Two Flags, One Kit: A Guide to Building a Patriotic Flag Quilt Without Half-Square Triangles
Some quilt kits give you one finished project. The American Gathering Quilt Kit gives you two: a full-size American flag quilt and a bonus mini flag, both designed by Lisa Bongean. If you love patriotic quilts but dread rows of half-square triangles, this kit deserves a close look — there are no HSTs used in the piecing at all. Here is what the kit contains, how the two quilts come together, and how to get the best result from it.
What You Make: Two Quilts in Two Sizes
The main quilt finishes at 54" x 72", a generous couch size — big enough to drape over a sofa back or wrap around shoulders on a cool evening. The bonus mini flag finishes at 27" x 36", exactly half the scale, and is sized to hang in an entryway, on a porch, or above a mantel. Building both from the same bundle is part of the charm: the large quilt makes the patriotic statement, while the mini is an easy seasonal accent or a heartfelt gift for a veteran or military family.
The designs use the American Gathering fabric collection, so the reds, creams, and blues arrive already coordinated in Lisa Bongean's signature primitive, muted Americana style — no agonizing over whether your reds clash.
What Is Included in the Kit
The kit includes a fat quarter of each print in the collection — enough to make both the full-size flag and the mini flag. Fat quarters are a smart format here: flag quilts are built from stripes and fields of color, and fat quarters give you the width to cut the long pieces you need while keeping every print represented. Also included are the two-color binding, so the edge finish can echo the flag's own color story, and the pattern, PRI 751, which walks you through both quilts.
The kit arrives in a box measuring 10" x 11.5" x 3", easy to store or give as a gift. Note what the listing does not include: backing and batting are not part of the kit, so plan to have those on hand — the mini needs just a small piece, a good chance to use a favorite remnant.
Skill Level and Time
This is a friendly project for a confident beginner and a relaxing one for experienced quilters. Straightforward strip-and-piece construction carries the design, and the absence of half-square triangles removes the most common frustration in flag quilts — no bias edges to stretch, no dozens of identical units to trim. If you can sew a consistent quarter-inch seam, you can make this quilt. Most makers can piece the large top over a weekend, with the mini coming together in an afternoon.
Tips for Success
Press with intention. Long stripes show every wobble. Press seams consistently — in one direction, row by row — and use a light touch of starch or sizing on long cuts to keep them stable and straight.
Check alignment as you go. A flag reads as one bold graphic, so line up your stripe junctions before quilting rather than after. Pin at intersections, sew a few rows, then step back and view the top from across the room; small drifts are easy to correct early.
Choose quilting that supports the design. Straight-line quilting that follows the stripes reinforces the flag geometry and keeps the finish clean. Because this is a couch quilt, pick a batting and quilting density that drape well rather than standing stiff.
Make the mini first if you are new. The 27" x 36" flag uses the same techniques at half scale. It is a low-stakes rehearsal, a quick win, and a finished piece you can hang while the big quilt is still on your sewing table.
Bind with both colors. The kit's two-color binding is a design feature, not an afterthought. Follow the pattern's placement so the binding change lands where it flatters the flag's edges.
Two quilts, one coordinated bundle, no half-square triangles — the American Gathering Quilt Kit is patriotic piecing at its most approachable.
Shop the American Gathering Quilt Kit at Linda's Electric Quilters.
