Your First Quilt Without Tricky Points: 6 Best Easy Quilt Patterns

Many first quilts stall at the same spot: a neat stack of cut squares on the ironing board and a pattern that jumps straight from cutting to a finished top. What a beginner needs is a pattern that does the thinking, with straight seams, clear yardage and a photo for each step. That is what makes easy quilt patterns worth buying, even when the blocks look simple.

Sizes run from a mini quilt to a king, and two of the six say outright that they were written for beginners. The notes after the list follow one quilt from the cutting chart to the binding.

Easy Quilt Patterns, Compared Size by Size

Single blocks and appliqué panels belong to other roundups on this site, and I passed on the advanced designer quilts that rely on specialized techniques.

TL;DR: From a mini to king-size tops: Irish Square Dance and Anything Goes in four sizes each, Yankee Doodle Stars at 66 x 84 inches, a picnic throw, a scrappy jack-o'-lantern with table-mat steps and the Apricot mini.

• Irish Square Dance Quilt Pattern – Best first quilt
• Yankee Doodle Stars Quilt Pattern – Best star quilt
• Anything Goes Quilt Sewing Pattern – Best for any bed size
• Let's Have a Picnic Quilt Pattern – Best throw quilt
• Scrappy Jack-o'-Lantern Quilt Pattern – Best seasonal quilt
• Apricot Mini Quilt Sewing Pattern – Best mini quilt

Quick Comparison

What Makes These Six Easy

Easy here means fewer decisions, not fewer steps. A beginner quilt still goes through cutting, piecing, layering, quilting and binding, but an easy quilt pattern keeps each step predictable: straight seams, pieces large enough to handle and a photo where a new quilter would hesitate.

• Yankee Doodle Stars is the quilt that looks more complicated than the other five, yet the listing says there are no Y-seams, so every star comes together with straight seams.
• Irish Square Dance is written with a beginner in mind, with color photos of every step and a short glossary of quilting terms.
• The scrappy jack-o’-lantern uses mixed prints on purpose, so nothing has to match.
• Anything Goes and Apricot have very short listings. Look at the preview images to see how the steps are explained before you buy.

The one skill none of them can do for you is an accurate 1/4 inch seam. Beginner guides in the search results agree that accurate cutting and a consistent quarter inch seam are what make blocks fit together. Small errors add up: a row of ten blocks has nine seams, and if each seam is 1/16 inch too wide, it takes 1/8 inch out of the row (1/16 from each block), so the row ends up 9 x 1/8 = 1 1/8 inches short. Accuracy shows even more on solid fabrics, which is why my modern quilt patterns list suggests a trial block before the full top.

Precuts, Stash Fabric or Yardage

Precuts take care of part of the cutting. In a quilt using precuts, charm packs are 5 inch squares, layer cakes are 10 inch squares and jelly rolls are 2 1/2 inch strips cut across the width of the fabric. Fat quarters are cut from yardage and measure about 18 x 22 inches. The jack-o’-lantern listing calls itself precut friendly but does not name a precut, so check the cutting chart before you buy a bundle.

Irish Square Dance goes the other way and breaks the yardage down by color, which makes it easier to pull fabric from your own stash. Whichever route you take, plan the backing and binding fabric too, and check whether the yardage chart includes them or lists them separately. A free fabric yardage chart helps you write the totals down before you shop.

After the Top Is Pieced

The listings here focus on the quilt top. These are the steps that usually follow:

1. Press the top and check that the edges are straight; press seams the way the pattern says, to one side or open.
2. Cut backing and batting larger than the top on every side, so the layers can shift a little while you quilt. One beginner guide in the search results asks for backing at least 5 inches wider all around. Quilting cotton is usually about 42 to 44 inches wide, so most backings wider than that are pieced.
3. Baste the three layers with safety pins, basting spray or long hand stitches, so the quilt sandwich does not pucker.
4. Quilt. Straight line quilting with a walking foot is a common first choice on a home machine, and two quilting guides in the results start beginners there.
5. Bind. Double-fold binding strips are commonly cut 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches wide, folded in half, sewn to the edge and turned over to the back.

A Size You Can Quilt at Home

A king top uses the same seams as a lap quilt, but small errors add up over more blocks and the layout is harder to handle. Machine quilting it is another matter: at home the whole bulk has to pass under the arm, so many quilters send large tops to a longarm quilting service. For a first quilt project, a quilt size between a mini and a baby quilt or throw keeps that step manageable. Bed sizes from twin to king, with backing and binding math, are in my quilt patterns guide.

The Apricot mini is the smallest pick; the picnic quilt is sold as a throw, though its listing gives no measurements. Yankee Doodle Stars, at 66 x 84 inches, is in my view the point where a home machine starts to feel crowded. Irish Square Dance and Anything Goes let you start with the lap size and make a larger size later; other whole-quilt designs are in the quilt patterns section.

New Quilter Questions

What is the easiest quilt to make for a beginner?

Patchwork squares sewn in rows, such as a nine patch repeated across the top, have the fewest points to match. Squares and triangles together come next, as in the pinwheels on the Anything Goes cover.

Can you make a quilt in a day?

A small one, sometimes. The Irish Square Dance designer says a lap-size top can be pieced in an afternoon, but basting, quilting and binding add their own hours, so it is safer to plan the whole quilt over several sessions.

Do I need a special sewing machine?

No. A home machine with a good straight stitch handles the piecing. A 1/4 inch foot helps with the seams and a walking foot with quilting the layers.

Are scrap quilts good for beginners?

Often, yes, because uneven color placement reads as part of the design. The jack-o’-lantern pattern is built around that idea, and it includes a table mat for the leftover scraps.

What to Have on the Table Before Cutting

• A rotary cutter, a self-healing mat and an acrylic ruler at least 24 inches long, so a strip can be cut across folded fabric in one pass.
• A 1/4 inch presser foot, or a seam guide taped to the machine bed.
• Pins or clips, a neutral thread for piecing and a fresh needle.
• A walking foot if you plan to quilt straight lines yourself; it helps but is not required.

Easy quilt patterns assume these basics more than any special skill. The Yankee Doodle Stars designer says it plainly: if you can use a rotary cutter and an acrylic ruler and sew a straight line, you can finish the quilt. For single blocks to practice on first, see the quilt block patterns roundup.

You May Also Like

• Pinwheels, Bows and Maple Leaves: 7 Best Quilt Block Patterns
• 9 Best Appliqué Quilt Patterns for Turning Scraps into Pictures
• Coffee, Cats or Christmas: 10 Best Mug Rug Patterns

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.