As September winds down I start thinking about October and the best part of October is Halloween! If we start now, we quilters can make our way through one or two Halloween quilt patterns and get the house all dressed up for the spooky season. Here are some fun Halloween quilt patterns that will make your October more festive.
Halloween Quilt Patterns – Pumpkins
It’s hard to talk about Halloween quilt patterns without mentioning pumpkin quilt patterns. Is there nothing a pumpkin can’t do? Pumpkin patterns are symbols of the harvest and Fall (for the northern hemisphere), pumpkins are all shades of orange and can be made into a decoration (jack o’lantern) or a pie. Get yourself a gourd that can do it all!
1. The Hocus Pocus Quilt Pattern* by the Pattern Basket is a beauty – a great variety of pumpkin shapes and sizes, with some sweet sawtooth stars thrown in for good measure. Who can resist a patch of pumpkins?
2. For lovers of a scrappy Halloween quilting you can’t go past this fun Patchwork Jack* jack o’lantern design by Pieced Just Sew. This looks wonderful in prints but would also look spectacular in many tones of solid fabrics, too.
Pumpkin Quilt Blocks
For those who don’t have time for a whole quilt, here are some absolutely darling pumpkin Halloween quilt blocks that could be used to make a Halloween table runner, a cushion cover or just a cute little quilted wall hanging. Sometimes just a single quilt block/small project can be the perfect table topper needed to bring a touch of autumn to a setting.
3. This Pumpkin Patch Quilt Pattern* by Burlap and Blossom Patterns has a romantic vibe for those who prefer a less Freddy Kruger-style Halloween. The PDF has instructions for 2 block sizes, finishing at 6″ and 12″. If you’re not overly into Halloween then this is a great little autumn pattern without the spooky touch.
4. Another adorable pumpkin quilt block pattern with sizes that finish at 6″ and 12″ is this Pumpkin Quilt Block* by Nadra Ridgeway. This block uses traditional piecing techniques, not FPP. Look at that little toothy grin. He’s only going to gum you gently, I’m sure.
5. And one last pumpkin quilt block – this one has a classic quilt pattern feel with the inclusion of some log cabin patchwork. This Log Cabin Pumpkin FPP pattern* by iminimiz has two unfinished sizes: 6″ and 8″ square. Whether you’re a seasoned FPP (foundation paper piecing) sewist or new, this project is straight forward and very achievable.
Halloween Quilt Patterns – Creepy Critters
6. If you like critters during Halloween then why not a bat quilt pattern? This Bats Quilt Pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew is a great design that only needs two colours. I love it in the black and white, but it could be made with any variations of black, orange, purple and bone to great effect.
7. My favourite Halloween critter has to be the cat – a black cat with glowing yellow eyes always sends a shiver down my spine. (My grandma had such a cat – a stray she took in – and it terrorised all us grandchildren on the daily. His name was George I can still see his eyes, only his eyes, beneath the house, waiting to pick us off one by one…). Here’s a Scaredy Cat quilt block pattern* by Trellis and Thyme Patterns with instructions for 6″ and 12″ blocks.
8. Here’s another fantastic Halloween quilt pattern for cat lovers – the Scrappy Cat quilt pattern* by Sew Fresh Quilts. This one could be used all year round if sewn in non-Halloween colours. It’d look wicked in black with scrappy orange and/or low-volume kitties, or as a black cat quilt against bone white.
Halloween Quilt Patterns – Disembodied Heads
9. If you’d like to bring some skulls into your lounge room (who wouldn’t?!) then why not make this very quick and easy appliqué skull cushion cover. I created this tutorial after my then-young son mentioned that he found most Halloween decor a little too scary for him (bless!). This skull has a friendly, I-promise-I-won’t-eat-you demeanour.
10. Here’s a free Patchwork Skull Quilt Block Tutorial that I have on the blog. This guy takes longer than the one above, but he looks great as a cushion cover, table topper or pot holder.
11. This next Halloween quilt pattern is epic! The Fractured Skull quilt pattern* by And Sew I is a foundation paper piecing (FPP) pattern with instructions for 3 quilt sizes: throw, twin and double bed. It’s a big project, to be sure, but it really packs a punch and would look fantastic on your bed all October (and beyond, if you have a goth in the house ;)
Halloween Quilt Patterns – Just Plain Cute
12. If you’re after something quick that you can most likely make from supplies you have at hand already, you can’t go past this cute Boo! mini quilt pattern by Peta of She Quilts A Lot. There’s plenty of scope to play with colour and your scrap pile with this one.
