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Looking for easy quilt patterns for beginners? I’ve compiled 10 quilt patterns for beginners to get you started on your quilting journey without the overwhelm of too many options. All of these patterns are perfect to teach the basics of quilting and are easy to follow for quilters of all skill levels.
I set out to make my 4 kids each a quilt for Christmas as a gift – which was no small feat! I knew they had to be easy and quick, and my search led me to some beautiful options for easy quilts for beginners.
I think they turned out lovely! I’ll share with you the patterns I picked out to help me sew these quilts and others I ran into while searching. All of them are so great if you are just learning the basics of quilting or need a quick quilt to sew.
Some are free quilt patterns, and others have a small cost for the pattern. I actually recommend getting a paid one if it has very detailed instructions. You’ll be grateful for the extra guidance and instruction that often comes with a paid pattern PDF download versus a free blog post pattern when you are a beginning quilter.
10 BEGINNER QUILTING PATTERNS
So here we go – 10 quilts to sew if you need a quick project or are a beginner quilter!
1 – THE BASIC FARMHOUSE STYLE QUILT
It’s cute, traditional and so so easy! This would be the absolute best pattern to do for your first quilt ever.
You simply cut out squares of any fabric of choice, sew them together in rows, and then sew the rows together.
But if you want even more guidance and instruction for this type of quilt top, I HIGHLY recommend this pattern that I found on Etsy. The bonus of buying this pattern is she has thought through each size and guides you on how many squares to cut, how much fabric to buy, and how to lay it out for a great overall pattern. I loved having the extra guidance so I didn’t have to think about it!
2 – THE DISAPPEARING 9 PATCH QUILT
Ready to take the farmhouse style quilt to the next level? Try this one! You actually cut and sew the squares together in groups of 9. Then you fold that in half both ways and slice it again. This creates more rectangular shapes and small squares. Then you sew them again together in new square blocks. It was WAY fun to make and see it all come together.
I actually found a pattern for this at the small quilt shop I went to, but here is a great pattern online for you to look at.
3 – THE ADVENTURELAND QUILT PATTERN
This may look complicated, but the pattern is so great to step you through each process. I was amazing how easy it was to sew the strips of fabric together and then merge them all. You learn a lot about how to sew multiple strips together to help them align and not shift and pull.
What is even better about this pattern, is that you can buy the precut “jelly rolls” of fabric strips and then you don’t have to cut all those strips for your stripes! That is what I did, and it came together so fast!
4 – THE STEEP ROCK QUILT PATTERN
If you like a more modern vibe on your quilt – the Steep Rock pattern was super fun! You’ll spend more time learning how to cut out strips of fabric and making half-square triangles, but it is totally doable! This was probably the most complex quilt I sewed this year, but still way fun and great for beginners.
5 – THE LAZY QUILTERS QUILT
I invented this quilt style long ago, when I had random scraps of fabric and wanted to pull them together for my baby boy. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the method, other than sewing strips and squares together and cutting them to line up as I went. I stopped when it looked just about the right size, and called it good!
If you are a creative quilter and want to go with the flow – you can’t mess this one up! Check out my free pattern blog post where I share step-by-step instructions.
6 – A TRIANGLE QUILT
Triangles can look super scary when you are just starting out. This quilt pattern does a really great job at taking you through the process and overcoming that fear. You’ll end up with a beautiful quilt that looks like a pro made it!
7 – SQUARED QUILT PATTERN
Squares take on a whole new look with this beginner level squared quilt pattern. I’d love to try this one next! As far as more detailed quilts go, this one looks like a more simple patchwork quilt with easy quilt blocks.
8 – SIMPLE STRIPES QUILT
If you want to keep things super simple, big stripes will do the trick! I love how this pattern can showcase some specialty fabrics with unique art. But any creative mix of fabrics would come together easily with this pattern.
9 – GINGHAM QUILT PATTERN
This quilt takes the easy process of the basic farmhouse style quilt – and gives it a bit more of a purpose. With the right selection of fabrics and order, you can have a beautiful quilt with the familiar gingham look. So lovely for picnics, no?! What a great project!
10 – BRICKS FAT QUARTER QUILT
Once again – the ease of the basic Farmhouse quilt has a totally new look when you do rectangles instead of squares!
