We have a seriously sweet little quilt to share with you today! This adorable version of the Patchwork Star Baby Quilt features fabric from the officially licensed The Little Engine That Could fabric collection, designed by Jill Howarth.
Inspired by the classic children’s book by Watty Piper, this fabric line brings to fabric our favorite characters — the scrappy little engine, the clown, dolls, and toys of every kind.
This is a book I read to my oldest child on a daily basis when he was little, and at one glance at this fabric, the words from the pages came back to my mind. Such sweet memories!
The color palette, both soft and saturated, in shades of blue, green, and yellow, is perfect for nursery decor, diaper bags, fabric baskets, and more!
I decided to make the Superstar Baby Quilt with a FREE TUTORIAL courtesy of Six Two Seven Handiworks. This is honestly one of my favorite baby quilts to make. You can see another version using Gingham Girls fabric HERE.
I made similar changes here — adding a 3″ strip border in Riley White.
After completing the star, I ended up with several squares and fabric scraps left over, so I cut those into 1 1/2″ strips, stitched them together, and alternated them with the 1 1/2″ Riley White strips to make the scrappy border. I love the fun element of surprise it adds to the quilt.
Here is a closer look at some of the cute prints. I’m in love with the text print! “I think I can, I think I can….” What a great message!
For the quilt back, I used the Main Blue fabric. It does a great job of tying together all of the other fun prints, and that pale blue background is just dreamy! I used the Blue Argyle for the binding.
I used a green Aurifil thread to quilt this simple stipple design — the meandering lines do a nice job of bringing to mind a train track winding its way through the countryside.
This quilt uses a 5″ stacker for the star, along with yardage for the background, quilt back, and binding. It comes together quickly and is a great way for a beginner quilter to practice half square triangles. You can find the FREE tutorial at SIX TWO SEVEN HANDIWORKS.
The officially licensed The Little Engine That Could fabric collection is available now at your favorite local and online quilt shops. Pick up yours today and share your makes with us on Instagram using #thelittleenginethatcouldfabric, #rileyblakedesigns, #iloverileyblake, and tag us @rileyblakedesigns.
Happy Quilting!