Today I have a fun FQ friendly baby quilt pattern for you.
I’ll show you what I made and then take you through the steps so you can sew your own version of this happy little quilted baby mat.
If you’d prefer to have the pattern as a PDF you can purchase the full pattern in my shop (with baby, throw, queen and king sizes).
Let’s talk about this baby quilt!
Given the star motif I’m calling the pattern When You Wish… (thank you, Walt Disney).
I don’t often buy fat quarter bundles – I’m a half yard stasher (sometimes a full yard stasher). But when I was offered the chance to sew with a fat quarter bundle of Karen Lewis’ Blueberry Park for Robert Kaufman, I jumped at the chance.
The colours are beautiful and saturated and generally have small scale prints, making them oh-so-useful and stash-worthy. (ETA: The Karen Lewis bundle is hard to find now – this fat quarter solids bundle would also work well*)
This pattern is perfect for a quilting beginner, made with squares and half square triangles (HSTs).
I divided the colours of Blueberry Park into warm and cool palettes and assigned them to each of the four quadrants.
Quilts with legs: my new favourite.
When You Wish… measures 36½” x 36½”. I love this width for a baby quilt as it can be backed with a single stretch of yardage. No pieced backing, yay!
The quilting
I had fun quilting this one – the warm quadrants were quilted with tangerine thread, the cool quadrants with aqua.
I used the patchwork seams and the edge of my walking foot – no guide lines were drawn.
When my needle is in the centre position it measures a half inch from the edge of my walking foot. When I was close to my pivot point I used a small ruler to check for the spot where I was a half inch from the next patchwork line. I would sew up to that spot and then pivot.
Sometimes I was a little over or under (which happens when your stitch length is long, as it is when you quilt); I would just adjust the next line to account for that discrepancy. It was all very much by eye and by feel – nothing stressful about it at all.
Above you can see how I quilted each quadrant. These were the first lines and then I filled each portion in with lines that echoed them.
Backing and Binding
I backed When You Wish… with some leftover Elizabeth Hartman wideback (in Ultra Marine).
To bind this quilt I used some of the purple FQs from the Blueberry Park bundle:
I decided to machine bind this one and did so with a zig-zag stitch (tutorial on this here) in an aubergine thread:
I love how quick, easy and forgiving this method of binding is. And it’s so robust for a baby mat which will receive copious amounts of poo, spew and washings.
My only complaint is that it did leave a slight wavy edge on the quilt:
But I suspect that will wash out once it has it’s first bath. Regardless, it’s not enough of a worry to stop me from using this method again. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta get her done.
When You Wish…baby quilt pattern
Ready to sew your own version of this baby quilt pattern? Let’s do it!
General Instructions
Read all instructions before cutting and sewing.
Finished quilt measures 36½” square
All seams are ¼”
WOF = width of fabric = 42″ for yardage
FQ = fat quarter = 18″ x 21″
HST = half square triangle
RST = right sides together
Fabric Requirements
Quilt top:
14 FQs:
1 Yellow
1 Grass Green
2 Orange
2 Jade Green
2 Red
2 Dark Blue
2 Light Purple
2 Dark Purple
Binding:
FQ Purple (+ Light and Dark Purple remnants from quilt top).
OR
½ yd fabric
Batting:
40½” x 40½” square
Backing:
1¼ yd fabric
Cutting Instructions
Yellow FQ:
Cut 1 strip 5½” x 21″, then subcut 2 squares 5½” x 5½”.
Cut 1 strip 5″ x 21″, then subcut 2 squares 5″ x 5″.
Grass Green FQ:
Same as Yellow FQ.
From each Orange and Jade Green FQ:
Cut 1 strip 5½” x 21″, then subcut 3 squares 5½” x 5½”.
Cut 1 strip 5″ x 21″, then subcut 1 square 5″ x 5″.
From each Red and Dark Blue FQ:
Cut 2 strips 5½” x 21″, then subcut 5 squares 5½” x 5½” and 1 square 5″ x 5″.
From each Light Purple and Dark Purple FQ:
Cut 1 strip 5½” x 21″, then subcut 3 squares 5½” x 5½”.
Cut 1 strip 5″ x 21″, then subcut 1 square 5″ x 5″.
Binding:
FQ Purple and Light and Dark Purple remnants: Cut 9 strips 2¼” x 21″
OR
½ yd fabric: Cut 5 strips 2¼” x WOF
Quilt Top Quadrants
The quilt top is divided into 4 quadrants, as shown above.
