Rainbow Squares Baby Quilt Tutorial
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.Baby quilts are a great beginner quilt project and this little Rainbow Squares quilt would make a perfect gift as it is a very easy quilt tutorial to follow!
This month the Island Batik ambassadors were to create a quilt project that would create a secondary pattern. I don’t think I did very well with this challenge with my Rainbow Squares baby quilt but I still like it.
Rainbow Squares Batik Baby Quilt
32″ x 44″
I had some of my favorite Island Batik neutral fabric called Sprinkles and I wanted to use it for the background in my quilt. Well, I thought I had plenty of it but I quickly realized I could only make this quilt project so big before I ran out of fabric. That is why it is a baby quilt.
I really had fun with this spur of the moment pattern that used the 5″ strip bundles that were in my Spring Island Batik box of fabrics. Sorry, I went back and looked and I also used a few of the 5″ strips that were in my Island Batik ambassador box from last year.
The little bundles are 5-inch strips by the width of fabric strips of past collections. I was able to create a rainbow effect in my quilt with them.
I’m getting pretty close to the end of the month with my Rainbow Block baby quilt!
I just did simple meandering quilting using Bottomline thread. It has been a while since I used it and I had forgotten how well my vintage 15-91 singer sewing machine likes it! I also only had to fill up my bobbin one time.
Purchase an ad-free printable version of my
Easy Rainbow Squares Baby quilt here
Lots of sun today but a little cooler so I have all of the windows open. It is so nice to get some fresh air in the house. It is sometimes fun to show a picture of a quilt with the sun shining through it. It actually makes it a lot easier to show how I sewed the quilt together.
This is another of those times that I forgot to take pictures as I was making the blocks but it is a very easy pattern to follow to make. If you have 2½” strips of batiks this would be perfect for them.
Using coordinating fabrics makes it easy to design blocks and a quilt.
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Fabrics:
- 1 yard of Sprinkles or a white background batik.
- 1/8″ yard or one 2½” strip by width of fabric of 11 different batik colors.
- 1/2 yard orange batik for binding.
- 38″ x 50″ backing and batting.
Cutting:
- Cut 22 – 4½” squares of the white background batik.
- Cut 132 – 2½” squares of the white background batik.
- Cut 12 – 2½” squares of each of the 11 different batik colors.
Sewing:
Use a ¼” seam allowance.
Sew the 2½” squares together as shown below, then add the 4½” square to them following the diagrams below.
When you sew the 2½” squares together, start with a white block in the first row. There will be 6 of each color in a section.
Sew your rows together, add your backing and batting and quilt as desired. I like to cut my binding 2½” wide by the width of my fabric and sew it to my quilts by machine. If you would be interested in measurements for a bigger quilt just let me know!
Purchase an ad-free printable version of my
Easy Rainbow Squares Baby quilt here
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About Connie
Hi, I’m Connie Kresin Campbell, the quilter, writer, and photographer behind Freemotion By the River. I enjoy inspiring others with my quilt tutorials and patterns. You’ll also see my sweet adopted dogs from time to time.
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The baby quilt is adorable. I hope you guys are keeping cool the next couple of days.
Thanks Meari!
Hello Connie,
I just saw this post about Island Batik baby quilt,I have the Island Batik Winter Frost.and several other jelly rolls. This would be a great way to use them up, as where I live here in Israel it’s been very difficult, this would give me something to do. My sewing room is our bomb shelter so I spend most of my time there now.Love the picture with you and of Mr. Mickey and Rusty.
Shalom,
Hadassah Miriam
Love this quilt. It is perfect for a little one of either gender and can be made using a lot of different fabrics i.e. left over baby fabrics.
Thanks for so generously sharing your talent
Anna
In yesterday’s “baby squares” quilt tutorial, you had a picture of a quilt block labelled “Secondary Pattern Challenge” – is there a tutorial for this?
Thank you for all your wonderful quilting tutorials – I’m a big fan!
