Some Christmas quilts take months of piecing. A panel quilt takes a smarter route: the artwork is already printed as one centerpiece, and your job is to frame it well and finish it with care. The Naughty or Nice Panel Quilt Kit from Riley Blake Designs, offered through High Country Quilts, bundles the panel and coordinating fabrics to sew a festive Christmas quilt. This guide explains what a panel kit does for you, who it suits, and how to get a polished, gift-ready result.
What This Kit Makes
At its heart, this kit makes a festive Christmas quilt built around the Naughty or Nice collection by Riley Blake Designs. Instead of constructing the main holiday scene block by block, you start with a printed panel as the focal point and use the coordinating fabrics to complete the quilt around it. That gives panel quilts their distinctive style: a bold, story-like center with framing fabrics doing the supporting work.
The product description does not state a finished size, so do not plan backing, batting, or display space from a guess. Measure the panel when the kit arrives, and let that measurement — plus any borders you add — determine the final dimensions. Panel quilts suit holiday decorating and gifting especially well, because the theme reads clearly at a glance.
What Is Included — and What to Check
The description is specific about the core contents: this kit bundles the panel and coordinating fabrics for the quilt. That bundling is the main value. Color and scale have already been matched to the Naughty or Nice collection, so you are not hunting for fabrics that sit comfortably next to a Christmas panel.
Before you sew, inventory everything against the product listing and any paperwork in the package. The short description does not list a separate pattern, backing, or binding, and kit contents vary by maker. If you need backing, batting, binding, or thread beyond the bundle, choose them while the panel is in front of you, when color matching is most reliable.
Skill Level and Time Commitment
Because the panel does the visual heavy lifting, this is an approachable project for a confident beginner who can sew a consistent seam, measure accurately, and press pieces flat — and equally satisfying for an experienced quilter who wants a seasonal make without a long cutting list. The skills that matter most are squaring accurately, keeping borders even, and quilting without distorting the panel.
Plan your time in sessions: one to inventory, measure, and square the panel; one to add the coordinating fabrics and complete the top; and a final session to layer, quilt, and bind once backing and batting are ready. Working in stages keeps a festive deadline enjoyable instead of rushed.
Tips for Success With a Panel
Square before you sew. Printed panels are not always perfectly square. Measure across the top, middle, and bottom, and trim carefully if needed. A panel framed while slightly off will stay visibly off in the finished quilt.
Press, do not pull. Press the panel flat with care and avoid tugging it into shape. Distortion introduced at the pressing stage is hard to correct once borders are attached.
Keep borders even. Measure through the center of the quilt — not along the edges — when cutting border lengths, and pin at intervals as you sew. That habit prevents wavy borders around a strong central image.
Let quilting support the artwork. Simple quilting that frames the panel design usually serves a printed center best. Heavy quilting across the artwork can fight the image, while thoughtful lines around it add texture and hold the layers securely.
Finish for the season. Add a label with your name and the year, especially if the quilt is a gift. That turns a ready-to-sew project into a holiday keepsake.
Shop the Naughty or Nice Panel Quilt Kit at Linda's Electric Quilters.