Quadrant 1 (Q1) and Quadrant 4 (Q4) will each use:
- ½ Yellow FQ
- 1 Orange FQ
- 1 Red FQ
- 1 Light Purple FQ
Quadrant 2 (Q2) and Quadrant 3 (Q3) will each use:
- ½ Grass Green FQ
- 1 Jade Green FQ
- 1 Dark Blue FQ
- 1 Dark Purple FQ
The Yellow FQ and Grass Green FQ are shared over two quadrants each.
The Orange, Red, Jade, Blue and Purple FQs need to be divided up, one FQ per quadrant, as seen above.
Audition your fabrics to find a combination you like for each quadrant and make note of your preferred colour combinations. Keep each quadrant’s fabric together so you don’t mix FQs across the quadrants (unless you’d prefer the scrappy look – you’re the boss!)
HST Construction Method
Take two 5½” squares and draw a diagonal on the back of one with a pencil. Place the squares RST and sew two seams, a quarter inch either side of the diagonal. Cut apart along diagonal line, open the units and press the seams to the side, as directed below. Trim the units to 5″ square
Sew Your HST Units
Repeat the HST Construction Method given above to make the following HST units; remember to keep fabrics in their allocated quadrant. Sew:
Q1 fabrics:
- 1 Yellow and 1 Orange 5½” square to give 2 Yellow/Orange HST units, press toward Orange
- 2 Orange and 2 Red 5½” squares to give 4 Orange/Red HST units, press toward Red
- 3 Red and 3 Light Purple 5½” squares to give 6 Red/Light Purple HST units, press toward Light Purple
Q2 fabrics:
- 1 Grass Green and 1 Jade Green 5½” square to give 2 Grass/Jade Green HST units, press toward Grass Green
- 2 Jade Green and 2 Dark Blue 5½” squares to give 4 Jade Green/Dark Blue HST units, press toward Jade Green
- 3 Dark Blue and 3 Dark Purple 5½” squares, to give 6 Dark Blue/Dark Purple HST units, press toward Blue
Q3 fabrics:
- 1 Grass Green and 1 Jade Green 5½” square to give 2 Grass/Jade Green HST units, press toward Grass Green
- 2 Jade Green and 2 Dark Blue 5½” squares to give 4 Jade Green/Dark Blue HST units, press toward Jade Green
- 3 Dark Blue and 3 Dark Purple 5½” squares, to give 6 Dark Blue/Dark Purple HST units, press toward Blue
Q4 fabrics:
- 1 Yellow and 1 Orange 5½” square to give 2 Yellow/Orange HST units, press toward Orange
- 2 Orange and 2 Red 5½” squares to give 4 Orange/Red HST units, press toward Red
- 3 Red and 3 Light Purple 5½” squares to give 6 Red/Light Purple HST units, press toward Light Purple
Trim all HST units to 5″ square.
Quilt Top Layout
Lay out the HSTs and the 5″ squares in the following format, mindful of each quadrant’s fabric combination.
Sew all the rows together, pressing the seams in each row in alternate directions so seams will nest.
Sew all the rows together to give the quilt top.
Back, baste and quilt as preferred. You can see my quilting choice back up at the start of this mammoth post!
Join the binding strips together end to end and use to bind the quilt.
And…you’re done!
Pat yourself on the back because you’ve just created your own beautiful version of the When You Wish…baby quilt pattern. Congratulations! Don’t forget to share your creation with us all – email me a picture or tag me on Facebook or Instagram.
If you know of a little star who needs a baby quilt, I hope you will make them a When You Wish… Baby Mat!
I have a PDF of this pattern in my pattern shop. It details how to make a baby, throw, queen and king size version of this quilt using yardage. In these versions the diagonally opposite quadrants are made with the same fabrics, which makes for a very quick project (just sew 2 of each quadrant).
The instructions for the FQ friendly version in this tutorial are also included in the paid pattern. You can find the When You Wish… quilt pattern here in my shop for US$12.
Happy sewing!
Kirsty x
*affiliate link
Thank you so much for sharing your pattern! I love this dense quilting. I recently did something similar. It looked so pretty but did not lay flat. I hope it washes out. Thanks again from Atlanta, Georgia
I’m sure it will look a lot better after a wash. Water seems to settle it all down. Even if it’s a little wavy, everyone will be too busy looking at your amazing quilting to notice it :)
Hey from Northwest Oklahoma. Thank you so much for this amazing pattern. I am wondering if there would be any way to make this pattern into a full/queen size?
