Free pattern for a panel quilt

Download this easy, free pattern for a panel quilt, and get ready to WOW your friends with this lattice design! My motto has been “Glow with the Flow.” Now I can glow while wrapped in this quilt!

I designed Mystic, a 48″ x 68″ throw for the Jardin de Lune Glow, a glow-in-the-dark collection by Blank Quilting. The luminescent mushrooms, flowers, hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies transported me on a night journey through a magical garden, inspiring me as I translated the beautiful fabrics into a design that added ‘beams of moonlight’ (the light borders) while showcasing each print.

Choosing which fabrics to feature on the design was tricky, as I loved them all. Should I use straight or pieced borders? I auditioned each option many times but kept returning to pieced borders. Lattices, to me, not only frame a garden-they add a touch of the dreamy… so I played with fabric placement until I achieved the look I wanted.

I take quite a while auditioning fabrics as they can make or break a design, especially when we are working with quilt panels. After all, the goal here is to make the panel pop, right?

See those whisps of light purple? I wanted to bring that color onto the border, so I looked for blocks where the color could appear prominently. I worked with Blank Quilting’s Jot Dot Lt. Purple (the light borders are Jot Dot Marshmallow), a Basic collection with fantastic texture. If you like Jot Dot as much as I do, check out the other projects I designed for it: the Vintage Jewel Block of the Month and the free pattern Jot Dot Quilt.

Denise Cornett (@southernquilts) quilted Mystic for me. I love the thread she chose and the texture that the quilting motif added to the quilt.

The blocks finish at 5″. They come together fast, and this free pattern for a panel quilt guides you through the construction and fabric placement. I actually made two quilts (Susan, my Fairy Godmother, knew how much I loved these fabrics and doubled the gift!) – thank goodness because I have two grandsons, and they loved it when we locked ourselves in my studio one night, turned the lights off, and basked under the quilts’ glow! At least one of the quilts will likely adorn the ceiling of a bedroom!

If you attended my Quilts with Panels presentation in February at the Pine Needle Quilt Guild in Big Canoe, Georgia, you were able to appreciate these beauties up close! I explained why I chose certain prints for the borders and blocks and how I trimmed the panel to include its purple frame. In my quilt design career, I went from disliking working with panels to loving the challenge. You can tell by how energized I get when talking about them!

The panel in the Jardin de Lune Glow collection measures 24″ x 44″ – you will trim it down to the size needed to add all the borders. Just keep a 1/4″ seam allowance, and you will be all set! This quilt would look great draped over the sofa or chair… or on the ceiling (I wonder how many of us have placed quilts there!).

I hope you liked this free pattern for a panel quilt and the fabulous fabrics I used. Let me know! Have a happy week, and sew away!