A Pink Classic Quilt Tutorial

 

After staring at fabrics for too long trying to decide what pattern to make my baby a quilt with…I went with classic hourglass blocks. There are probably loads of good tutorials for these blocks already, but since these are one of my favorites I wrote one up for this quilt:
Baby Hourglass Quilt: Quilt size: 32″ x 41″ , Block size (unfinished): 5″ x 5″
You’ll need:
32 print 6″ x 6″ squares, and 32 white 6″ x 6″ squares (approx. 1 yard cut into 5 strips 6″ x the fabric width, then subcut 7 squares from each strip). For this particular quilt I used about 8 different print fabrics, and cut 4 squares from each fabric.

 

1. Draw a diagonal line in pencil from corner to corner on the wrong side of each white square. I know…I hate this part too….if it helps this is how I line up my squares then I draw lines on multiple squares at one time:

 

2. Pin a print square and a white square right sides together with the pencil line facing up. Sew 1/4″ from the line on each side ( I usually don’t pin these squares…but you should…I’m just lazy). Continue until all of the 32 print and white squares have been sewn together.

 

To make this process faster you can chain piece all of the squares. Sew on one side of the line on all of the squares, then without cutting the threads in between the blocks put them back through the machine and sew down the other side. Then when you’re all finished clip both threads in between each block.

 

3. Place a square on the cutting mat, and cut down the pencil line from corner to corner. DO NOT MOVE THE PIECES YET! ( I pulled mine apart a little just so you can see the cut)

 

4. Cut another diagonal line from the other corner to corner on the same square.

 

5. Press the triangles towards the print fabrics. You should be able to lay out 2 hourglass blocks from this one cut square:

 

6. Match and pin the center seams, then sew the pieces together to make 2 hourglass blocks. Press seam to either side or open.

 

 

7. Now for the fun part (not really) squaring up the blocks to 5″ x 5″. Everyone has their own method of squaring…this is how I do mine:
Align the diagonal lines of my block with the diagonal lines on my cutting mat…

 

Measure from the center 2 1/2″ out on one side, and trim off the excess. Do the same on the top or bottom, then you can align the edges along the grid lines and trim the remaining edges to make a 5″ block. If your mat doesn’t have these handy grid lines you’ll have to find another way, but simply measuring 2 1/2″ out from the center on each side should be fine. You can even cut more than one at a time if you’re not a perfectionist.

 

8. Lay the blocks out in 9 rows of 7 blocks each, rotating every other block. Sew the blocks into rows, and press the seams towards the print fabrics (that part is important so you’re seams will match up nice and tidy when sewing the rows together). Pin and sew the rows together to finish the quilt top.

 

Apparently it’s 5 year old boy torture to make him hold up a pink quilt…heaven forbid…you should have heard the grumbling.

 

*To make hourglass blocks in any size… cut your starting squares 1″ larger than you’d like the (un) finished squares to be.
* The fabrics in this quilt are Daisy Cottage by Bee in my Bonnet Designs for Riley Blake (here, here, here, here, and here), and the bright pink small floral and polka dot are Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller.

115 Responses to A Pink Classic Quilt Tutorial

  1. laxsupermom March 1, 2012 at 12:53 pm #

    Beautiful quilt! Love the fabrics you used! I am so in awe of accomplished quilters – getting all the corners to line up has always been a point of frustration with me. Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing.

    • Carolyn Forman August 9, 2020 at 7:28 pm #

      I LOVE YOUR CHOICES OF COLOR AND FABRICS. THIS IS SO DIFFICULT FOR ME TO TRY AND DO . BUT YOUR TUTORIAL WILL HELP ME TRY AND START OVER …..I PLAN TO MASTER THIS DARN BLOCK ASAP …..I WILL LEARN TO MASTER THIS )

  2. Anne March 1, 2012 at 1:00 pm #

    It's lovely!

  3. Lisa March 1, 2012 at 1:03 pm #

    Lovely quilt & thank you for the tutorial.

  4. Lindsey March 1, 2012 at 1:11 pm #

    Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! I've been looking for a sweet quilt to make for my baby quilt, and I think I've found it!

  5. randi--i have to say March 1, 2012 at 1:12 pm #

    oh so pretty! your quilt top is just perfect for your upcoming gal!

    and your little boy…what a trooper! :)

  6. ~Niki~ March 1, 2012 at 1:13 pm #

    a classic~lovely.

  7. Lesley March 1, 2012 at 1:18 pm #

    This is such a beautiful quilt. Love the pinks!

