5 Inch Quilt Squares Patterns

[Gladys Anick]

Thequilt pictures shown above is an example of a quilt made using similar homespun fabrics squares. It was made in the rag style with frayed edges. This quilt is not included in the purchase, it is shown for an example only. This homespun fabric is guaranteed to fray well, unlike many other cotton fabrics.

Simple rag quilt instructions to make this style of rag quilt are available online at our Jubilee Homespun inspiration website. At Jubilee Homespun you will also find project ideas and instructions especially for these homespun charm packs.

This quick and easy quilt is one of my most popular quilt tutorials of all time: a fast, beginner-friendly Fast Four Patch Quilt. This simple patchwork quilt is perfect for a scrappy look and showing-off a fun feature print fabric. It's also a great project for a beginning quilter.

It's been 9 years since I first published this pattern and felt like it was time for an update. If you are brand-new to quilting, be sure to check out my Beginning Quilting series for all the basics on supplies, cutting, piecing, and quilting!

This is one of my favorite simple quilt patterns for a quick baby quilt. It works really well to show off a main 'feature' print contrasting with a variety of prints in scrappy four-patch blocks. The quilt shown here finishes at 40" x 56".

For this four patch quilt I used the Riley Blake collection I designed called Portsmouth. It's a nautical, summer-y collection. This quilt is so versatile that you can use whatever color scheme or palette you want.

Layer quilt top with quilt batting and backing and baste together into a "quilt sandwich". If you're new to quilting, you can find details to walk you through the basting and quilting process here.

I used the Portsmouth Plaid in red for the back of the quilt. You can find a list of other retailers carrying Portsmouth fabric on Etsy or The Fat Quarter Shop.

Big thanks to Baby Lock Sewing Machines for sponsoring this free pattern and lots of other content on my site. I love my Baby Lock sewing machines and have loved working with them as an ambassador for Baby Lock for over 6 years now.

You can read some of my sewing machine recommendations for different budgets and preferences here. And check out Baby Lock for their latest promotions and specials going right now.

Those fabrics are beautiful Amy, I love this colour palette too. I am a beginner to all this as you know so thank you very much for the tutorial which I have shared on my G+ page (so I can find it again when I attempt this haha) The coral colour really makes this I think, stunning ?

I have a question, I have a yard of main fabric I want to use, if I were to order a 1/4 of a years more in order to have enough to do this quilt would that totally screw me up? This is my first quilt so it's probably a silly question. Thanks!

Thanks for your question. I went back and checked my math. I was off slightly and have updated the measurements. But still, that King size is almost double the Queen requirements. Those King-size quilts are just exponentially bigger. It's crazy.

I have a question about the quilting. What color thread was used for quilting the three pieces together? I'm making this quilt with different fabric but since there are so many colors I'm not sure what color to use when quilting.

There seems to be a little something off with the measurements -- after sewing the 4.5" squares with the .25" seam, they won't match the 8.5" blocks anymore like in the pictures, but rather be off by .25". Were either of the squares cut to different dimensions, perhaps?

Hmm. I'm sure that's right. Because four 4" x 4" squares (finished) will create an 8"x 8" finished block. So unfinshed the blocks would be 4.5" and 8.5". Check your seam allowance. Even if it's only slightly bigger than a 1/4", it could skew things and the block will end up slightly smaller. Let me know.

I had the same issue, but I feel it's my fault. Pretty sure I was slightly bigger than .25. So I just plan on squaring them up. It will make it a bit smaller, but it's a lounge (twin size) quilt for my husband to snooze in his chair with. So if it is smaller it's not a big deal.

I agree. If you sew together a four patch block using 4 1/2" squares, the finished four patch block would be 8", not 8 1/2". Therefore the larger squares should be cut to 8", instead of 8". Anyway, that's what I'm thinking. But cute quilt, I'm going to try one!

That said, if your seam allowance is even a thread or two wider than 1/4" the 4-patch block will shrink to a smaller size. If all of your blocks are smaller because the seam allowances are wider that 1/4" on the 4-patch blocks, then I recommend trimming your off-set (one-piece) squares smaller to match the size of the pieced blocks.

Thanks so much for these easy to follow instructions. I'd purchased some fabric quite some time ago and didn't have a project in mind only that it was going to be some sort of patchwork. This is my first ever quilt, I started making it today and it's looking fabulous so far!

