Riley Blake Modern Aviary - Downloadable PDF

Modern Aviary Quilt Pattern by Emily Hayes for Riley Blake

The Modern Aviary pattern, designed by Emily Hayes and published by Riley Blake, is a free downloadable PDF quilting pattern that guides quilters through constructing a striking, mid-century modern inspired quilt. The finished quilt measures 62" x 74", making it a generous lap or throw size suitable for everyday use or as a decorative statement piece. The design is built around a repeating 12" x 12" finished block called the Mid Mod Block, which combines geometric piecing with Riley Blake's distinctive aviary-themed fabric collection.

About the Design

The Modern Aviary quilt takes its name from the Modern Aviary fabric collection by Riley Blake, which features birds, waves, and graphic prints in a palette of teal, gray, black, cream, red, and green. The overall aesthetic is clean and contemporary, blending classic quilt block construction with a modern sensibility. The pattern note from the designer advises quilters to check www.pennyrosefabrics.com for any revisions before beginning, indicating that the pattern is actively maintained and updated.

The quilt center is assembled using careful fabric placement, with each block incorporating different fabrics from the bundle. Quilters are directed to refer to the Quilt Center Diagram for accurate positioning, as the variety of prints across blocks creates the overall visual rhythm of the finished piece.

Fabrics and Materials Required

This pattern is designed specifically around the Riley Blake Modern Aviary fabric collection. The required materials include:

• 1 Mid Mod Fat Quarter Bundle (FQ-6140-18) — a curated bundle of assorted prints from the collection, including black main, gray main, teal main, black wave, gray wave, teal wave, cream bird, red bird, teal bird, green eye, teal eye, and red eye prints, each cut in specific quantities of 5" x 5" squares
• 1¼ yards of teal bird fabric (C6141 Teal)
• 1½ yards of dark gray lines fabric (C6145 Dark Gray)
• 1 yard of gray lines fabric (C6145 Gray)
• ⅝ yard for binding
• 4½ yards (4.15 m) for backing

The specific fabric codes — C6141 Teal and C6145 in both Dark Gray and Gray — are Riley Blake Designs fabric numbers, making it straightforward to source the correct colorways. The use of a fat quarter bundle as the primary cutting source is a practical and economical approach, allowing quilters to work with pre-coordinated prints without purchasing full yardage of every individual fabric.

Techniques Used

The Modern Aviary pattern is described as requiring a basic knowledge of quilting technique and terminology, making it accessible to confident beginners and intermediate quilters. Several key construction techniques are employed throughout:

• Half-square triangle construction — dark gray lines triangles are sewn to opposite sides of a gray lines square in sequence to build the Center Unit, a classic flying geese or square-in-a-square style unit that forms the focal point of each block
• Strip piecing — a highly efficient technique where long strips of fabric are sewn together into strip sets before being sub-cut into segments, saving time and improving accuracy
• Segment cutting from strip sets — the dark/light/dark strip sets are cut into 5" segments, producing 80 Unit A pieces (8 from each of the 10 strip sets)
• Block assembly from units — each Mid Mod Block is assembled from a combination of four assorted print 5" squares, four Unit A segments, and a Center Unit, creating a structured nine-patch style layout with geometric interest
• Bordered quilt construction — the pattern includes a Border 1, cut from 2½" x WOF strips of dark gray lines fabric, framing the quilt center
• Pressing for accuracy — the pattern specifies pressing directions at key stages, such as after sewing triangles to the