Riley Blake Doily - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake Doily Quilt Pattern by Lori Holt – Free Downloadable PDF Summary

The Riley Blake Doily is a charming 58" x 58" square quilt designed by Lori Holt and offered as a free downloadable PDF from Riley Blake Designs. Rated as an intermediate quilting project, this pattern combines classic patchwork construction with decorative appliqué to produce a finished quilt that evokes the delicate, intricate look of a vintage fabric doily rendered in bold, cheerful quilting cottons. The result is a lap quilt or throw that works beautifully as a statement piece for a bed, sofa, or wall.

What Is Being Made

The finished quilt measures 58 inches by 58 inches and is built around four large Doily Blocks, each finishing at 16" x 16". Each block features a pieced four-patch background topped with an appliquéd doily motif and a center circle, creating a layered, dimensional effect. The four Doily Blocks are joined together in a quilt center assembly and finished with borders and binding to reach the final dimensions.

Techniques Used

• Four-Patch Piecing: Each Doily Block begins with a traditional four-patch background, sewn from two assorted print squares and two clean white solid squares cut at 8½" x 8½". All seams are sewn with a standard ¼" seam allowance with right sides together.
• Template-Based Appliqué Preparation: The doily motif is constructed from individual template pieces whose sides are sewn together to form the full doily shape. This requires careful pivoting at seams and points to achieve clean, crisp edges.
• Fusible Interfacing Technique: The right side of the assembled doily is placed against the bumpy side of lightweight fusible interfacing and stitched ¼" around the outside edge. The seam allowance is trimmed and the piece is turned inside out, producing smooth, finished edges on the doily motif before it is applied to the background block.
• Appliqué: Once prepared, the doily and its center circle are centered on the four-patch background and appliquéd in place using your favorite appliqué method, giving quilters flexibility to use hand appliqué, machine appliqué, or another preferred technique.
• Quilt Center Assembly and Borders: The four completed Doily Blocks are assembled into a quilt center. Border pieces are cut after measuring through the center of the quilt to ensure accurate fit — an important intermediate-level technique that prevents wavy borders.
• Binding: The quilt is finished with a traditional binding.

Stitches and Construction Details

• ¼" seam allowance is used throughout all piecing steps.
• Stitching around the doily template pieces requires pivoting at seams and points for precise shaping.
• The interfacing stitch line is sewn ¼" from the outside edge of the doily before trimming and turning.
• Appliqué stitching secures both the doily motif and the center circle to each background block.

Fabrics and Materials

This pattern is designed specifically around Riley Blake Designs fabric collections. The required fabrics include a curated palette of coordinating prints and solids:

• 1¼ yards – Yellow Main (C3050 Yellow)
• ¼ yard – Blue Doily (C3051 Blue)
• ¼ yard – Gray Doily (C3051 Gray)
• 5/8 yard – Blue Stripe (C3052 Blue)
• ¼ yard – Blue Daisy (C3053 Blue)
• ¼ yard – Gray Daisy (C3053 Gray)
• ¼ yard –