Lemon Squares Quilt Pattern
The Lemon Squares Quilt Pattern is a squares-in-squares quilt that is made out of only 6 types of blocks. See the blog post about this finished quilt here. I chose to make this quilt look scrappy by using a wide variety of fabric from my stash. You could also use solids and have a classic, cleaner look.
I used 5 sets of fabric colors for my quilt and that is reflected in the mockup: Light pink, dark pink, light orange, dark orange, and yellow.
1. Cut out the fabric for your squares. Below are the piece sizes for each of the 6 types of blocks. My quilt consisted of 7 rows. Each row had one of each of the 6 types of blocks. So, if you wanted to create a quilt of the same size and look, you would need to cut out 7 of each of these blocks.
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Update: I receive a lot of emails asking if so-and-so is enough fabric for this quilt. I made my quilt from scraps, so I never had made cutting diagrams. I have updated this pattern to include a pdf of suggested fabric amounts/cuts.
PLEASE NOTE: The cutting diagram contains fabric amounts to create THREE of each block, for a total of 18 blocks. You will need to multiply these fabric amounts by the number of blocks you want for your quilt. For example, if you want 6 of each block for a total of 36 squares, you will need two times the amount of fabric used in the above cutting diagrams.
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| Block A | Pattern Color | ||
| Center Block | Cut 1 | 4.5” x 4.5” | Yellow |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 4.5” x 1.5” | White |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 6.5” x 1.5” | White |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 6.5“ x 2.25” | Light Orange |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 10” x 2.25” | Light Orange |
| Block B | Pattern Color | ||
| Center Block | Cut 1 | 3.5″ x 3.5″ | Dark Pink |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 3.5” x 3.75” | White |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 10” x 3.75” | White |
| Block C | Pattern Color | ||
| Center Block | Cut 1 | 3.5″ x 3.5″ | Light Pink |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 3.5″ x 1.75″ | White |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 6″ x 1.75″ | White |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 6″ x 2.5″ | Dark Orange |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 10″ x 2.5″ | Dark Orange |
| Block D | Pattern Color | ||
| Center Block | Cut 1 | 3.5″ x 3.5″ | Dark Pink |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 3.5″ x 1.75″ | Yellow |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 6″ x 1.75″ | Yellow |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 6″ x 2.5″ | White |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 10″ x 2.5″ | White |
| Block E | Pattern Color | ||
| Center Block | Cut 1 | 2.5″ x 2.5″ | Light Orange |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 2.5″ x 2.5″ | White |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 6.5″ x 2.5″ | White |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 6.5″ x 2.25″ | Light Pink |
| Ring 2 | Cut 2 | 10″ x 2.25″ | Light Pink |
| Block F | Pattern Color | ||
| Center Block | Cut 1 | 7.5″ x 7.5″ | Yellow |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 7.5″ x 1.75″ | White |
| Ring 1 | Cut 2 | 10″ x 1.75″ | White |
2. Sew squares together using a 1/4″ seam allowance. This should leave you with an approximate 10″ square.
3. Square your blocks to 9.5″.
4. Arrange your blocks randomly for the finished quilt and sew together.
5. Create your backing, baste, quilt and bind! Enjoy your fresh Lemon Squares!
Here is alternate view of the quilt, mocked up in cool tones.
Pattern is for personal use only. Please do not copy the pattern, resell pattern or post copied text and/or sizes on your blog. Feel free to link as much as you want though! There will be a permanent link at the top of this blog. Thanks for understanding! 
I hope you enjoy the pattern and I’d love to see what you make!
Tagged as: Modern Quilts · Patchwork · Quilt
[...] as promised! The quilt pattern is available for free here. I hope you enjoy [...]
I love your quilts and am just getting started myself in quilting, and i was wondering what fabric line you used in your lemon squares quilt i would like to find something similar if you have any suggestions
Thanks!!!
Hi Elise! I used just a selection of random fabrics from my fabric stash – so no collection. But have you seen the half yard bundles from Fabricworm? They have some great sets they have pulled together.
http://www.fabricworm.com/hayabu1.html
…………pretty pretty…..thanks a lot………………….
I love the design. It has great appeal. I plan to use my stash of batiks.
I would like to use your pattern as the basis for a quilt I would like to donate to an Alex’s lemonade stand. I would like to be able to have it raffled off. Would that be ok with you? It seemed appropriate to have a “Lemon Squares” quilt for a lemonade stand. Thank you for the free pattern.
I really appreciate the oldtime quilts and this one hit the mark for me. I wouldn’t really say I am quilter but I have made a few and I am going to try this next. Love the scrappy look. Any suggestions on how to make this a queen size quilt?
