Sampler Quilt Block Layout Ideas

If you participated in the Riley Blake Block challenge you may be wondering what you should do with your completed quilt blocks. Today I’m sharing with you 12 quilt layout ideas perfect for sampler quilts.

This week I was able to finish the 12″ blocks from the Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge.

What is the Block Challenge?

In March, a group of Riley Blake Fabric designers coordinated a block of the week challenge. Each week a different designer shared a block pattern for a 12″ & 6″ finished quilt block.

Where do I find the Block Patterns?

Each of my blocks is linked below. A link to the free pattern is included in my blog posts. They are all hosted on various designer’s blogs.

Since each of the blocks was shared on a different designer’s blog, there are not any finishing instructions included. For those of you who participated, I wanted to give you a few options for how-to sew your quilt blocks into a quilt.

How Do I Sew my Blocks into a Quilt?

The first, and easiest option is to just sew your 12 blocks into 4 rows of 3 blocks in each row. That will yield a quilt that is approx 36″ x 48″. If you’d like your quilt a bit bigger you can add sashing or an outside border.

I am choosing to set my quilt blocks in a less traditional way. After playing around with the blocks, I narrowed it down to two different options.

The first one featured 6 rows with 6 blocks in each row, and the blocks clustered in the corners.

The second layout features the blocks clustered in the center.

Both layouts feature a lot of negative space.

I will be sewing my blocks together in the second layout. The finished quilt will have 6 rows with 5 blocks in each row. I plan to cut 12 1/2″ squares of gray fabric for the spots in the “quilt grid” that do not feature sewn blocks, then simply sew them together by rows.

Sampler Quilt Layout Ideas

If you’re looking for ideas for how to finish your quilt, I’ve rounded up some ideas for you.

These are just ideas. I do not know what size the blocks are in each of these quilts. Most of these quilts are purchased patterns. They are all unique and different, and I feel like you can get a lot of great ideas from these designers.

Sampler Quilt Layout Ideas Both Traditional & Modern

If you have quilt blocks that you need to finish but aren't quite sure how to go about it. I've found 12 completed sampler quilts to give you a few ideas. Each of these is meant only to give you ideas, for more specific information visit the respective websites.