Holidays and Their Key Quiltable Dates!

Written by Sarah Morris of @ruthlesslyhandmade

If you’ve ever found yourself frantically binding a quilt the night before Halloween - or worse, finishing a Christmas quilt in January - you are not alone (I swear, this was never me, but now I have kids and it's me for every single project!). Quilting is a hobby full of joy and creativity, but we can be real: it takes time. And in the land of fabric and thread (and thousands of other obligations), time moves fast. I mean, as I’m writing this, it’s July 4th…and I’m already thinking I should’ve started on my fall and Halloween quilts weeks ago. Wild, right? That’s why I thought it’d be fun (and helpful!) to map out some key holidays and seasons and backdate the quilting process - when to buy fabric, when to start piecing, when to quilt - so we can actually enjoy our makes during the season they’re meant for. I even created a handy printable to help you plan your quilting year around those big seasonal moments.

Before I introduce the table, here is the simple formula that I used (especially if I missed an important date you want to note on your sewing calendar!):

Quilting Process Timeline Formula:

• Buy Fabric = 100 days before the holiday.
• Start Sewing = 86 days before the holiday.
• Start Quilting = 72 days before the holiday.
• Enjoy Quilt = 30 days before the holiday.

One hundred days sounds like a lot, but it aligns pretty well with when fabric manufacturers start releasing their seasonal collections. Plus, 100 is an easy number to remember, and we quilters have enough on our minds already! If we aim to buy fabric 100 days before, start sewing as soon as the fabric arrives, and then 1) quilt it on our domestic machines, 2) ship it to be finished by our favorite long arming friend, or 3) spend our dear sweet time hand quilting snuggled up on the couch, we should have about a month to enjoy the quilt with anticipation for the holiday!

Key Quiltable Dates:

It’s worth noting that while these dates are based on 2025, many holidays and seasonal shifts don’t fall on the exact same day each year, especially things like Easter or even Thanksgiving. So if you're using this as a yearly planner, you’ll want to double-check the calendar and adjust your “100 days out” timeline accordingly. That said, the rhythm still works, regardless of the year. (And a gentle nudge to encourage you to hand quilt your seasonal quilt—you’ll love spending that extra time with it before the actual holiday!)

Holidays as Decorational Markers

Some holidays—like Valentine’s Day, Spring Equinox, Easter, and Mother’s Day—are natural fits for floral prints, pastels, and soft springtime colors. Others, like the Solstices or Equinoxes, are beautiful markers of seasonal shifts, when cozy textures, rich tones, or bright sunny palettes start showing up in our homes. And honestly? You don’t even need a holiday as an excuse—these checkpoints are just helpful guideposts to pace your making so the quilts are ready when the right time comes. So, if I were reading this today, it looks like I'm behind on starting my fall seasonal quilts, but I could still have plenty of time for my Halloween quilts.

Whether you're planning to gift a finished quilt, rotate seasonal decor, or simply want to stay on top of things for once (my future self will get back to finishing everything early, I promise!), this framework is here to help. Print out the PDF, plug in your dates, and take the pressure off. Quilting should feel joyful, not like a last-minute sprint. So here’s to slower stitching, better planning, and actually enjoying our quilts in season. You've got time. Let’s make the most of it.