Free Quilt Pattern: Equalizer Quilt
It’s been nearly a year in the making, but I’m happy to say that I’ve written a pattern for this beginner friendly quilt, which I’ll share here!
Finished Quilt Size: 60” x 78”. All seam allowances are 1/4.”
Materials Needed
-4 fat quarters (18” x 22”) of assorted print fabric
-6 fat eighths (9” x 22”) of assorted print fabric
-3 yards of solid navy fabric for quilt top
-3 3/8 fabric for backing
-1/2 yard fabric for binding
– Pellon Nature’s Touch quilt batting (Twin Size)
Tools Needed
– Sewing Machine
– Rotary Cutter, mat and ruler
Cutting Directions
From print fabrics (I
used Habitat by Jay McCarroll for FreeSpirit and two coordinating solids):
1) Cut 91 assorted strips 2-1/2” x 8-3/4”. From fat quarters, cut: (15) Purple
leaf, (11) Striped slash, (10) Pink solid, (14) Purple solid. From fat eighths, cut: (7) Aqua dot, (7)
Medium dot, (8) Red orbs, (7) Purple paint splotch, (6) Blue pixels, (6) Orange
stripe.
From background
fabric:
1) Cut 4 strips 8-3/4” x WOF for pieced units. Subcut each
strip into 24 units, 1-3/4” x 8-3/4”. You’ll use 91 for this pattern.
2) Cut 10 strips 2-1/4” x WOF for vertical sashing. Piecing
WOF strips end to end, and cut into 7 strips 60” x 2-1/4”.
3) Cut 5 strips 8-3/4” x WOF for background pieces A-V (206”
total needed). Subcut 8-3/4” strips into the following lengths, which can also
be viewed on the cutting diagram:
Column 1: (A) 7” (B) 19” (C) 9-1/2”
Column 2: (D) 4” (E) 2-1/2” (F) 13-1/2”
Column 3: (G) 4” (H) 11-1/2”
Column 4: (I) 4” (J) 2-1/2” (K) 6-1/2”
Column 5: (L) 7” (M) 18-1/2”
Column 6: (N) 3-1/2” (O)
20-1/2” (P) 5”
Column 7: (Q) 7” (R) 5-1/2” (S) 14”
Column 8: (T) 5” (U) 20-1/2” (V) 15”
From binding fabric:
1) Cut 7 strips 2-1/2” x WOF, and join end to end.
Quilt Assembly
1) Pair one 8-3/4” solid strip with one 8-3/4” print strip.
With right sides facing, stitch together across long edge. This makes one
pieced strip, which measures 8-3/4” x 3-3/4”. Repeat until you have 91 total pieced
strips.
2) Press seams open. Be sure to lift your iron up and down
while pressing, rather than moving from side to side, which can distort the
fabric. This is especially helpful when piecing a bold, geometric design with
lots of straight lines.
3) Arrange pieced strips according to the quilt diagram,
with like prints grouped together. The design can echo that of a music
equalizer, with vertical bars that vary in height. You may leave negative space
in the design, which will later be filled in with background fabric.
4) Once the pieced strips are arranged into columns, stitch
together the pieced units in each column, with right sides facing.
5) Again, press seams open.
6) Arrange the background units A-U as pictured in the
diagram, to complete the columns. Variation:
If you do not wish to follow the diagram exactly, you may cut background strips
of various widths and piece them in as you wish. Press seams open.
7) The columns may vary slightly in height. Trim each column
to 60”, by trimming background fabric from the top as needed.
8) Between each of the eight columns, stitch a vertical
sashing strip. Press seams open.
9) Baste, quilt, and bind as desired.