Thanks for posting the beautiful quilt and sharing the pattern! Mine will be blue batiks. Will post the links when I post my quilt on Facebook or my blog. Thanks again!
I love this! I think I may try it for my next quilt.
It looks fabulous.
Thanks for the pattern, it was so kind of you to put in the work to share it.
This is just so so so cute!
Thanks for the pattern… So nice of you to do all that math for us!
Sooooo great! What great graphics and descriptions. Your quilt is just beautiful, so hopefully mine will too, right?!
Wow, I love this! Thanks for sharing the pattern!
Cool pattern! I’m definitely putting this on my list.
Awesome! I just saved it to Delicious!
So sweet! thanks for sharing!
i love, love , love this pattern and WILL be making it!!
Thanks for the great free tutorial! Just looking at it, I was suddenly struck with inspiration about just what fabrics I could use for this. Now I just need to do something about all my other WIPs….
Thank you so much! I love it! You are one of my new favorites.
love this pattern and your whole blog – will definitely be adding both to my bloglines and pattern queues!
Wandered over from ala mode! Love your work and I see this quilt in my future.
Thank you very much for the pattern. Your quilt is truly beautiful!
This is such a beautiful pattern!!! I’ve been collecting red and acqua fabrics and have now a good batch and was wondering what to do with them. Guess what?? I promise to come back and show pictures as soon as my quilt is ready.
Thank you so much for sharing such an inspiring pattern.
I love how you have added the graphics, breaks it down for a beginer. Love the colours too. Beautiful!
Thank you for the free pattern. I love the bright colors you used on this quilt!
that is a fun quilt pattern and you’re generous to share. i sent your link to my daughter–i’m sure she’d love this pattern. love the two color choices you’ve shown
Excellent, thanks much for taking the time to do that!
It’s gorgeous, Faith! Thanks for sharing! I’ll add it to my growing list of inspiration quilts and patterns to tackle one day.
Love your Lemon Squares Quilt! It’s so clean, fresh & summery!
P.S. Lemon squares: the name reminds me to look up fav. dessert recipe!
[...] as promised! The quilt pattern is available for free here. I hope you enjoy [...]
Oh my goodness…I love this quilt, and quilt pattern! Thank you so much for creating the pattern and sharing it with us for free:) I am still new to quilting, so patterns are very helpful…and modern, cute patterns are had to find! Thanks:)
so pretty, i like the color combinations. the clean lines, the white background. i should buy a bolt of kona cotton so i can be inspired to work with bright colors.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Melanie and spin , Jana Nielson. Jana Nielson said: found this cute free quilt pattern http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=561 [...]
I just finished my version of this adorable quilt. I made mine a few blocks bigger, but I love it! I linked back to your blog here:
http://clairesmama.blogspot.com/2010/09/pink-lemonade.html
Thanks for the pattern!
Oh wow, I love it! This is the first finished quilt I have seen from the pattern (besides mine of course!) How exciting! I’m glad you were able to use it to make something so beautiful.
God send!! This is exactly what I was needing to make a fun, bright, modern quilt as a holiday gift. Absolutely perfect, thank you!
I am so excited for this pattern, when I saw it I loved it! when I found out that there was a free pattern, I LOVED IT that much more! Thank you Wish me luck!!!
I love this quilt! Your colors are so fresh, very uplifting.
I love this quilt. Quick pattern question: do you know approximately how much of the white you need for the quilt (at least the size you made it)? I’m trying to figure out if I have enough or need to buy more! Thank you!
I don’t have an exact amount since I just used various fabric I had on hand, but if you get about 2 yards I bet that will be plenty.
Thank you for sharing this pattern. It’s so bright and pretty. I can’t wait to get started making it.
What a gorgeous pattern…I shall definitely try to make it…thank you!!
What a great cheerful, crisp quilt! I’m slowly inching myself away from more traditional quilt patterns, and this one looks like a great stepping off point. Thanks so much for the pattern and for the time you took to make it available to us.
[...] to create a quilt top for my son’s room. I followed the awesome quilt pattern found here http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=561 as a guideline to create the top. However, I did have to add more blocks in order to increase the [...]
I’m a beginning quilter, but I LOVE this quilt. But I honestly can’t figure out how you sew it. Are the squares layered on top of one another. Do you actually cut out the rings and sew the squares into each other. Please forgive me–I’m blonde AND an Aggile.
Hi Amber! You will cut a variety of squares and rectangles. The squares are the middle of the blocks and then you sew the rectangles to the top and bottom of the square. And then to the sides of that resulting piece.
If you are new to quilting, I highly recommend Elizabeth Hartman’s quilting book. It’s great and explains everything you need to know to get started.
