Free pattern day! Tumbling Blocks quilts

Tumbling blocks are quilts of illusion! The traditional tumbling blocks pattern lends the appearance of three dimensions. Here are some FREE patterns for you to enjoy. To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" (or the hyperlinked website name) in the title above the quilt.  

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Prismatic Quilt, 40” x 60”, free pattern at Cloud 9 Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Cubism quilt, 48 x 60”, free pattern at Cloud Nine Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Tumbling Blocks quilt, ~45 x 54”, free pattern by Marcia Evans Moore for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Casting Shade quilt, 72 x 96”, free pattern by Emily Cross for American Quilters Society (CLICK for PDF download)

Central Park quilt, 52 x 59”, free pattern by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

City Blocks quilt, ~56 x 53”, free pattern by Jennifer Parks for P&B Textiles (CLICK for PDF download)

City Nights quilt, 37 x 56”, free pattern by Sally Ablett for Lewis & Irene (CLICK for PDF download)

Crosswinds quilt, 76 x 85”, free pattern by Natalie Crabtree for Anthology Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Geometrix quilt, 52 x 58”, free pattern by Sally Ablett for Lewis & Irene (CLICK for PDF download)

Hole in the Barn Door x3, free pattern by Joe Arnold for AQS (CLICK for PDF download) + (CLICK for templates)

Into The Blue quilt, 59 x 72”, free pattern by Larene Smith for Hoffman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Striped Boxes quilt, 81 x 88”, free pattern for Kaffe Fassett Collective at Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Cool Blocks Quilt for Kaffe Fassett Collective, ~73 x 82”, free pattern at Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Time for Bed quilt, ~47 x 59”, free pattern by Stacey Day for Dear Stella Design (CLICK for PDF download)

Lord of the Manor quilt, 36 x 50”, free pattern by Paper Pieces for Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Magic Squares quilt, 48 x 70”, free pattern by GillyMac Designs (CLICK for PDF download)

Rise Up quilt - Nara, 60” square, free pattern by Pink Hippo Quilts for Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Rise Up quilt - Orbit, free pattern at Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Steppin Up quilt, 70 x 88”, free pattern by Wendy Sheppard for Anthology Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Stepping Up the Volume, 70 x 88”, free pattern by Wendy Sheppard for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Brick and Mortar wall quilt, 22 x 28”, free pattern by Whistler Studio for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Terrarium quilt, 52.5 x 60”, free pattern by Bonnie Christine and Maxie Makes for Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Third Dimension quilt, ~42 x 45”, free pattern by Jinny Beyer (CLICK for PDF download)

Catwalk quilt in two sizes (53 x 59” or queen), free pattern by Jinny Beyer (CLICK for PDF download)

Scrappy Blocks quilt, free pattern by Jinny Beyer (CLICK for PDF download)

Boxes block in 3 sizes (6-12"), free pattern by Jinny Beyer (CLICK for PDF download)

Cubist Illusion pillow, 20 x 14”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Cubic Square Pillow, 18 x 22”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Cubist Illusion pillow, 22 x 14”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Interlink (woven) Pillow, 12” square, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

 

Image credits: This post was updated on June 23, 2025. Individual images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs; complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links. The photo montage shown on this page is a derivative work that is the property of Quilt Inspiration. If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it. Please email us at QuiltInspiration {at} gmail {dot} com. 

Vintage and Modern Valentines: Part 2

Did we mention that we love Valentine's Day? Vintage and modern hearts are so beautiful in quilts.  Also, quilts are an expression of love; the love that goes into making a quilt can be expressed in tangible form on Valentine's Day.  Here are some wonderful quilts which caught our eye.

Broken Heart, 56 x 76" by Laura Jansen at Butterfly Quilting (Vacaville, California)

Laura Jansen is a professional longarm quilter who is based in Northern California. Her beautiful "Broken Heart" quilt won First Place at the 2011 Dixon California May Fair.  The three-dimensional appearance of the hearts is due to the use of two different red fabrics; the fabric on the right hand side of the heart is slightly darker. The hearts are based on the "Love the Log Cabin" pattern from the book 25 Years and Still Stripping by Eleanor Burns.  A friend of Laura's, who taught a class on the pattern, called it the Broken Heart quilt.

Close-up, Broken Heart by Laura Jansen at Butterfly Quilting

In this close-up photo you can see the details of Laura Jansen's lovely quilting (can you also see the log cabin?)  The setting blocks are filled with hearts and feathers, which are echoed by feathers inside the red hearts.  Laura has enhanced the 3D appearance of the hearts by quilting parallel lines in the darker strips. You might not be able to tell how large the hearts are from this photo; for perspective, see a photo of Laura with the quilt at Butterfly Quilting. Also, at Laura's Flickr photostream, you can see her gallery of Broken Heart quilts.

Heart and Feather Wholecloth Quilt by Leah Day at The Free Motion Quilting Project

As you may know, Leah Day is the free-motion-quilting guru who started The Free Motion Quilting Project. Now, with over 365 designs created, the project is a resource for thousands of quilters around the world !   The stunning Heart and Feather quilt shown above was the subject of her 10th Quilt-Along, and the pattern and instructions are free at this link.  You can find all kinds of FMQ tools and supplies, along with instructional books and DVD's at the associated online shop, Day Style Designs.  Last but not least, Leah offers a Craftsy class called Free Motion Quilting a Sampler (there is currently a 50% discount if you follow the link at Day Style Designs !) 

i heart you, 57 x 57" or 108 x 108", by Vanessa Christenson

Vanessa Christenson is one of the modern quilt designers we admire, and this luscious heart is her first quilt and pattern for 2013.  The "i heart you" quilt can be made in either a baby quilt size or a large throw; the easy pattern features half-square triangles as shown below. 

