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Time to talk about choosing a quilt pattern!

All of my quilt patterns have links to video tutorials teaching you any skill you’ll need to make that pattern. Basically – my patterns are really workshops just disguised as patterns. 🙂

You can work your way through all the lessons using any of my patterns.

So where do you start?

Here’s a quick rundown of a bunch my patterns, arranged by difficulty.

There are several free patterns for individual blocks in the mix. Those don’t include instructions for making a full quilt, but you’ll find those instructions for free here at Shiny Happy World.

You do not HAVE to start with one of the easiest patterns!

I’m a big believer in choosing a pattern that really excites you and then just taking it slow enough to learn as you go. But that’s my learning style and you know your own style best. How comfortable are you with fiddly bits? Does making a mistake ruin all the fun for you? Do you like to sew really fast and going slow makes you want to stab things?

Think about what makes sewing fun for you and choose your pattern based on that.

The Very Easiest

These patterns have very few parts, all on the biggish side, and are easy to cut, arrange, and stitch.

Use these links to get those patterns.

• Silly Sloths
• Pretty Posy
• Lovable Mutts

Easy

This is where most of my patterns fall. They tend to have a few more pieces than The Very Easiest patterns, which means there’s a bit more arranging and stitching. But they are not in any way HARD. You can absolutely start with any of these.

Here are the links to the patterns.

• Wild Flowers
• Spooky
• Ginny Giraffe
• Buzz
• Mix & Match Bunnies
• Bunches of Bears
• Lovely Butterfly
• Rudolph
• Cats

The Fish quilt also falls in this category.

Easy – But with a More Challenging Layout

These blocks are just as easy to applique as all the Easy blocks – it’s the assembly into quilts that makes them a smidge more difficult. These quilts break out of the basic square grid by including half blocks or double blocks, or adding sashing. Again – these aren’t hard – you just can’t assemble them on autopilot. 🙂 You can make any of these quilts into a basic Easy quilt by leaving out the rectangle blocks or sashing and assembling them on a basic grid.

Here are the links to the patterns. . .

• Woodland Critters
• Safari
• Chirp
• Noisy Farm
• Beep Beep
• Dinosaurs

A Little Harder

These quilts have a few more pieces for many of the blocks, and usually a few smaller pieces than the Easy quilts. It also includes a couple of Mix & Match patterns which will push/encourage your creativity a bit more than a regular pattern. Paper Dolls is the most challenging pattern in my collection, with lots of small, fussy pieces and mix & match possibilities – but holy cow is it fun! If you’re up for the challenge, you can even start with that one. 🙂

Here are the links to the patterns. . .

• Paper Dolls
• Playful Puppies
• Shiny Happy Houses
• Parliament of Owls
• Mix & Match Monsters
• Backyard Birds

This isn’t anywhere near all of my quilt patterns – but it gives you an idea of what kinds of things make one pattern more or less difficult than another.

Here’s a list of links all about choosing a quilt pattern – and even designing your own!

• Choosing a Quilt Pattern
• Free Quilt Patterns
• How to Work with Digital Patterns
• How to Print Digital Patterns When You Have No Printer
• Tips for Turning Any Drawing, Embroidery Pattern, or Clip Art into an Applique Pattern

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

Happy quilting!