This free Montmarte pattern has the sort of quiet cleverness I love. From across the room it reads as a field of stars drifting over a soft cream background, and up close each star turns out to be one square set on point with four pointed units gathered around it. It finishes at 64" x 80", a proper full sized quilt, and the pattern gives you two colourways, one bright and lively and one soft and gentle, so you can take it whichever way suits your shelf.
Here is why this one is worth making:
- The whole quilt comes out of three templates. One shape makes the coloured point, the other two make the pale triangles that sit either side of it, and the centres are squares. Print the templates once at full size, hold the scale box against your ruler to be sure the printer behaved, and every piece in the top comes from those few shapes.
- Each template carries a grainline mark, and it is worth following. Lining the template up with the grain keeps the base of every triangle off the bias, so the edges stay obedient while you handle them and press them. It is a small discipline at the cutting stage that pays you back at every seam afterwards.
- The centres are set in, and the pattern walks you through it gently. You mark a quarter inch in from each corner on the wrong side of the square, sew from mark to mark and stop exactly there, then bring the two pale triangle edges together and close that seam up to the intersection. Those stops are the whole trick, and once you have made one block your hands will remember the rest.
One note from the pattern that I would take seriously. If your feature print runs in a direction, cut it so the whole quilt runs the same way. It does use a little more fabric, and it is the difference between a top that looks composed and one that looks faintly restless.
You will need around 6-5/8 yards in total across the eight fabrics, with the two backgrounds taking the lion's share and most of the colours needing only a small cut each, plus 5 yards for the backing and 5/8 yard for the binding. The blocks go together in five rows of four, alternating the two block styles.
You can download the full pattern here, with the cutting notes, the block diagrams, the full size templates and both colourways: Download the free Montmarte pattern (PDF)
If you make one, I would love to know which way you take the colours, bright and cheerful or soft and quiet. And do tell me how you get on with the set in centres, they are always the part people remember. Tell us in the comments below, we always love seeing what you create.
