We all know the feeling. You spot a fat quarter bundle sitting on the shelf at your favorite quilt shop with the perfect colors, and before you've even talked yourself into buying it, it's at the register getting ready to head home with you. Then it gets home, and there it sits… because now it's too pretty to cut into. Sound familiar? Absolutely no judgment here - my stash could tell you some very similar stories.
What is a fat quarter?
If you're newer to quilting, a fat quarter is a half yard of fabric cut in half, resulting in an 18" x 22" rectangle. The good news is that fat quarters are basically made for quilting. Those rectangles are the perfect size for the least overwhelming cutting experience. They come pre-coordinated so you don't have to agonize over your color choices, and there are so many gorgeous patterns designed specifically to make the most of them. So consider this your permission slip to pull that bundle out of your fabric stash and use it!
Here are nine fat-quarter-friendly quilt patterns we love, from quick beginner makes to intricate-looking designs, with a little something for every quilter out there.
Wyld Whirl Quilt - Wyldwood Creative
We've got to start with our own baby! The Wyld Whirl Quilt is about as fat-quarter-friendly as it gets. It's a beginner-friendly, traditionally pieced design that comes together FAST, and the whole thing is built around using up those fat quarters you've got hanging around. The best part? There's no fixed quilt size to stress about. Use as many fat quarters as you have and make whatever size quilt you want - from a sweet four fat quarter mini quilt all the way up to a generous 73" square. Larger scraps work well in this quilt pattern too.
If you want your hand held through it, we've got a whole Wyld Whirl quilt-along series with step-by-step videos, plus a mock-up tool so you can audition your fabrics before you cut. It's the perfect first quilt.
LoriAnn Quilt - Wyldwood Creative
The LoriAnn Quilt holds a special place in our heart here at Wyldwood Creative. It's based on a quilt Tawnee's mom made back in high school, and she named it after her. It's a confident-beginner quilt pattern that uses fat quarters to make patchwork triangles turned into half square triangles. This quilt pattern is a fantastic way to show off a whole fabric collection or showcase those fabrics sitting in your stash for a scrappy look. Make it in the throw size (perfect for any precut) or go all in on the bed size, which is an exact copy of the original… and let me tell you, it's a beast of a finished quilt. If you want the full story behind this one, we shared it all in Meet the LoriAnn Quilt Pattern.
Courthouse Steps Quilt - Toad & Sew
Here's a fun one: the Courthouse Steps zine from Toad & Sew is a completely free, single-page printable that you cut and fold into a cutesy little booklet. Courthouse Steps is a classic block, a cousin of the log cabin, and is totally beginner-friendly since it's all straight seams building out from a center square.
The zine walks you through cutting 16 fat quarters plus one accent tone, teaches you the block, and then hands you three different layouts to play with. Because it's the Courthouse Steps block, the possibilities really are endless from there.
It was designed around Taylor's Nostalgia Bundle for Art Gallery Fabrics, but any 16 fat quarters you love will do the trick. Little side note that makes me smile: Taylor of Toad & Sew is the talented human behind Wyldwood's branding and website, so this one feels a bit like family.
Star Struck Quilt - Cotton and Joy
Star Struck Quilt by Fran Gulick is the perfect answer to that lingering fat quarter bundle you've got. This is a mix-and-match star quilt where each block comes together quickly and has a secondary design that appears once they're all sewn up. It's an advanced-beginner make, so it does ask you to hold a consistent ¼" seam and be comfortable matching seams. The pattern includes a Color-Your-Own page to help you plan your fabrics before you cut. Grab a stack of your favorite fat quarters and pick your size: throw (66" x 66"), twin (66" x 82"), or bed (99" x 99").
Circe Quilt - Miss Make
For something bold and a little more graphic, meet the Circe Quilt (that's SIR-see) by Miss Make. It's an arrangement of half rectangle triangles that spirals across the quilt. Circe is actually one of our favorite patterns here at Wyldwood Creative.
There's a two-color version if you want a more modern look and a multi-color version that's precut-friendly and opens up all kinds of possibilities. It's a confident beginner pattern, and if HRTs make you a little nervous, don't panic! Circe's triangles work with a standard Bloc Loc ruler for easy trimming, and the pattern even includes custom trim templates for both righties and lefties (plus a coloring sheet for planning your layout). Very thoughtful.
Day & Night Quilt - Taralee Quiltery
Day & Night Quilt from Taralee Quiltery leans into a contrasting design just as the name promises. Tara Evans has a fine-art background, and it shows! Her designs are bold, graphic, and unapologetically modern. This quilt pattern is wonderfully flexible with five size options that run from a single-block 20" wall hanging all the way up to a twenty-five-block 92" bed quilt, so you can make it as big or as small as your stash allows. It's fat quarter-friendly (templates are included for cutting some of the pieces), which makes it a fun way to play with high-contrast fabric pulls and watch that day-and-night effect really pop.
River Heights Quilt - The Blanket Statement
River Heights Quilt by Erin of The Blanket Statement is a modern, block-based design with big, oversized blocks that really let your fabrics shine. This means those fat quarters with the larger prints would work really well here! It comes with three layout options so you can make it your own: FQs + Background, All FQs, or a modern 2-Color version. It even works with directional prints and a huge range of palettes, and it's offered in six sizes from a 36" baby all the way up to a 108" king.
Nova Star Quilt - Then Came June
Nova Star Quilt by Meghan Buchanan is a super fun, bold, modern star quilt, and it's the definition of mix-and-match. The block-based, scrap-friendly design comes with two options: a Color Explosion version (this is the fat quarter version) and a sleeker Modern Solid version. It sits at the advanced-beginner/intermediate level and comes in crib, throw, and bed sizes.
Knitted Blooms Quilt - Lo & Behold Stitchery
Last but absolutely not least, the Knitted Blooms Quilt by Brittany Lloyd of Lo & Behold Stitchery is such a cozy, retro-inspired charmer. Using strip piecing and some clever construction, it creates blocks that look just like traditional knitted flowers. The Modern colorway is the fat quarter-friendly one, so a scrappy pull of prints is so fun here, while the Traditional colorway adds sashing if you want a more classic look. It's an intermediate pattern with a whopping nine sizes (from a little pillow all the way up to a king) and three colorways, plus coloring pages and a quilt planner included in the quilt pattern to keep you organized. There's basically a version for every project and every mood.
Time To Cut Into Some Fat Quarters
Here's the thing I have to remind myself (and now you): there will always be more gorgeous fabric. Seriously. It might feel like you need to buy and hoard and save all of the fabric because they never reprint. But I promise that there are so many new fabric collections on the horizon and many opportunities to use the good fabric. Don't let those bundles collect dust because they feel too precious!
Need a bundle to get started? We've always got a fresh stack of fat quarter bundles waiting for a good home. And if you make one of these, please share it with us, we love seeing what you're up to! Tag us @wyldwoodcreative so we can cheer you on.
Happy Sewing 🙂
