Square Dance Daisy: Free Mini Quilt Pattern

Sew up a mini quilt with Dresden points, patchwork squares, applique, and some sweet and easy thread painting. I know you’re gonna love sewing it up, and it will make a great addition to your mini quilt wall.

This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The free Square Dance Daisy Mini Quilt Pattern is included in the blog post below and is free to read, print, and sew! Just hit CTRL +P on your computer to print. The PDF download is inexpensive and optional. Did you know you can get ALL the Optimized for Printing PDF files organized in a library to access anytime you want? Check it out.

I’m so excited to share with you the Square Dance Daisy mini quilt our Monthly Mini Quilts series. We had some amazing designers contribute to this free mini quilt pattern series, so if you’re just joining us now you can find all of our previous mini quilts i on my Mini Quilt Pinterest Board.

In my sewing room I’ve covered part of a wall with mini quilts and I love it. It makes me so happy whenever I look in that direction.

If you haven’t started a mini quilt collection, here’s the perfect one to start with. Or if you already have a mini quilt wall like me, doesn’t it need a Square Dance Daisy?

Read on for the free pattern…

Square Dance Daisy mini quilt pattern:

Finished dimensions: 8 1/2” x 10 1/2”

{Download the free template file here}

You will need:

• 1/4 yd or fat quarter of fabric for the background
• 1/2 yd or fat quarter of fabric for the backing
• small piece of quilt batting
• small pieces of pink, red, and yellow fabric for the Dresden points
• small pieces of blue and green fabric for the patchwork squares
• 1/8 yard solid green fabric for the stem, leaves, and binding (I used Vintage Crayola Confetti Cottons in Magic Mint)
• fusible web (such as HeatnBond lite)
• quilt basting spray (such as SpraynBond)
• spray starch (optional)

Cutting:

From the background fabric, cut:

• 2 strips 2 1/2” x 4 1/2”
• 1 strips 2 1/2” x 8 1/2”
• 1 rectangle 4 1/2” x 8 1/2”

From the both the batting and background fabric, cut:

• 1 rectangle 9 1/2” x 11 1/2”

From the blue and green fabrics for the patchwork squares, cut:

• 16 squares 1 1/2” x 1 1/2”

From the red, pink, and yellow fabrics for the dresden points, cut:

• 12 pieces from the Dresden point template

From the solid green fabric, cut:

• 1 strip 2 1/2” x 42” for binding
• trace the applique templates (see download file above) to the paper side of fusible web, fuse to the back of green fabric and cut out 1 stem and 2 leaves

Sewing:

I/4” seam allowance allowed.

1. Arrange the 16 patchwork squares in a 4×4 grid pattern and sew them together.

Sewing idea: I arranged my 16 squares on the fusible side of some Quilter’s Grid interfacing (Pellon 820). This made sewing the squares together fast, easy, and accurate. See a full demonstration of this technique in my free Speedy Patchwork Tote tutorial. Or watch me do it in my Colorful Patchwork Bags and Baskets video class.

2. Assemble the rest of the mini quilt top:

• sew the two 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” strips to the sides of the patchwork square
• sew the 2 1/2” x 8 1/2” strip to the top of the piece
• sew the 4 1/2” x 8 1/2” rectangle to the bottom of the piece.

Press the mini quilt top flat. Sandwich the mini quilt backing, batting, and top with the wrong sides of the backing and top against the batting. Adhere with quilt basting spray (recommended) or pins.

3. Fold each of the Dresden point pieces in half lengthwise and sew across the top (wider end).

Trim away the extra fabric at the corner (point. Finger press the seam open, and arrange the seam flat against the middle of the piece to make a Dresden point. Press flat.

Repeat for all 12 Dresden pieces.

4. Place 2 Dresden points right sides together and pin along one raw edge. Start sewing at the top (folded edges) and stop sewing 1/4” away from the bottom edge as illustrated in the second photo above. This will help you fold the inner edges of the dresden circle under later.

5. Sew all of the Dresden points together in the same way to form a circle. Press the seams open.

6. Turn the raw edges of the inside circle over 1/4” and press (spray starch will help them stay that way).

7. Arrange the Dresden circle and the applique stem and leaf pieces on the mini quilt sandwich as shown above.

Note that the stem extends under the Dresden circle and the leaves are about 1/2” above the bottom edge of the top.

Press the leaf and stem applique pieces to fuse. Pin the Dresden circle all the way around at every seam. Hint: I used a scant 1/4” seam allowance to sew my Dresden points together which made the circle seem a tiny bit too big. But I was able to ‘make it fit’ by pinning at every seam. This also helped me sew it in place with no shifting.

8. Applique and Quilting:

Applique the Dresden piece by stitching close to the inner edge and the outer points.

Applique the leaf and stem pieces as desired, and add stitching for the leaf veins if you wish.

I also echo quilted around the entire daisy a few times.

Trim the mini quilt to 8 1/2” x 10 1/2” and bind.

See my tips and tricks for mini quilt binding here.

Check out all my free mini quilt patterns!

Happy quiltmaking!