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Easy Quilt Patterns – How to Make Charm Square Quilt

January 2, 2023 by sewnikki 22 Comments

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Easy Quilt Patterns – How to Make Charm Square Quilt. Looking for an easy quilt pattern? Then try this classic charm square quilt! Stick with me and I will show you how to make a classic charm square quilt.

quilt drapped over chair in front of christmas tree
Easy Quilt Patterns – Charm Square Quilt by Sew Nikki

Easy Quilt Patterns – Charm Square Quilt

Hi friend, can I tell you a secret? Sometimes as quilters, we overthink things, make it too complicated, add to much detail, pick a complicated pattern or block and then it’s no longer fun! We need to keep it fun and enjoyable or else what’s the point? We want some pleasure in our down time so here’s the perfect pattern to make a throw or quilt for your bed.

Easy Quilt Patterns – How to Make Charm Square Quilt. I made this simple charm square quilt for my nephew Nick as a house warming gift but got distracted with other projects (and this blog!) so now it will be his Christmas present. Oh well, better late than never! It’s one of my favorite quilts to make because it’s easy to make and always looks great on a bed. Here’s what you will need to make this queen size quilt.

Materials for my queen size quilt:

1 Layer Cakes – Pumpkins & Blossoms Layer Cakes by Fig Tree Quilt

2 yards white cotton fabric (for background squares, border and binding)

1/2 yard bone cotton fabric (for border)

1/2 yard Kona Chartreuse Green cotton fabric for border

3 yards 108″ width backing fabric – buy at your local fabric store, see what the selection is and chose a fabric that will go with the layer cake prints.

Quilter’s ruler 5″ x 20″ – for some reason I am unable to find the 5″ rectangle ruler on Amazon but check your local craft store. The 5″ ruler is the easiest for cutting 5″ squares.

Rotary Cutter

Cutting Matt

3 Coats & Clark Machine Quilt Cotton Thread (White)

1 Warm & White King Size Cotton Batting – it’s best to use white batting and not beige batting when you use a lot of solid white in your quilt

1 can 505 Fabric Adhesive Spray – to secure your quilt top and backing to the batting

Sewing Machine

Shout Color Catcher Sheets

Iron and ironing board

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Easy Quilt Patterns – Charm Square Quilt Instructions

Easy Quilt Patterns – How to Make Charm Square Quilt.

For this easy quilt pattern charm square quilt, you will need to use 5″ squares of fabric. Cut your layer cake into 4 – 5″ squares, remove any fabrics that are too light or close to white and save for another project. If you can’t find a layer cake, then buy eight 8 charm packs and leave at 5″.

Cut your white fabric into 5″ strips, then sub cut into 5″ squares. For the background squares you could use any light neutral color such as off white, cream, bone or natural. White background squares are my go to color because I really think they brighten the quilt and makes it pop.

Create Piles:

two piles of quilting charm squares on cutting matt
Form two piles: one pile of 5″ charm squares and one pile of the background (white) 5″ squares.
two pieces of fabric laying side by side on table
Easy Quilt Patterns (Charm Square Quilt) – Take one white square and one layer cake square.
easy quilt patterns - pinning one background 5" square with a layer cake charm square on cutting matt
Pin one background square and one charm square on one side, then sew a 1/4″ seam to connect them together.
chain piecing fabric on sewing machine
Easy Quilt Patterns (Charm Square Quilt) – Continue sewing one square from each pile until piles are gone..

Create Rows:

pinned charm square units for quilting
Easy Quilt Patterns (Charm Square Quilt) – Create rows by sewing the pieces together, make sure you have a background square always touching a charm square. Each row will have 20 squares. Make 16 rows.
Easy quilt patterns - table with sewing machine, fabric and notions
Rows 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 will start with a charm square. Rows 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 will start with a background square.

Connect Rows:

Lay out the rows on your bed. Row 1 should be placed starting at the left side of your bed/head board. Take a pin and stick it into the first square to mark the top left corn of your quilt top.

pinning quilt rows on sewing table
Place a pin at each seam, connect using a 1/4″ seam. Take to the ironing board and press. Lay back down on the bed, the square with the pin stuck in it should be in located at the upper left side of your bed.
Sewing quilt rows together with sewing machine
Repeat this process with the remaining rows: Sew row 3 and 4 together, row 5 and 6 together, row 7 and 8 together, row 9 and 10 together, row 11 and 12 together, row 13 and 14 together, and finally row 15 and 16 together. Then sew all the rows together to form your quilt top.
partial quilt top laying on sewing table
Once you have all the rows sewn together, take to the ironing board and press. See instructions below for adding the borders.

