My first Fat Quarter Fancy quilt pattern is one of my most popular free quilt patterns… and now you get a sequel!

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This is Fat Quarter Fancy II. It’s another free quilt pattern that uses a very simple block and gives you practically unlimited ways to arrange it.

The difference from the original Fat Quarter Fancy pattern, is that each block in Fat Quarter Fancy II uses three fabrics instead of two. There are two prints and a background fabric.

In my first FFF quilt I arranged my fabrics randomly, but in this one I really wanted to play with the gorgeous colors in Tula Pink’s new Homemade Collection. Using just 20 fat quarters (and 2 1/4 yards of solid cream colored fabric), I sewed 80 blocks and then arranged them with the blues at the bottom, the purples at the top, and the pinks and turquoise fabrics in between. I LOVE how it turned out.

Keep in mind that you can make your Fat Quarter Fancy II quilt as big or small as you want. Each block finishes at 8’’. I made 80 blocks (10 rows of 8) and my quilt finished at 64’’ x 80’’ – almost twin size!

Tip: I sewed all of my snowball corners (see below) twice, so I had 160 three inch half square triangle units as a bonus at the end. I hope to sew those into another quilt soon! Sewing your snowball corners twice is totally optional, but it reduces waste and gives you bonus half square triangles.

Are you ready to make this quilt too?

Fat Quarter Fancy II – Free Fat Quarter Quilt Pattern

For the 64’’ x 80’’ quilt top, you will need:

• 20 fat quarters of print fabric
• 2 1/4 yards of background fabric

You will also need:

• 70’’ x 88’’ or larger piece of quilt batting
• 5 yards of backing fabric
• 5/8 yard fabric for the binding

Optional:

• fabric marking pen

Note: you will be able to make 4 blocks per fat quarter, but you will want to use lots different prints for a spectacular effect!

Cutting

From each fat quarter, cut:

• 4 squares 9” x 9” (for a total of 80 squares)

From the background fabric, cut:

• 160 squares 4 1/2” x 4 1/2”

Start by Making 8 1/2’’ Half Square Triangles

1. Place two different 9’’ squares of fabric right sides together.

2. Draw a diagonal line down the center of the fabric on top. This is your cutting line. Pin the fabrics together.

3. Sew a diagonal line of stitching on both sides of the line. Each line of stitching should be a scant 1/4’’ away from the line.

4. Cut along the marked cutting line – right in between the two stitched lines.

5. Press the half square triangles open. Trim them to 8 1/2’’ square.

Repeat until you have 80 half square triangle units that are 8 1/2’’ x 8 1/2’’ (or as many as you would like).

Tip: you will need twice as many 4 1/2’’ x 4 1/2’’ background squares as you have HST units.

Add Snowball Corners to the HST Units

1. Mark a diagonal line down the center of all of the 4 1/2’’ background squares. This time, the marked line is your stitching line.

Tip: you may use the fabric marking pen or fold each square in half diagonally and press lightly. In this case, the crease will be your marked line (that’s what I did).

2. Place a 4 1/2’’ background fabric square against the right side of one of the 8 1/2’’ HST squares, lined up with a corner that does not have a seam.

Sew a line of stitching, sewing right on top of the diagonal marked line.

OPTIONAL: If you wish to make EXTRA half square triangle units to use in a future project, sew another line of stitching 1/2’’ away from the first line as seen above.

3. Sew a second background square to the opposite corner of the 8 1/2’’ HST in the same way. Make sure your background squares are sewn to the corners that do not have a seam running down the middle.

4. Cut off each corner 1/4’’ past the marked line with stitching sewn down it.

If you decided to sew extra lines of stitching 1/2’’ away from the marked line, then cut right down the middle of the two stitched lines.

5. Press the seams on each 8 1/2’’ block toward the darker fabrics.

If you made extra HST units, press them open too.

Note: I used my 3 1/2’’ Bloc Loc HST Ruler to easily trim each extra HST to 3 1/2’’. Their finished size will be 3’’.

Repeat until you have 80 blocks, or your desired amount.

Sew the Blocks Together and Finish your Quilt

1. Arrange the blocks in your desired pattern.

There are so many different ways to arrange your blocks! I shared two different ways using diagrams above.

2. Sew the blocks into rows and then sew the rows together.

3. Sandwich the quilt top and backing with the batting in between. My favorite basting methods to hold my quilt sandwich layers together are fusible batting or pin basting.

4. Quilt as desired. I quilted straight lines about 1/4” apart using my walking foot.

Trim the extra backing and batting away.

5. Cut the binding fabric into 2 1/2’’ strips and join them with diagonal seams. Attach the binding using your preferred method.

Here is my favorite way to sew on quilt binding without any hand sewing.

As always, I’d love it if you showed me what you made with my free pattern! Please post a photo to Instagram and tag me @sewcanshe or #sewcanshe so I can take a look.

If you like this post, you’ll love my roundup of 11 Free Modern Quilt Patterns!

Happy quilt making,