypole?!? Are the specific fabrics listed somewhere on the blog? THANKS!

  8. Nicole Henry says:

    Hi Suzy! 👋🏻 I was wondering how you combine hand stitching with machine quilting your quilt sand which? Do you stitch into some of the seams or do you use a walking foot and stitch a specific length away from the quilt top seams?

  9. Terri Rippy says:

    I purchased this pattern from your site and the creamsicle fabric from your link. Are the pieces suppose to be cut on the bias of the fabric for this quilt? I thought I read that someplace.
    Such a beautiful quilt, I’m excited to start on it for our newest granddaughter due in Oct!

  10. Chris says:

    I love this pattern. I saw it in an advertisement for “baby Lock” serger in “Sew News”.
    Do you include serger instructions in the pattern download?

  11. Ute says:

    I don’t remember what caught my eye first on Pinterest: the beautiful quilt or the super cute little rocking blond model with her family. Either way, both reasons are good enough to buy this pattern and make this gorgeous quilt!

  12. Lara Van Leeuwen says:

    Could you tell me what Kind and brand of batting you used in the Creamsicle quilt? It looks so squishy and amazing!

  13. Karen Benson says:

    Love all your quilts have some jelly rolls that need to be used. Can you tell me which patterns are jelly roll friendly.

  14. Julie says:

    Hi Suzy! Newbie here! My very first project is this gorgeous quilt of yours! I’m going over your instructions with a fine tooth comb to try to help prevent beginner mistakes. I have a question for you on technique – as you build the sides of each triangle block, you state to trim the excess between the addition of the next pieces. Can you tell me why you recommend trimming between each addition versus waiting to do one single cut after the triangle block is fully assembled? In theory it seems like it would be easier to prevent making a mistake by cutting once versus three times. However, I understand that bias cuts are more difficult so maybe this is the reason why? Appreciate your insight! Thank you!

    • Suzy Quilts says:

      Hey Julie, great question! Whether or not you trim the blocks as you sew or after the block is assembled doesn’t matter too much. The reason it’s written like that in the pattern is because if someone makes a larger version of the pattern (queen, for example) not trimming would get confusing and less manageable.

  15. Rachel says:

    Love this! I would like to make a baby quilt size and am trying to plan proportions — wondering how wide the strips are? I am guessing 4″ and 6″ so might want to bump up to a throw.

  16. Jeanne says:

    I have finished the Maypole quilt top in beautiful golds, beiges and turquoise colors. I made the queen size and it is the largest quilt I have made in my three years of quilting. So…my question is how do you recommend placing the 9 yards of backing, either by cutting for vertical or horizontal placement?
    I practiced first by making a crib size one- so much fun but much littler than queen! Once I have the queen done, I will start on the Maypole pillow pattern to keep the design alive.
    Love your designs, blogs and sense of practicality.

    • Suzy Quilts says:

      Congratulations on such an achievement! Piecing a queen quilt is no easy task. To piece the backing, cut the 9 yd. into 3 – 3 yd. pieces. Lay them horizontally on top of each other then sew them together. This will create a backing piece that is approximately 108″ x 120″.

  17. Sue says:

    Love this pattern and am thinking of purchasing it, but the throw size is too small for my son ( he’s a 6 footer lol) – wondering if you have a thought about how to increase the size (would need about 70 inches in length) or if adding a border would not complement the design. I love the quilt pattern so much and would hate to disturb the aesthetic. Thanks!

    • Laura Hopper says:

      Hi Sue! We actually recommend adding borders to Suzy Quilts patterns for any quilt that you want to enlarge. It can add a nice frame to any quilt! The reason Maypole stops at the size it does is because the larger it gets, the more challenging the bias edges get. So adding borders is your best bet. Enjoy making your quilt!

  18. Tanya Lemons says:

    I’m making this for my teenage niece. She wants to use it as a beach blanket. Thoughts on the best backing to use? FWIW – she lives on the beach and goes daily. Thank you!

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