Are you a newbie sewer? Welcome! You have come to the right place. Today on the blog I have the 6 best beginner quilt patterns for new quilters! These patterns were written with you in mind so you will be able to make any of them with success! Hooray!
Half of these patterns are free and the other half include multiple quilt sizes and are for purchase. If you have a fat quarter bundle, a jelly roll, scraps, hand-me-down yardage, or whatever is available to you, I'm sure one of these patterns will work. Let's dive in!
The Best Beginner Quilt Patterns for New Quilters
A Rail Fence pattern is the perfect first quilt for a newbie. How do I know this? Because it was my first quilt! Waaaaay back in the day when I was learning to quilt at the fresh age of 15 I made a Rail Fence quilt for my boyfriend. He was a whole YEAR older than me and I wanted to impress him. Obviously my quilt knocked his socks off.
To make this quilt top all you need is a jelly roll. If you choose to add a border, you need 3/4 yd. of that fabric, but adding a border is optional. This Kona pastel jelly roll is the one used in the pattern below. In this design I arranged the blocks in an ombré, however, once you make your blocks you can arrange and rearrange them in any order. Go wild!
Triangle Jitters Quilt Pattern
The Triangle Jitters quilt pattern has been one of the most popular patterns in the SQ shop for years. It includes instructions and yardage requirements for twin, throw and baby quilt sizes.
Trending patterns!
Even though this quilt looks complicated, it is created with one simple block – the half square triangle. Here on the blog we have some different posts that will help you with sewing techniques.
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Squared Quilt Pattern
This free Squared Quilt pattern is the perfect first-time quilt to make. You can use yardage, hand-me-down scraps, or a fat quarter bundle. With only straight cuts and straight seams, you will finish this project feeling accomplished and happy with your quick success!
Rocksteady Quilt Pattern
If you are feeling ambitious and would like to make a quilt that is larger than a throw, Rocksteady has got you covered. This pattern includes instructions and fabric requirements for every standard quilt size – king, queen/full, twin, throw and baby.
This dynamic pattern is made using just half square triangles and squares. If picking out fabrics has you feeling overwhelmed, check out #RocksteadyQuilt on Instagram or these extra blog posts:
Sometimes the best way to learn to quilt is to start with something small. A baby quilt is the perfect size if you are machine quilting for the first time. The size of these quilts makes it manageable to push and pull the entire thing through your domestic sewing machine, no matter how small the throat space.
This fat-quarter-friendly pattern is one of the best beginner quilt patterns because it teaches you, in a really approachable way, three different techniques:
- How to use a template.
- How to cut on the diagonal
- How to sew on the bias.
I know all three of those things can sound scary, but trust me, they aren't. This pattern includes illustrations for every single step so you won't have to guess if you are doing it right. And the great thing? You don't have to take my word for it. Download this beginner quilt pattern for free and see for yourself!
Sew Mojo Mini Quilt Patterns
Are you a visual learner? Me too! If you like learning new things with a teacher, check out my online class called Fabric Play: Sewing Mojo Minis. The reason I am including this four-pack of mini quilts in this list of best beginner quilt patterns is because they are mini!
Want to learn how to quilt, but making a full quilt sounds like a lot of time and work? Make a mini quilt! If you're feeling motivated, you could actually sew one of these adorable minis in a single day, and what's more gratifying than starting and finishing a project in a day?? We quilters don't get that feeling very often.
These mini quilt patterns each focus on a different sewing skill and art lesson that build off one another. You don't have to sew the patterns in order, but if you are new, I suggest that you do. I think you'll learn a lot of good techniques and have some fun along the way!
You can purchase these patterns separately or as a bundle of four. If you watch my class on bluprint, you get all four patterns with the class.
Are you a newbie quilter? Be sure to check out the Quilting 101 tab here on the blog and join the Suzy Quilts Patterns group on Facebook. It's a great place to hang out and ask your quilt pattern questions. The group is full of the sweetest, most helpful sewers in the world. 😉
If you make any of these patterns, let us know in the comments!
Love ’em all! But I have soft spot for Rocksteady 🙂
Rocksteady will always be special. 🙂 Thanks for the love, Shan!
Rocksteady means a lot to me, too!! Thanks for posting!! You often get questions about the best beginner pattern. This is perfect!!
Help! Which part of my fabric is the selvage? Is it the width that is usually 42 inches.
It’s the very edges of the fabric. If it’s a printed fabric it will most likely have info about the design and manufacturer printed on it.
I am not a beginner, but I made two of the Squared quilts for my grandsons. I love the simple yet effective pattern. And I will definitely try the Fencepost for a community quilt.
Hi Suzy! New to quilting, but loving the learning. I love the weekend candy quilt I saw on your page somewhere but can’t seem to find the pattern. Is it on your website somewhere?
Thanks, Christie! I’ve taken that pattern temporarily out of the shop, but will be re-releasing it with some added quilt sizes at the end of this year.
What ruler do you use for. Twin maypole quilt. Is it a beginner quilt?
Hi Barbara! Maypole is listed as a beginner-friendly pattern and is our most popular one. There is no specialty ruler required for this pattern, but if you’d like to learn more about rulers, you can check out our recent 5 minute guide to quilting rulers here: https://suzyquilts.com/5-minute-guide-to-quilting-rulers/
I love your quilts and tutorials! I am working on my first quilt following a pattern (Triangle Jitters), and making twin sizes for my boys. I am struggling with the cutting vs. finished HST measurements. It seems my HST end up a full inch larger than the listed size. Do I trim down half an inch and then allow for the 1/4″ seam allowance, or did I mess up and will end up with a quilt front that is too large? Thank you for your help!
Hey Erin, great question! In quilting if a block is listed as “unfinished” that is the size you should trim it to before sewing it into a quilt top. For example, if the pattern says that the blocks will be 6 1/2″ unfinished that means they will be 6″ finished. The reverse is also true, if a pattern gives you the “finished” block sizes, you need to add a 1/2″ (1/4″ on each side). The Triangle Jitters pattern uses the 4-at-a-time method which does leave wiggle room so that you can trim. You shouldn’t be trimming a full inch though, so is it possible your initial cutting was too large? Check out this post for trimming tips – https://suzyquilts.com/3-tools-to-make-the-perfect-half-square-triangle/
Lovely Quilters! Thank you!!!
I love your quilts, colors, instructions and patterns.
Thank you!
Hi! I love your quilts and am going to definitely try Rocksteady soon.
I read your blog about quilt design, and and you said you use Illustrator…do you lay out a grid to start? Do you have a tutorial on that? I’d love to see what you have to share about designing on Illustrator.
Thanks so much for your beautiful designs and all your information !!
I don’t use a grid, but I do set up my artboard to the size of the finished quilt and design everything to-scale.