13. I couldn’t resist one more by Nadra Ridgeway (at No. 13, no less) – this Dracula quilt block pattern*. There are instructions for 2 quilt blocks finishing at 6″ and 12″ and they are made with traditional piecing (not FPP) for those wondering. I think he’d make a spooktacular cushion cover!
14. Here’s another playfully spooky quilt pattern – the Ghost in the Graveyard quilt pattern by Corinne Sovey. I think the ghosts are singing…maybe Phantom of the Opera?
Not into Novelty?
Not everyone likes to be overtly spooky with novelty designs. Sometimes you just want to add a bit of a Halloween feel to the room; one of the easiest ways to do that is with colour.
The traditional Halloween colour scheme is black and bone, with orange and purple accents. Perhaps with some witch-green added in as well. You can have a lot of fun making up quilt patterns you already own in these colours to create your own Halloween-themed quilt.
Here are a couple of Bonjour Quilts patterns that I gave a Halloween glow-up.
Quilts to Feature Your Halloween Fabric
If you’ve gone to the trouble of finding Halloween-themed fabric it can be fun to use a quilt pattern that shows the print fabrics off. Patterns that require cutting into small pieces may lead to your print getting lost.
You can find lots of fun Halloween-theme fabric in this section of the Fat Quarter Shop* and here on Etsy*.
15. The Lollies Quilt Pattern features a lolly-shaped block that lets your fabric shine. You can go for a random layout or you could chose something more orderly. You can easily arrange your fabrics in colour lines (vertically, horizontally or diagonally). Here’s the throw size quilt with a random layout and bone background fabric.
16. The Mountainside Quilt Pattern is fat quarter friendly and is wonderful for showing off larger prints with its large blocks. A Halloween fabric line would look great in this pattern. You could choose black or white accent fabric, depending on the look you prefer. Here’s a dark and moody Halloween throw quilt version:
And for those who love that pop of orange, Mountainside has you covered:
Jelly Roll and Fat Quarter Friendly
17. If you have jelly roll (2½”) strips then the Stash Knockout quilt pattern can make a great Halloween quilt. The pattern is both jelly roll and FQ/yardage compatible, so whatever you have will work fine. I’m showing the throw size in all the following mock ups.
I like the idea of a black background with bone/cream fabrics and harvest orange:
And it would look good with the addition of a 4″ (finished) border as well:
Perhaps some purple accents?
Or a bit of purple in the centre? Lots of options with the Stash Knockout quilt pattern, Halloween-style!
Scrappy Look Halloween Quilts
18. The Connections quilt pattern is another pattern that can be easily Halloween-ified. The pattern requires 4 main colour groups so black, bone, orange and purple will work well:
19. And finally, here’s the Easy Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt pattern, made in Halloween colours. I sewed this throw/lap quilt up last month and still need to get it quilted. I used a bunch of FQs and scraps in black, dark grey, light grey and orange. This was quick to sew and the pattern shows you exactly how to achieve this colour fade (ombré) effect on the quilt.
Come over to this blog post to see how this Halloween quilt pattern turned out when it was completed.
There you have it, folks. Plenty of inspiration for Halloween quilt patterns so you can sew yourself a beautiful quilt for the autumn spooky season.
Do you have a favourite Halloween Quilt Pattern? If so, tell me all about it!
Cheers,
Kirsty
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Still think I need to make ALL OF THESE! I got a month right! It’s also about the only time of year that the fabric stores actually have orange fabric! Thanks!
Yes, you can get a lot done in a month! Especially with the blocks – you could have a different pot holder or placemat for each day of the month.
Thank you so much!
Love your work. It’s an inspiration. Thanks for being part of this wonderful art!
Thank you so much for all the Halloween treats and all of the many resources you put together for your blogging audience. Happy Halloween Kirsty!
Thank you, Tricia! Happy Spooky Season to you, too.
You are very clever with fabric. Some of your quilts have wonderful fabric manipulation that makes the quilt design. Love your work. Keep it up whilst you can. Jan Fitzpatrick
Thank you Jan! I love seeing the way different fabrics can give a pattern a totally different look. It’s fun to see how unrecognisable I can make it!