I’m working on it, Sharon! Will probably be in the shop after I put out my next one. Make sure you’re on my newsletter list so you get all the news (and a coupon).
Kirsty:
Thank you so much for the free pattern! I love it & can’t wait to make it. I live in Iowa, USA & we visited AUS & NZ in December 2019. What beautiful countries. I would go back in a heartbeat.
You’re most welcome, Gail. I’m so glad you got to visit our side of the world – sadly it’s going to be a while until we can all travel again.
Stay safe and happy sewing,
Please creAte a lap sized version! Thanks. I love your work.
In the process of making Rainbow Star with Batiks,
Thanks for the pattern and quilting tip.
What a beautiful quilt! Thank you so much for sharing your pattern. I know that my grandson would love a quilt made in this design. I’m going to make one this week!
Wonderful! Happy sewing, Claudia.
I love the specific tips you give. It’s great for us newbies.
LOVE this! Bright colors and flexible ideas for using (not JUST a baby quilt). Looking forward to making one.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you took the time to ALSO explain, show and teach the QUILTING of this quilt. Nothing frustrates, disappoints, even very often ANGERS me than those 3 words “Quilt as desired.”
IMO, They’re a copout of a lazy writer, and contribute to newbies and oldtimers QUITTING making quilts — often cuz they too can’t afford hundreds of dollars to have their tops long-armed. And the pieced tops sit unfinished, never actually become QUILTS.
Cuz it ain’t a QUILT until it’s QUILTED.
If more writers took the time and effort you did — both clearly showing AND clearly teaching how you quilted it — we’d keep more newbies, we’d have more quilters (not just piecers), we’d have more QUILTS, and alla those PIECING magazines could legitimately call themselves Quilting mags!!
Like I said — IMO, granted a very passionate opinion, lol.
And yours is STELLAR.
Thank you!
Beautiful quilt. Thanks for the pattern!
beautiful
Thanks for the wonderful patterns!!
This looks like a fabulous pattern that I’d really like to try for my brother and sister-in-law’s child-to-be. I tried to join the mailing list but nothing came up in my email or in my junk. Is the pattern still available?
Hi Jo, I can’t see your email in the program so it hasn’t gone through. You might have to try again – you should get a confirmation that it’s gone through once you click the ‘pattern, please’ button. Cheers, Kirsty
A beautiful quilt !! I love the first picture with the lovely legs floating in mid-air. I looks like someone is being pulled up into the stars.
Love the quilt. BTW – Tish is from my hometown. I haven’t met her. My 50th class reunion is this year. She is a friend of my cousin who graduated with me. So, IF I do go to the reunion, I plan to meet her. Small, eh?
Oh, I love happy coincidences like this! It really is a small world!
I would also like a copy of this pattern please! It’s really bright, cheery and fun!
Thank you for the pattern, I have shared your website with my online quilt group, Canada Stitches. Our current on going project is to provide quilts for Ronald MacDonald House in Red Deer Alberta..I hope by sharing your information for members to download their own copy that it will inspire a few of them to contribute to this project. Thanks for helping me to inspire them!
Thank you, Gail – I hope this pattern will be useful for them and that they enjoy reading a new blog. Good luck with your online group!
Thank you for the pattern, I had no trouble downloading it. I love it for baby quilts and seasonal wallhangings too. I appreciate your offering it for free!
Lovely quilt great use for my stash of polka dot fabric assortments, I appreciate you showing the outline of your first quilting for echoing purposes-
I only do stitch in the ditch and want to be more creative this helps .
Hi Kirsty – thought I’d share regarding the wavy binding issue – I have stopped doing a close zigzag or any other fancy stitch on edges, because, as they look interesting, they seem to s-t-r-e-t-c-h those edges, and I now stick with straight stitching, or very narrow, but longish, zigzag. Also, I disengage my walking foot for edge work as that seems to help in keeping the stitching (and edge) “tight”.
Margaret
Thank you, Margaret – we appreciate the tip! I’ll try a shallower stitch next time I’m zigzag a binding.
I love the look of this quilt. But I haven’t been able to get the system to send it to my email address. I have received others but for some reason this one just isn’t coming through. I am really disappointed. But I guess that’s life. Hopefully I will see it again and be able to get it then.
