Riley Blake Polka Dot Paris - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake Polka Dot Paris Quilt Pattern – Downloadable PDF Summary

The Riley Blake Polka Dot Paris pattern is a free downloadable PDF designed for intermediate quilters who want to create a charming, Parisian-inspired quilt with a finished size of 39½" x 58½". This project combines classic quilting construction with decorative raw edge fusible appliqué, making it an excellent choice for quilters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore a simple appliqué embellishment. The pattern is produced by Riley Blake Designs and is intended to showcase their coordinating fabric collection.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a bordered panel quilt built around a large fussy-cut center panel. The finished quilt measures 39½" x 58½", making it suitable as a lap quilt, a decorative wall hanging, or a generous throw. The design features a central printed panel framed by two rounds of borders — an inner border and an outer border — with 18 appliquéd polka dots fused across the border areas to add playful, graphic interest. The overall aesthetic is elegant yet whimsical, evoking a Parisian postcard style.

Fabrics and Materials Required

The pattern is designed specifically around the Riley Blake Designs fabric collection and calls for the following materials:

• 1 cream Couture Postales panel (P8840 Cream) – fussy cut to a 23½" x 43" center panel
• ½ yard red Point Francais (C8846 Red) – used for cutting the 20 appliqué polka dots
• 1⅛ yards black Patrons Texture (C8847 Black) – used for prairie points (or ⅜ yard if substituting with standard binding)
• 1 yard cream Patrons Texture (C8847 Cream) – used for border strips
• ¼ yard black French (C8848 Black) – used as an accent fabric
• 1 yard of 17"-wide paper-backed fusible web – essential for the raw edge appliqué polka dots

Quilters will also need standard quilting supplies including a rotary cutter, cutting mat, quilting ruler, iron, and an appliqué pressing sheet to protect the ironing board when fusing partially placed dots near border edges.

Techniques Used

• Panel quilting – The centerpiece of this quilt is a fussy-cut printed panel, a technique where the quilter carefully selects and cuts a specific motif or design area from a printed fabric panel to use as the focal point of the quilt.
• Bordered quilt construction – The quilt is assembled using a structured two-border system. An inner border is added first (side borders at 43", top and bottom at 25½"), followed by an outer border (side borders at 45", top and bottom at 37½"). The pattern instructs quilters to measure through the center of the quilt before cutting border pieces, a best practice that accounts for variations in seam allowances and ensures a flat, square finished quilt.
• Raw edge fusible appliqué – 18 polka dots are applied to the borders using paper-backed fusible web. The polka dot template is traced onto the paper side of the fusible web, fused to the wrong side of the red Point Francais (C8846 Red) fabric, and then cut out precisely on the drawn line. The dots are then fused directly onto the border fabric. This raw edge technique means the edges of the appliqué shapes are left unfinished and unfurled, giving the quilt a relaxed, modern look. An appliqué sheet is recommended when dots fall partially off the border edge to protect the ironing surface.
• Prairie points or binding – The pattern offers a choice of finishing edge treatments. Quilters can opt for decorative prairie points, which are folded fabric triangles sewn into the quilt's outer edge for a dimensional, textured finish, or a more traditional flat binding. The yardage requirement for the black Patrons Texture (C8847 Black) varies depending on which finishing method is chosen: 1⅛