There is a moment in every large quilt where the fun stops. The top is finished, the colours are right, and then the whole thing has to go through the throat of a domestic machine. Shoulders up, elbows out, half the quilt bunched against the wall behind the table.
Quilt as you go removes that moment. Instead of quilting one large sandwich, you quilt small pieces one at a time and join them afterwards. The quilt still gets quilted. It just never arrives all at once.
Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts builds a quilt block out of a scrap pile from start to finish, and it is the quickest way to see what the method actually looks like before you read how it works.
What follows is the whole method: what it is, how to size the pieces, how to machine quilt them, how to trim them, and the three different ways to join them once they are done. There are more videos further down, from quilters who teach this well.
What quilt as you go actually is
Quilt as you go, usually shortened to QAYG, means quilting each section of a quilt separately, on its own piece of batting and backing, and joining the finished sections into a quilt.
The section is usually a quilt block, but it does not have to be. It can be a row, a column, or a large panel. What matters is the principle: the quilting happens while the piece is small.
In traditional quilting the order is piece the whole quilt top, baste the whole quilt sandwich, quilt the whole thing, then bind. In QAYG the order is piece a block, quilt that block, repeat, then join. Same three layers, same stitching, different sequence.
You will also see it called the potholder method, because a finished QAYG block is essentially a small quilted potholder, and the portable method, because a block fits in a bag and a whole quilt does not.
Why quilters switch to it
- Less bulk under the arm of the sewing machine. This is the first reason and usually the only one people need. A domestic machine has a limited harp, and a queen sized quilt sandwich does not care about that.
- A mistake stays inside one block. If the quilting goes wrong on block seven, you remake block seven. You do not unpick a quilt.
- Dense quilting stops being intimidating. Matchstick quilting and close motifs are pleasant on a ten inch square and punishing on a big quilt.
- Scraps become a project. Each block is built independently, so nothing has to coordinate with anything else until you lay them out.
- You finish things. A block a night is visible progress, and visible progress is what gets quilts finished.
There is a cost, and it is worth saying plainly: joining takes time, and the block seams are visible on the back unless you work at them. QAYG trades one hard job at the end for many small jobs along the way.
If that trade sounds right, the first decision is a number.
Deciding your quilt block size
Start from what moves comfortably under your machine rather than from the quilt you want.
Anything between eight and twelve inches finished suits most domestic machines, and a block you can turn without lifting the presser foot is a block you will enjoy quilting.
Two practical points, and both of them save you time later.
Choose a size you already own a square ruler for, because you will be trimming every block to that same size, and doing it in one cut is much faster than doing it in two.
And keep the size consistent across the quilt, because every joining method assumes the blocks match.
Rectangles work as well as squares, and they open up layout options later: a rectangle turned ninety degrees changes the surface of a quilt without changing a single fabric.
Preparing the batting and backing
Cut the batting and the backing fabric larger than the block. One inch bigger on every side is a comfortable margin.
That margin exists because quilting draws the layers in. The denser you quilt, the more they draw in, so a block you plan to cover in close stitching wants more margin than one that gets a simple grid.
Sort your batting offcuts by type before you start rather than in the middle. Mixing a high loft block with a flat one in the same quilt gives you a surface that sits unevenly, and you will only notice once it is together.
You will get through more batting than you expect, because every block needs its own piece. This is the technique where saving offcuts finally pays off.
Whether the layers need basting depends on how you build the block. If you are piecing directly onto the sandwich, the first seam holds everything and no basting is needed. If you are quilting a block that is already pieced, a light pass of basting spray or a few pins stops the quilt backing creeping while you work.
Which is exactly the choice the next section is about.
Two ways to build a quilt as you go block
Piece straight onto the sandwich
Lay the backing down, the batting on top of it, then build the block directly on that surface.
Each seam stitches the new piece to the previous one and quilts all three layers at the same time. When the block is covered, it is also quilted.
Strips are the natural fit here, because a folded strip covers ground quickly and every seam is a straight line. Stitch and flip shapes work the same way. This is the fastest route to a finished block and the one to start with.