No pattern? Not on my watch, Jori :) I’ve emailed it directly to you.
Thanks Glenda, so glad you like it! Happy sewing (would love to see it when you’re done).
This is totally AWESOME ! Thank you so much . You did a super fantastic job & love the color choice . Hope to get started real soon
When you Wish is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for the free pattern. Thank you too for the tutorials which I can tell will be extremely helpful. I need all the help I can get…
Hi Kirsty, thanks so much for this pattern! I’ve made two quilts using it, and adapted it for each one. The first was for the arrival of a friend’s baby, and I embroidered his birth details on it. She loved it and was showing it off to everyone!
The second I adapted to make a queen-sized quilt for my godmother’s 60th with some beautiful Japanese-inspired fabric from a Robert Kauffman. I kept this one in blues and golds, which are her fave colours.
Would love to send pics but can’t attach them here. Philly
Just wanted to tell you that my pattern showed up in my Download folder without an email, or having to download the PDF file. That’s a bit disturbing, but at least I got the pattern. Personally, I’d rather have to manually download a file for security reasons. Anyhow – love the pattern – Thanks!
Hi Carole, I think that might be how your Download preferences are set up in your browser? You can go into the Preferences of your browser and set where you want files to be downloaded and whether you get a “should I download this” message before it happens. That way you can set your computer to ask you each time about a download and you can screen it if you’re worried about security.
Cheers (and happy sewing),
Kirsty
Thank you for the pattern :)
I cannot find the pattern in my inboxe, junk mail, or spam filter.
Please help.
Thank you
Hi Michelle,
Sorry you’re having troubles. I went into the software that delivers the pattern and it’s saying that the confirmation email to you bounced. Is it possible your email account is full, or that you used the wrong email address?
Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out! :)
Cheers,
Kirsty
So wonderful!!! Thank you, Kirsty.
Thank you so much! I love this quilt pattern! I have 4 grands and can see this being a good one to get me started on making a memory for one of them!
I’ve subscribed and confirmed through the email link that was sent to me, but I still have not received the pattern.
Hi Angel, I’m sorry you’re having trouble getting the pattern. When you click the confirm button the pattern will download to your computer automatically. Sometimes it opens straight away and you can save it, other times your computer stashes it away in a “Downloads” folder. If you go to your file directory and search for When You Wish, the PDF should come up.
Let me know how you go,
Cheers,
Kirsty
I can’t seem to buy this lovely bundle of fat quarters anywhere, all the quilting websites say it’s not available, and their actual website says it does not sell to other than businesses.
I love everything about this bright, beautiful quilt :)
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful pattern. Your quilt was absolutely magnificent!!
Wow! I am super impressed with your deft hand with the colors and prints!!! Bold and bright, powerful colorful prints — any one (or more) of them could have EASILY overpowered, disappeared, or otherwise thrown the whole thing off.
Instead, it’s so well balanced, so well done. I am happily blown away, ‘been looking & looking at it for many happy minutes now.
Thank you so much for sharing it.
Thank you so much. I was very happy with how it turned out and I hope the pattern will be useful for others.
Thanks for dropping by!
I have been looking for a pattern to use for the top of my dining room table. I have used simple squares in the past but this will be perfect. Thank you.
So generous of you to offer this beautiful quilt pattern to all of us for free. Thank you!
Beautiful quilt! Thank you for offering it for free :)
Oh My Word! That is divine. The colours you have used are stunning. I hope I can choose my colours that well. Thanks for sharing the pattern.
Thanks for the pattern!
Beautiful!
I love your quilt. I’ve been hoarding my Blueberry Park fabric waiting for the perfect project! Thanks so much for the quilting diagram I am a newbie and still struggle with the “Quilt as desired”. Can’t wait to make the quilt.
I have tried and tried to confirm my email but the page never loads, it just times out. How can I get this beautiful pattern?
Hi Mary Lynn, sorry you’re having troubles! The way the automatic pattern delivery works is once you pop in your email address, it sends you an email with a confirm button in it.
Once you click the button it automatically downloads the pattern to your computer – there’s no additional link to click or email to receive. I’ve checked the software and can see your address in there, and it’s registered that you’ve clicked the confirm button, so the pattern should have downloaded to your computer. The sometimes tricky part is knowing where!
