The Easiest Quilting Patterns for Beginners

The hardest part of any activity is getting started. If you're itching to learn the art of quilting, now is the time to get started. Although quilting can be tricky, there are plenty of simple and easy patterns to practice until this process becomes more natural. To learn more about some of the easiest quilting patterns for beginners, continue reading our blog.

How To Find a Pattern That Fits Your Comfort Level

If you're unsure how to browse for patterns that feel accomplishable for your comfort level, consider focusing solely on shape patterns.

Patterns that require quilting familiar shapes will help you practice your stitching skills while simultaneously accomplishing a design. Once you feel more comfortable and confident nailing these patterns, you can advance to more complex projects.

Pro Tip for Beginner Quilters

Here's a tip to make any quilting design easier: use precut fabrics! Precut fabrics are die-cut and rolled in a bundle to easily add to any fabric panel of your quilts. These precut bundles can come in various measurements, but most of these rolls have two or three feet of fabric prepared for crafting.

Using precut fabrics as a beginner quilter comes with several advantages. First, with these fabrics prepared, you can focus on other elements of quilting. Second, since these fabrics come in smaller sizes and are often economically-friendly purchases, you won't have to worry about wasting material. If a pattern does not work or you need to restart your quilt, you won't be left with an abundance of fabric scraps.

Block Patterns

Rectangular and square block shape patterns are universally the best quilting design for any beginner quilter. These patterns serve as the building blocks of quilt patterns to slowly build your confidence and prepare you to move onto more complex designs. One of the reasons squares and rectangle patterns are so beneficial to start with is because these shapes are familiar and easy to measure.

Once you find fabrics you'd like to pair together, simply cut equally measured squares or rectangles to make up the front of your quilt. After you cut your material, you can lay your squares side-by-side on your floor to preview your design.

We recommend starting with standard squares, but once you feel more comfortable, try experimenting with different shape measurements. Mix large squares with smaller rectangles and play with the composition of your design. You can even quilt a square within a square and play with new frames and borders. The shape of these patterns will feel like filling in a puzzle at first, but you'll perfect this design over time.

Heart-Shaped Patterns

Once you've perfected your square and rectangular quilts, you can advance to a more complex design. Heart-shaped patterns are an excellent next step to advance your skills. Heart-shaped patterns consist of using smaller square-shaped blocks to compose a larger fabric heart.

These hearts can be composed of different fabrics or stand out as one fiery red heart against a fabric background. Since these patterns build off a design you already know, they're easy to accomplish and fun for experimenting with different types and textures of fabric.

Whether you prefer to continue a pattern around the heart shape of your quilt or choose to keep this background solid is up to your creative discretion!

Triangular Patterns

Triangular puzzle patterns have several similarities to square block patterns. However, these designs are also more advanced. Triangular patterns involve a similar process of starting with equally measured shapes and outlining the composition of a pattern. These shapes can be more complicated to pair together, though.

While square patterns force new quilters to focus on blending the shapes of a design, triangle quilts pull more attention to coordinating fabrics. Since you'll need to cut more triangles than squares for these patterns, focusing on the colors and textures of your fabric will be more critical. As you coordinate more and more types and colors of fabrics together, you'll gain better practice at executing a balanced design. Perfecting triangular patterns will also prepare you for more advanced quilting projects.

Star Formation Patterns

At first glance, star pattern quilts may look incredibly intimidating to new quilters. These designs can appear complex and intricately complicated from afar. But rest assured, there are plenty of star pattern quilts that are perfect for beginner quilters.

The key to overcoming the intimidation of star pattern quilts is to look closer. These patterns mainly involve cutting familiar shapes like squares and triangles into smaller measurements and building these shapes together into a larger design. Rather than becoming overwhelmed by these patterns, start by following the precise measurements for cutting each shape.

One reason star quilts are such a beneficial pattern to learn as a beginner is that these patterns target more focus on measurements. Following the exact dimensions of your pattern will be vital to pulling together the finished shape of this design.

Once you finish cutting your smaller shapes, building your figures into one giant star will be easier. The stitching and sewing process for this quilt will require more time and attention but focusing section by section will make this process easier. Before you know it, you'll have a finished star quilt to show off your quilting progress to friends and family.

Delving into different quilting patterns and designs can be intimidating if you're not sure where to start. Review some of the easiest quilting patterns for beginners to get started on your first quilt. Each of these patterns and designs will challenge you to focus on a different aspect of quilting. The more you practice cutting shapes, pairing fabrics, and calculating measurements, the more prepared you will be for your next quilt. Remember to be patient as you learn each of these patterns and slowly watch yourself grow into this hobby over time. Before you know it, you'll graduate to an advanced quilter!

Here at Lindley General Store, we offer various fabrics and quilting supplies to help you get started on your quilting patterns. Whether you need precut Canada fabric panels for quilting or simply want to browse our crafting supplies, we have an endless selection of options. To learn more about our store, check out our website.