The creator was so clever to use fat quarters for this simple quilt pattern, making it lots of fun to pick out a variety of fabrics, at less cost. With smaller rectangles, you could do this same process and make a cute strip quilt – but if you are just beginning – the larger rectangles will make it go much faster and smoother.
QUILTING BASICS
Now that you have a few ideas of easy quilts to make, let’s talk a few quilting basics you might want to know first (or freshen up on).
HOW TO MAKE A QUILT
The basic steps to sewing a quilt are:
- Make the quilt top with your pattern and fabrics of choice
- Sandwich your quilt backing, batting and quilt top together
- Stitch quilt or tie all 3 layers together
- Finish the quilt of with binding around the edges
Each process requires a little more skill, but you can learn along the way!
WHAT MAKES A QUILT PATTERN BEGINNER FRIENDLY?
When looking for a beginner level quilt to sew, look for these aspects:
- The quilt designs use simple shapes (squares, rectangles and sometimes triangles)
- Each shape is a quilt block itself, rather than finding a pattern where each block has multiple layers and shapes
- Avoid borders for your first quilt, to keep things super simple while you learn
- The pattern is detailed and doesn’t assume you already know the basics
- Look for a pattern that is not too busy or detailed
WHAT SUPPLIES DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A QUILT?
Basic sewing supplies is about all you need to make a quilt. These are my favorites to have for quilting.
- cutting mat
- rotary cutter
- clear cutting ruler
- sewing machine
- thread to match
- basic presser foot
- scissors
- iron and ironing board
- pins
- and of course – fabric (check your scrap stash at home first!)
WHERE TO BUY PRECUT FABRIC FOR QUILTING
Many quilt shops stock precut fabrics such as fat quarters, layer cakes and jelly rolls (long strips of precut fabric). Joann fabrics, Hobby Lobby, and Amazon are great resources, but I also like to visit my local smaller quilt shops and see the fabric in person.
You can also purchase patch blocks from creatives, if you like the idea of taking your time with more detailed quilt blocks.
SEWING TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL QUILTING
A little extra effort can go a long way when sewing a quilt. Here are my biggest tips:
- Always press your seams open!
- Keep thread tails trimmed as you go, otherwise you can end up stitching thread tails down and it can make a mess.
- Use sticky notes or masking tape to help label squares or rows, if that is helpful to you
- Always lay out your squares and make sure it is all how you want it to look – before you begin sewing.
- Keep a sharp blade on your rotary cutter. You’ll be cutting a lot!
- Be patient and enjoy the process! Find a good book or podcast to listen to, and you’ll really enjoy passing the time this way.
- If this is your first project, start with a baby quilt pattern size (crib quilt) or throw quilt size. It’s less fabric to wrangle!
- If you are a visual person, try finding simple patterns on youtube where they share a video tutorial.
CAN I HIRE OUT THE QUILTING STITCHES AND BINDING?
Yes! I actually prefer to hire out the actual quilting of the 3 layers. I’ve tried to do it on my home sewing machine, and it is very difficult to get a professional look. I take my finished quilt tops with the backing fabric of my choice to my local quilt shop. They then will use their big quilting machines to stitch all the layers together in the stitching pattern of my choice. I feel like my quilts become heirloom quality with this extra effort.
You can also choose to hand quilt them all, but either hand stitching the layers or tying your quilt. I myself prefer the look of machine quilting – but the choice is yours! It costs me about $75 for a small quilt to have them do this.
The smaller quilt shops also have business cards of local people who can bind your quilt if don’t want to do that yourself. This is a great service for new quilters!
I hope you’ve found a quilt project you want to try! I love how quilts can make such beautiful and useful decor in your home. Let me know if you have any questions.
I’m sorry to inform you that you did not “invent” the “lazy quilter’s quilt” method. It was around decades ago and was intended for scraps to be used in a quicker fashion than scrap quilts. My 98 year old mother in law made quilts decades ago, without measuring scrap pieces; just sew and go was what she said. You should seriously think about re-wording the paragraph and consider that decades before you were born, that method was in use. Just because it wasn’t put on the internet before you laid claim, does not mean you invented it.
Do you sew the top batting and backing together b4 you tie?
Thank you
Thanks for sharing these quilt patterns. I love the quilts you made for your children! I am curious… Where do you get your quilts “quilted” (long arm)? What is a responsible price. Thank you!
Love them all