Get this Christmas quilt pattern for beginners, make it fast, and add whimsy to your holiday decor. You may want to make extras as gifts!
I designed Starry Night for Exclusively Annie’s with the Blizzard collection by Moda Fabrics. It measures 36″ x 36″ with 5″ and 6-3/4″ blocks. I just got it back, and I tell you, I am tempted to hang it up right now instead of waiting all the way until December!
The blocks are very easy to make, so this project is ideal for newcomers to the craft. Its size is perfect for a wall hanging or table topper. The stars bring to mind the glitter, the excitement, and the festive mood of the holidays. The log cabin blocks remind me of home, welcoming family, and traditions. Put together, the blocks translated into a simple yet beautiful project!
I think it would be fun to have a couple of pillows made with the center blocks placed near the wall hanging, don’t you think?
In the star centers, I featured my favorite prints from the collection: fun words, dancing snowmen, and Christmas gifts. For the star points, I selected small-scale prints of different colors. Notice how I added a low-volume fabric on the stars’ sides to connect them as if in a garland. The effect is subtle – just what I was going for.
Even though I used two reds on the star points, I chose a darker one and one that red a little lighter. This value difference contributes texture and depth to the design, something to consider when you are auditioning your own fabrics.
My favorite colors for Christmas are Red and Green, but the gray adds a modern touch to the palette. I love it! It resembles tinsel. I’ve designed holiday quilts with other colors (see this blue and silver one – free pattern!), yet red and green remain my favorite combination.
I kept the log cabin blocks simple – large-scale prints would have been cut off because the strips are narrow. That is why the Blizzard collection was an amazing choice for this quilt. If you would prefer to use fabrics from your stash, do the same thing I did. The star centers would be the place to showcase larger prints if you have them.
One more thing about the center blocks: by selecting a fabric with lighter background for the strips next to the red squares, they seem to be floating when seen from afar. You may also use the plain background fabric instead to achieve the same effect.
I free-motion quilted mittens and part of snowflakes on the lighter side of the center blocks, with circles in between, then meandering and plain lines everywhere else. The drawings do not need to be precise, as they are there to give you an idea of where to go with the presser foot. Look at this quick video to see how it works:
I wear gloves, go slowly, and do not aim for perfection. I usually sing a slow song while free-motion quilting to keep an even pace.
When I am done, I remove the paper, then use tweezers to pull out any tiny pieces that may have gotten stuck to the fabric. The quilting thread is Aurifil 40 wt – I like its texture. I did not even consider a colored thread because I would not want to add color to this negative space.
I stitched the binding to the front of the quilt, then folded it over to the back and hand-stitched it. If you prefer to finish the binding by machine, you need to stitch it to the back of the quilt, then fold it over to the front, and, using the walking foot, stitch close to the edge of the binding all around.
Look at those snowmen! The backing has the same fabric but is green. I could not have enough of those happy guys on this project!
As a Christmas quilt pattern for beginners, Starry Night is quick to put together – you may consider making a few versions as gifts, rolling as shown above, tying a ribbon, and surprising a few lucky friends with it. Another idea is to customize it for the other holidays of the year by changing the colors of the fabrics. It would look so cool with red, white, and blue!
I made another Christmas quilt with stars, and this one has lots of cats in it! We almost always seem to have little children at home for the holidays. Quilts with novelty fabrics can keep them entertained for quite some time.
Speaking of being entertained, it was fun writing this blog post, but I’ve got to go back to pattern writing! Drop me a line to let me know how you liked this project!
