Free Quarter Square Triangle Mini Quilt Pattern… Lunar Landing

I might have lost my mind when I was sewing this mini quilt. For some reason, when I was arranging these adorable quarter square triangles to make a mini quilt, they started looking like little alien spaceships to me. And the background reminded me of the moon! 

You might have noticed that I almost always choose a binding that is at least a little bit darker than my quilt so that it frames it up. But this time I didn’t want a frame – I wanted it to look like these tiny ships were coming in for a landing, so I picked a binding fabric that blended nicely with my low volume neutral background fabrics.

I had so much fun with this little quilt that it’s now one of my absolute favorites. Of course, I don’t want you to feel stuck sewing a mini quilt that looks like alien ships – unless you want to! If your quarter square triangles look like something different to you then I hope you nurture that idea and make something new!

So let’s get started!

Lunar Landing Mini Quilt Pattern

Finished size: 10” square.

Cutting:

From your low-volume neutral fabrics, pink, and navy fabrics, cut:

• 12 neutral squares 4” x 4”

• 2 pink squares 4” x 4”

• 2 navy squares 4” x 4”

You will also need:

• 11” square of batting

• 11” square of backing fabric

• quilt basting spray (such as SpraynBond)

• 2 1/2” x 44” strip for binding

Make Quarter Square Triangles

1. Use a pencil or pen to draw a diagonal line across the back of 8 of the neutral colored squares.

2. Stack a square with a line on the back together with one of the other squares (right sides together). Sew 1/4” away from both sides of the line.

Repeat this step 7 more times, sewing a neutral colored square to each of the other squares (4 of them will be neutral-with-neutral).

3. Cut all of the half square triangles apart along the line that you drew. Press the seams to the darker side (or either side for the neutral-neutral pieces).

4. Place a pink-neutral piece on top of a navy-neutral piece, right sides together, with the pink and navy triangles opposite and the seam nested. 

Draw a diagonal line across the piece that dissects the dark triangles. Pin the squares together.

5. Sew 1/4” away from either side of the line.

6. Cut all of the pieces in half along the line, as before. Press. Then square up and trim each quarter square triangle down to 2 1/2”.

Assemble Your Mini Quilt

1. Arrange the 16 quarter square triangle units in the arrangement seen above (or however looks best to you).

2. Sew the units into rows, and then sew the 4 rows together.

3. Spray baste the quilt top to the 11” square of batting, and then spray baste the backing to the other side. Quilt as desired (I used straight line quilting with my walking foot).

4. Trim the extra batting and backing around the mini quilt. Use your favorite binding method. This is mine.

Now share on Instagram and be sure to tag me (@sewcanshe) so I can see too! Or send me a picture so I can share it here in a Thursday post to inspire other quilters. 

You can find lots more free quilt patterns and quilting inspiration on my Quilted Things Pinterest board.

Check out all my free mini quilt patterns!

 

 

Happy Sewing!