Card Tricks: Free 3 Yard Quilt Pattern
The classic card trick quilt block is modern and fun in this easy throw quilt that requires just three yards of fabric! This free quilt pattern will teach you some basic quilt piecing techniques and comes together faster than you think. It’s easy to make this quilt larger by adding borders or making more blocks.
This easy quilt contains 16 card trick quilt blocks that I changed just a bit to add excitement. The blocks are sewn together in a square configuration. Alternating blocks are rotated 45 degrees for even more interest. Each block is 12” x 12” wide after sewing. The finished size of this throw quilt is approximately 48” x 48”.
This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The free Card Tricks 3 Yard Quilt Pattern is included in the blog post below and is totally 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 for you to access anytime you want? Check it out.
Don’t miss these other 3 Yard Quilt Patterns:
My First 3 Yard Quilt Pattern: Free!
Bowl of Cherries: Free 3 Yard Quilt Pattern
3 Yard Chandelier Quilt Pattern: Beautiful and Easy!
What size quilt does this free pattern make?
Most 3-yard quilts are not very large because they don’t use a lot of fabric. This pattern makes a square throw quilt that is 48” x 48”. Three yards will be enough fabric for the quilt top. You’ll need more fabric for the quilt binding and backing.
As I mentioned before, this quilt uses the classic card trick quilt block with an easy tweak – snowball corners! This makes the secondary diamond in a diamond pattern. Don’t you love it?
How to Choose the Right 3 Yards of Fabric for this Quilt
All my 3 Yard Quilt Patterns make it easy to pick your fabric. First, find a beautiful ‘focus fabric’ in your stash or local quilt shop. This should be a fabric that sings to you – or that makes you think of the intended recipient of the quilt. My focus fabric for the Card Tricks quilt is the green and cream landscape print. I don’t have the name of it to share with you – sorry!
After you have chosen your focus fabric, pick a coordinating fabric and a background fabric. The focus fabric must contrast well with the other two fabrics. My neutral colored coordinating fabric is Ruby Star Society’s Speckled in White/Gold. The subtle gold flecks in this fabric elevate almost any quilt without adding ‘bling,’ if you know what I mean. My third coordinating fabric is a blender from Tilda called Olive Branch Laurel.
If you follow these instructions for choosing your fabrics, you can’t go wrong, and you probably already have the right 3 yards of fabric in your stash to make a beautiful quilt.
I’m really craving another blue and cream quilt right now, so I considered making the Card Tricks quilt in this color combination. Wouldn’t it have been dreamy?
Card Tricks Free Three Yard Quilt Pattern
This free quilt pattern includes instructions for piecing the modified card trick quilt block and for sewing the quilt top together. There are a total of 16 blocks in this quilt and each block finishes at 12”.
This finished throw quilt is 48” x 48”. It’s perfect for snuggling on the couch, gifting to a new baby mama, or donating to a worthy organization.
Let’s get creative and sew a fast and easy quilt today!
You will need:
- 3 one yard cuts of fabric (a main focus fabric, one darker fabric, and one lighter fabric)
- a rotary cutter acrylic ruler, and mat
- sewing machine
- thread (I suggest thread matching the lighter fabric)
- ironing board and iron
- pencil or fabric marking pen
To sew the quilt top into a finished quilt, you will also need:
- 3 yards of backing fabric (or enough to piece together a 53” x 53” quilt back)
- a piece of quilt batting at least 53” x 53”
- 1/2 yard of binding fabric
Cutting:
Fabric A is your focus fabric. From this fabric, cut:
- 32 squares 5” x 5”
- 16 squares 5 1/4” x 5 1/4”
- 32 squares 2” x 2”
Fabric B is the darker fabric. From this fabric, cut:
- 32 squares 5” x 5”
- 16 squares 5 1/4” x 5 1/4”
- 32 squares 2” x 2”
Fabric C is the background fabric. From this fabric, cut:
- 32 squares 5” x 5”
- 16 squares 5 1/4” x 5 1/4”
Quilt Piecing
Use a 1/4’’ seam allowance and a regular stitch length such as 2 – 2.5.