  8. eatmoresmores March 1, 2012 at 1:31 pm #

    Wow. We love it!

  9. KaHolly March 1, 2012 at 1:41 pm #

    Very sweet little quilt and a perfect tutorial.

  10. Amy March 1, 2012 at 1:47 pm #

    That is so pretty! I think it might be the simplicity that appeals to me.

  11. Debbie March 1, 2012 at 1:53 pm #

    sooo sweet.

  12. Kristen March 1, 2012 at 1:55 pm #

    beautiful

  13. Johanna March 1, 2012 at 1:59 pm #

    So pretty! That is one of my favorite blocks too.

  14. Lizzy March 1, 2012 at 2:12 pm #

    Completely adorable!!! Love all the pink!

  15. Mary on Lake Pulaski March 1, 2012 at 2:15 pm #

    Beautiful – lucky little girl to be.

  16. tracy_a March 1, 2012 at 2:31 pm #

    so lovely! great fabrics and pattern. thanks for the tutorial – not as hard as I thought it would be!

  17. Jess March 1, 2012 at 2:51 pm #

    I never realized there was such a simple way to make that block! Thanks for the quick tute!
    It looks lovely!

  18. Ashley March 1, 2012 at 3:26 pm #

    Cute blanket! and thank you for the tutorial… it's fun to learn a new process!

  19. Heleen Groot March 1, 2012 at 3:35 pm #

    LOVE the top. The colours are amazing! Thanks for the tutorial….maybe I'll just make one of these….

  20. aksherry March 1, 2012 at 4:19 pm #

    That quilt is just too sweet!! I want one!!

  21. Heather D. March 1, 2012 at 4:29 pm #

    Simple and classic, but no less lovely!

  22. angela March 1, 2012 at 4:40 pm #

    Awesome tip on squaring. Thanks!

  23. Marian March 1, 2012 at 4:56 pm #

    Beautiful! I love what you did and thanks for sharing your tips!

  24. toots2u March 1, 2012 at 5:20 pm #

    So pretty!!

  25. Rhona March 1, 2012 at 5:32 pm #

    Oh my goodness, each time you post another quilt I want to make one too!! They are all beautiful but this one is just perfect for your little girl (and I love DS's face ;o) ) Thanks for sharing and for the tutorial – which I'm now going to have to try! x

  26. fiberdoodles March 1, 2012 at 5:45 pm #

    Beautiful & very sweet!!

  27. Bruna March 1, 2012 at 5:58 pm #

    Thanks for sharing! This quilt is so pretty :)
    Nice prints you chose!

  28. marysza March 1, 2012 at 6:18 pm #

    ohhh.. this is so.. AMAZING!!!!

  29. Ric Rac and Polka Dots March 1, 2012 at 6:30 pm #

    I think it is very sweet, good job. I did have to smile at the picture of your son. What a cutie pie. Poor thing, holding a pink quilt. He'll never live this down. He sure is cute though, in spite of his misery!
    Julie

  30. Anna March 1, 2012 at 6:43 pm #

    I love it! Classic and so very cute!

  31. Betsy Lynn March 1, 2012 at 7:12 pm #

    Sweet…such a lovely quilt for a little girl!

  32. Melanie@Crafty Cupboard March 1, 2012 at 7:23 pm #

    Pink Perfection! I'm still trying to master "squaring up," I made some Half Rectangles and I had to rest my brain for a day after. They still didn't turn out right!

    When are you due, again? My sister had a baby yesterday- on Leap Day!

  33. amandajean March 1, 2012 at 7:40 pm #

    it's really pretty, Al!

  34. CitricSugar March 1, 2012 at 9:30 pm #

    Great tutorial – thanks.

    That quilt top is lovely. Pretty but not too "precious". Love it.

  35. Sallie March 1, 2012 at 9:39 pm #

    Very pretty! Thanks for sharing!

  36. CJ March 2, 2012 at 12:31 am #

    Sweet quilt and thanks for the tutorial!

  37. Sylvia T. Zeringue March 2, 2012 at 3:35 am #

    I think I will make one like this. So lovely.

  38. diane March 2, 2012 at 3:50 am #

    super cute

  39. bethanndodd March 2, 2012 at 4:09 am #

    You have one lucky baby…such a precious quilt. Thanks for the tutorial. Smiles~Beth

  40. Dawn March 2, 2012 at 4:54 am #

    It's truly lovely. Looks and sounds like it was made with love. :) There's just something great about "pink"!

  41. Judy Blinkenberg March 2, 2012 at 5:37 am #

    Please tell him thank you! It is a great quilt and I haven't made that pattern before. Thank you much and hope you are feeling ok these days.

