Chevron Quilt Tutorial

Get the look of a Chevron Quilt without any piecing with our Chevron Quilt Tutorial. The secret is in the fabric! Learn how to make this easy quilt, click read more.

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Hello again, Ribbon Retreat friends! Today, I’m going to share with you how you can have the great look of a chevron quilt without all the work of piecing quilt squares together!

I’m going to let you in on a secret… quilts scare the living daylights out of me! I have not had a lot of success when it comes to quilting. However, I just adore the look of all the great chevron quilts that have been shared all over blog-land. I have a big old crush on Riley Blake’s Chevrons. When I saw the large chevron print I knew I could have the look of a chevron quilt without most of the scary parts of quilting!

Want to make your own?

~ Chevron Quilt Tutorial ~

For a”craft” sized quilt {36″ X 45″}, you’ll need:

1 yd of Riley Blake’s Large Chevron {I used the Grey/White}

1 1/4 yd of fabric for quilt back {I used Bella Solids in Robins Egg Blue}

1/2 yd of fabric for binding {I used Bella Solids in Bleached White}

Thread that matches the quilt front, the quilt back, and the binding

Craft sized batting {you can buy this at your local craft store}

Safety Pins

As evidenced by the fact that quilts scare me, I am not a quilt expert. I’m going to share with you how I did things. If this process isn’t what you’re used to, quilt your way! There are a number of quilt tutorials out there that have helped me figure out this process. The Ribbon Retreat has a fun how to quilt tutorial if you have additional questions. Just scroll down to the bottom for all the how-to links.

There’s no need to pre-wash your fabrics. You’ll want that bit of shrink to kick in after your quilt is finished. Go ahead and start by ironing all of your fabrics.

Find yourself a large, clean workspace. For me, that was my kitchen floor. Spread your quilt back out, wrong side up. Smooth it out well and tape down the corners. This will keep things from shifting around as you add your other layers.

Next, place your batting in the middle of your backing. There should be extra fabric on all sides of your batting. This allows for things to shift a bit during the quilting process without leaving you in a pinch.

Finally, put your chevron fabric, right side up, in the middle of your batting.

I like to pin baste my quilts. You can find these curved safety pins in the notions area of your local sewing supply store. The curve in them lets you grab all the layers without disturbing the layout. I tried quilting with regular safety pins, and it was a big old pain. I highly recommend getting yourself these little guys.

Start pinning in the center of your quilt. Make sure you pin in the middle of whatever colored chevron you’re NOT going to sew along.

Keep pinning working your way out from the middle, smoothing out your fabric as you go. You should place a pin every three or four inches. This will keep everything in place while you machine quilt.

You’ll want to roll your quilt up to move it to your sewing machine. Roll it in from both directions. This will let you start your quilting in the middle.

You’ll want to quilt along the top of one color of the chevrons. I quilted along the top of each of the white chevrons.

Use a thread on top that blends into your quilt top and a thread in your bobbin that blends into your quilt bottom.

Make sure you back stitch when you start your quilting row. Sew down the one side until you get to the point. Keeping your needle down, turn your quilt and start sewing up the other side. You’ll repeat this processes until you reach the other side of your quilt. Back stitch at the end, too!

I cannot sew a straight line to save my life. This quilt is very forgiving, as you’re not piecing anything together.

Once you’ve finished quilting, trim all the layers so they are even with your quilt top.

Now, take out all of your pins. I was lazy and didn’t do this before I started binding. I broke my first needle, because I hit a safety pin. Learn from my mistake! 🙂

Time to make your binding. Start out by cutting off the selvedges and evening out your binding fabric. Then, cut yourselves 4 strips that are 2.5 inches wide by the length of the fabric.

You’ll make your continuous binding strip by joining all four strips together. Start by laying out your fabrics right sides together and perpendicular to each other. Sew a diagonal line from the top left to bottom right corner, making sure to back stitch. Now, cut off the fabric leaving 1/4 inch seam allowance. Repeat this process with the rest of your strips. (If you are making a bigger sized quilt and are curious how much fabric you will need, The Ribbon Retreat’s How to Bind Tutorial will answer that question.)

Press open all of the diagonal seams. Then, fold your fabric in half, wrong sides together, and press. This will leave you with your continuous binding strip ready to attach to your quilt!

Start pinning your binding to your quilt back. Leave about a 6 inch tail before your first pin. You’ll line up the raw edges of your binding with the edge of your quilt. Pin all the way to 1/4 inch before your first corner.

Start sewing your binding to your quilt using your presser foot for seam allowance. Be sure to back stitch.

Stop when you get 1/4 inch from your corner. Leaving your needle down, raise your presser foot and turn your quilt so you sew off the edge. Back stitch! Remove your quilt from your machine.

Now, fold your binding up, using your stitch as a guide. Then, fold your binding down so that it is even with the top of your quilt.

Start pinning and pin all the way down to 1/4 inch from the next corner.

Start sewing 1/4 inch from the corner, back stitching. You just mitered your corner! Keep repeating this process until you have completed all four corners.

Stop sewing your binding when you’re about 10 inches from where you started. Back stitch and remove your quilt from your machine.

Fold each side of the binding back on itself so that they meet in the middle. Using a fabric marker, mark 1/4 inch on each side of the binding.

Open up both sides of the binding and pin together. You’ll have to fold your quilt a bit to be able to do this.

Now, sew the bindings together. You’ll use that 1/4 inch mark as your seam allowance.

Trim along the 1/4 inch line and then press your seam open. Fold everything back up and pin the rest of the binding to your quilt.

Sew the last bit of your binding down.

You’ve made it to the home stretch! Now its time to sew your binding to the front of your quilt. Make sure your top thread matches your binding and your bobbin matches your quilt bottom.

Fold your binding over and pin well. Pin really, really well. Pin every inch. There’s a lot of layers here. Things will be less likely to shift on you if you pin really well. Did I mention that you should pin well?

Pinning your corners requires a little bit of finesse. Bring your binding up towards the front. Then, wiggle the corner of your quilt into the corner of the binding. Pull the first side down and then fold the second side over and pin.

When sewing your binding, you’ll want to move your needle all the way over to the left. Sew as close to the edge of the binding as you can. Go slow so that you don’t accidentally slip off the binding.

When you get to a corner, sew until your needle first enters the other side of the binding. Then, with your needle down, turn your quilt and continue sewing.

Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and the end of the quilt!

Throw that bad boy in the washer with just a little bit of detergent. After its dry, enjoy all of its crinkly goodness!

I would love for you to drop by Covered in Mod Podge and say hi! I’d also love to see any quilt you make using this tutorial. You can email me at coveredinmodpdoge {at} gmail {dot} com.

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Thank you so much Michaela for this super fun Chevron Quilt Tutorial! I love how it looks like so much work went into it (I have made one the hard way before!) and it is so easy to do. And the instructions are great for beginners!

Quilting is a really fun hobby and once you get into it, it’s hard to stop! The best fabrics are designer fabrics and The Ribbon Retreat carries a large selection of beautiful fabrics in addition to our Chevron Fabric collection. You’ll have to stop by and drool over the choices!

Be sure to stop by Covered in Mod Podge and say hello to Michaela! We love having her as a contributor and she is so fun!

If you are interested in sharing your crafts or bow making skills, we are searching for crafty contributors. If you’re a craft blogger or bow maker who’d like to submit a tutorial of your own, visit our Project Submission Page to see all the details. We love all tutorials, and now especially love holiday ones! We make it worth your while! We love our contributors!

Have a great day! ~ Shirley, The Ribbon Retreat Blog Editor