A walking foot earns its place on these seams. Walking foot quilting feeds the top strip at the same rate as the backing underneath, which is what stops the layers walking out of line over the length of a seam. A slightly longer stitch length than you use for piecing, around 2.5 to 3, sits better through three layers.
Piece the block first, then quilt it
The other way is to make the block as you normally would, sandwich it, and machine quilt it as a small quilt.
It is slower, and it is the version to choose when the block has a design you want to quilt around, or when you want free motion quilting that does not follow the block seams.
This is also where QAYG becomes a practice ground. A block is small enough that a motif you have never tried costs you nothing if it goes badly, and you can carry a different quilting technique across every block of the quilt as long as you keep the density roughly even.
Either way, the block is not finished until it is square.
Trimming and squaring up
Every block gets trimmed to the same size before it joins anything.
This is the step that decides whether the rows line up later, and it is the one QAYG does not forgive. A block that finishes an eighth short has nowhere to hide once it sits between two that did not.
Lay the block flat, square the ruler to the quilting rather than to the trimmed edge, and cut all four sides. Trim every block in the same session if you can, because consistency across the stack matters more than precision on any single one.
One thing is worth knowing before you start. Trimming a quilted block is harder on a blade than cutting flat quilting cotton.
You are cutting the top, the batting and the backing in one pass, and batting blunts an edge quickly. A rotary cutter blade that has gone dull stops slicing the batting and starts dragging it, the layers shift under the ruler, and the block comes out a fraction off square without you feeling it happen.
So put in a fresh rotary blade before you start a stack rather than halfway through, and every block gets cut by the same edge.
With a pile of square blocks in front of you, the interesting part begins.
The three ways to join the blocks
This is the part that decides what the finished quilt looks like, and it is where most people get stuck, because the front is easy and the back is not.
1. Front and back sashing
Two blocks are butted or seamed together, then a fabric strip covers the raw edge on the front and a second strip covers it on the back.
The front sashing strip is stitched down both folded edges by machine. The back sashing is either machine stitching, which is fast and shows, or hand sewing with a slip stitch, which is slow and does not.
The visible result is a grid of coloured lines framing every block, sometimes described as a stained glass effect. A strong contrast makes the blocks read as separate panels. A colour pulled from the blocks makes the joins recede. Narrow sashing frames lightly, wide sashing becomes part of the design.
2. No sashing
The quilt tops are seamed to each other with a quarter inch seam allowance, the batting is butted edge to edge underneath and joined with a wide zigzag stitch or by hand, and the backing is folded over and closed by hand along the block seams.
This gives an uninterrupted quilt top that looks like a traditionally quilted quilt.
It also asks the most of your trimming, because there is no strip covering the join to disguise a block that finished small, and it usually involves hand stitching on the wrong side.
3. A single connector strip
One folded strip does both sides. It is stitched to the front along the join, folded around and caught on the back with a second line of stitching, often stitched in the ditch from the front so the machine line disappears into the seam.
It is the middle path: fully machine sewn, one strip instead of two, and a clean back if the ditch stitching lands where it should. Our article on finishing with connector strips works through this one in detail.
Choosing between them
If you want the fastest finish with no hand sewing, use a connector strip. If you want the joins to be part of the design, use front and back sashing. If you want the quilt to look traditionally quilted and you do not mind an evening of slip stitching, use no sashing.
Whichever you pick, join blocks into rows first and then join the rows. It keeps the seams straight and the pieces flat, and it means you are never handling more than one row at a time.
Kim Jamieson-Hirst of Chatterbox Quilts takes this part slowly, and it is worth watching before you commit a whole quilt to one method.
Keeping the finished quilt flat
Three things cause a QAYG quilt to sit unevenly, and all three are avoidable.
Uneven density. A block quilted every quarter inch shrinks more than a block quilted every two inches. Different designs are fine, wildly different densities are not.
Mixed batting. Loft varies more between brands than people expect. Keep one type per quilt.
