Layer Cake Carousel Shortcut Quilt ~ Free Pattern

I was privileged to be invited to join in on making another quilt with the Fat Quarter Shop.

The first time I joined in I made the Turnabout Quilt:

I love how it turned out! You can get the patterns here:

Just for the block (free)

For the whole quilt

The next one I made was the Ribbon Border Quilt:

That remains unquilted… it is in my flimsy box waiting patiently… It was also a fun one – you can get the pattern for the whole quilt here and for the block (free) here.

I really enjoyed making those two quilts, so when Kate asked me if I wanted to join in again, of course, I had to say yes!

This time I chose to make a Shortcut Quilt made with a Layer Cake.

It’s always fun getting fabric in the mail…

There was even a handwritten note from Kate:

She included two choices for the borders and binding… which was so sweet… I ended up going with some that was in my stash, but don’t worry, these will get used one day!

I’d like to thank the Fat Quarter Shop for sending me this lovely fabric and for allowing me to be part of the Fat Quarter Shop family!

The Layer Cake Carousel Shortcut Quilt

As the name implies, this quick and easy quilt is made using a Layer Cake. If you are new to quilting and have never heard about layer cakes, they are a collection of 10″ pre-cut squares that are usually different.

Buying a precut bundle like a layer cake, is a great way to get a sample of a certain fabric line. It’s also a bit cheaper than buying a bundle of fat quarters. As I was sewing the blocks together and looking at each layer cake square, I was thinking… oooh, I NEED some more of this fabric!!

I’m pretty sure that precuts like the jelly roll, layer cake, and charm pack were first put together by Moda Fabrics. Other fabric companies have their own names, like the pack I chose from Riley Blake Fabrics where they call them 10″ Stackers.

So my choice for this beginner-friendly quilt was the Piece and Plenty 10″ Stacker by Lori Holt.

Skill Level Needed For This Quilt

This is a great quilt for new quilters and beginner quilters. Using precut fabric is always helpful for those who are not used to cutting fabric themselves, and while we all need to learn how to cut fabric eventually, sometimes it is just fun to be able to make a quilt without learning the basics!

The last time my sister and her family were down to visit, I gave her three girls a jelly roll each and they made their own quilts. We made the jelly roll race quilt and had so much fun. They were so proud of their work and excited that they had made a quilt themselves! I quilted them on Emmie G because we didn’t have time for them to do the quilting part themselves, but they were each able to take a gorgeous quilt back home with them at the end of their vacation.

Back to this quilt – it would have been a fun one to make with the girls as well… maybe next time they visit!

So although this quilt pattern is suitable for quilters of all levels, it is a great beginner quilt. It’s also a free pattern, which is always a bonus!

Quick Quilts

I am always on the lookout for layer cake quilt patterns, just because they are so quick and easy to make. And let’s face it, you are probably like me… you collect more layer cakes than you actually use!!

I made this whole quilt in a day… yep, I pieced the quilt top and quilted it! Of course, having a long arm helped with that, but still… even if I had used my domestic machine it would have probably only taken two days.

With that in mind, it would make a great last-minute gift…. 

​The Pattern and Technique

​​This easy pattern makes a large lap quilt. It’s a square one, which I like because I seem to make lots of square quilts. They just hang over couches and chairs so nicely! And they are great to snuggle under in the winter…

​The pattern relies on an interesting technique that reminds me of the Square-agonals quilts I have made in the past. It is a way of putting a quilt on point without using half square triangles, or any triangles at all. If you download the pattern you will see what I mean!

The quilt is made by putting four of these units together:

And they are made by sewing and cutting the layer cake fabric in a certain way. 

One thing to note is that if you are a stickler for not losing your points, then this is NOT the quilt pattern for you! Like with the Square-agonal quilts, there is no way you can keep all of the points. But if you understand and accept that, then it is no problem.

If you look closely, you can see that some of the points are lost… but again, it doesn’t bother me…

I took the finished quilt out to Liz’s to take some photos…

I really need a spot in my garden where I can take quilt photos… one day!!

The wind was against me but I got there eventually!

Oh, one more thing – this is a great pattern to use if you want to keep most of the 10″ square intact – like if there are larger prints or specialty prints. I have another layer cake that has chickens in it and I’m thinking this would be a nice pattern to use…. Sometimes you don’t want to cut up the fabric too small, so this pattern would showcase it nicely.

Get the Free Pattern

If you want to try to make this quilt, you can click on the button below to download the pattern for free:

I noticed they are also selling a kit for it:

It looks pretty!

I am going to swap out my quilts in the lounge room this week – they have too much dog and cat hair on them and need to be refreshed!!! This quilt will be going on the couch… I’ll take a photo and share it with you next week!

Another bonus with this quilt is, not only is the pattern free, but Kimberly has made a video with a step-by-step tutorial. So if you are a visual learner, then you can watch and sew along with her.

Well, that is it from me! If you made it to the end of this post, well done!!

I’m off to get some dinner and then have an early night!

Happy Sewing!

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