Where your computer stores downloaded files is set by the computer user so I can’t tell you that.. for instance, I have a Mac and it has a special ‘downloads’ folder where it automatically puts any files downloaded from the internet.
Your best bet would be to have a look in your file manager (your folder structure) and do a search for When You Wish. That will show you where the file is on your computer. Let me know how it goes! Good luck x
This is an adorable quilt! Would you mind telling me what kind of batting would you recommend for a baby quilt that would keep it soft with all the quilting? Thank you for designing and sharing such a wonderful pattern. And sharing it for no cost is deeply appreciated!
Hi Vivian,
I just use cotton batting – nothing unusual. The quilting does give the mat some body, so you could always reduce the density of your lines if you’d like a “floppier” quilt.
A higher loft, polyester batting could work well here too. I don’t like poly in bed quilts as I feel they don’t breathe so well, but for a baby mat that’s not really a problem. Another option would be to use two layers of batting (I’ve never done this myself, but I know others who have when they want a poofier quilt).
Hope that helps,
Kirsty
j’ai fait tout comme demandé mais malheureusement je ne reçois rien :( pouvez-vous s’il-vous-plaît me l’envoyer directement sur mon mail. je vous remercie beaucoup
ça va arriver, tout de suite!
:-) Never mind please – I found it!!!!!
I have checked both spam and downloads folders and have not received the pattern. Thanks.
This little baby quilt is absolutely beautiful! I love it…and I love the way you quilted it. One of my husband’s co-workers is having a little bundle of joy soon so I will be making one of these for her. Thank you so much for sharing your pattern…I really appreciate your generosity and creativity!
Wonderful, I’m so glad it’s come at a helpful time for you! Happy sewing!
I love this pattern and confirmed my email address last Tuesday but have not received the pattern. I have checked my files but don’t see it there either. Any ideas?
Hi Margaret – as soon as you clicked the confirm button in that email, the file downloaded to your computer automatically (it doesn’t come in a further email). The file is called When You Wish, so if you search for that in your file manager it should come up (and then you’ll be able to see where your computer likes to stash these downloads, as sometimes it can be difficult to find them!). Let me know how you go!
This is a great pattern. And those fabrics look yummy. Thanks for sharing!
oh, the timing could not be better. I was browsing around for inspiration because I want to make a quick baby quilt for my neice whose baby is due in six weeks. Perfect!! Thank you Kristy.
What a joyous quilt! Not only as a baby mat, I see it enlightening a dark winter evening if used as an Afghan when reading near a fireplace…
Beautiful quilt – love the rainbow of colours!
Love how bold and bright this is. When you did the quilting without going through the exact center did it cause the quilt to want to pucker up in the center. It doesn’t look like it did but i did some quilting like this once and it putched up in the center.
No, no bunching in the very centre. I used basting spray to baste and that held very well. Maybe some extra basting pins if you’re worried about puckers?
Thank you, Margaret. The quilting’s my favourite part :)
absolutely beautiful work thank you so very much for the pattern
You’re very welcome!
Oh, so pretty. I’m saving this and I want to make it x 4 for a throw! Thank you.
Great idea!
Beautiful I love the colours combination and the way you quilted it
I love this quilt! My thought….I need to buy a fat quarter bundle, because I NEVER buy them!!! Thanks Kirsty for sharing this one!
My pleasure, Suz!
so pretty….I tried to get the pattern but its says I must enter a valid email….well I only have one email and it is valid…what do I do?
Hi Judi,
Are you happy for me to try and get the email program to send it to you from my end?
I have tried to obtain the pattern for this quilt and it is just not being sent. Is there another way to obtain it? Thank you.
Hi Rebecca,
I’m sorry you’re having trouble. Did you get the confirmation email once you had entered your details? It might have gone to your spam folder.
If you did get the confirmation email, you need to click the confirmation button and then you’ll receive the pattern. Some people find that their computer downloads the file and then hides it away in their “downloads” folder – so it’s worthwhile getting into your file manager and having a look there too.
Good luck – let me know if you still don’t have the pattern and I will figure out another way to get it to you.
Hi Kirsty. I cannot get the pattern eitjer2.
It is not in my inbox, or my spam filter, or junk email.
Help?
Thank you!
Hi Kirsty. I cannot get the pattern either.
It is not in my inbox, or my spam filter, or junk email.
Help?
Thank you!
Love this!!!! And especially loved how you quilted it!!!
Thank you, Cindy!