If you’re dreaming of cozy textures and modern winter vibes, you’re going to love the Spinning Snowflakes quilt. This double-size stunner is fat quarter friendly and combines the beautifully soft hand of Artisan Cotton with the rich texture of Essex Linen, making it a tactile dream for snuggling and displaying alike.
Featuring a striking combination of half-rectangle triangles and snowballed blocks, the design comes together in a way that creates a mesmerizing secondary pattern full of movement and depth. Rendered in a sophisticated palette of shades of gray with pops of green, blue, and taupe, each snowflake spins across the quilt top, adding subtle color and eye-catching contrast. Whether you’re a fan of graphic modern quilts or just looking for your next winter-inspired project, this one’s sure to be a favorite.
I’m covering:
- The inspiration behind the Spinning Snowflakes Quilt Pattern
- Fabric Details
- Design Elements and Piecing Tips
- Quilting Details
- Size & Project Info
- Materials Featured
- Display Ideas
The Spinning Snowflakes Quilt Pattern is available for instant digital download.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.
Inspiration Behind the Spinning Snowflakes Quilt Pattern
I shared the full inspiration behind the Spinning Snowflakes Quilt in this blog post, but suffice it to say, I was inspired by all things winter! While I know the cold is not for everyone, there’s something magical about that time of the year that I find hard to resist.
- The stillness.
- The quietness.
- The darkness that beckons the lighting of candles.
But the most magical part is when it snows and the dreary grayness of winter is replaced with the sparkling sheen of snow.
Why Spinning Snowflakes?
If you’ve never had the chance to see a snowflake up close, then you’re missing out on the beauty of its intricacies.
The way they spin and float and catch the light is beyond mesmerizing, and it was those qualities and that sense of wonder that I was trying to capture in the Spinning Snowflakes Quilt.
Fabric Details
You know my love for texture, and one of the best ways to sneak that into your quilts is through your fabric substrate selection 😉 My go-to for all the quilty texture is linen and wovens.
My starting point was a stack of Artisan Cotton fat quarters that had been sitting in my fabric cabinet for quite some time. I tend to gravitate towards super bright and bold colours; however, since I was making this one for a friend, I had their favourite colours in mind.
My friend seemed quite taken by the colours and texture featured in this Refracted Star Quilted Pillow, so when it came time to stitch up something extra special for a celebration, those colours sprang to mind.
This explains why I was drawn to the earthy tones of the Artisan Cottons. Since I was going for a moodier vibe, I paired those warm tones with the cooler shades of grey Essex Linen.
A Note on Working with Linen
Depending on the type of linen you’re working with (i.e., whether it’s fully linen or a combination of linen + cotton), it can be quite loosey-goosey. This isn’t necessarily a problem; however, it makes it more challenging for you to keep things nice and squared up.
I had the double whammy of the linen and thickly drawn line (more on that quilty pickle below), which resulted in lots of wonk and lots of blocks that didn’t quiiiiite make the final measurement – bleurgh.
My tendency is to embrace a wabi-sabi feel within my quilts, but if that’s going to bother you, then I encourage you to starch your fabric. I forgo the starch as I don’t like adding the extra step or the added chemicals to my projects, but that’s entirely a preference thing. So, do what feels best to you 😉
Design Elements + Piecing Tips
The Spinning Snowflakes Quilt features a couple of quilting techniques, including half-rectangle triangles and snowballed blocks.
Quilty Challenge
I’ve listed the Spinning Snowflakes quilt as an intermediate-level quilt pattern. It’s not that it’s difficult, but the half-rectangle triangles (aka the HRT) require some precision piecing.
You do have some trimming wiggle room, but it’s not huge, and things can easily go askew, especially for the larger ones.
Things to pay attention to:
Precise line drawing – super simple, yet important!
Scant ¼” seam allowance – this will ensure you have maximum trimming wiggle room.
Cut directly on the drawn line – this is important as if you miss the mark, one of your seams will be under a ¼”, which can compromise the integrity of your quilt (aka, you might bust a seam open!).
Press don’t iron – you don’t want to distort the shape of the HRT, so press your fabric instead of moving your iron back and forth. It will minimize your fabric stretching.
Bonus – use a wool pressing mat. You can read my full review of why I love them here, but suffice to say, they help! In this instance, it helps your fabric retain its shape while you press your fabric.
Things to look out for:
Marking your lines too big – be mindful of your marking tool. Too wide will have you losing some of your side trimming wiggle room. I cover this issue in detail in this blog post.
Watch your seam allowance – make sure you’re keeping a consistent scant ¼” seam allowance. This will ensure things stay on the straight and narrow 😉Learn how to nail that here.
Cut once, measure twice – while you’re not necessarily measuring the line you drew at the offset, you want to double-check that you’re cutting directly on your drawn line before you take that cut.
Pressing matters – be gentle with your fabric pieces, there are lots of bias edges, and they like to stretch out on you.
