1. Twelve-block sampler
Twelve different traditional blocks in a three by four quilt.
Free printable · Color online
Quilt block coloring pages
Six quilts on paper: a sampler of twelve classic blocks, then whole quilts of Ohio Star, Log Cabin, Sawtooth Star with Pinwheel, and Flying Geese with Churn Dash, each twelve blocks with sashing and a border, and a Lone Star.
Quilters use pages like these to try out fabric colors before cutting anything. Print them on letter paper or color them on screen.
Each page prints on one sheet of US letter paper. Under every page are buttons to print just that one, to color it on screen, or to save it as a picture.
2. Ohio Star quilt
Twelve Ohio Stars: a center square with four pairs of triangle points.
3. Log Cabin quilt
Twelve Log Cabin blocks, each turned a quarter from its neighbor.
4. Sawtooth Star and Pinwheel quilt
Stars and pinwheels alternating like a checkerboard.
5. Flying Geese and Churn Dash quilt
Two blocks alternating: rows of triangles and the churn’s cross.
6. Lone Star quilt, fine piecing
Eight arms of thirty-six diamonds each.
The blocks and their names
A pieced quilt top is usually built from square blocks, and the traditional blocks have names. The sampler page has twelve, reading across each row from the top left: Ohio Star, Pinwheel, Nine Patch; Log Cabin, Flying Geese, Churn Dash; Sawtooth Star, Hourglass, Rail Fence; Friendship Star, Bow Tie and Courthouse Steps.
Log Cabin is strips sewn round a small center square, which by tradition is red for the hearth of the cabin; it became popular in the United States in the 1860s. Flying Geese is a row of triangles pointing one way, like birds in formation. Churn Dash is named for the paddle of a butter churn. Many blocks have more than one name, and the same name can mean different blocks in different places.
Color ideas for these pages
Quilters think in values before colors: light, medium and dark. Most blocks work when the star or the “picture” is dark, the background is light and one medium ties them together. Squint at your pencils; if two look the same when you squint, they are the same value.
On the Log Cabin page, color two neighboring sides of every block light and the other two dark. The blocks are turned so that the lights and darks join up across the quilt into larger diamonds.
Which page to start with
This set has 6 pages: 4 medium and 2 detailed. The quickest to finish is “Sawtooth Star and Pinwheel quilt,” with 152 areas to color, and the longest is “Lone Star quilt, fine piecing,” with 290. Bold and easy pages have heavy lines and large shapes that suit markers and tired eyes; detailed pages have fine lines for sharp pencils or gel pens.
How printing, saving and coloring on screen work is explained on the coloring pages home. If you like filling shapes by number, Linseed Loft Color by Number is a free paint by number game with 74 pictures.