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When I make a quilt using my Quilt As You Go method, I like to do all the quilting before I add the applique. Easy peasy – and the possible quilt designs are endless! My quilting becomes doodling on a blank square of fabric and it’s so much fun!

But!

What if I don’t like to freehand quilt?

Not everyone likes to quilt without any markings to guide them. If that’s you, take a look at these blocks with my favorite quilting designs already printed on them.

If freehand quilting is like doodling, using these blocks is like coloring. No pressure, and totally fun and relaxing.

I don’t like it when the quilting lines show through my applique.

I don’t run into this often, but I almost always use prints for my applique (usually in fairly strong colors) and the quilting doesn’t usually show through.

If your applique fabric is a solid, or a very light-colored print, or a light-colored solid, you’ll probably be able to see the quilting lines through it. If that bugs you, do the applique first and then the quilting.

That’s the way I show it in all of the videos that follow – so you can see some tips for working around that applique after it’s already in place. I show the quilt lines on paper so you can get a bird’s-eye overview of the whole block instead of seeing it at an angle as it is in the machine.

If you want more details about exactly how I sew these patterns at the machine, there are two additional posts you’ll want to see.

This one is all about straight-line stripes and grids, and this one is all about wavy-line stripes and grids.

The Gallery of Quilt Designs Especially for QAYG

You’ll see several different quilt designs below. For each one there’s a close-up image, a bit of additional information about it, a few additional examples, and the video showing how to do it.

Straight Line Stripes

Straight line stripes.

Does that sound humdrum and boring? Think again! It’s super easy and there’s a huge range of texture you can get from simple straight lines. Are they close together or far apart? Does the distance between the lines vary in a single block? Do they run on the horizontal? Vertical? Diagonal? Do they make a grid? A grid of squares? Rectangles? Diamonds?

Here are a bunch of blocks that are quilted with simple straight lines.

One thing you’ll notice in ALL of my quilting is that the lines are never perfectly straight, perfectly parallel, or perfectly evenly spaced. I do that on purpose because I want the quilting to match the hand-drawn quality of the applique blocks. (Plus it’s easy and fun.) If you’re making a quilt that demands more precision – you might want to use a special tool for making your lines perfectly parallel. You can see that in this video.

Ready for the QAYG tutorial?

Straight lines are super easy, and you can still get a bunch of variety.

Chevrons and Zigzags

Chevrons and zigzags.

Again – that seems not very exciting. But you can do a lot with simple chevrons. Do they run horizontally or vertically? How close together are they? Are they perfectly parallel and neat? Or more jagged and cartoony?

Here are a few blocks that are quilted with simple chevrons.

Just like my straight-line quilting, the lines are never perfectly straight, perfectly parallel, or perfectly evenly spaced.

Ready for the QAYG tutorial?

So much fun!

Wavy Stripes

I love wavy stripes! They’re super easy to do and they add lots of life and movement to the background of a block. And they can vary a lot! They can be close together or far apart. Vertical or horizontal. They can intersect for a groovy checkerboard effect. They can overlap for a watery effect. Have fun with them!

Here are a few blocks quilted with wavy stripes.

Now that you’ve seen some samples, are you ready for the video?

These are REALLY fun to stitch.

Blades

I call this design Blades because I think it looks like blades of grass – especially on the green background fabric you see in the image. 🙂

Blades is a good pattern for working around an existing applique image, and you can vary the look of it by using squared-off ends instead of pointy ones.

Here are a couple of blocks with Blades quilting.

Now that you’ve seen some samples, here’s the video showing how.

See how easy?

Teeth

In this video I show you how to quilt Monster Teeth – another fun and easy pattern.

You can make flat, plant-eating teeth or sharp, meat-eating teeth – and they can run vertically or horizontally. Take a look at these sample blocks.

Now that you’ve seen some samples – here’s the video showing how.

See? Easy peasy. 🙂

Square Squiggles

I call this design Square Squiggles. It’s a fun straight-line adaptation of the loopy designs popular in free motion quilting- and it’s one of my favorite fills.

You can make your rows of squiggles run across your block or up and down – it’s all good. Take a look at these sample blocks.

Now that you’ve seen some samples – here’s the video showing how.

This is really a fun fill. I love the look of it!

Boxes

These interlocking boxes are really similar to the Square Squiggles. I love the mosaic-ish kind of look of this pattern!

It breaks out of the row formation we’ve seen in previous patterns, and that means it take a little more thinking as you go – but it’s not hard. Just give yourself permission to slow down or stop whenever you need to in order to plan your next step.

Take a look at these sample blocks.

Now that you’re seen a sample – here’s the video showing how.

I love this look!

Triangles

These interlocking triangles are a lot like the interlocking boxes. They both take a little thinking as you go, so don’t be afraid to stop after each triangle to plan your next move!

Take a look at these sample blocks.

Now that you’ve seen some samples, here’s the video showing how.

See? Not too hard. 

Echo Quilting

This is the only design I ever use where you really need to do the applique first. (Again – I usually quilt, THEN applique.)

Echo quilting is really fun and easy – just be sure you’re outlining a relatively simple shape. It also works great for pieced geometric quilts.

I like to vary the amount of space between my echo lines, but if you want perfectly even spacing, using the edge of your presser foot as a guide works great.

Here are a couple of blocks with echo quilting.

Now that you’ve seen some samples, are you ready for the video?

See how easy?

This kind of quilt design really puts the emphasis on your applique because it draws your eye right in to it.

So there you are! A gallery of ideas to get you started with Quilt As You Go. These are just the beginning! See what designs you come up with!

Here are links to all the posts about cutting your blocks.

• How to Use Rotary Cutting Tools
• Do You Need to Pre-Wash Your Fabric?
• Basic Quilt Block Cutting and Quilting Instructions
• How to Make Easy Landscape Blocks
• Quilt Block Sizes for Alternate Grid Layouts

Here are links to all the posts about quilting your blocks.

• Stripes and Grids
• Wavy Stripes and Grids
• A Gallery of Additional Quilt As You Go Designs
• Fabric with the Quilting Lines Already Printed on It

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about how to applique.