Type of fabric substrate matters – different types of fabric will behave differently, so if you’re looking to keep things nice and structured, I suggest avoiding wovens and linens and sticking with quilting cotton. Otherwise, bring in some starch!
Double-check the direction of your drawn line – this is such an easy thing to mess up, especially if you’re directionally challenged like me – ha!
This is why I’ve included a graphic for each of the different drawn-line directions so that you have a visual to reference. I encourage you to validate the drawn line direction with the pattern before you start sewing. This will save you a lot of time and fabric!
A note on using steam
I’m usually a pro-steam quilter; however, after making my linen HRT and encountering so many problems with them, I tried something new and decided to forgo the steam while setting my seams on my woven HRT. I wasn’t sure what impact this would have, and I’m surprised to say, I think they kept their shape better.
- I had way fewer issues with trimming.
- I had way fewer issues with fabric distortion.
- I saved time 😉
The combo of a good iron and the wool pressing mat worked wonders. I was on the fence about wool pressing mats for the longest time, until I brought one into the studio – ha! You can read the pros and cons of working with one in your pressing routine here.
Secondary Pattern
A fun design element of the Spinning Snowflakes Quilt is the secondary pattern that emerges when you stitch your quilt blocks together. The half-rectangle triangles create first a star pattern behind the snowflake design as well as an elongated and offset diamond. The latter adds movement and dimension to the quilt drawing your eye in and encouraging your eye to roam over the different snowflakes!
This is a fun element to play with from a colour perspective. By switching up the background colours you can switch the focus between the star and diamond shapes. Use the colouring pages included in the pattern or go for digital colour play over on PreQuilt!
Quilting Details
I had the best time machine quilting the wovens and linen Spinning Snowflakes quilt. After contemplating my quilty options, I decided to go with a dot-to-dot motif. If you’re new to this quilting technique, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Walk. It changed the way I think and approach machine quilting!
To add lots of texture, I decided to do a combo of both 50wt and 40wt Aurifil Thread. The 40wt green thread was intended as an accent, and I love how you don’t notice it until you’re up close and personal with the quilt.
Size and Project Info
Quilt Size
My original plan was to make the Queen size; however, after pressing my fat quarters, I noticed that not all were cut accurately. Several were under 18″ wide, which meant I had to abandon my queen-size quilt goals.
All’s well that ends well as the Double size is perfect for extra coziness to curl under while watching a movie, which I know is a favourite pastime of the recipient 😉.
Number of Fat Quarters Required
The Spinning Snowflakes quilt and block layouts vary in size so that the design never changes. This means the number of fat quarters required to complete a specific quilt size will vary.
You’ll need a total of 16 fat quarters to make a Double-sized Spinning Snowflake quilt. Plus, some yardage for the background snowflakes.
Confident Beginner
I mentioned earlier that I listed the pattern as Intermediate due to the half-rectangle triangles. That said, I do encourage Confident Beginners to give this one a go.
The trickiest part is wrapping your head around trimming the HRT. This is why I’ve included detailed instructions and step-by-step graphics to help you navigate this step with confidence.
There’s also the 2-at-a-Time Half-Rectangle Triangle Tutorial to help with additional photos so you see the trimming in practice!
Materials Featured
To create a similar Spinning Snowflake quilt, here’s everything you’ll need:
- Spinning Snowflake Quilt Pattern – double size
- Artisan Cotton fat quarter bundle
- Essex linen in gray
- Essex linen in dark gray
- Backing
- Batting
- Piecing thread
- 50wt quilting thread
- 40wt quilting thread
- Sewing machine
- Cutting mat
- Rotary cutter
- Ruler – long
- Ruler – short
- Small scissors
- Pin cushion
- Pins
- Iron
- Wool pressing mat – Use code SHANNONFRASER15 to save 15% on your small, medium or large wool pressing mat at The Felt Store Canada or The Felt Store USA. Offer cannot be combined with other discounts.
- Tailor’s clapper
- Spray bottle
- Seam ripper
Shop all my favourite quilting notions here.
Display Ideas
While the Spinning Snowflakes quilt is perfect for the winter season, the geometric design and colour palette lend well to year-round enjoyment. Whether draped over the back of a sofa or folded neatly at the end of a bed, the cozy texture and calming hues are sure to add that cozy factor to any room you display it in.
Quilty Play
This is the perfect opportunity to have some quilty fun and feature your favourite fat quarter bundle that’s been hanging out in your fabric stash! I know you have at least one, but most likely several that have been patiently waiting for their time to shine!
Whether you’re in need of a handmade gift for a loved one or simply want to get making and create a new quilt, the Spinning Snowflakes quilt pattern is sure to hit all those quilty notes 😊.
For more quilty inspiration, check out:
I look forward to seeing your unique take on the Spinning Snowflakes quilt! Be sure to use #SpinningSnowflakesQuilt and tag me @ShannonFraserDesigns on Instagram and Facebook so that I can see your makes!
The Spinning Snowflake Quilt Pattern is available for instant digital download here.
Happy quilting 😊
xo,
Shannon
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This version looks incredibly soft and snuggly!