Add Borders:

I like to add three borders to my quilts. Make your border strips are long enough for each side of quilt top. Pin and sew the bone fabric first, strips should be cut into 2 1/2″ strips. Do the two sides first, then press. Do the top and bottom last, then press. Pin and sew the green fabric, strips should be cut into 5″ strips and long enough for each side of the quilt. Do the two sides first, then press. Do the top and bottom last, then press. Finally, pin and sew the backing fabric last, strips should be cut into 3″ strips. Do the two sides first, then press. Do the top and bottom last, then press. Your quilt top is all done!

sewing border on quilt top
Sewing first border onto quilt top.

Make Binding:

Make your binding with the bone fabric cut into 2 1/2″ by WOF (width of fabric) strips. Sew strips together using a 1/4″ seam until the binding is long enough to attach to all sides of the quilt.

Measure Quilt Backing Fabric:

Fabric comes in two sizes off the bolt: standard is approximately 54″ and wide is 108″. Make your life easier and try to find fabric for your quilt back that is 108″. Fabric stores should always carry this wider fabric but the selection is limited. You can always find a solid fabric in 108″ but if you use a print fabric it will make your life easier because it will help hide any quilting mistakes. If you use a solid fabric then every stitch is visible. Lay your completed quilt top on your bed then lay your backing fabric over it to make sure the backing covers the quilt top and is about 3″ wider on all sides. If backing doesn’t cover the top, you will need to cut your backing fabric and sew sections together to make it cover the top or possibly get more fabric if you don’t have enough.

Make Quilt Sandwich:

Make sure that you have pressed the quilt top and backing with your iron before you make your quilt sandwich. Lay your quilt top with wrong side facing up, then lay the batting on top and attach using fabric spray. Make sure your batting covers the quilt top and is about 3″ wider on all sides.

Next, attach your backing to the batting with wrong side facing down. Spray with fabric spray to attach. Now it’s time to start quilting, see instructions below.

Machine Quilting:

rolled up quilt top on floor
Lay your quilt on the floor and find the center of the quilt. You do this by counting the squares and finding the middle. Roll up the quilt on both sides and take to your sewing machine.
rolled quilt on sewing machine to quilt
Sew 1/4″ seam down all sides of charm squares. Line up your presser foot to the edge of the charm square and sew all the way down. You will need to eye ball the sewing line across the borders. You can use a quilt ruler and chalk or invisible marker to mark out your sewing line if you like.
machine quilting charm square quilt on sewing machine
Start in the middle and continue sewing to the right. Then flip it and continue sewing that way until all four sides are quilted.

Trimming Quilt:

easy quilt patterns - trimming finished quilt with rotary cutter on cutting matt before adding binding
Lay your quilt on the sewing table and trim all sides using your quilt ruler and rotary cutter. Square up the corners by using a square quilt ruler. Press the quilt on ironing board before adding binding, see instructions for binding below.

Machine Binding:

Attach the binding you made earlier starting on the back side of the quilt first. Line the binding up to the edge of the quilt and attach with a 1/4″ seam. Take to ironing board and press.

machine binding a quilt
Fold the binding over and sew the binding onto the quilt top keeping your needle as close to the left side of the binding edge as possible. Take to ironing board and press.

Washing Your Quilt:

Wash your quilt on delicate cycle, cold or warm water. Pro tip: Use SC Johnson Shout Color Catcher sheets. Because the fabric is not washed prior to quilting, you don’t want your fabric to bleed in the wash. Throw in a few fabric sheets into the washing machine. Don’t forget to take the sheets out and throw away before you put quilt in the dryer.

Throw quilt into the dryer on low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from dryer and drape over a door or laundry line to finish drying by air. Enjoy your finished quilt!

Finished charm square quilt handing on railing
Charm Square Quilt free pattern by Sew Nikki

Easy Quilt Patterns – Charm Square Quilt

I hope you will enjoy making this classic charm square queen size quilt. I’m so happy with how soft it is and how good it turned out and you will too. This quilt will look so beautiful on your bed or draped over your living room chair or sofa. Let me know if you make this quilt in the comments below. My nephew Nick liked it when I gave it to him on Christmas Eve!