How to Sew the Card trick Quilt Block Pieces
Make 32 half square triangles (hsts) for each color
1. Use the pencil or fabric marking pen to draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of all of the 5” background fabric squares. This is a cutting line.
2. Place a 5” background fabric square right sides together with a 5” Fabric A square. Pin the squares together.
3. Sew 1/4’’ away from the cutting line on on both sides of the line.
4. Cut each piece in half diagonally along the line. Open and press to make 2 half square triangles. Trim each HST to 4 1/2” x 4 1/2”
Use 16 of the 5” Fabric A squares to make 32 Fabric A/background fabric pieces.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 above with 16 of the Fabric B 5” squares and the remaining background fabric 5” squares to make 32 Fabric B/background fabric pieces.
aDD SNOWBALL CORNERS TO YOUR HSTS
1. Use the fabric marking pen or pencil to draw a diagonal line across the back of all the 2” Fabric A and Fabric B squares. This is a stitching line.
2. Working with your Fabric B HSTs, place a 2” Fabric A square right side down on the background corner. Pin in place.
3. Stitch across the drawn line.
4. Cut away the extra fabric 1/4” past the sewn line.
5. Open the snowball corner and press.
6. Make 32 Fabric B/background fabric HSTs that have a Fabric A snowball corner.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 to make 32 Fabric A/background fabric HSTs that have a Fabric B snowball corner.
Make 64 Three-Triangle Units – 32 For Each Color
1. Cut all of the 5 1/4” squares in half diagonally twice. You should have 64 triangles in each fabric.
2. Cut all of the remaining 5” squares in half diagonally once. You should have 32 triangles in Fabric A and Fabric B.
3. Sew two smaller triangles (one Fabric A and one background fabric) together as shown. Press the seam toward the darker fabric.
4. Sew the Fabric A/background set right sides together with a larger Fabric B triangle. Press the seam toward the larger fabric.
Pay careful attention to the orientation of the pieces as shown above. Trim and square up each piece to 4 1/2” x 4 1/2”.
Make 32 pieces.
5. Sew two smaller triangles (one Fabric B and one background fabric) together as shown. Press the seam toward the darker fabric.
6. Sew the Fabric B/background set right sides together with a larger Fabric A triangle. Press the seam toward the larger fabric.
Pay careful attention to the orientation of the pieces as shown above. Trim and square up each piece to 4 1/2” x 4 1/2”.
Make 32 pieces.
Make 16 Quarter Square Triangle Units
1. Sew two smaller triangles (one Fabric A and one Fabric B) together as shown. Press the seam toward the darker fabric.
2. Sew two sets together. Press the seam to one side.
Assemble the Card trick Blocks
1. Arrange 9 of the pieces made in the previous steps together as shown.
Sew together in 3 rows. Sew the rows together to make the block.
2. Square the block to 12 1/2” x 12 1/2”, if desired. Repeat to make 16 Card Trick blocks.
Assemble the Twin Star 3 Yard Quilt Top
1. Arrange the 16 quilt blocks on a large table, a quilt design wall, or the floor. Rotate every other block 45 degrees as shown. Pay close attention to the orientation of the blocks in the diagram above.
2. Sew the blocks together to make 4 rows.
3. Sew the quilt block rows together.
Finishing the Card Tricks Three Yard Quilt Pattern
1. Cut or piece together a 53” x 53” or larger piece of quilt backing fabric and make a quilt sandwich with the backing, batting, and top.
2. Baste together with fusible batting, pins or basting spray.
3. Quilt as desired. Straight line quilting or cross hatch quilting with your walking foot would be fast and easy.
4. Cut 5 binding strips and bind using your favorite method. This is my favorite quilt binding method.
As always, I love seeing the quilts you make with my free sewing patterns. Please post a picture to Instagram and tag me @sewcanshe so I can take a look!
xoxo,
Disclosure: some of my posts contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of those links I may receive a small commission, so thank you for supporting SewCanShe when you shop! All of the opinions are my own and I only suggest products that I actually use. 🙂