  42. quiltypleasuresonline.net March 2, 2012 at 8:00 am #

    Allison I love this quilt – your little baby girl will love it too for sure!! Your tutorials are always amazing too, but I came across this one the other day which is super super speedy for HST and wondered if you'd seen it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekYpJzHoW6E

    It will change your life I promise!!

    Best of luck with your impending arrival, Leigh

  43. Oh Abigail March 2, 2012 at 12:29 pm #

    Thanks for the tutorial and a great finished result!

  44. girlsfour March 2, 2012 at 1:25 pm #

    Very nice quilt – love the colors. Good thing pink has always been my fav color – we have four daughters!!! Love it!

    Have a great weekend!

    Meg

  45. Lana March 2, 2012 at 1:32 pm #

    What a nice fresh looking quilt. This would be great to use some fabrics up from your stash.

  46. Dana March 2, 2012 at 3:51 pm #

    So pretty and sweet! Love your fabric choices!

  47. happydancequilting March 2, 2012 at 4:11 pm #

    That is just fresh and yummy in those fabrics!

  48. happydancequilting March 2, 2012 at 4:11 pm #

    That is just fresh and yummy in those fabrics!

  49. Donna~~ March 2, 2012 at 5:02 pm #

    Pretty quilt! And thanks for making me smile–loved the 5 year old torture technique–you are so mean! ;)

  50. Amy March 2, 2012 at 7:12 pm #

    This is a lovely quilt and a great tutorial! I'm not usually a pink person but these colours and patterns mix very nicely so I am now thinking of buying pink fabric!!! Amy from http://www.craftyshenanigans.blogspot.com

  51. Melody Holz March 2, 2012 at 10:47 pm #

    I CANNOT WAIT to make a cute hourglass baby quilt…Thanks for the tutorial. VERY helpful!

  52. Nancy March 2, 2012 at 10:53 pm #

    What an adorable helper you have, such bright blue eyes, love the quilt I'm starting one for a family member who has a little girl this will be perfect.

  53. Jennifer J March 2, 2012 at 11:09 pm #

    Beautiful! Great tute! Definitely going on my list. Thank you!

  54. quilt happy March 2, 2012 at 11:16 pm #

    this will be on my list to make

  55. ultraorganized March 3, 2012 at 1:00 am #

    This is such a cute quilt — definitely will make this one — thanks for the tutorial :) Terry

  56. Jean March 3, 2012 at 1:40 am #

    I love a classic block…perfect for the baby!

  57. Dalya March 3, 2012 at 1:46 am #

    It's gorgeous! I love classic blocks like these. I'm actually making an hourglass quilt, I started in the summer, eek! So it's good to see some beautiful inspiration.

    :)

  58. prsd4tim2 March 3, 2012 at 2:42 am #

    I really love classic blocks in modern fabrics, and who can resist such a fresh, girly baby quilt? It's so pretty. Congratulations on your new little one.

  59. Cecelia March 3, 2012 at 2:38 pm #

    Adorable! Thank you for sharing!

  60. Maria Filomena March 3, 2012 at 10:11 pm #

    Cara senhora,
    Muito obrigada por compartilhar…..

    abraços de MF

  61. Claire Jain March 4, 2012 at 12:18 am #

    So exciting! What a beautiful quilt :-)

  62. Fort Worth Fabric Studio March 4, 2012 at 1:22 am #

    ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! love that, great job!

  63. Truffle queen March 4, 2012 at 12:49 pm #

    Thanks for the tut! I'm passing it along to some quilting friends (snowbirds) in Florida. They will LOVE it! Beautiful quilt – handsome little boy!!

  64. Rachel March 4, 2012 at 2:50 pm #

    Lovely! And I enjoy your awesome tutorials!

  65. Mystica March 5, 2012 at 3:53 am #

    Thank you for the tutorial. You make it sound so very easy.

  66. Tsoniki March 5, 2012 at 4:23 am #

    Beautiful! I wish we were having girls in our family – one of my cousin just had a boy and my brother and his wife are having another boy next month. I need more pink in my life! LOL

  67. Stacy March 5, 2012 at 7:05 am #

    would love to see how you ended up quilting this.

  68. sandyb March 5, 2012 at 3:29 pm #

    This is so sweet!! Thank you for sharing!!