About Sew Nikki

If this is your first time stopping by, welcome! My name is Nikki. I’m a weekend quilter, have a super small sewing space but have completed over 100 finished items in just over two years and taught myself how to sew and quilt by watching YouTube videos! Read more about me here.

If you enjoy crocheting, check out my post on how to make a lumbar crochet pillow cover from start to finish here.

Want to make a log cabin quilt? Then check out my log cabin quilt block tutorial that has written and step-by-step PICTURE instructions here.

Filed Under: Quilt Tagged With: #charmsquarequiltpattern, #easyquiltpatterns, #laycakequiltpattern

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Comments

  1. Denise Banks-Taylor

    January 2, 2023 at 3:07 pm

    Nikki every quilt you create is a testament to how innovative your designs are.
    I love the patterns, color combinations and stitching.
    Nikki I pray for your continued success in your business. Love you sister

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 2, 2023 at 3:25 pm

      Thank you Neicey! Love you too.

      Reply
    • Denise Baker

      January 3, 2023 at 11:26 am

      I love the detail in your instructions. Thank you for all of this!

      Reply
      • sewnikki

        January 3, 2023 at 3:02 pm

        Thanks Denise!

        Reply
  2. Patti+E

    January 2, 2023 at 3:34 pm

    Hi Nikki,
    Hi Nikki! One can certainly tell how much you enjoy quilting & sharing your knowledge with others. Anyone learning to quilt for the fist time can certainly glean valuable knowledge on the easiest way to assemble a masterpiece & have fun doing it. Best of luck as you continue on with your blog. I’m excited to go back & check out your other projects as well!
    Patti E

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 2, 2023 at 3:41 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Monica Martinez-Patton

    January 2, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    Oh my gosh Nikki, you’re very talented Each time you post another quilt I am inspired to learn and make one too!! Thanks for sharing and for the tutorial – I can’t wait to see your next piece,
    Wishing you much success
    Monica in SC

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 2, 2023 at 4:20 pm

      Thanks Monica!

      Reply
  4. Josh

    January 2, 2023 at 4:15 pm

    Incredibly detailed step by step process. Extremely helpful for those trying to getting into quilting or looking for helpful tips to getting better!

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 2, 2023 at 4:20 pm

      Thanks Josh!

      Reply
  5. JeanieO

    January 2, 2023 at 9:58 pm

    Nikki, you amaze me! From the time you borrowed my failing, seldom used sewing machine to start learning to sew/create, then buy a quality machine, and get to where you are now is so unbelievable! Your talent seems to be unending and your ability to explain/teach others clearly to learn is fascinating. Looking forward to what you create next!

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 3, 2023 at 3:03 pm

      It’s been quite the journey, thanks Jeanie.

      Reply
  6. Pam Harvey

    January 3, 2023 at 11:26 am

    Your quilt is so beautiful! I love the colors. It shouts cozy, with a hint of spring! Your detailed instructions are simple enough that anyone can follow and create this masterpiece. Great job and thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 3, 2023 at 3:02 pm

      Thanks Pam

      Reply
  7. Dee Fugazzi

    January 3, 2023 at 9:27 pm

    Nikki’s work is amazing ! She’s always been very talented and has made many blankets for my children but her quilting skills are so impressive ! She does everything she does with love ❤️

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 4, 2023 at 9:29 am

      Thanks Dee!

      Reply
  8. Nadine

    January 5, 2023 at 12:39 pm

    What a great tutorial! I’d love to sew a quilt one day. Unfortunately, my projects/mending pile is huge at the moment. But saved it for later.

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 5, 2023 at 2:33 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  9. Charlene

    January 5, 2023 at 4:44 pm

    Oh, this looks so beautiful! I love your photography and details as you share the whole project.

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 5, 2023 at 9:17 pm

      Thank you Charlene!

      Reply
  10. Helga Sutton

    January 5, 2023 at 7:34 pm

    You make it look and sound so easy, but I know how much work goes into each quilt. Beautiful work!!

    Reply
    • sewnikki

      January 5, 2023 at 9:16 pm

      Thank you Helga!

      Reply

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sew nikki blog photo for foodie pro theme

Hello, my name is Nikki. I’m a weekend quilter, have a super small sewing space but have completed over 100 finished items in just over two years and taught myself how to sew and quilt by watching YouTube videos! Read more about me here.

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