Will this quilt look ok with a few random small squares of another fabric that goes well with the others. I am not sure I have enough of the 13 that I need, they cut my pieces too small when I bought them. Thank you.

Hello! I am hoping to try this pattern out for my first quilt. I see these really cute Fat Quarter fabrics at JoAnn and was wondering if those would work ok for the four-square patches? I'm not sure how many "Fat Quarters" I would need to equal 1/8 yard. Any help would be appreciated.

Could you tell me the dimensions of each block for the backing? I'm trying to mimic your design with the fabrics I picked out and would like to know dimensions for each block. I know it's 40 inches across for each fabric.

Just making sure I understand your question - do you mean the 4-patch block measurements? They should measure 8" x 8" finished (8 1/2" x 8 1/2" unfinished.) Let me know if that is not the information you are looking for.

Just made this quilt using the new Star Wars fabric as the focus piece with contrasting 4 patch. It came out beautiful. I made the twin size and the directions were easy to follow and accurate. Now I'm making a double size with John Deere fabric as the focus. Love this pattern.

If the fabric store cuts exactly 1/4 yard and their cut is off- it doesn't leave you with enough fabric. Just an FYI. I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong until I realized that's what happened. I'm going to add a border so it will work out to be a twin size quilt. Might want to get a 1/2 yard of each fabric instead.

The quilt as demo'd is close to a crib size quilt at 40" x 56". If you want slightly bigger, I suggest graph paper and sketch it out in the finished size you're aiming for, and then add the additional blocks.

Amy, I'm a new quilter...I have some precut fabric squares that are 5x5 and 10x10. What are the dimensions of the big square? I know I'll have to trim my 10x10 squares but want to make sure of the measurements.

Love this quilt! I'm taking a quilting class now, so I may use this pattern for my first "on my own" quilt. I definitely don't want to attempt free motion quilting yet. How would you suggest doing the quilting with only straight lines? ?

I have not made a quilt yet, this one looks like a good candidate for my first try! I am not understanding how I would use the 10 strips as the border for the King size... Would i sew 2 sets of 2 of them together, ending up with two 84" strips, would those be the border of one set of edges, and then sew the other 2 sets of 3 of them together, ending up with two 126" strips, which would be the border for the opposite set of edges?? HELP!

Good questions. Here's how I do it - I sew the strips together end to end and then trim them to the length of the side I'm going to attach them to. I have a tutorial with pictures of my border method here: -quilting-bee-sashing-and.html

This quilt is beautiful and I want to try this as my first quilt, making it for an elderly nursing home patient but can you tell me how to make it throw size? How many blocks and how many rows across the top and down?

Thanks so much!

I am so excited, not only have I found a tutorial I understand in an effort to try my hand at quilting (first time quilter, long time pinner) but you actually still respond to questions from your followers. THANK YOU! Look for lots to come your way.

Quilters, I have a question about how to deal with the back side of this quilt. I'm getting ready to cut some of the fabric that I plan to use on both the front and back, and I realize that I failed to consider how making a larger version of this quilt would affect the back.

One of the pictures shows the back with five wide strips of fabric that span the whole width of the quilt (11th picture down from the top of the page.) Those are solid pieces of fabric, right? HOWEVER, I'm making the double/queen size (80" x 88"), so my fabric will not be wide enough to be solid strips. Oops!

So.... how do you think I should deal with this back? I have enough fabric, but not enough to make solid strips across, like in the picture. I just don't have the experience to know how best to proceed. ? Make big blocks? Try to match prints to give the effect of solid strips? Or some other fix? Any ideas or advice you feel like sharing would be so appreciated! And thanks for reading this long-winded post. ?

I'm making this in the twin size (first quilt!), but I'm stumped on the backing. I got 5 yds of the fabric for the backing and have measured multiple times but just can't seem to figure out the layout for it. Any tips or tricks?

So, I always go back and forth about telling people how much fabric to buy for backing - whether to buy a lot so it's only one seam to piece a back, and then have a lot left over, or as little as possible, which might involve more piecing.

Here's how I would piece this one: Cut into two 2 1/2 Yard (90") pieces and sew together side by side. This will create a 80" x 90" piece of backing. (If the background print is not directional) you could trim 7" off one side and sew it to the bottom of the backing, making it 73" x 97" so that you have more space on all sides to make quilting easier.

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