Moda Fabrics Do The Shuffle Quilt - Downloadable PDF

Moda Fabrics Do The Shuffle Quilt Pattern Summary

The Do The Shuffle quilt pattern from Moda Fabrics is a free, downloadable PDF designed for intermediate quilters who want to create a bold, visually dynamic patchwork quilt. Featuring fabric from the Illustrations by Alli K Design collection, this pattern results in a finished quilt measuring 60 inches by 71 inches — a generous lap or throw size that works beautifully as a statement piece for any room.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a pieced quilt constructed from a series of uniform blocks, each finishing at 10 inches by 10 inches. The overall design relies on strategic pairing of contrasting fabrics — light and dark prints, low-volume backgrounds alongside dense, illustrated prints — to create the shuffled, dynamic look that gives the quilt its name. A total of 30 fabric sets are assembled to build the quilt top, with each set combining a large square and a smaller accent square from a contrasting print.

Materials Required

• Fat Quarter Bundle: The pattern is specifically designed around the Moda Fabrics fat quarter bundle (11500 AB) from the Illustrations by Alli K Design collection, providing a curated mix of coordinating prints.
• Print Fabric Squares: From assorted fat quarter prints, quilters cut 30 squares at 10½ inches by 10½ inches and corresponding 5½-inch squares from contrasting prints.
• Backing Fabric: 4 yards of backing fabric are required to complete the quilt.
• Batting: A 68-inch by 79-inch piece of batting is needed, providing several inches of overage on all sides for ease of quilting.

Fabric Selection and Design Strategy

One of the most important aspects of this pattern is thoughtful fabric pairing. The pattern explicitly recommends pairing all large and small squares together before beginning assembly. This pre-planning step ensures that the same print does not appear twice within a single block and that a wide variety of fabric combinations is achieved across the quilt top. Quilters are encouraged to mix light and dark prints as well as low-volume and dense prints to maximize contrast and visual interest in each finished block.

The use of the Illustrations by Alli K Design fabric line lends the quilt a playful, illustrative aesthetic. The collection's variety of scales and print densities makes it particularly well-suited to a pattern that depends on contrast between paired fabrics.

Techniques Used

• Square Cutting: Precise rotary cutting of fat quarters into both large (10½-inch) and small (5½-inch) squares is the foundation of the block construction. Accurate cutting is essential to ensure blocks finish at the correct 10-inch size.
• Block Assembly: Each block is constructed by pairing one large print square with one smaller contrasting print square, then piecing them together. The pattern uses Right Sides Together (RST) assembly throughout.
• Contrast Pairing: A deliberate design technique where fabrics are selected and organized in advance to create maximum visual variety and avoid repetition within individual blocks.
• Quilt Top Assembly: Finished blocks are arranged and sewn together to form the complete 60-inch by 71-inch quilt top, following the layout shown in the pattern.
• Backing and Batting Preparation: Standard quilt sandwich construction, layering the quilt top, batting, and backing in preparation for quilting.

Stitches and Sewing Methods

• Straight Stitch Piecing: All block and quilt top assembly is completed using a standard straight stitch on a sewing machine, which is the primary stitch in quilting construction.
• Quarter-Inch Seam Allowance: As is standard in quilting, a precise ¼-inch seam allowance is used throughout to ensure blocks finish at the correct 10-inch size.
• Width of Fabric (WOF) Cuts: The cutting instructions reference WOF (Width of Fabric) measurements, a standard quilting convention