Celebration Patriotic Lap Quilt Pattern

Celebrate Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and other summer holidays with a striking lap quilt. Designed by Debi Schmitz, this patriotic quilt pattern features stripes and diamonds in colors like navy, ruby red and cornflower blue against a white background. Show off your quilt pattern at your summer cookout or campfire or snuggle under your quilt while watching fireworks with your family during late summer evenings.

Finished Size: 38” x 60”

Seam Allowances: All seams are 1/4”.

Designer Notes: 

• Press all seams as directed or open, as desired.
• Solid fabrics or non-directional prints are recommended for this pattern.

Abbreviations:

• WOF: width of fabric (assumes 42”)
• RST: right sides together
• HRT: half rectangle triangles

Materials:

Note: It is recommended to prewash fabrics, especially saturated colors like red and dark blue, to avoid fabric bleeding.

• Red (small print) fabric: 3/4 yard
• Light blue (small print) fabric: 5/8 yard
• Dark blue (small print) fabric: 7/8 yard
• White (subtle tone on tone print) fabric: 1 1/2 yards
• Batting: 46” x 68”
• Binding (red used in the sample quilt): 1/2 yard
• Backing (dark blue used in the sample quilt): 2 2/3 yards

Tools:

• Cutting mat
• Rotary cutter
• Acrylic ruler
• Pins
• Thread
• Basting pins or spray
• Optional: Hand-sewing needles for binding or hand quilting

Cutting Instructions:

Binding:

• Cut (6) 2 1/2” x WOF strips.

Red Fabric:

• Cut (1) 3” x WOF strip into (10) 3” x 4” rectangles.
• Then, sub-cut (5) of the rectangles diagonally from the top left to the bottom right to make (10) L-triangles; sub-cut the remaining (5) rectangles diagonally from the top right to the bottom left diagonal to make (10) R-triangles.
• Cut (3) 6 1/2” x WOF strips into (40) 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips.

Light Blue Fabric:

• Cut (5) 3” x WOF strips into (48) 3” x 4” rectangles.
• Then, sub-cut (24) of the rectangles diagonally from the top left to the bottom right to make (48) L-triangles; sub-cut the remaining (24) rectangles diagonally from the top right to the bottom left diagonal to make (48) R-triangles.

Dark Blue Fabric:

• Cut (3) 4” x WOF strips into (32) 3” x 4” rectangles.
• Then, sub-cut (16) of the rectangles diagonally from the top left to the bottom right to make (32) L-triangles; sub-cut the remaining (16) rectangles diagonally from the top right to the bottom left diagonal to make (32) R-triangles.
• Cut (2) 6 1/2” x WOF strips into (30) 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips.

White Fabric:

• Cut (9) 3” x WOF strips into (90) 3” x 4” rectangles.
• Then, sub-cut (45) of the rectangles diagonally from the top left to the bottom right to make (90) L-triangles; sub-cut the remaining (45) rectangles diagonally from the top right to the bottom left diagonal to make (45) R-triangles.
• Cut (2) 6 1/2” x WOF strips into (15) 4 1/2” x 6 1/2” rectangles.

Piecing Instructions:

SEWING HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES (HSTs):

1. Pin and sew (1) white R-triangle to (1) light blue R-triangle along the diagonal edge, RST.
   
   
   1. Press seams toward the white fabric. Repeat to create a total of (48) light blue R-HRTs, each measuring 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. Trim units to size as needed.
2. Pin and sew (1) white L-triangle to (1) light blue L-triangle along the long edge, RST. Press seams toward the light blue fabric. Repeat to create a total of (48) light blue L-HRTs, each measuring 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. Trim units to size as needed.
3. Pin and sew (1) white L-triangle to (1) dark blue L-triangle along the long edge, RST. Press seams toward the dark blue fabric. Repeat to create a total of (32) dark blue L-HRTs, each measuring 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. Trim units to size as needed.
4. Pin and sew (1) white R-triangle to (1) dark blue R-triangle along the diagonal edge, RST. Press seams toward the white fabric. Repeat to create a total of (32) dark blue R-HRTs, each measuring 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. Trim units to size as needed.
5. Pin and sew (1) white L-triangle to (1) red L-triangle along the long edge, RST. Press seams toward the red fabric. Repeat to create a total of (10) red L-HRTs, each measuring 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. Trim units to size as needed.
6. Pin and sew (1) white R-triangle to (1) red R-triangle along the diagonal edge, RST. Press seams toward the white fabric. Repeat to create a total of (10) red R-HRTs, each measuring 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”. Trim units to size as needed.

