Quilt design tool
Pick a block, set the quilt size and recolor the fabrics. The yardage and cutting list underneath update as you go. Free, no account, nothing to install.
1. Block
2. Fabrics
3. Size and layout
Tip: click any block in the quilt to turn it a quarter.
Yardage and cutting list
| Fabric | Buy | Cut |
|---|
Cut sizes include ¼″ seams. Yardage is rounded up to the next ⅛ yard and includes 4″ for squaring up. WOF = width of fabric.
How to use the quilt design tool
- Choose a block. Eight traditional blocks are built in: Sawtooth Star, Ohio Star, Churn Dash, Pinwheel, Nine Patch, Four Patch, Half-Square Triangle and Hourglass.
- Recolor the five fabric slots. Background plus fabrics A to D. Click a swatch and pick the color closest to your fabric.
- Set the size. Choose a block size, then type how many blocks go across and down, or start from a bed size and the tool works out the count.
- Try layouts. Alternate pieced blocks with plain ones, turn every other block, or click single blocks to turn them. Half-square triangles turn into zigzags, pinwheels, or a medallion this way.
- Read the yardage. The table lists how much of each fabric to buy and exactly what to cut. Binding and backing are figured from the finished size.
How the yardage is worked out
Each patch gets its cut size from the finished size: squares and rectangles add ½″ (¼″ seam on each side), half-square triangles start from a square ⅞″ larger than finished and are cut once on the diagonal, and hourglass units start from a square 1¼″ larger and are cut twice. Pieces of the same size are cut from strips across the width of the fabric, using 40, 42 or 44 usable inches. The tool tries the strip both ways and keeps the shorter one, adds 4″ so you can straighten the edge, and rounds up to the next ⅛ yard, which is the smallest cut most quilt shops sell.
Binding is figured for 2½″ double-fold strips around the whole quilt plus 12″ for joining and corners. Backing is 4″ larger than the top on every side, which is what most longarm quilters ask for; the table shows the seamed-panel yardage and the 108″ wide-back alternative.
Common block sizes
Pick a block size your block's grid divides evenly. A Nine Patch or Ohio Star is a 3 × 3 grid, so 6″, 9″, 12″ or 15″ give clean ruler measurements. A Sawtooth Star is 4 × 4, so 8″, 12″ or 16″ work. The tool warns you when a size would need sixteenths of an inch.
FAQ
Is this quilt design tool free?
Yes. Designing, the yardage chart, the cutting list, PNG download and printing are free, with no account and no limit on quilts.
Is my design saved?
Your last design stays in this browser. Copy share link puts the whole design in the link, so you can open it on another device or send it to a quilting friend. Nothing is uploaded to us.
Why does my pattern's yardage differ from this?
Patterns often cut half-square triangles two-at-a-time or eight-at-a-time, or cut flying geese from one large square, and many add a safety margin. Here the Sawtooth Star points are pieced as half-square triangles, so its yardage can differ slightly from a flying-geese method. If you're between two cuts, buy the larger one; you'll want the leftover for a label or scrappy binding.
How big should my quilt be?
Use the quilt size calculator: enter your mattress and how far you want the quilt to hang over the sides.