Skipped trimming. Every block to the same size, no exceptions. This is the one that ruins quilts.
Press as you go, and press rather than iron: lift and place the iron instead of pushing it, because pushing distorts a block that has already been quilted.
Quilt as you go questions we are asked most
Is quilt as you go good for beginners?
It is one of the better first projects, for a reason that has nothing to do with difficulty. You see a finished block on the first evening, and finishing something is what keeps a beginner going. The seams are straight, the pieces are small, and nothing about it needs a technique you would not use on an ordinary quilt.
What is the easiest way to start?
Piece strips directly onto the sandwich, and join the blocks with a single connector strip. That combination is fully machine sewn from beginning to end and gives you a finished block in an evening.
How do you attach quilt as you go blocks?
With sashing strips over the join, one on the front and one on the back, or with a single strip that wraps around, or with no sashing at all if you are prepared to close the backing by hand. The diagram above shows all three in cross section.
Does it work for a king size quilt?
That is exactly what it is for. The whole quilt never passes under the needle, so the finished size stops being a limit on your machine. What grows is the number of blocks and the number of joins, not the difficulty of any single step.
Do I still need to bind it?
Yes. The joins are internal. The outer edges of the finished quilt are bound the way any quilt is bound.
Can I use it for smaller things?
A single block is already a quilted panel, which is exactly what a table runner, a mug rug, a potholder, a set of coasters or a bag panel needs. It is also a sensible way to test the method before committing to a full quilt.
Can I make a double sided quilt this way?
You can, and it is one of the quieter advantages. Because every block carries its own quilt backing, choosing those backings deliberately gives you a second quilt top on the reverse, finished at the same time as the front.
More videos worth watching
Reading a method and watching someone do it are different things, and this is a technique where the second one helps. Beyond the two above, these are the video tutorials we point customers to. They are not ours, and each one belongs to the quilter who made it.
- Quilt As You Go With Sashing: Island Home Episode 1, Pattern Poole TV. The sashing method taught as a sew along, if you want to be walked through a whole quilt.
- Quilt As You Go With No Sashing, Episode 3, Pattern Poole TV. The no sashing version, including what to do with the batting.
- Joining Our Stitch And Flip Blocks, Fully Machine Sewn, Pattern Poole TV. For anyone who wants to avoid hand sewing entirely.
- Free Motion Quilt As You Go: A New Way To Do QAYG, Chatterbox Quilts. A ruler foot approach for quilting the block as you build it.
- Quilt As You Go: Easy Scrap Quilt Ideas, National Quilters Circle. A short introduction if you want the idea before the detail.
What to have ready
- Strips or blocks of quilting cotton, and a backing fabric for each block.
- Batting offcuts of one type, sorted by size, one piece per block.
- A rotary cutter with a sharp blade, a cutting mat and a square ruler in your block size.
- A walking foot for the seams and the joins.
- Fabric for the sashing strips or connector strips, cut two and a half inches wide if you are unsure.
- Something that keeps your quarter inch honest. Our seam guide ruler bundle sets a physical stop on the bed of the machine at any allowance from an eighth of an inch to two inches, and it arrives with forty 2.5 by 10 inch strips, which is enough to build your first blocks without cutting anything.
If you want more block layouts to build from, our beginner quilt patterns page collects the ones that suit this kind of construction, and our quilt as you go tutorial walks through a single block at a slower pace.
Where to start
Pick a block size you own a ruler for. Cut backing and batting an inch bigger all round. Piece strips straight onto the sandwich until the block is covered. Trim it square.
Do that four more times, then join the five with a connector strip and see how the back looks.
That is the whole method, and everything else in this guide is a variation on it.
The thing worth holding on to is that you are allowed to finish a quilt in pieces. Nobody hands out extra credit for wrestling the whole thing at once.
Marbelia Fernandes
The Fabric Hut Co-Founder
P.S. Keep your first quilt block, even if it is bad. In six months you will want the evidence of where you started.