BLOCK 1 (RED DIAMOND, DARK BLUE STRIPE):

1. Using (2) R-HRTs and (2) L-HRTs in red, arrange the units in a diamond shape as shown. Sew the units into pairs, pressing seams as desired. Sew the pairs together to make (1) red diamond, measuring 4 1/2” x 6 1/2”. Then, pin and sew (1) dark blue 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strip to the long edge of the red diamond. Press the seam as desired. Block 1 should measure 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”.
2. Repeat to create a total of (5) Block 1.
   
   

BLOCK 2 (LIGHT BLUE DIAMOND, BLUE STRIPE):

1. Repeat the steps for Block 1, using (20) light blue L-HRTs, (20) light blue R-HRTs, and (10) dark blue 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips to make a total of (10) Block 2.

BLOCK 3 (DARK BLUE DIAMOND, DARK BLUE STRIPE):

1. Repeat the steps for Block 1, using (6) dark blue L-HRTs, (6) dark blue R-HRTs, and (3) dark blue 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips to make a total of (3) Block 3.

BLOCK 4 (LIGHT BLUE DIAMOND, RED STRIPE):

1. Repeat the steps for Block 1, using (28) light blue L-HRTs, (28) light blue R-HRTs, and (14) red 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips to make a total of (14) Block 4.

BLOCK 5 (DARK BLUE DIAMOND, RED STRIPE):

1. Repeat the steps for Block 1, using (26) dark blue L-HRTs, (26) dark blue R-HRTs, and (13) red 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips to make a total of (13) Block 5.

BLOCK 6 (DARK BLUE STRIPE, WHITE RECTANGLE):

1. Pin and sew (1) dark blue 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strip to (1) white 4 1/2” x 6 1/2” rectangle. Press the seam as desired. Repeat to create a total of (12) Block 6, each measuring 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”.

BLOCK 7 (RED STRIPE, WHITE RECTANGLE):

1. Pin and sew (1) red 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strip to (1) white 4 1/2” x 6 1/2” rectangle. Press the seam as desired. Repeat to create a total of (3) Block 7, each measuring 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”.

ASSEMBLING THE COLUMNS:

1. Gather (5) Block 4, (5) Block 5, and (10) red 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips. Pin and sew (1) strip to each block on the opposite side of the existing strip. Press the seam as desired to complete each new block, measuring 8 1/2” x 6 1/2”.
2. Pin (1) new Block 4 to (1) new Block 5, lining up the seams carefully. Continue sewing the new Block 4 and new Block 5 together in alternating order with new Block 4 at the top of the column, to complete Column 6, measuring 8 1/2” x 60 1/2”.
3. Pin (1) Block 1 below (1) Block 2, lining up the dark blue strips to the left of the diamonds. Stitch. Add another Block 2, Block 1, Block 2, and then (5) Block 6 to complete Column 1, measuring 6 1/2” x 60 1/2”.
4. Pin and sew the following blocks in this order, lining up the dark blue strips on the left of the diamonds: Block 1, Block 2, Block 1, Block 2, Block 1, Block 2, and then (4) Block 6 to complete Column 2.
5. Pin and sew the following blocks in this order, lining up the dark blue strips on the left of the diamonds: Block 2, Block 3, Block 2, Block 3, Block 2, Block 3, Block 2,  and then (3) Block 6 to complete Column 3.
6. Pin and sew the following blocks in this order, lining up the red strips on the left of the diamonds: Block 5, Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, and then (2) Block 7 to complete Column 4.
   
   
7. Pin and sew the following blocks in this order, lining up the red strips on the left of the diamonds: Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, Block 5, Block 4, and then (1) Block 7 to complete Column 5.
8. Pin and sew the Columns together in numerical order from left to right as shown, carefully aligning seams to create the quilt top, measuring 38 1/2” x 60 1/2”.
   
   

FINISHING:

1. Cut the backing fabric into (2) 46” x WOF sections. Remove the selvages and join the pieces together using a 1/2” seam allowance to make a backing roughly 46” x 83”. Trim down as desired.
2.  Lay the backing right side down on the work surface. Lay the batting on top of the backing, followed by the quilt top right side facing up. Pin or baste the quilt sandwich to hold the layers in place.
3. Quilt as desired by machine or by hand through all three layers. (The quilt sample was stitched using a diagonal diamond design.)
4. Trim the quilt evenly around and cut away excess batting and backing fabric.
5. Sew binding strips together into one continuous strip. Fold the strip in half, wrong sides together, to make straight-grain binding.
6. Aligning the raw edges of the binding with the raw edges of the quilt, machine-stitch the binding to the front of the quilt.
7. Then, stitch the back of the binding to the back of the quilt by machine or by hand.

Note: Thank you to Laura at Crazy Redhead Quilt Shop in Newton, Iowa. Her quilt shop has everything a quilter will ever need- the selection is fantastic.