Windham Fabrics Sunshine - Downloadable PDF

Sunshine Quilt Pattern by Tessie Fay – Windham Fabrics Free Downloadable PDF

The Sunshine quilt pattern is an intermediate-level quilting project designed by Tessie Fay and published by Windham Fabrics. Available as a free downloadable PDF, this pattern produces a finished quilt measuring 55" x 77", making it an ideal size for a lap quilt, throw, or generous baby blanket. The design is intended to be made using Tessie Fay's own Pink Lemonade fabric collection by Windham Fabrics, a cheerful palette built around whites, light pinks, and coordinating prints that evoke a fresh, summery aesthetic.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a pieced quilt top in the blankets and throws category. At 55 inches wide by 77 inches long, the Sunshine quilt is a versatile throw size suitable for decorating a sofa, gifting, or everyday use. The design features a visually dynamic arrangement of geometric shapes — including trapezoids, triangles, and circles — that come together to suggest a radiating, sun-inspired composition. The pattern is classified as intermediate difficulty, meaning it is best suited for quilters who are already comfortable with basic piecing and are ready to work with curved seams and multi-template cutting.

Fabric and Materials

The pattern is specifically designed around the Pink Lemonade fabric collection by Tessie Fay for Windham Fabrics. The key fabrics referenced in the pattern include:

• Fabric A – SKU 51321-2, a white fabric requiring approximately 1-1/3 yards
• Fabric B – SKU 51326-4, a light pink fabric requiring approximately 2/3 yard

Additional fabrics from the Pink Lemonade collection are referenced throughout the full cutting key in the PDF. The pattern uses a multi-fabric approach with coordinating prints and solids drawn from the collection, allowing quilters to achieve a cohesive, designer-curated color story. As is standard in quilting, you will also need backing fabric, quilt batting, and binding fabric to complete the finished quilt beyond the pieced top.

Techniques Used

The Sunshine quilt pattern draws on several core and intermediate quilting techniques:

• Template cutting – The pattern relies heavily on custom templates rather than simple rotary-cut rectangles or squares. Quilters will cut pieces using numbered templates including Template 1 (triangle), Template 2, Template 3, Template 12, Template 17, Template 22, Template 23, and Template 29 (trapezoids), as well as Template 35 (circle). Accurate template tracing and cutting are essential to achieving clean seams and a well-matched final layout.
• Curved piecing – The inclusion of a circle template (Template 35) indicates that the pattern involves curved seam sewing, a hallmark of intermediate-to-advanced quilting. Sewing curves requires clipping or notching seam allowances and careful pinning to ease the fabric smoothly around the curve without puckering.
• Trapezoid piecing – Multiple trapezoid templates are used throughout the design. Sewing angled, non-rectangular pieces requires attention to alignment and the use of precise seam allowances to ensure points and edges meet correctly when blocks are joined.
• Triangle piecing – Triangular units are a classic quilting element that add movement and directionality to a design. Careful pressing and accurate cutting are key to keeping triangle points sharp.
• Quilt top assembly – Once individual units are pieced, they are joined into a complete quilt top following the layout diagram provided in the PDF.

Stitches and Sewing Methods

As a quilting pattern, Sunshine is constructed using a standard straight stitch on a sewing machine, sewn with a consistent 1/4-inch seam allowance — the industry standard for quilt piecing. Pressing seams carefully after each step is a critical part of the process, ensuring flat, accurate blocks and clean intersections. For the circular appliqué or curved inset element indicated by Template 35,