How to Use The Iris Quilt Pattern: A Fast, Stash-Friendly Strip-Pieced Quilt in Three Sizes
Every quilter has a stash waiting for the right project — fat quarters, a jelly roll bought for its colors, and scraps too pretty to throw away. The Iris Quilt Pattern was made for that stash. It offers three fabric routes into the same quilt, and because the fat quarter and jelly roll versions are strip pieced, the top comes together surprisingly fast.
What The Iris Quilt Pattern Is and Why Quilters Use It
The Iris is a quilt pattern with instructions for three finished sizes: baby at 39 inches by 39 inches, lap at 59 inches by 69 inches, and twin at 79 inches by 99 inches. That range covers a baby gift, a sofa throw, and a twin bed quilt.
Quilters love it because it starts with what you already have. Instead of requiring a single coordinated collection, it works with fat quarters, a jelly roll, or scraps. That makes it economical and personal: shop your shelves first and still end up with a quilt that looks planned.
How to Use The Iris Quilt Pattern, Step by Step
- Choose your size first. Decide between baby (39 by 39 inches), lap (59 by 69 inches), and twin (79 by 99 inches) based on who it is for. Your size determines how much fabric to pull.
- Pick your fabric route. Choose the fat quarter option, the jelly roll option, or the scrap option, and follow the instructions for that version. Lay fabrics out together, remove anything that fights the rest, and check for a mix of light, medium, and dark values.
- Prepare and cut carefully. Press your fabrics before cutting so strips and pieces measure true. For scraps, trim to the pattern sizes and keep like sizes together.
- Strip piece the fat quarter or jelly roll version. For those two options, sew fabrics into strip sets first, then cut the sets into units as directed. This is what makes it fast: long, efficient seams instead of handling every piece individually. Press consistently.
- Assemble the quilt top. Join your units following the pattern layout, checking that the design is balanced across the top before you sew the final seams. Step back or take a photo — a color imbalance is easier to fix now than later.
- Layer, quilt, and bind. Sandwich with batting and backing, quilt it, and finish with binding. Add a label with name and date, especially for a gift quilt.
Practical Tips
Strip piecing rewards accuracy: if strip sets are wavy or your seam allowance drifts, cut units will not line up. Sew a test seam and adjust before committing good fabric. Sorting scraps by value, not just color, helps the design read clearly. Keep cut units for one size together in a single project box.
Care and Storage
Store the pattern flat in a folder with a note recording which size and fabric route you made. Keep unused fat quarters and jelly roll strips away from direct light. Wash the finished quilt gently and dry on low heat or flat.
Project Ideas
Make the baby size in soft prints as a shower gift, the lap size in seasonal fabrics as a throw, or the twin size as a dorm or guest-bed quilt from a saved jelly roll. It is also a wonderful scrap-buster between larger projects — turn leftovers from finished quilts into a brand-new one.
Shop the The Iris Quilt Pattern at Linda's Electric Quilters.
