Strip Pieced Diagonal Beginner Quilt
Welcome to the Strip-Pieced Diagonal Quilt Tutorial!
If you follow the blog, you’ll know my 13 year old son has recently approached me about “summer volunteer hours.” We decided to work on quilts for charity. Needing a simple quilt pattern, this quilt was born. The tutorial was tested by this kiddo who has never stitched before. The design is created by sewing sets of strips, then chopping up the sets. It is quick and super easy. Finished Size: 36″ x 48″
The quilt is created from one block:
The quilt finishes at 36″ x 48″, a baby size quilt. If you want to make this bigger, 72″ x 96″ (large enough for a bed) simply make this tutorial size 4 times and stitch the quadrants together.
Fabric Requirements:
- 2/3 yard medium color fabric
- 2/3 yard medium color fabric
- 5/8 yard dark fabric (diagonal squares and binding)
Construction:
Use a rotary cutter
From EACH medium fabric:
- One strip 3-1/2″ x width of fabric
- One strip 6-1/2″ x width of fabric
- One strip 9-1/2″ x width of fabric
From the dark fabric:
- Four strips 3-1/2″ x width of fabric
- Four strips 2-1/2″ x width of fabric (binding)
Join the following rows using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Use the Seamingly Accurate Seam Guide to ensure the 1/4″ is accurate before the fabric hits the presser foot. The seam guide is great for “training” beginning sewist’s eyes.
Make a total of FOUR strip sets for one baby quilt.
Press seam allowances towards the dark fabric.
With each strip set, first “even up” the ends trimming a small amount of fabric.
Once the end is square, cut 12 columns from each set, 3-1/2″ wide.
To really make this quilt FAST, we layered all four sets, staggering them 1″ so the seams wouldn’t lay on each other, and rotary cut all twelve columns at once.
Arrange the 3-1/2″ cut columns so one column from each strip set is represented in the block, as described below:
Join the four columns using a 1/4″ seam allowance and the Seamingly Accurate Seam Guide.
Arrange the 12 identical blocks into a 3 x 4 grid.
We created a diagonal grid with our blocks, but with color and block arrangement, you can make this quilt look really unique.
Join the blocks using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Press.
Finish the quilt by making a quilt sandwich, quilting and applying the matching, cut binding.
Get the whole pdf pattern HERE.
My son will be donating his quilt to the Bright Hopes Committee at the Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild. After he quilts it, he should have met his volunteer hour requirement. The real question, though, will be: Did he catch the quilt bug?!! I’ll keep you posted!
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3 Comments
Hi Rehanna – I am new to quilting (altho’ I have been sewing for many years) and I love your work and designs. I will be making this one as soon s I finish the nine for my grandchildren. Keep up the great work.
Glenn
July 22, 2015
I’m new to quilting and I love everything about it but i don’t know to much but I will keep trying and I do like everything you post on the internet
July 27, 2015
I think its wonderful your son is not only involved in charity, but is learning a little about sewing. His future wife will thank you when he can re-attach his own buttons onto his clothes!
September 6, 2015