Friendship Sampler Quilt Digital Patterns

Learn how to piece and explore four types of machine quilting with the Friendship Sampler Quilt Along!

Do you have a serious addiction to scraps?

Are you running out of room to store all your lovelies? Pull em' out and start cutting because the Friendship Sampler Quilt is the perfect scrap buster!

Each quilt block pattern is written specifically for 5-inch squares. You can slice your scraps into squares now or use precut 5-inch square packs to create a beautiful quilt block each month.

Note: If you don't like scraps (who ARE you???), I've also included calculations for using yardage instead. You can make your blocks as scrappy or plain as you like and mix it up with different colors every month.

How Big is the Friendship Sampler Quilt?

As big as you want! For the first time, I've calculated fabric and quilt layouts for crib, throw, twin, queen, and king. Check out the quilts and pick the size you'd like to create!

There will be a total of 12 quilt block patterns for the Friendship Sampler Block-of-the-Month, plus a bonus 13th pattern included with #12. To make the Queen and King sized quilts, you'll simply make some blocks two times. 

Click Here to find all the Friendship Sampler Quilt Along Tutorials.

Wow, that makes a BIG quilt! How in the world will I quilt it?

This is the best part of this quilt along - we're going to piece AND quilt each block separately, quilt-as-you-go style. This means you'll never have to struggle with quilting a huge quilt on your home machine!

When you've finished making all of your blocks, you'll trim the shapes square and connect them together using an excellent binding technique I've been teaching for years. Click Here to learn how this works.

We're going to explore four different machine quilting styles for this scrap-happy quilt:

Walking Foot Quilting - this is an excellent style of quilting for beginners because your sewing machine and the walking foot do all the work for you. You'll learn how to stitch-in-the-ditch, echo ditch, and quilt simple designs over your blocks.

Free Motion Quilting - this style of quilting uses a darning foot and allows you to move the quilt smoothly in all directions. Unfortunately this style of quilting is a little tricky to master so we're going to explore a set of simple designs this year that will help you focus on making consistent stitches.

Ruler Foot Quilting - this new style of quilting is actually a form of free motion quilting so you can quilt all of the same designs from free motion quilting. But with a special ruler foot you can also use rulers to help you guide the quilt through your machine and control the design. You may find this easier to learn than free motion quilting because the ruler gives you more control over the design and quilt.

Longarm Quilting - 100% OPTIONAL! You do NOT have to have a longarm machine to participate in this quilt along. This style of quilting uses a longarm machine that's specially designed for machine quilting mounted on a quilting frame. This allows you to move the machine over the quilt, which is faster than moving the quilt under the needle. If you're new to longarm quilting, this will be the perfect project to master moving the machine and quilting simple designs free hand and with rulers.

Super Starter Block 1 Pattern

No matter when you begin the Friendship Sampler Quilt, you should absolutely begin with Block #1! This 52-page pattern is packed with all the information you need to get started piecing and machine quilting like a rock star.

- Find detailed tips on preparing your fabric, cutting from yardage, and cutting accurately from scraps too!
- Learn how to cut and piece Block 1, a beautiful Scrappy Star block.
- Dig into the four types of quilting we'll be learning together in this quilt along.
- Piece an extra practice block to give these machine quilting styles a try.
- Find detailed charts for each quilt size: crib, throw, twin, queen, and king.
- Learn how to connect the quilt blocks together and bind the edges of your quilt.

Find all of this (and so much more) in the Block #1 quilt pattern!

What do I need to get started?

The amount of fabric you'll need will vary greatly by the size of the quilt you decide to make. All fabric requirements are included in the Block 1 quilt pattern.

You'll also need:

Cotton piecing thread to match your background fabric - Aurifil 50 wt cotton recommended
Quilting thread to contrast with background fabric - I'm using Isacord thread in Sterling
Spool Stand (optional)
1/4-inch patchwork foot for piecing
Darning foot for free motion quilting
Ruler foot for ruler foot quilting
Walking foot for walking foot quilting (this deluxe foot set comes with a patchwork, walking, darning, and ruler foot!)
Slice, Mini Slide, and Super Slide Rulers (optional)
Fabric pen or pencil that shows on your background fabric
Basting pins for basting the blocks
Home sewing machine and basic sewing supplies

How do I download the pattern to make the whole quilt?

Each pattern is sold separately as a digital download PDF. Simply place your order and you can immediately download the pattern onto your computer and print it out. Click Here to find tips on downloading quilt patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Fabric B yardage calculation include? Is that just the Fabric B Background?

Yes, in Block #1, the list for Fabric B yardage is only for the Fabric B background color of the quilt top. It does not include backing or binding.

This calculation may seem really high for the queen and king sized quilts. This calculation has been made by taking the fabric requirement needed per block, then multiplying it by 2, then adding it all together. Yes, this calculation has been made with wiggle room for error, so yes, you will likely have leftover fabric at the end.

As a pattern designer, I would much rather you have leftover fabric in the end, than not enough to make the quilt from the beginning!

So my best advice for purchasing Fabric B is to pick a color, or a variety of the same color family (like 4 different shades of orange) and only buy a few yards to begin. As you piece and quilt the blocks, you can make future blocks with the leftover scraps. If you're very careful with your cutting and keep the scraps stored in an airtight plastic container, you can be very efficient and will need a lot less fabric B background.

Have errors been found in the pattern?

There isn't a mistake, but there has been a little confusion about the size of the half square triangles listed in the Block 1 pattern on Page 11. The size in parenthesis is the finished size of the half square triangle, after it's been pieced into the quilt block.

Please follow the instructions on page 12 and 13 to make your half square triangles, trim them to the correct size and piece Block 1.

Also if you are quilting your blocks on your longarm, you may want to cut your backing fabric longer at 27 inches to give yourself more room to pin to your leader cloth.

Can I get this pattern printed and mailed to me?

No. The Friendship Sampler Block of the Month patterns are only available as a PDF download.

Is precut fabric included with the pattern to make the blocks?

No. You are ordering just the download PDF pattern from this page. 

Where do I find the videos to this project?

All videos shared in constructing the Friendship Sampler quilt can be found here.

Can I download the videos for the Friendship Sampler?

No, the videos are shared for free on YouTube and are not designed to be downloaded to your computer. Make sure to have a high speed internet connection so you can enjoy the videos streaming online.

Do you have another question about the Friendship Sampler Quilt Along? Click Here to contact us for help!