Riley Blake In Flight - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake In Flight Quilt Pattern – Free Downloadable PDF by Bo Bunny

In Flight is a beginner-friendly quilting pattern designed by Bo Bunny and released as a free downloadable PDF through Riley Blake Designs. The finished quilt measures a generous 74" x 83", making it a substantial throw or bed quilt that showcases a travel-inspired aesthetic. This pattern is an excellent starting point for newer quilters who want to work with a structured, multi-fabric design while building confidence with foundational quilting skills.

What Is Being Made

The In Flight pattern produces a large pieced quilt featuring a layout built around strip piecing and bordered blocks. The design draws on a cohesive travel and adventure theme, using fabrics from the Detour Collection by Riley Blake Designs. The quilt top is constructed using a variety of coordinating prints and solids, then finished with two distinct border rounds and bound with a complementary fabric. The overall effect is a bold, graphic quilt with a strong color palette centered on navy, cream, red, and gray.

Techniques Used

• Strip piecing – cutting fabric into measured strips across the width of fabric (WOF) and sewing them together to form the quilt body efficiently
• Bordered quilt construction – applying two separate border rounds (Border 1 and Border 2) to frame the quilt center and add finished size
• Quilt sandwich assembly – layering the completed quilt top with batting and a backing fabric before finishing
• Binding – enclosing the raw edges of the quilt with a separate binding strip for a clean, professional finish
• Seam allowance management – the pattern specifically instructs quilters to measure through the center of the quilt before cutting border pieces, a best practice that accounts for variations in individual seam allowances
• Right-sides-together sewing – the standard quilting convention used throughout construction

Stitches and Sewing Details

• All seams are sewn with a ¼" seam allowance as the standard quilting seam
• Border strips are joined end to end when additional length is needed, a common strip-piecing technique
• Side borders are always sewn first, followed by top and bottom borders – a classic quilting sequence that ensures square, even borders

Border Measurements

• Border 1: Side borders at 67½"; top and bottom borders at 62½"
• Border 2: Side borders at 71½"; top and bottom borders at 74½"

Fabrics and Materials

The In Flight pattern is designed specifically around fabrics from the Detour Collection by Riley Blake Designs. The palette is rich and coordinated, featuring prints such as destination, globe trotting, baggage, arrows, and dots in a range of colorways. The specific fabric requirements include:

• 5/8 yard each of C3630 Cream (cream main), C3631 Gold (gold destination), and C3631 Gray (gray destination)
• 1 5/8 yards of C3631 Navy (navy destination) – the dominant fabric in the design; an optional 2¾ yards is noted for those wishing to match a fabric repeat
• ¼ yard each of C3632 Blue (blue globe trotting), C3632 Cream (cream globe trotting), C3633 Cream (cream baggage), C3633 Red (red baggage), and C3635 Red (red dots)
• ½ yard of C3632 Navy (navy globe trotting)
• 3/8 yard each of