{WIP} Easter Basket Quilt Blocks + A Free Block Pattern

Decorating with seasonal or holiday quilts adds festivity to our homes as we celebrate those special times of the year. My latest work in progress is a fun Easter Basket quilt.

I may or may not have started a new quilt without finishing my Bow Tie Quilt. Ok I did!  After seeing all the gorgeous Easter quilts starting to pop up on social media, I knew I needed to sew one of my own.  Last year I sewed an HST quilt in Easter fabric (which Maddi promptly stole), so this year I decided to go with the ever popular Easter Basket.

New starts are always exciting, and this one makes me happy because I can find a new forever home for some of my Bonnie and Camille fabrics - my fabric bins are overflowing!

I looked at a few basket blocks before deciding on one that allows me to add something extra. The block I chose had space for a focal block and my plan is to use a different design in each basket. Some of them I'll paper piece and others I'll use traditional blocks.

I must keep the focal blocks relatively simple because they are tiny (and fiddly) but it's been so much fun coming up with different blocks to fill the space. So far, I've included a pinwheel, a heart, nine patch, friendship star, shoo fly block and a two by two block, and I can't wait to work on more.

My basket blocks will finish at 10" square and my plan is to set them on point with sashing and cornerstones, and then maybe add some borders. I'm aiming for either 18 or 25 of the basket blocks - not sure how big I want this quilt to be just yet, but I need a minimum of 18 for a rectangular quilt.

Will I finish this quilt before Easter? I really hope so! I'd like it done in the next week or two so I can enjoy it during the lead up to Easter, but if not it will be ready for 2021! ;)

The blocks require a little bit of fudging to work, and this doesn't sit well with a lot of quilters. Because the focal block is set on point it needs to finish at 2 7/8" which means the only way to make it fit into the basket block is to deal with:

• cutting measurements that are to the 1/16th
• oversewing the seams just a smidge
• losing parts of the seam allowances and points while trimming
• forcing or fudging a 3" block into the space allocated

I'm going with forcing the 3" block to fit! It's not a perfect solution but I'm OK with this little imperfection.

I thought I would give you the cutting requirements and a diagram for making the Easter Basket minus the focal 3" block, if your inspired to start your own Easter Basket quilt. You can leave the focal block plain or add in your own favorites and fudge them into the block the way you're most comfortable.

If you need some 3" block inspiration you can refer to the Cutting Charts in my Classic Quilt Blocks series for cutting requirements or if you own a copy of my Ma Petite Mini Quilt there are fourteen 3" block included in the pattern you can use.

To get you started, I've included templates for the paper pieced heart block for you to use as well.

You can download the basic Easter Basket Block cutting requirements, diagram and heart templates by clicking the link:

I hope you have fun with this Easter Basket block. I'm loving my progress so far and I'm working on it as much as I can so I can enjoy it this Easter. I'll keep you updated on my progress and hopefully have something to show you in the next few weeks!

Happy quilting :)