I just found a link to your pattern on flickr and I love it! It’s now on my must-make-soon list!
what do you think this would look like if I just used different patterns in White, Red and Black, White being the main color??
LuAnn – that would look nice! I do use 3 color families besides white – pink, orange and yellow – so it would look a bit different without another color besides the red and black. What about grey?
I’m excited to try this out–my first attempt at quilting, making one for Baby Girl. My goal is to get it done before she has a sibling! I have some pinks, yellows, & greens that I think will be really cute.
I made this quilt using solids. Here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelleramsay/5991117509/
Thanks for the great pattern!!
Michelle I love it! Thank you so much for sharing the photo with me.
I just discovered this site and love it! I have been looking for ages for the right pattern to use with fabric collected from my mom’s lilly pulitzer golf skirts and this is the perfect pattern! Just in time to get going before her birthday this fall! Thanks for sharing your patterns!
Hi I love this pattern and want to make is ASAP but want to know I have enough of certain colours before I start cutting into my oh-so-precious fabric stash (!!). how many FQs of each colour or want length of each fabric would you need? thanks, your site is gorgeous btw,
Lisa
Hi Lisa! I have updated the fabric to include a PDF download with cutting diagrams. I hope that helps you with your planning!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful tutorial! This is first on my *after Christmas, totally for my fam* quilt list!
Just finished piecing the top. Finishing the back today. Then, braving the quilting myself. Had lots of fun with this pattern as well! Thanks for putting it out there! Happy New Year!
This is so pretty! I was wondering if it would be OK to use these quilts blocks for an online exchange by mail? I am in a group of folks who use people powered machines (hand cranks and treadles) and would love for us to trying something new and well ‘fresh’!
We would link to your website if that would be OK? And probably provide some additional information about yardage, etc.
Check out http://www.treadleon.net for more information.
Just a lovely quilt.
Hi Faith,
I just posted my quilt to Craftsy with a link to your web site so people could see where I got the great idea. I changed the pattern a bit since I made it for my young granddaughter, but it’s the same squares. I’m a beginner quilter, but I was pleased with the result. Thanks so much for the pattern!
Thanks for the great pattern. I’m making this for my little boy in greens, blues and browns. I’ve pieced the top and made the backing – and am just about to do the quilting but I’m not sure what way to quilt it. I’m not confident enough to do free motion quilting so it will have to be straight lines. Do you have any suggestions of what might work well?
Hi again, I finished the quilting and blogged about it here: http://funkbunnysgarden.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/my-creative-space-littlefbs-quilt.html
Thanks again for the fab pattern!
Hi Faith,
I just finished a baby size quilt top from your tutorial. Thank you so much for offering this on your blog-I love it. Now, just to decide how to quilt it. I’m half thinking of hand quilting with embroidery thread around each of the squares.
Here’s a link if you want a peek.
http://www.jeanette-stampingobsession.blogspot.com/2012/02/wip-quilt-top-finish.html
Hi Faith, what great colors (lemon?) you chose — I love salmon and oranges and pink and hope to do this one soon — so many patterns – so little time
Thanks for sharing – Terry
how do i sew the fabric ontop of the fabric??
Faith, I love your blog and I love this quilt.. I am working on one right now using some yardage I had in my Stash. I am also going to be making another for a baby quilt for a co-worker. This is just a wonderful fun-fresh and modern pattern. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
You can check out the piecing I have done on my Lemon Squares at…
http://www.quiltmonstercloset.com/2012/02/4g-lemons-wonky-bits.html Thanks again!!!
Im in Love! I’ve been looking for just the right pattern for a graduation quilt for my only niece. I cant wait to start. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hello,
I think this is beautiful. It is so thoughtful of you to provide the sizes and pattern etc.
Lydia, your question is a great one. When I first quilted and saw these sorts of patterns I thought the fabric was layered on top of each other too!
HOWEVER…. all the blocks here are made up of one square and several small strips sewn together… so on Block A there is/are 1 small square of pale orange, 4 strips of white, 4 strips of dark orange.
Hope that helps.
C
x
Faith.. I have made another Lemon Squares Quilt. This one for a co-worker…He bought the fabric..I made the quilt
I just love this pattern and THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing it online!!
Here’s a Link if you wanna check it out. I have a few Non-Quilty friends that wanted to know what all is involved. This particular quilt I documented over three posts SewFest…
Sorry if it’s long winded..
http://www.quiltmonstercloset.com/2012/03/owls-all-around-this-sewfest-weekend.html
Hi,
I just finished my Lemon Squares quilt, made with Lotta Jansdotter’s Echo line. I really like it!! It is here:
http://www.modernquiltguild.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for generously sharing this pattern!
