Windham Fabrics Uppercase Baby Blanket - Downloadable PDF

Windham Fabrics Uppercase Baby Blanket – Quilted Appliqué Pattern by Janine Vangool

The Uppercase Baby Blanket is a 36" x 36" quilted baby blanket designed by Janine Vangool and published by Windham Fabrics as a free downloadable PDF pattern. It features bold, graphic letter appliqués drawn from Janine Vangool's own Uppercase Collection, making it a modern and visually striking gift for a nursery. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and is an excellent project for quilters who are comfortable with basic patchwork and want to explore fusible appliqué techniques.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a square baby quilt measuring 36 inches by 36 inches. The finished quilt top is constructed from four appliqué blocks, each measuring 18½" square before assembly, arranged in a two-by-two layout. Each block features a large decorative Letter E appliquéd onto a contrasting fabric background, creating a playful typographic design that reflects the aesthetic of the Uppercase Collection. The result is a modern, bold quilt that works equally well as a play mat, stroller blanket, or wall hanging in a contemporary nursery.

Techniques Used

• Fusible web appliqué: The letter templates are traced onto the paper side of fusible web, pressed onto the wrong side of the chosen fabric, and then cut out precisely on the drawn lines. This method bonds the appliqué shapes securely to the background blocks before stitching.
• Decorative edge finishing: Once each appliqué shape is fused in place, the raw edges are finished with a decorative stitch such as a buttonhole stitch or satin stitch. This both secures the appliqué permanently and adds a handcrafted, artisan quality to the finished surface.
• Block assembly and quilt top construction: The four completed appliqué blocks — referred to in the pattern as the AB block, DA block, BC block, and CA block — are sewn together in a two-by-two arrangement to form the full quilt top.
• Binding: The quilt is finished with a traditional straight-cut binding, cut as four 2½" strips across the width of fabric (WOF) from Fabric C.
• Quilt backing: A single wide strip of backing fabric is cut to 44" to complete the quilt sandwich.

Stitches Used

• Buttonhole stitch (blanket stitch): A classic hand or machine stitch used to outline and secure appliqué edges, adding decorative definition to each letter shape.
• Satin stitch: A dense, closely spaced zigzag or straight stitch that completely covers the raw edge of an appliqué piece, creating a smooth, filled border. Either stitch may be used depending on the quilter's preference and sewing machine capabilities.
• Straight stitch: Used for piecing the four blocks together and attaching the binding.

Fabrics and Materials

The pattern is designed specifically to showcase Janine Vangool's Uppercase Collection for Windham Fabrics. Five coordinating prints are called for, identified by their specific Windham Fabrics SKU numbers:

• Fabric A – 41824-4 (Star Flower, Pink): ⅔ yard — used as background for one block and for two Letter E appliqués.
• Fabric B – 41821-2 (Loops, Orange): ⅔ yard — used as background for one block and for one Letter E appliqué.
• Fabric C – 41827-5 (Letters, Black): 1 yard — used as background for one block, one Letter E appliqué, and the binding strips.
• Fabric D – 41822-2 (Petals, Orange): ⅔ yard — used as a background block.
• Backing – 41826-4 (Lattice, Pink): 1½ yards — used for the quilt back.