  69. Live a Colorful Life March 6, 2012 at 2:00 am #

    This quilt is so cute! I have looked at that fabric line. Now I'm going to see if I can get some…

    Speaking of pink. My 5-year-old granddaughter and 4-year-old grandson are temporarily sharing a room until the new baby gets a bit bigger and then Levi will go back into his "boy" room. Charlotte's room is brown walls with white beadboard, but she has pink trim on the curtains, accessories, etc. It is driving my son NUTS. He says the room needs to be more "boy-ish." So my DIL is making some bunting out of little baseball pennants to hang on his side of the room. I guess that will "neutralize" the pink…

  70. Valerie March 6, 2012 at 7:20 pm #

    Just math checking — you started with a 6" square and ended with a 5" unfinished square, right? That yields a 4.5" finished square to my way of thinking when the seam allowance is taken into account. The end of the tutorial says to add 1" to your finished block size to determine the size of your starting square. I'm thinking it ought to be 1.5" to account for the seam allowances. Or would that just leave a larger margin for error when it comes to squaring things up?

  71. Carol March 7, 2012 at 3:40 pm #

    Beautiful quilt and an excellent tutorial.
    Carol xx

  72. Jen Conlon March 8, 2012 at 1:32 am #

    Great tutorial! You've been featured on the Quality Sewing Tutorials blog.

    We hand select only the best free tutorials and patterns for the home sewist.

    Grab a brag button!

  73. Elisha March 8, 2012 at 11:15 am #

    you make it look so easy. .thanx for the tutorial :)

  74. coastal gray March 9, 2012 at 4:13 am #

    Love to see the finished quilted project…

  75. Bonnie March 9, 2012 at 9:10 pm #

    Gorgeous! I love the tutorial, and adore your little helper. I have two boys who are anti-pink as well. Too funny!

  76. Conniecrafter March 10, 2012 at 3:58 am #

    Gorgeous fabrics, so sweet!

  77. Terri March 16, 2012 at 11:32 pm #

    Thanks for the inspiration, I love your pink and white hourglass quilt. I could hardly wait to start one and have dug into my scraps. So simple and pretty.

  78. pippi March 20, 2012 at 8:26 pm #

    wow! i like colours & fabrics.
    the photos are wonderful!

  79. Adri April 3, 2012 at 9:15 pm #

    Thanks for posting these instructions! I used the same technique, but sewed the triangles together to make a chevron pattern. It turned out so cute! Thanks!

  80. Nor May 19, 2012 at 12:27 am #

    Me encanta tu quilt!!!!…es inspirador…
    What a beautiful quilt !..
    I wish you will visit my new blog and you could see the quilt I made thanks to your tutorial ….
    http://mitallerdequilt.blogspot.mx/
    hugs from Mexico!

    Nor

  81. Schulz Family August 10, 2012 at 11:26 am #

    Your pink hourglass inspired me to do a boy's blue flannel one. Am thrilled. Karen. http://www.madewithmytwohands.blogspot.com

  82. stitching under oaks August 14, 2012 at 1:22 pm #

    thanks so much for this tutorial…I loved it! I followed it strictly to make one for our family. I'm putting a post up today about it. I've linked to your blog…thanks again. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this tutorial.

  83. sue niven September 13, 2012 at 2:37 am #

    A Great tutorial Thanks so much.

  84. lucy's mom September 25, 2012 at 7:04 am #

    started a square one got frustrated with that one so i started this one strying trying to finish the one i started before this one then i will fnish this one

  85. DivaMomCarol January 16, 2013 at 12:25 am #

    Have a bunch of 1930's kiddie novelty feedsack prints that would love this application. It will showcase their 'stories' and I can't wait to start.
    Thank-you, Allison!

  86. Donna Laster September 6, 2013 at 5:56 pm #

    I love the tutorial for the hourglass quilt. Your quilt is beautiful. I like the white mixed with the prints.

    Donna from blackberrywintercrafts.blogspot.com

  87. MamaDoc January 4, 2014 at 3:47 pm #

    If you want to avoid sewing triangles completely only make one diagonal cut. Then iron them open, mark your line on one of then again, put them RST with one square rotated 90 degrees and sew on both sides of the line, cut between and presto 2 hourglass blocks. I think jenny doan did it this way if I haven't explained it well. Thanks for your fabulous blog.

  88. chrikina1234 April 8, 2014 at 1:20 pm #

    So sweet…and what a wonderful tutorial – thank you Allison!

  89. Ruth September 29, 2014 at 3:51 pm #

    I made this quilt this weekend and it took me 7 hours from start to finish-thank you for the great tutorial!

    • Brenda October 2, 2015 at 4:13 pm #

      I made this quilt for my future Great grand daughter due to arrive November 26, 2015
      It was an easy quilt to make and it turned out beautiful just in time for the baby shower. Thank you !