I love this! It is such a cute pattern. I am.going to.do.this one real soon.
Oh this is very pretty. When I was walking the dogs today I ran into a neighbor sporting one of the baby quilts I made for her – heartwarming. Love the “negative” space in this one. Thanks!
I’m so glad I found your blog. I really enjoy the variety of patterns. This one is really nice. I’ve got one planned for my new nephew, but would really like information for a larger one for me! Thank you!
CAN I COME LIVE WITH YOU? YOU HAVE SO MUCH FABRIC IN YOUR SHELVES, AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT IS IN YOUR CABINET DRAWERS. I COULD REALLY GO TO TOWN, SO TO SPEAK, WITH ALL YOUR FABRIC AND REALLY HAVE A BALL. I AM NINETY AND EVERYDAY I QUILT AND CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF MY AFFLICTION. JUST FINISHED AN ANIMAL QUILT FOR MY GREAT GRANDSON…..SHOWED HIM THE PATTERN, HE IS 8 YEARS OLD AND HE SAID ‘WHEN WILL IT BE DONE”? HE IS THE ONLY BOY IN A LONG LINE OF GIRLS, SO HE IS OUR PRINCE!!!
Hi Connie,
I have already made 4 of these baby quilts. Two in blue and two in pink. the
pink ones are going to be tied and the blue ones probably quilted. But they are such fun and so easy to make.
I am going to try and make this quilt bigger with a brightly colored jelly roll.
Finger crossed.
thanks for such a cute and easy pattern.
Very sweet and attractive. I know this will be a joy to make. Thanks you, Connie
I decided to do this darling quilt pattern with different shades of pale pink for a quilt for a baby girl. It was so easy to sew and I made two of them really fast.
thanks for the pattern. I am now looking for different fabrics to make a baby boy quilt and maybe some other shades for a variety of quilt tops. Thank you so much for this easy pattern.
What would you recommend for those white squares where you will see the seam? I think my fabric is pretty sheer. I see the seams and it’s driving me crazy. When looking for whites, do you recommend a way to prevent this? White batting?
Using white batting would definitely help. It is a good idea to make sure your white fabric has a good weave and isn’t too thin.
I would be interested in measurements for a bigger quilt.
Hope you and yours are bundled up and keeping warm. Our son has been working as a Rigger in Nebraska and I know he too says it gets really cold compared to us down here in South East Texas. We are just 3 blocks from Trinity Bay (Texas Gulf Coast). We are both home grown Texans.
This is just the right quilt for this awful November weather! So bright and breezy! Might try it in just blue and white for winter too! Thanks for the uplifting colorful quilt!
I also agree that I would like to see a little larger version of this quilt. Looks like a fun and easier one to do to use up some scraps to.
This looks like a great little quilt, and I’m going to try to make it! I would also love to see the measurements for a larger version of it!
Thanks Connie. I think I need to make that Rainbow Squares Baby Quilt. I love it.
I totally agree with you in regards to the heat. Living in AZ, I am more than ready for cooler temps. I just spent last weekend up in Lakeside which was much cooler. Enjoyed those 50’s at night and only in the 80’s during the day.
Thanks for the inspiration. Love those Island Batiks.
I have a red/white/blue jelly roll for a Veteran’s quilt and this might just work if I do flag design. You give me so much inspiration, Connie. Just love your quilts and also pictures of where you live.
Beautiful, Connie! I’m beginning to like small quilts more and more. Large ones take SO long to get completed!!
Its a great use of those strips or of a jelly roll. It is so simple yet so much fun. The rainbow is always nice to be able to reflect in a baby quilt – all purpose and that is nice.
Thank you. I plan to make these in smaller size for doll blankets.
Lovely/ It’d also look great in a larger size with the colours following the diagonal patterns.
so cute! I need to make more small quilts! they finish so quickly!
This is really cute, Connie, and I have LOTS of batik strips in different colors. Now all I need is the time and energy to do it. lol