Batik Strip Quilt – Free Tutorial

Welcome to our batik strip quilt tutorial! If you’re searching for a quilt design that is both visually captivating and relatively simple to create, you’ve come to the right place. The best part? You’ll only need 8 fat quarters of fabric to bring this stunning project to life.

For my quilt, I opted for a gorgeous array of batik prints in shades of green, teal, and blue shades. To add a little contrast, I also incorporated some coordinating plain fabric. So, have a rummage through your stash and let’s get started on this one-of-a-kind batik strip quilt.

Requirements:

• 6 fat quarters of batik fabric
• 2 fat quarters of coordinating plain fabrics
• 48”x53” piece of wadding (batting)
• 47”x52” piece of fabric for the quilt backing
• 5 metres of bias tape (25mm) for the binding
• Approx finished size is 45” x 50” approx

Seam Allowance:

All seams are ¼”

Step 1 – Initial Cutting Guide

For 5 fat quarters, cut the following:

For 3 fat quarters, cut the following:

Step 2

Take one of your 5” x 18” pieces and cut in half long ways so that you have 2 rectangles that are 2.5” by 18”. Place one of your 1” pieces along the edge with right-sides facing, sew in place. Open out.

Step 3

Take the other half of the rectangle and place right-side facing and sew in place. Open out.

Step 4

You now have a rectangle with a strip of coordinating fabric in the middle. Repeat this for all of your 5” pieces. Press flat with an iron.

Step 5

Take your blocks and cut them vertically into various lengths.  You can keep some as long as the full 18” and have none shorter than 6”. I randomly cut mine so that I had a good variety of small, medium and long blocks.

Now arrange them as 10 columns approximately 50” in length. I found it easier to arrange mine on top of a double bed so that I could easily move them around until I got an arrangement that I was happy with.

Step 6

Label your columns 1 -10 as shown in the photo. Collect together your 1^st column, keeping them in order and join together by placing right-sides together and sewing on the short seam. Repeat for the other 9 columns.

Step 7

Sew your column together starting by placing column 1 and 2 with right-sides together and sewing along the long length.

Finally trim off the bottom edge of your quilted panel so that all your columns line up. Your lap quilt top panel is now complete.

Finishing your Batik Strip Quilt

To make your quilted panel into a quilt, you will need a backing fabric and wadding. I simply sandwiched my quilt top to the wadding and backing fabric by stitching in the ditch along the long column seams.

I then finished the edges with a 25mm bias tape. Please refer to my tutorial on our blog that takes you through how to bind the edges of your quilt with mitered corners using bias binding.

And there you have it! With this batik strip quilt tutorial, you’ve learned how to create a striking and vibrant quilt top panel, using just 8 fat quarters of fabric.

Although I used green and blue, feel free to use any combination of colours that suit you.

I really enjoyed making this quilt and was delighted with the outcome. Luckily somebody else liked it too… I sold the finished quilt at a local craft market!

So, grab your sewing machine, embrace your creativity, and make a lap quilt that will not only keep you cozy but also showcase your artistic flair.

Happy quilting!