Riley Blake Thankful - Dowdle Folk Art - Downloadable PDF

Thankful Quilt Pattern by Jina Barney for Riley Blake Designs – Free Downloadable PDF

The Thankful quilt pattern is a beautifully detailed, intermediate-level quilting project designed by Jina Barney and released as part of the Riley Blake Dowdle Folk Art collection. Available as a free downloadable PDF, this pattern produces a finished quilt measuring a generous 72 inches by 80 inches — a full lap to twin-bed size that makes it a practical and meaningful handmade gift or home accent. The design celebrates a warm, folk-art aesthetic with rich, earthy tones and a structured patchwork layout built around two primary block types.

What Is Being Made

This pattern instructs quilters in constructing a large patchwork quilt featuring a repeating arrangement of Star Blocks and Corner Star Blocks. The finished design draws on classic American folk-art quilt traditions, combining geometric precision with the vibrant, illustrated prints characteristic of the Dowdle Folk Art fabric collection by Riley Blake Designs. The quilt is assembled from a total of 22 full Star Blocks, each finishing at 8 inches by 8 inches, along with Corner Star Blocks that frame and anchor the overall composition.

Block Designs Covered in This Pattern

Star Block (8" x 8" Finished)

The Star Block is the primary repeating unit of the Thankful quilt. It is a classic eight-pointed-style patchwork star constructed using the Flying Geese technique. Each block is assembled in three rows and incorporates a central square, four Flying Geese units, and corner squares. The pattern calls for making a total of 22 Star Blocks.

• Flying Geese Units: Each Flying Geese unit is made by tracing a diagonal pencil line from corner to corner on the wrong side of a 2½" assorted print square, placing it at the corner of a 2½" x 4½" cream shade rectangle, sewing on the pencil line, trimming with a ¼" seam allowance, and pressing. This is repeated on the opposite corner of the rectangle to complete one unit. Four Flying Geese units are made per Star Block.
• Block Assembly: Two Flying Geese units are sewn to opposite sides of a 4½" assorted print square to form the center row. The two remaining Flying Geese units each have a 2½" cream shade square sewn to each end to form the top and bottom rows. All three rows are then joined to complete the block.

Corner Star Block

The Corner Star Block is a scaled-down variation of the main Star Block, designed to sit at the intersections or corners of the quilt layout and add visual complexity to the overall design. It uses the same Flying Geese construction method but worked at a smaller scale, beginning with 1½" green dots squares placed at the corners of 1½" x 2½" cream shade rectangles. The diagonal-sew-and-trim method is identical to that used in the full Star Block, maintaining consistency of technique throughout the pattern.

Techniques Used

• Flying Geese construction using the diagonal-sew-and-trim (also called the stitch-and-flip) method — a foundational quilting technique that creates triangular units without the need for cutting triangles, reducing fabric waste and improving accuracy
• Pencil-line marking on the wrong side of fabric squares for precise diagonal sewing
• Pressing seams for flat, accurate block assembly
• Row-by-row block construction — assembling individual units into rows before joining rows into complete blocks
• Accurate ¼" seam allowance throughout — all measurements in the pattern include the standard quilting ¼" seam allowance
• Sewing with right sides together as the default method unless otherwise noted

Stitches and Sewing Methods

• Straight stitch — used throughout for all piecing, sewn along marked pencil lines for Flying Geese units and along standard seam lines for block assembly
• Trimming and pressing —