Four patch kaleidoscope quilt video tutorial

You probably have seen this type of quilt before. Usually the block is a hexagon or an octagon.

But in fact you can apply the same technique to a four patch block.

To make a kaleidoscope four patch quilt you need a fabric with a large print and a minimum of 4 print repeats.

Let’s watch how easy it is to make this type of quilt:

“Flower Power” quilt

I made the quilt on the video with 3 yards of fabric but I only used 2 1/2 yards for the four patch blocks.

My fabric repeat is 12 1/2″ wide and my quilt has 8 repeats in total. That makes 2 stacks of 4 repeats each, one repeat per square in a four square block.

If you want to make it bigger, then get enough fabric for more repeats. The number of extra repeats must be 4, 8, 12, always by 4.

Now the size of your four patches is guided by the width of the repeat and your own preference.

With my 12 1/2″ repeat I decided to cut 3 strips, 4″ wide each.

The smaller the patch the more variation of blocks you’ll get.

I ended up with 60 blocks in total and I used 56 (7 x 8).

Each finished block size is 7″ x 7″.

The border is 3″ wide and I used a different matching print though using the left overs of the main fabric is a choice a lot of quilters make to showcase the original print intact.

Some tips on fabrics

Use a very sharp blade since you’ll be cutting through 4 layers of fabric.

When cutting your stack pay attention to your pins so you don’t blunt the blade by cutting through the pins.

Fabrics

I used fabric from several years ago but I think these florals would produce a quilt very similar to my Flower power.

Also panels are great candidates for this technique.

See some examples of fabric panels that would work well with this technique.

Books

If you like this technique and would like to make a quilt there are lots of pattern books available.

My book Turnabout Patchwork

“Turnabout Patchwork. Simple quilts with a twist” is all about playing with blocks – making a block, slicing it up, and turning or repositioning the pieces to make a completely different block (sometimes two smaller blocks) to yield endless quilt tops.

See all the quilts in the book in a real life project

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5 comments

I am full of admiration for your work and the way you present it, almost taking us by hand, Teresa!
One day I will make such a kaleidoscope quilt, on my long list..

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WOW each block is a little surprise that just comes together. I have made a Kaleidoscope quilt using the mirror technique, but I think yours is way more fun & so very simple. Thank you for sharing your wonderful tutorials.

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