  90. Carolyn Phillips October 17, 2015 at 11:05 am #

    I’ve just finished piecing all of the blocks in bright, primary colors, because it’s a boy!!! My niece just adopted a tiny baby boy, and I can’t wait to snuggle him in this beautiful quilt!!! Thank you for the great tutorial!

  91. Cozy Birdhouse February 21, 2016 at 5:16 am #

    Just finished mine! Thanks for the beautiful photos and helpful tutorial!

    the cozy birdhouse | handmades for baby

  92. Jeanette R Crawford February 27, 2016 at 10:13 am #

    Just perfect.

  93. Karla July 19, 2016 at 7:26 am #

    Beautiful! Thank you for sharing your talents!

  94. Sue January 19, 2017 at 12:31 pm #

    This is a charming quilt. Thank you for the tutorial. Had to comment re boys and the horror of them touching pink. I’ve never ever understood this one and mine are the same way. If women carried on about blue the way men and boys do about pink, WE would be labeled ridiculous, hysterical etc and they would not be wrong.

  95. nanascout January 27, 2017 at 2:55 pm #

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! I used this to make my very first quilt top. After all that work, I didn’t trust myself to quilt it, so I took it to a local quilt shop where they are doing the actual “quilting”…I pick it up tomorrow. I can. not. wait. to see how it turned out!

    • Allison February 6, 2017 at 10:47 pm #

      How exciting! I hope it turned out lovely!!!

      • nanascout February 26, 2017 at 12:59 pm #

        It did…I’d post a picture, but I don’t know how! ;)

  96. Shery Sullivan May 8, 2017 at 11:09 am #

    I really can’t wait to make this quilt for my new great granddaughter. I don’t see a video. Or by tutorial do you mean the pictures? I’d love to see a video.

    • Allison May 8, 2017 at 8:37 pm #

      Yep I just mean pictures, sorry!

  97. Robin (Bobbi) September 22, 2017 at 2:00 pm #

    What a cute idea! I’m in the process of making 170 Christmas pillowcases to donate to a senior facility and this would make a lovely quilt to use up the left overs.

  98. Mary Lou September 27, 2017 at 1:14 am #

    Beautiful baby Quilt. I’m in the process of making a Pinwheel Quilt. love the pink. I’ve noticed allot of Grey used in Baby Quilts which surprised me because I would never have thought to use Grey. But they also look beautiful. Great job and thanks for sharing.

  99. Olivia meitzner June 6, 2018 at 11:11 am #

    I’m having some trouble…I’ve cut the square twice diagonally …but I don’t know how to line them up to sew them all together so that they are one piece.

  100. Barbara J June 27, 2018 at 4:16 pm #

    love the quilt pattern. making a 4 baby quilts. thanks for posting.

  101. Judy Blinkenberg March 16, 2019 at 6:48 pm #

    I have loved this quilt since you made it. I will finally be making it for a special lady and her soon coming baby. I’m using Howdy in all the girl colors! I will share it when I get it done. Shimmer will be done when I have time!

  102. Judy April 8, 2019 at 10:26 am #

    I am looking for !5″ quilt blocks for beginners. It will be easier for me to learn

  103. Debi May 24, 2019 at 12:56 pm #

    Hi! I realize you posted this tutorial awhile ago, but Im doing it now and just want to ask a question please! If I wanted to quilt this myself instead of sending it to the quilter, how should I do it? Im not very good at free motion quilting on my machine

    • Allison May 29, 2019 at 1:09 pm #

      Do you have a walking foot for your machine? Straight line quilting is also beautiful, and you can do a wavy stitch (see my last posts Layer Cake Bounce or type in wavy stitch into the search).

  104. Meari September 6, 2019 at 5:44 am #

    Adorable!

  105. Tresha July 31, 2020 at 6:38 am #

    Love your patterns but why do you not make them so they can be downloaded as a pdf?

    • Allison July 31, 2020 at 10:00 pm #

      The newer ones are available as PDF’s, the older ones aren’t I just haven’t got around to it. At the time if I made them free printables…I’d find people selling my free patterns on etsy for money!

  106. Susan October 12, 2021 at 1:18 pm #

    Thanks for sharing this. Love everything about your pink & brown quilt. I needed a boy quilt so I used blue, white & yellow. So, so fun. I’m hand quilting the top.

  107. Kathleen Fleckenstein December 30, 2022 at 8:31 am #

    You did not say how much material you need, also what about the backing?

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