The Easiest Quilt Patterns for Beginners

This article is a follow-up to my previous article 'What Do I Need To Sart Quilting'. That article covers all of the tools you'll need to start quilting, so if you're not at the buying a pattern stage yet, give that one a read first! This article focuses on Beginner Quilt Patterns. I'll be showing you 3 patterns today, varying in difficulty from New Beginner to Advanced Beginner. With each pattern, I'll also share some fabric suggestions to help you get started with as little stress and overwhelm as possible!

Granny Cabin is a favourite around here. We've made it at least 3 times. Possibly more, but we've sort of lost count at this point! 😆 However, I could only find photos of one version. See below!

It's the first pattern I'd recommend to a new quilter because it's so easy to construct and the pattern is so well-written. This pattern can be made using either fat quarters or jelly rolls. This makes shopping for fabrics easy because you can buy a fat quarter bundle or a set of 2½" strips, and you won't need to make a lot of decisions about fabric. You'll of course need some fabric for the background and binding, but I'll cover that later. 

This quilt pattern is also great because it's strip pieced (not sure what that is? There's an article on that over at Meaford Pattern Press). And the seams are all nested. If you're unfamiliar with that term and what it means for the finished quilt, nested seams reduce a lot of bulk because you don't have all of your seam allowances going in the same direction.

Why We Love Granny Cabin:

    👉 Strip pieced

    👉 Nested seams

    👉 Well-written and thorough instructions

    👉 Fat quarter-friendly

As I mentioned before, this quilt pattern is both fat quarter and jelly roll friendly. You could use our Golden Hour fat quarter bundle (I love this bundle so much😍). You'll also need yardage for the background, which I'd suggest Pure Solids White Linen and a blue for the binding. In this case, the blue shown is one from the bundle so it would coordinate nicely with the quilt top.

This is probably one of my favourite beginner quilt patterns because I designed this quilt pattern as a gift for my sister. But that's not why it's on the list! This pattern uses basic quilting techniques so it really is perfect for beginners. Plus, there's a lot of big pieces, so it goes together quite quickly. Because of the big squares and simple layout, I've found that it works with almost any fabric. Bold prints, directional prints, tiny prints? Doesn't matter. They all work in this quilt!

Why We Love Memory Wall:

    👉 Basic quilting techniques

    👉 Works great with most fabrics

    👉 Thorough, illustrated instructions

    👉 Fat quarter-friendly

Memory Wall works great with prints and is fat quarter-friendly. I'd suggest the Amber Sunset fat quarter bundle with Pure Solids White Linen for the background. Yes, I know I'm getting predictable! If it ain't broke don't fix it! White Linen is a great colour! Anywho, the bundle has 10 fabrics but you'll only need 8 for a throw quilt so pick your favourites for this quilt and stash the other 2 for a future project. For the binding and Frame fabric, we suggest Pure Solids Coffee Bean.

First Gift would be a great second quilt. It's easy but still provides a bit of a challenge to help you grow your quilting skills. And when I say a bit of a challenge, this is still not a hard pattern. My sister and I made a Baby version of First Gift (though no pictures of that yet!) and it went together easily and quickly. Like with all quilt patterns from Lo and Behold Stitchery, this pattern is well written, with thorough instructions. 

Why We Love First Gift:

    👉 Looks tricky, but really isn't

    👉 Well-written, easy-to-follow instructions

    👉 Looks stunning with solid fabrics

The First Gift Quilt Pattern calls for yardage, so skip the bundle on this one. We've curated a selection of Colorworks in Blue that would look lovely in this pattern. For the background, we suggest a white like KONA 1387. For the binding, I'd choose one of the blues used in the quilt top. 

I'm working to continue this blog series for beginners. We'll be covering topics like choosing batting, quilting your quilt, binding, and so much more! Want to know when it drops? Join our newsletter! Also, if you have any questions, leave us a comment below or send us an email at help@lindleygeneralstore.ca! We'd love to help you in any way we can!