My First Kailia's Quilt

Do you want to know something? The first time I made Kailia's Quilt I wasn't sure if I liked it. In fact I sent pictures to a quilty friend and asked what she thought. She loved it and said to keep working on the pattern. I'm glad I listened to her, because I love the pattern and am about to start my fifth version!

Kailia's Quilt is a fun pattern to sew and it's great for the beginner quilter, or the experienced quilter who wants a new project. It's super versatile... precuts, scraps and fat quarters will all work for this pattern.

It's a stash buster pattern because no background fabric is used. Kailia's Quilt Pattern is easy to sew straight from your stash with.

Precut Friendly Pattern

Kailia's Quilt is a precut friendly quilt pattern. I used a fat quarter bundle to create this version. But you can also use 1 1/2 inch precut strips and 5 inch precut squares. I designed the pattern so creators could have lots of options when choosing fabrics. Also, using precuts reduces time when making the quilt and who doesn't love that?!?

For this version of Kailia's Quilt I used a fat quarter quilt bundle curated by Megan from Then Came June. The bundle has 24 fabrics. I needed 23 for the throw size of this quilt, so I just pulled out one of the fabrics.



This was a great bundle for the quilt. I love how it includes solids, a checker and some stripes. I am all about buying curated bundles. It makes sewing so much easier. I am colorblind and have a hard time working with lots of different colors. I had bought this bundle a year before. It was sitting in my stash and was just waiting for the perfect project.

You can find the bundle I used here.

About the Kailia's Quilt Pattern

What makes Kailia's Quilt extra special? Well, for starters it's named after my oldest daughter. I named another quilt pattern after my son, so now all my kids want a pattern named after them.

Just like Jack's Gate, Kailia's Quilt was inspired by the gates in my neighborhood in India.

Kailia's Quilt doesn't have any background fabric. I love those kind of quilts, especially when the quilt uses fat quarters. I have lots of fat quarters. Any pattern which let's me easily use fabric from my stash is my kind of quilt.

I have fabric ready to start my fifth version, and I haven't purchased any fabric for any of them! All the fabric has come out of my stash.

This pattern has three sizes and the throw size is big!

• Baby (36 in. x 40 in.)

• Throw (60 in. x 72 in.)

• Twin (72 in. x 92 in.)

Kailia's Quilt is written for the beginner quilter. However, if this is your first quilt I think you would find it frustrating.

There are a lot of half square triangles in this quilt pattern. If you are a beginner quilter then I suggest cutting your squares for the half square triangles 1/4 in. larger than the pattern says. This will give you extra trimming room.

You can find a tutorial on 2 at a Time Half Square Triangles here.



If you are using precuts like fat quarters or 1 1/2 inch precut strips the directions use strip piecing for the striped blocks. This makes them go fast!

Kailia's Quilt can also be made using scraps. I include all the directions and cutting instructions for scraps. Making this pattern from scraps will take longer. The scrap version does not use strip piecing and requires a lot more cutting, However, the end result is worth the effort.

I wrote this pattern so that the half square triangles are made into blocks of four. This helps with the organization of the quilt. The quilt is a bit random looking, but the half square triangles are organized so that they build off each other in sections. This helps give the quilt a more cohesive look.

I don't pin much when quilting. I usually skip this step unless I have some points that need to align. However, in this quilt I used all the pins!

I pinned each striped block at each seam in order to get the stripes to match up. I also pinned the half square triangles when matching the blocks so the point would meet correctly.

This Kailia's Quilt

This Kailia's Quilt was made with all Kona solids or wovens. This made the quilt so soft! However, I don't love quilting with woven fabrics, especially when some of the cuts are smaller.

Wovens unravel much easier than other fabrics because the fabric is a looser weave. The feel of the quilt is wonderful, but the fabric is harder to handle in that the fabric can come apart easier. If you are a beginner quilter I do not suggest using wovens for your first couple quilts.

This quilt was no exception. I tried not to handle the woven fabrics too much and put the blocks where little hands can't grab them. Also, I made sure not to pull any random threads, but cut the loose threads to prevent more unraveling.

I carefully pressed the seams before basting the quilt. The fabrics quilted up so nicely and gave the fabric such a nice texture.


Because this quilt has so many natural lines in it, I found it easy to quilt. I followed the vertical stripes. Then, I also evenly quilted lines horizontally on each row.

There is just one problem with this quilt. My son loves it, and I love it now too. But the pattern is named after my oldest daughter... so who should get the quilt? I guess I'll just have to make some more. :)

I used fabric I had in my stash for the backing and binding. The binding color isn't in the quilt, but it already has so many colors, why not add one more?


Get a copy of Kailia's Quilt Pattern and start digging through your stash. If your tired of your own stash try trading some fat quarters with a friend. If you are new to quilting and you have no idea what a stash is, then go to your quilt store and find some fabric you love to make a Kailia's Quilt.

Happy quilting friends!