Nancy
I finished this! I did horizontal quilting and a pieced/scrappy binding. Thanks again for a great pattern.
http://www.jeanette-stampingobsession.blogspot.ca/2012/04/quilt-finish.html
I love your quilt pattern and made it in Dr. Suess fabric for my nieces little girl. I am thinking of making it in some red and white fabrics my daughter just bought. Thank you again for sharing this very fun pattern.I tried to show you a picture, but no luck.
thank you! your quilt looks really cool and fresh!
My granddughter picked Lemon Squares as what she wanted for her twin-sized bed and in the lemony colors you used. I found a colorway of perfect fabrics but was in a quandry as to how much to buy to make a twin sized quilt. I did pretty good with 1 yard each of the 6 colors ; a fat quartr of teh dark pink and 2 yards of the white which was not quite enough and I had to substitute on one block. Oh I made 54 blocks and now have ordered more of one of the fabrics for a border as it was stil too small. I am liking the quilt and I know she will love it. She likes whimsical things
Is there a way to print the pattern from the web site?
Hi Sara – no, there is no PDF that you can download and print. The only option is to print the website through your browser. Just make sure you “Print Preview” first so you only select the first 5 pages or so, otherwise you will print all the comments as well.
Divine! I love square in a square type quilts. Great design. Have a super day!
Hi Faith! I am thinking this pattern will work nicely with Cloud 9′s Happy Drawing Fabric…my son just loves Ed Emberley books so I thought it would be a nice way celebrate my son’s willingness to draw now (he’s 7 and drawing/coloring has not come easy for him)….before I take the plunge and order the fabric thought I would ask if you have any suggestions for fabrics from the collection. Thanks so much!
Hi Heather – that will be so cute! I tend to like using fabrics that have more color as the background and less white in the background. I think they pop more set next to the white (if the solid is white that is). Or if you use a tan or something as the solid then all the prints would pop nicely. Did you see there is a Happy Drawing Too line coming out in October? More prints to incorporate if you wait a couple months. I hope that helps!
I love this quilt! I spent all winter working on a black quilt. When spring came, I just couldn’t do it any more! So, I dug into my scrap bag and made Lemon Squares. Come to find out, my best friend is expecting a baby girl, so I guess it will become a baby quilt. I’m almost done, but need some ideas for quilting it. What did you do? The photos don’t quite show the quilting.
I enjoy this quilt.
Me parece precioso, y un gran trabajo hacerlo y publicarlo.
Felicidades
Hi Faith! When I saw this quilt I fell in love with it–So I decided that I had to have one just like it! It took me 7 months to make (I work full-time) but I was SO happy with the results! –Vanessa
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/548322_381255268596255_1439599552_n.jpg
Thanks so much for this pattern. I had been looking for a pattern that I could use the colors of jewels with black as the accent, and this is turning out so pretty. It was going to be a surprise for my 28 year old daughter, but she discovered me making it and fell in love with it. In buying the batiks and varying shades of the colors, I have 27 colors in the quilt. It has been so much fun to make!
Thanks so much for this pattern. It was just what I was looking for and I’ve made up a version for a friend who is off to University shortly. I’m sure she will love – now just the small matter of the quilting….
You can see it here – http://sustainingstitches.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/searching-for-sunshine.html
Hi there! I just printed this gorgeous pattern and wanted to say thank you for sharing it! I can’t wait to get started on it. Will post pic when done.
What a great pattern! And very kind of you to share it. I like how you have made yours. Thank you
Hi! I have recently (as in VERY) become addicted to the notion of quilting. I have even made several pinwheel squares. The end.
Not really, ha ha. (But, yeah, really). If only I could figure out how to join the squares in your tasty lemon square quilt … Sigh. Maybe your quilt is not for a neophyte like me, but I am jonesing to try it especially since I just picked up some fabric at a yard sale in all the colors of your quilt! I say it’s fate. But only if you don’t mind helping me out a bit. If not, I guess I’ll just go and bake confections…:)
Sincerely,
Karen
Hi Karen – How exciting! Watch out – quilting is pretty addictive!
There are lots of great resources for how to put together a quilt. I always recommend Elizabeth Hartman’s Practical Guide to Patchwork. It’s great for beginners! You can find it at the bookstore or online (Amazon).
Happy Sewing!
Hi Faith,
I just made this quilt in yellow, black, white, grey and aqua’s. I just love it. I had a request to sell the quilt. I know that I cannot copy or share the pattern but I am unsure of your stand on selling the quilt made with your pattern.
Yes Karen, you are free to sell it on a craft scale. As long as you aren’t Pottery Barn or something. lol
Nope, just little ol’ me making a few quilts a year and sometimes selling them. I will post a picture when I get it quilted and will credit the pattern to you when inquiring minds want to know….thanks.