Easy Fat-Quarter Quilt Using High Contrast Fabrics

Easy Batik Fat-Quarter Quilt

This free & easy fat-quarter quilt using high contrast fabrics pattern has endless design opportunities.  What started as an idea for a baby size batik fat quarter quilt with an adorable sheep print, blossomed into a very modern look and I love it.  The high contrast black and white geometric batik prints are bold and create a dynamic design.  The bit of color added with a single batik fabric is just enough contrast to make the whole quilt top pop. Give this Easy Fat Quarter Quilt using High Contrast Fabrics a try!

Easy Fat-Quarter Pattern ‘All Blocked In’

This Easy Batik Fat Quarter Pattern ‘All Blocked In’ is a breeze to cut and sews together quickly.  Requiring only 6 high contrast batik fat-quarters plus one bright color, you’re on your way to a stunning batik baby quilt top.  Using six contrasting fabrics means none are duplicated in the six blocks.  Each fabric has an opportunity to be seen in a large rectangle and also used in smaller pieces throughout the other blocks. 

The best part is that this same pattern will look good with so many kinds of fabrics.  What a great way to showcase some of your favorite floral prints you’ve been saving for the just the right project.  There are already more ideas on my mind to get started on.  So many choices!

Selecting High Contrast Fabrics

Download your FREE Pattern for this easy batik baby quilt!

High contrast fabrics are opposite of low volume.  The recent low volume quilts I made are very subtle and are almost monochromatic.  Whereas the high contrast fabrics in this quilt each stand out on their own.  The difference is the scheme of just black and white.  With various geometric prints and graphics, each fabric has a huge contrast.  There’s no gray area here.  Just bold designs.

The six batik fat-quarters should vary from predominantly one color to the second.  There should be one or two that are mostly white with some bold black design.  You also want the same with the black fabrics which should have less white in the pattern.  The middle two fabrics fill in the scheme with equal white and black.  The idea is for your six fat-quarters to transition from predominantly one color to the second color in your scheme. Adding the adorable sheep print definitely defines this as a baby quilt!

Selecting Bright Color Contrast Batik Fabrics

Your personal taste plays an important role here. Choose what you think looks the best.  You may want to use a single-color batik as I did in this quilt or use a multitude of bright colors to make your quilt top more playful.  Batiks are a good choice because a single fabric can offer so many different color variations.  Whatever your choice, use a highly saturated color.  Light or pastel fabrics will get lost in a bold design like this.

This quilt was made by fellow reader Anieta from Australia. Her fabric choices are wonderful with the perfect red contrast making this a stunning quilt to view.

How to Make the ‘All Blocked In’ Quilt

Fabric Needed to Make This Baby Size Quilt Top

This Easy Fat-Quarter Quilt Using High Contrast Fabrics is a baby quilt size (33”X42”) made with 6 black and white fat quarters and 1 batik fat quarter.  The optional side border requires two strips the length of your finished quilt.  First, a 1 ½” x 42 ½” strip pieced from the remaining batik fat quarter to measure from top to bottom.  Secondly, an additional black and white strip measuring 4” x 42 ½” that will fit from top to bottom.

If you want to make a larger quilt, check out the fabric requirements in the free PDF pattern download.

Download your 3 Free FQ Conversion Templates to turn your Fat Quarters into Jelly Rolls, Charms and Layer Cakes!

Prepare to Cut Your Blocks

Stack all 6 black & white fat quarters evenly on your cutting mat before cutting out the block.  By cutting all fat quarters together, you will have uniform squares to work with.  Once cut, you will only use one fabric from each fat quarter to complete your block so that no fabrics are repeated in any block.

All six fat quarters need to be cut to 14 ½” x 17”.  Here’s the method I use to stack and trim my fat quarters before cutting them into blocks.  Stack each fat quarter, one at a time, on top of each other.  Be sure to keep the cut edges to the same side and the selvages on the other side.  Keep in mind that not all fat quarters are created equal!

Now that you have a stack of 6 fat quarters laid out with all the selvages to one side, you will even up the opposite cut edges by trimming off about 1/8”.  Be sure you are cutting along the 18” width and not the 22” length.  From the edge you just trimmed, measure in 14 ½” and cut the fabric the same direction as the selvage.  The remaining stack of fabric with the selvage may be set aside for another project.  Now trim up your fabric stack to measure 14 ½” x 17”.  You will need to cut no more than ½” from each untrimmed side.

How to Cut Your Quilt Blocks

The ‘All Blocked In’ pattern is made with five rectangles. Place your fabric stack on the cutting mat with the 14 ½” from top to bottom and the 17” width from side to side.  Following the diagrams below, make cuts 1 through 6 to create seven different size pieces.  Note that there are 2 pieces that will be set aside for another project.

Once all six cuts are completed, slide the two largest rectangles clockwise as shown in the Final Block Layout diagram below.  

Then cut six each of the narrow 1” x 5” and 1 ½” x 14 ½” batik strips. Add the batik strips in place where they will be sewn into the block.  Before assembling your blocks, here’s a little trick that helps to ensure you don’t repeat any fabrics in your blocks.

Easy Fat-Quarter Quilt Using High Contrast Fabrics

Prepare to Assemble Your Blocks

In order not to repeat any fabrics within a block, I found that arranging the fabric layers before sewing makes the job much easier.  Starting with block #2, take the top fabric and place it at the bottom of the pile.  Then take the top two fabrics off the top of block #3 and put them to the bottom of the pile.  Continue with each block so there is a different fabric on top of each pile.  Now you’re ready to sew your blocks together.

Assemble Your Blocks      

Sew your blocks together by following the numeric order indicated on the Block Assembly diagram above.  First sew blocks 1 & 2 together with the batik strip in between.  Add block 3 alongside the previously sewn unit.  Then sew block 4 as noted on the diagram above. 

Note: Don’t forget to trim block 4 to measure 5″ x 11 1/2″

Next you will add the batik strip to the longest block 5, which is also the last strip to be attached.  With the batik fabric towards the pre-sewn block, sew the final seam to finish your block.

Put Your Quilt Top Together

Decide on a block arrangement that you like and begin sewing.  What’s great about this pattern is how few seams there are to match up.  If you turn each block like my layout, you’ll have a quick and easy time putting it all together.

Lastly you may choose to add a side border.  Modern quilts generally don’t have a border, but I like the asymmetrical look of a long edge.  It seems to pull it all together and it’s another opportunity for more batik strips!

As my first black and white quilt, I’m very pleased with the results. There are a pile of batik fat quarters I’ll be working with soon. This pattern really worked well for these bold prints. Let me know how you like it. I hope you enjoyed making this Easy Fat-Quarter Quilt Using High Contrast Fabrics and will be making another soon!

More Batik Fat Quarter Ideas Ideas

Black and white fabrics make this quilt very bold.  If you want to soften it up a bit, try adding a solid white, lattice strip to just two sides of each block.  When the blocks are laid out, the white lattice strips provide a bit of separation between the graphic patterns.  Even better is how the blocks are slightly off-set, which staggers up the pattern adding more interest.

No matter how you finish off this quilt, it’ll be an attention getter! Have fun with it.

Fabric Requirements for Larger Size Quilts

Easy Asymmetrical ‘All Blocked In’ Fabric Requirements are included in the free pattern PDF download. The individual block measures 14 ½” x  14 ½” (finished 14” x 14”). The final dimensions listed do not include a side border which is optional.

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