Design Your Own Quilts

Here is a short tutorial about how to draw your own mandala like quilt design. An easy and fun way to draw pretty quilt designs.

The principle is simple: you have to draw a simple design then repeat it a number of times to achieve an intricate design; the more repeats you have, the more complex the design will be.
Use this idea if you draw by hand; the same principle applies if you use a software to design.

How to do
Choose the desired starting shape (see below what shapes you could use) then draw a design on a piece of paper cut in that shape.

Then  make copies of your design ( the required number of copies); use a light box or a copy machine; then tape the pieces together to get the complete design.

Here are a few examples (see the photo’s caption for explanation).

The starting shape is a square. To make a complete design you need 4 repeats. The design must be rotated 90 degrees.

 

The starting shape is an isosceles triangle with a 72 degree angle. To make a complete design you need 5 repeats. The design must be rotated 360/5=72 degrees.

 

The starting shape is an equilateral triangle ( with 60 degree angles). To make a complete design you need 6 repeats. The design must be rotated 360/6=60 degrees.

 

The starting shape is an isosceles triangle ( with a 51.4 degree angle). To make a complete design you need 7 repeats. The design must be rotated 360/7=51.4 degrees.

 

The starting shape is an isosceles triangle ( with  a 45 degree angle). To make a complete design you need 8 repeats. The design must be rotated 360/8=45 degrees.

Another idea: instead of triangles, use diamonds.

60 degree diamonds

 

45 degree diamonds

NOTE
If you need additional design in the center, add it in the final stage.
(I added a circle to my design – see below).

If you want to play with these ideas, download these shapes and start drawing.
NOTE
These shapes fit on Letter/A4 pages.
For large designs, you could enlarge the templates then draw or draw on the small templates and enlarge the final design.

Click on the picture to download the shapes

Have fun!
Geta