How to Make a Bandana Quilt

How to Make a Bandana Quilt

A while back I was at a big box store and ran across a rack full of different colored bandanas and they were so cute I bought 10.

Why 10? I don’t know.

But I didn’t have a plan for them yet…so….why not 10? It seemed like a good round number.

Plus they were only $2 soooooo 10 of them went into my cart.

Time went by and then one afternoon I was downstairs in the sewing room wanting to work on a quick project…when I ran across the bandanas again…and I thought I wonder how fast I could turn these bandanas into a giant Nine Patch Quilt…

It was the perfect project!

Within an hour the quilt was done and packed in a sack, along with the backing, to take to the quilter.

Easiest quilt ever!!!

Here’s what I did:

#1. I ironed 9 bandanas. (They were super wrinkled from the way they had been folded and displayed.)

#2. I laid them out in a Nine Patch arrangement.

A Nine Patch Arrangement is simply 3 rows of blocks with each row containing 3 blocks.

(Like in the illustration below.)

#3. I started with Row 1. And stitched Block 1 to Block 2 with Right Sides Together. Then I stitched Block 3 to Block 2 with Right Sides Together.

Once all 3 blocks were stitched together I pressed the seams.

Then I repeated that exact same process for Rows 2 and 3.

But….here is a secret.

Remember how I said I was in the mood for a quick project that afternoon?

Well…I wasn’t kidding. I needed something that I could start and finish. Soooooo…..

I actually didn’t sew the blocks together….I used my serger!

That’s right. I serged the bandanas together!

It was quick. It was slick. And it was fun. And even though this was the first time I have ever serged together a quilt top together, it won’t be my last!

HOWEVER, if you don’t want to serge your bandana quilt top together just pin and then use the standard 1/4″ inch seam allowance and stitch it together on your sewing machine.

That will, of course, work like a charm.

After all 3 of my Rows were sewn up I simply placed Row 1 on top of Row 2 with Right Sides Together and stitched.

Then I placed Row 3 on top of Row 2 with Rights Sides Together and stiched.

AND THE QUILT WAS DONE!!!

So dang fast right!?!

I threw it, along with some backing fabric, into a sack and it was ready to go to the quilter.

Once I got it back I bound it with some cute navy and white Swiss Dot from Riley Blake Designs and BOOM! It was finished!

And with all the cold and snow that we have been receiving around these parts lately it has become a permanent figure here on our couches to throw over us after long days at school.

If you want to learn more about how to make Nine Patch Quilt Blocks you can check out THIS POST.

Happy Quilting!

P.S. With each bandana only costing $2 that made this quilt top cost less than $20! Which makes these kinds of quilts affordable to construct!