The "i heart you" quilt, and the faux-pleated pillow shown in the first photo are made with Vanessa's own Simply Color ombre pink fabric for Moda. Just think: a quilt like this can be made with only a single fabric, plus a white background !  We love ombres, which are so useful for adding dimensionality; Vanessa's collection has 6 different hues including a gorgeous graphite gray.  For more information see Vanessa Christenson's post at V and Co (you can find the 'i heart you' pattern here).

Heart and Home Village, 63 x 72" by Jan Millner, 2012 River City Quilters' Guild; photo by Quilt Inspiration

This charming "Heart and Home Village" by Jan Millner has eight heart-themed houses along with tree and bunny applique blocks, surrounded by a heart-and-ribbon border. Jan says: "[This quilt was] made in a precision-piecing workshop in 2010. The next year we bought and downsized into a red townhouse in a village – coincidence?"  The quilt design and kit are by Arlene Stamper and Melissa Harris at The Quilt Company.  The close-up photo of  Jan Millner's quilt shows "The Purr-fect Heart House" block; you can even see tiny cats in the front windows.  Jan won a third-place ribbon for this quilt; in this photo you can see her expert quilting, including the scalloped roof on the house.

Theresa’s Heart Strings, 62 x 48", by Theresa Caselman (Hemet, California) as seen at PIQF 2012.  Photo by Quilt Inspiration.

We spotted this cheerful heart quilt at the 2012 Pacific International Quilt Show; this scrappy quilt was made with 219 different fabrics. Theresa Caselman says: "As an artist new to quilting, I love creating with the endless palette of colorful fabrics. This is my first quilt using hand applique and hand quilting; it took me 2 years to complete."  Theresa embellished many of the hearts with trinkets and jewels. The "strings" are made with bias strips that are curved into different shapes. We recognize this whimsical design as "Heart Strings" by Cindy Cooksey (a pattern is available at Jukebox Quilts).

Image Credits: Images of Broken Heart, Heart and Feather Wholecloth and 'i heart you' are shown with the generous permission of the artists.  The other photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Winter Quilts: snow, ice and starry nights

We're wrapping up our Winter Quilts Series! Thanks to these remarkable artists, we've had a blast learning about all the different techniques that can be used to create snowflakes: reverse shadow trapunto, quick strip paper piecing, kaleidoscopes, Notan, sun printing and more. Here are all the quilts we've shown over the last two weeks, along with links to the original websites where you can find books, patterns, prints and other products. And now, it's time for us to move on to our next Free Pattern Day and a special featured artist. See you on Monday!

Row 1: Snow Flurries by Peggy Martin at Peggy Martin Quilts; Flurries by Cheryl Wittmayer at Sew Be It; Snowflake Delight by Angie Padilla at Angie's Quilt Pattern Shop. Row 2: Winter Wonderland by Leah Day at Day Style Designs; Notan Snowflake by Nancy Schlegel at NRS Quilter as seen at the Fast Friday Fabric Challenge; Glistening Frost by Susan Varanka at Susan's Quilt Creations. Row 3: Kaleidoscopic XXII: Ice Crystals, c. 2000, Paula Nadelstern; Floating Mariner, block and quilt, by Jennifer Ofenstein at Sew Hooked. Row 4: Kaleidoscopic XXII: Ice Crystals, detail, c. 2000, Paula Nadelstern; Frosty Window by Sue Andrus at Andrus Gardens Quilts; Dancing Twilight by Cheryl Malkowski at Cheryl Rose Creations.

Winter Wonderland

It's Day 4 of our Winter Quilts Series! We're excited about today's stunning quilt by Leah Day of Free Motion Quilting Project fame. Let's explore a winter wonderland of gorgeous snowflakes along with a clever technique for snowflake construction. This quilt won Best Machine Workmanship at the AQS Quilt Show & Contest 2011 in Knoxville, TN.  Leah says: "This wall hanging quilt looks intricate and advanced, when in actuality, any quilter could make it!"

Winter Wonderland 50 x 50" by Leah Day, pattern at Day Style Designs (North Carolina)

The key to the snowflakes lies in Leah's Reverse Shadow Trapunto Technique. This technique involves layering felt over fabric, stitching the motif, then clipping out the motif design.   Using a quilt-as-you-go technique, each block is first created, fully quilted, then put together with the other blocks to complete the quilt; you can read about all the steps at the links at the bottom of this post.  Here is a detail view of the quilting that won the award (this is not done on a long-arm machine):

In addition, here is an interesting and fun beginner sampler quilt that allows you to practice 30 different beginner level designs from the Free Motion Quilting Project:

At The Free Motion Quilting Project you can find 365 *free* FMQ designs. For more information on Leah Day and the Project see Frequently Asked Questions and Start Here.  Leah's instructional DVDs and other supplies can be found at the Day Style Designs Quilt Shop.

Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Day Style Designs.  You can read the fascinating story of the snowflake quilt at Leah's blog: Winter Wonderland Part 1, Winter Wonderland Part 2, Winter Wonderland - Finished, and Whoo Hoo for Winter Wonderland.

Free Pattern Day: Halloween!

We've assembled dozens of free patterns for Halloween quilts, table runners and pillows ! NOTE:  This post has been recently UPDATED.  For the latest patterns please visit our Free Pattern Day for Halloween quilts (CLICK HERE!)

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on craft jewelry and other finds ! For more free quilt patterns, please follow us on X (Twitter !)

 

Image credits:  This post was updated on September 9, 2025. If any links are broken, we'd love to know; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.