Jolly Bar Quilt Pattern – Bakewell

Today the Fat Quarter Shop introduces a new jolly bar quilt pattern and kit: Bakewell. I had fun sewing it up with the whimsical Lollipop Garden fabric by Lella Boutique. Download the free pattern here.

Bakewell Quilt with teddy bear and heart box of chocolates
The Lollipop Garden prints bring a taste of spring even on a wintry day.

If you’re unfamiliar with a jolly bar, it’s basically a Moda layer cake cut in half. There are 40 pieces of fabric measuring 5″ x 10″ and it’s a Fat Quarter Shop exclusive precut.

One jolly bar provides enough fabric to make a crib-size quilt. I combined a Lollipop Garden jolly bar with Bella Solids Ruby Ice for the background. The pale blue background was a refreshing departure from white. A blue floral print carries the icy blue into the border, quilt back, and binding.

floral fabric quilt back and blue toy Jeep
I told my husband that I like the blue vintage Tonka Toy Jeeps, and he surprised me with this awesome model. I think blue is a wonderful color for girls.

Cutting and Sewing the Jolly Bar Quilt

Bakewell is a beginner-friendly pattern because the pieces are all squares and rectangles. I sprayed my fabric with Magic Sizing (similar to starch), pressed it, and then cut out the pieces using my Perfect 10 Ruler. (Note that the fabric will shrink when you use Magic Sizing or starch, but that’s okay with this pattern.) I layered three jolly bars while cutting to speed up the process.

fabric rectangle and 10" square ruler
The jolly bar shrunk slightly in width after I applied Magic Sizing, yet the length was actually longer than 10 inches.

As you can see, there is very little waste when cutting the jolly bar for Bakewell.

Once you complete cutting, pair fabrics together to create Bakewell blocks.

fabric squares and rectangles form the Bakewell block
I refer to baby quilts as my happiness projects because the colorful prints are fun to work with and celebrating a baby brings such joy.

If you’re a fast piecer, you can assemble this quilt top in a day. Alternatively, I enjoy sewing a little bit each day, and I completed this quilt in two weeks. I quilted Bakewell myself on my new Juki TL-2200 QVP Mini (the newest model of Juki’s home sewing machines).

  • Bakewell Pieced Top
  • Bakewell: Quilted and Bound

Basic Machine Quilting for Bakewell

Do you send out your quilts to be finished by a long-arm quilter? This little quilt is a great size if you’d like to quilt it yourself. I used a Hera marking tool to form a 60-degree crease, and then I lined up the quilt guide on the Juki walking foot to stitch 1.5″ from the previous stitching line. It’s so fast, and at 60 degrees you don’t need to line up stitching with block intersections.

I’m excited to send off this quilt to a momma waiting for her darling daughter’s arrival.

  • Binding Rollup
  • Bakewell Swirl

Fat Quarter Shop’s Free and Low-Cost Patterns

I’m a big fan of the free and low-cost patterns from the Fat Quarter Shop. If you want more jolly bar inspiration, I have a few jolly bar projects on my blog.

I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own version of the Bakewell quilt!

Thanks to the Fat Quarter Shop for inviting me to quilt along with them and providing fabric and Happy Cloud 80/20 Silky Blend batting for the project.

Joyfully,

Tracie

P.S. I’m linking up with Meadow Mist Design’s February Favorite Finish.

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