Green Vertical Stripe Quilt Pattern

I started with a beloved purchased quilt that is falling apart and create a new version of the quilt!

This green vertical stripe free quilt pattern was inspired by a store-purchased quilt.  It's a full/queen-sized quilt and this tutorial and free PDF will give you the information needed to make this quilt for yourself.

It's a quick and easy quilt to make since it consists of many long strips of fabric.  The top comes together very quickly.

I was looking for this quilt to be warm and cozy so using sew lush fleece fabric on the back did just that.  Soft nursery swaddle fabrics on the front and limited quilting made it soft on the front too.

Click the link to watch our video about this quilt and then keep reading for the tutorial.

WHAT YOU NEED for the vertical stripe quilt

Please scroll to the end of this article for links to the fabrics and supplies needed.

• 1.5 yards White with Leaves Nursery Swaddle Gauzy fabric for stripes
• 2 yards Light Slate Green Nursery Swaddle fabric for stripes
• 1.5 yards of 3 tan cotton quilting fabrics - Light, Med, Dark for stripes
• 1 yard dark Hunter Green Nursery Swaddle fabric for border
• Flange Binding (consists of two fabrics)
  • 1/2 yard - Solid Hunter Green Cotton Quilting fabric
  • 3/4 yard - Solid Light Slate Green Cotton Quilting fabric
• 5.25 yards Backing - Sew Lush Fleece Fabric
• 3 yards Batting - I used 108" cream flannel fabric for the batting since the quilt was very thick and heavy already with the backing.  If you use normal batting, you will need more yardage.

INSTRUCTIONS green vertical stripe quilt

When completed, this green vertical stripe quilt will be approximately 90" wide by 87" long.

There can be variation in the length because the strips tend to be uneven after sewing them together.  So, it's possible to vary up to 5 inches of length when evening up the strips.

Fabrics for the Green Vertical Stripe Quilt

My 18-year-old son has been using a green stripe quilt that I purchased many years ago (probably since he was 5 years old). This was a much-loved quilt because it was warm and soft.  The softness seemed to come from the gauzy fabric used on the front and back of the quilt.

The quilt has been falling apart for many years and has large rips in it.  It's not salvageable since so much of the gauzy fabric is missing and worn away.  

I was recently at a Joann craft store and noticed gauzy fabric available in the nursery section was similar to the fabric in this quilt.

This inspired me to create a quilt with a similar pattern and design to replace the well-loved quilt since it was completely falling apart!

This quilt can be made with any fabric, but mine was made with a combination of three gauzy fabrics and three tan cotton quilting fabrics.  To make it extra warm and soft, I used So Lush Fleece fabric on the back.

Step 1: Download the Layout and cutting instructions

The layout and cutting instructions are included in a free PDF available at the end of this article.  Download this for fabrics to purchase along with cutting instructions.

STEP 2: Cut fabrics

After selecting your fabrics for this quilt, cut the number of strips listed in the PDF Instructions.

STEP 2: Sew fabrics into long strips

To use the fabrics without wasting fabric, sew each set of strips into one long length of fabric using straight (not mitered) seams.  

For example, for the white fabric with leaves, instructions say to cut nine 7.5" wide strips.  Take each of the nine strips and sew them end to end with a straight (not mitered) seam.  This will give you one long strip that is 7.5" wide.

Take the long strip and cut three 86" lengths to make three strips 7.5" x 86". If you want to give yourself extra room for trimming the top and bottom after sewing together, you could extend the strips to 90".  Check to be sure you have enough fabric though!

Repeat this for the remaining fabrics and create the strips needed for the quilt.  Refer to the PDF layout & cutting instructions for the number of strips to create from each fabric.

Step 3: Sew Strips into Quilt Top

Start by sewing together the tan strips into the strip sets indicated in the layout.  In order to keep track of the strip sets, I placed numbered pins into each set.

On the layout are the strip set numbers for each tan strip set. As each set of tan strips was created, I placed a numbered pin to keep track of each set.

When sewing a lot of strips together to make the quilt top, the quilt can end up with a wave or curve.  I kept this from happening by sewing the tan strip sets together first.  Then, put together the quilt top with the green and white leaves fabrics.

Also do not attach all of the strips together by sewing in the same direction.  Alternate sewing directions (top to bottom, bottom to top).

I still ended up with an uneven edge on the top and bottom and ended up trimming that off to make it even.

Step 4: Even the top and bottom edges

Before attaching the borders, the uneven edge along the top and bottom of the quilt needs to be straightened out.  Using a large corner ruler and long ruler, the top and bottom edges can be straightened out.  This process is similar to squaring a quilt.  At the end of the squaring a quilt article, it discusses squaring up larger quilts.

After this square up, I lost about 5" in the height of the quilt.  If you do not want to lose the height, be sure to take care when sewing the strips together so they don't end up wonky!

Step 5: Add Borders

To finish the quilt top, the outer border was added in the hunter green fabric.

As with the strips, make one long strip of the hunter green fabric.  Sew the border onto the sides first.  Then sew the border onto the top and bottom of the quilt top.

Below is a closeup of the quilt top after finishing.

Step 6: Batting and Backing

The Sew Lush Fleece fabric used on the back of this quilt is quite heavy.  This will make the quilt warm in the winter and cozy soft.

Since this quilt was already thick from the backing, I decided to use a 108" wide cream flannel fabric instead of traditional batting.  Flannel makes a good batting that is warm but also thin.

Cut the batting to be at least 4" larger than the quilt top all around. 

The sew lush fleece fabric will need to be pieced together to make a large enough backing.

Layer the quilt together and use your favorite basting method.  I prefer to pin baste my quilts.

Step 7: Quilting

This quilt would look wonderful with an all-over quilt design.  Since my son wanted a soft quit, I decided to quilt it minimally with some straight lines along the stripes.

Step 8: BindinG the vertical stripe quilt

A flange quilt binding was added to finish off the quilt.  Before adding the binding, trim the backing and batting and square up the quilt.

Use our binding calculator to figure out the number of strips to cut for creating the binding for this quilt.

Step 9: Labeling the stripe quilt

Since this quilt was made to replace the well-loved and worn-out purchased quilt, I decided to create a label that features a bit of the original quilt in it.

There are many ways to create a label for your quilt and the ideas on our Modern Quilt Labels page should give you some inspiration.  Always label your quilts!  Years from now, when the quilts you make get passed down to the next generation, they will want to know the history of the quilt.

Other free quilt patterns you may be interested in are below.

• Easy Four Patch Quilt Pattern
• School or Team Themed Quillow - A quilt that turns into a pillow!

Or how about this Whirlwind Quilt?